Each week the European Tour Blog takes you a behind the scenes on the European Tour and gives you the inside scoop on what’s been happening behind the scenes. We will bring you the usual update from this week’s European Tour event, the Open de France ALSTOM, later this week but right now the blog is moving away from the European Tour to go inside the ropes at another major golf event that was held recently in the UK.
The Grand Final of the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship was held recently at the magnificent Dundonald Links, Ayrshire, Scotland. Following eight regional qualifying events played across the UK and Ireland, the tournament saw a field of 159 of the best club professionals tee it up at Dundonald for the Grand Final looking to claim the most prestigious title in the PGA calendar and a healthy first prize of £10,000.
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July 1st, 2009
Following last week’s U.S. Open, the European Tour is back in full swing at the BMW International Open, held at Golfclub München Eichenried in Munich, Germany. The 7000 yard, par 72 layout at Eichenried is playing its full length due to heavy rain in recent days but, with the greens receptive and a high quality field, a low winning score is to be expected.
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June 26th, 2009
The eyes of the golfing world are once again focused stateside this week for the 109th playing of the U.S Open Championship at Bethpage State Park, New York. The Black Course at Bethpage hosts the event for the second time and the near 7500 yard, rain soaked monster offers up one of the most severe tests of golf anywhere on the planet. Our man on the ground at Bethpage for the European Titleist Tour Team is Jonathan “J-Lo” Loosemore, and he spent time on Tuesday following Titleist Ambassador Ross Fisher and Titleist Pro V1 loyalist Ian Poulter during their practice round. On course opinion certainly appears to justify the hype surrounding the difficulty of the course with both Ian and Ross reporting it to be brutally tough following their Tuesday practice round.
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June 19th, 2009
Both Ryder Cup captains have taken an early chance to view the 2010 venue, at this week’s Celtic Manor Wales Open, being played over the Twenty Ten Course. Titleist ball loyalists Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin took the opportunity to tee it up at The Celtic Manor Resort near Newport in Wales, with much talk about how Montgomerie may set up the course for one of golf’s most hotly contested events!
Away from the conjecture about course layout, the Titleist Tour Team have again been busy working with Titleist staffers to deliver the advantages that can make the difference between vital places in counting towards the Order of Merit and the Race to Dubai.
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June 5th, 2009
After Ross Fisher’s demolition of the field and the course at last year’s European Open at the London Club in Kent, expectations were high for more low scoring and great golf at the 2009 event. The week got off to a blustery start as players battled against high winds in the practice rounds, but by the time the first players teed it up on Thursday, they were faced with fine weather and perfect golfing conditions.
Titleist golf ball loyalists Gary Orr and Steve Webster (both 2009 Pro V1x users) obviously got to grips with the course and the conditions as they finished joint runners-up – with Webster combining good driving and table topping GIR stats to put himself in contention. Full line Titleist players Soren Hansen, Ben Curtis and Rory McIlroy all put in good performances to see them finish well up the leaderboard.
The Titleist Tour Team was working hard with a number of Titleist staffers this week as they sought to try a few new options. Martin Erlandsson was looking for a new driver and following a successful fitting was built a 909D3 8.5°. The Driver is was fitted with a Fujikura Rombax 6X07 shaft (tipped two inches) and a Golf Pride Multi Compound grip (red / black reversed). Martin and his caddie Chino walked the course with Titleist Fitting Technician Mattias Jelver to see how the new driver performed and we’ll be looking out for updates over the coming weeks.
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June 3rd, 2009
Whilst the focus of this week’s Tour Blog is, of course, the BMW PGA Championship we could hardly let last week’s amazing climax to the 3 Irish Open pass by without comment. It’s not every week that an amateur golfer, making his debut appearance on the European Tour, walks away with the trophy. But that’s exactly what happened in Baltray this past weekend. Not only that but the amateur in question chose a full bag of Titleist equipment including the Pro V1x to claim what can only be described as an historic victory. Incredible stuff!!
Talking of history, this week’s BMW PGA Championship comes from a venue that has seen its fair share of historic moments over the years; the magnificent West Course at Wentworth Golf Club, Surrey, England. The Harry Colt designed course has seen a number of alterations in recent years and, at 7300 yards, is a stiff test for even the world’s best players. That said, with a €4.5 million prize fund, and one of the most prestigious titles on the European Tour calendar on offer, every player in the field will want to bring their A-game to the event and write their name in the history books. A world class field has assembled for the event and, as you would expect, Titleist has strong representation with the following brand ambassadors all in the hunt for PGA Championship glory.
| Robert Karlsson |
Rory McIlroy |
Ross Fisher |
| Ben Curtis |
Gregory Bourdy |
Scott Strange |
| Pablo Larrazzabal |
Mikko Ilonen |
Brett Rumford |
| Soren Hasen |
Tano Goya |
Michael Hoey |
| Rob Dinwiddie |
Martin Erlandsson |
Paul Waring |
| Peter O’Malley |
Seve Benson |
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May 22nd, 2009
The European Tour rolled into Drogheda, Ireland this week for a taste of links golf at the 3 Irish Open. County Louth Golf Club, or “Baltray” as it is more affectionately known, plays host to the event for the first time since 2004 and, following a number of weeks of parkland golf, will offer the players a very different challenge. A combination of heavily contoured links land and strong, blustery winds will place particular emphasis on a player’s shot-making ability. Any player losing control of their ball flight will find their hopes of glory quickly blown away.
As mentioned in last week’s post the focus in the run-up to the event was very much aimed at young Titleist Ambassador Rory McIlroy. A definite fan’s favourite wherever he tees it up and hailing from Holywood, Northern Ireland, Rory will receive particularly vociferous support from the Irish crowds who can always be relied upon to cheer their sporting heroes. You need only check this week’s slide show for evidence of this.
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May 15th, 2009
This week’s leg of the inaugural Race to Dubai sees the European Tour visit a new venue for the 66th playing of the BMW Italian Open. The Royal Park Golf Club near Torino is the chosen venue for the event, a course which sits in the shadows of the magnificent Italian Alps. This par 71, Robert Trent Jones Snr-designed layout is certainly picturesque, offering wonderful views of The Alps. But it is the on-course features that must remain the focus of any player looking to challenge for the title this week. It’s certainly easy to be distracted by the serene Alpine location but with tree-lined fairways, penal rough, small greens and numerous water hazards, the course will punish any player not totally focused on their shot. The players will certainly be tested by this challenging 7222 yard layout and the eventual winner will need every part of their game to be in full working order.
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May 8th, 2009
Girona, Spain is this week’s destination for the European Tour as the Stadium Course at PGA Golf Catalunya plays host to the Open de Espana for first time since the year 2000. The 7172 yard, par 72 layout is in great shape for the event and, with the fairways and greens in pristine condition, four days of low scoring is expected from a high quality field. Titleist Ambassador Soren Hansen certainly delivered a low score on day one as he set the pace with a stunning, course record setting 63 (-9). Round two has seen the likeable Dane consolidate his position with a solid two under par 70. Lying in second place Soren is sure to contend for the title over the weekend.
The players haven’t had an opportunity to utilise the facilities of the Titleist Tour Support Vehicle (TTSV) since the beginning of April, due to a break in the schedule during Masters week and two consecutive events in Asia. Its appearance this week in Spain saw many players approach the team to work on their equipment. The reputation of the 909 metals continues to strengthen and lots of players have received fittings for new 909 products this week.
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May 1st, 2009
There really is only one place to start with this week’s Blog and that is with a quick look back at last week’s Volvo China Open where Titleist ambassador Scott Strange emerged victorious. We felt compelled to mention Scott in last week’s post as he was showing such strong form during practice and it was great to see this form continue through the event. Scott saved his best for last as he carded a stunning final round 68 (-4) on Sunday, including three birdies in the final five holes, to take victory by a single shot. The tournament was Scott’s first event played with the new 2009 Pro V1 and it’s fair to say the switch yielded instant results. In addition to the new ball, Scott also trusted a full bag of Titleist equipment to claim his second career European Tour title, including the 909D2 driver and AP2 Forged irons.
Many congratulations to Scott from the Titleist team!!
This week’s event takes us to South Korea’s Jeju Island and the magnificent Pinx Golf Club for the Ballantine’s Championship, an event tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and Korean PGA Tour. Another cosmopolitan field is punctuated by a number of big names which includes European Tour stalwart Lee Westwood, yet another player to have recently made the switch to the new Titleist Pro V1x.
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April 24th, 2009
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