Omega European Masters
This week the European Tour makes its yearly pilgrimage to the stunning Alpine town of Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland for the Omega European Masters. The golf club at Crans-sur-Sierre has hosted a European Tour event every year since 1971 and remains one of the most popular events on Tour with the players, not least because many of them have holiday homes nearby. This year’s event brings with it a notable first for the European Tour as it becomes the first on European soil to be co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour. That said we are pleased to welcome some of our Titleist Ambassadors from the Asian Tour including 18-year old Sung-Yul Noh from Korea (look out for him in the future, he’s a big talent!!)
Click here to view the slideshow
Titleist Ambassadors in the field:
European Tour
Rory McIlroy
Gregory Bourdy
Scott Strange
Pablo Larazzabal
Brett Rumford
Tano Goya
Michael Hoey
Robert Dinwiddie
Martin Erlandsson
Peter O’Malley
Seve Benson
Callum Macaulay
Carlos Del Moral
Branden Grace
Chinnarat Phadungsil
Asian Tour
Mitchell Brown
Gaganjeet Bhullar
Seung-yul Noh
Rick Kulacz
Adam Blyth
The course at Crans-sur-Sierre is situated 1500 metres above sea level and the altitude will cause players to hit the ball further this week. However, despite the thin Alpine air, the par-71 layout is relatively short at just over 6800 yards in length. Scoring at Crans-sur-Sierre is usually terrific and the same is expected this week with playing conditions nothing short of perfect. The tournament record is set at 260 (-24) but it would be no surprise to see someone get close to that mark this week.
The location high in the Swiss Alps makes it very difficult for heavy goods vehicles to access the event so there was no Titleist Tour Support Vehicle at the event. Equipment work was therefore limited but the event did see two Titleist Ambassadors give a new set of irons there competitive birth. The first player to make a switch is the reigning Estoril Open de Portugal champion; Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey. Michael has made the switch to the new Titleist MB irons. We had the chance to catch up with him during practice where he commented on how solid the new clubs felt at impact. Hoey also feels that his new clubs are a little longer through the air than his previous set.
Michael Hoey
Model: Titleist MB
Composition: 3-PW
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100
Length: Standard (#6 Iron @ 37.5″)
Lie: 1° Upright (#6 Iron @ 63.5°)
Loft: Standard
Grips: Lamkin Crossline Round (+1/64″)
Swingweight: D3
The second player to make a switch at Crans-sur-Sierre was Sweden’s Martin Erlandsson. Martin chose this week to put a set of the new Titleist AP2 irons in play which is a terrific endorsement for the clubs given his recent hot form. Martin has been performing final round heroics in recent weeks. A final round of 63 (-7) at the KLM Dutch Open gave him a tie for 15th whilst a stunning 62 (-10) at last weeks Johnnie Walker Championships gave him a second place finish. Martin will be looking for his new AP2 irons to help fire him into the top 60 of The Race to Dubai and secure qualification for the season ending Dubai World Championship. We will watch his progress with great interest.
Martin Erlandsson
Model: Titleist AP2
Composition: 3-PW
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S300
Length: Standard (#6 Iron @ 37.50″)
Lie: Standard (#6 @ 62.5° )
Loft: 1° Strong
Grips: Golf Pride Multi-Compound .580 Round (Red/Black)
Swingweight: D3
Model:
Whilst on site at Crans-sur-Sierre we took the opportunity to have peek into the bag of Titleist Ambassador Rory McIlroy who is back at the event looking to go one better than last year’s playoff defeat. We thought our blog readers would be particularly interested to see Rory’s selection of Vokey wedges, images of which can be found in this week’s slideshow. Rory has five Wedge options available to him on any given day and will select his loft combination based on the set-up of the course. Rory is one of the longest drivers on the European Tour, averaging over 300 yards for the 2009 season, which means wedge is a popular club for his approach shots. It is therefore vital that Rory maximises this area of his game and having the right combination of wedges in the bag affords Rory more options and gives more versatility to his shot selection.
Rory McIlroy
Wedge 1
Model: Vokey Design 200 Series – Raw Finish
Loft / Bounce: 48.10 (adjusted to 46°)
Shaft: True Temper Project X 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride Multi-Compound .580 Ribbed (Yellow/Black)
Wedge 2
Model: Vokey Design Prototype- Tour Chrome Finish
Loft / Bounce: 52.12
Shaft: True Temper Project X 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride Multi-Compound .580 Ribbed (Yellow/Black)
Wedge 3
Model: Vokey Design Spin Milled - Tour Chrome Finish
Loft / Bounce: 54.10
Shaft: True Temper Project X 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride Multi-Compound .580 Ribbed (Yellow/Black)
Wedge 4
Model: Vokey Design Spin Milled - Tour Chrome Finish
Loft / Bounce: 56.11
Shaft: True Temper Project X 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride Multi-Compound .580 Ribbed (Yellow/Black)
Wedge 5
Model: Vokey Design Spin Milled - Raw Finish – TK Grind
Loft / Bounce: 60.04
Shaft: True Temper Project X 6.5
Grip: Golf Pride Multi-Compound .580 Ribbed (Yellow/Black)
That’s all from this week in the beautiful Swiss Alps but we’ll be back at the same time next week reporting from the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne, Germany. Competition will undoubtedly be fierce with a strong field assembling, but the event will sadly be missing defending champion Robert Karlsson who is continuing his recovery from an eye problem. We hope to have Robert back out on links in the not too distant future.
Add comment September 4th, 2009
