The European Tour makes only its third ever trip to India for this week’s Avantha Masters at the DFL Golf & Country Club in the hustling, bustling capital city of New Dehli. Whilst India isn’t the first name that springs to mind when you mention the game of golf it is certainly one of the world’s emerging golf markets and more and more professional players are starting to emerge from the country, the likes of Jeev Milkha Singh, Shiv Kapur and Jyoti Rhandawa probably being the most recognisable of these.
One name from India that you may not yet be familiar with is that of Gaganjeet Bhullar. Gaganjeet is currently ranked 115th on the Official World Golf Rankings and this week makes a rare European Tour start at the Avantha Masters. The Titleist Ambassador plays the majority of his golf on the Asian Tour and last week tasted victory in fine style at the Asian Tour International Trophy where he closed with a course record 64 (-8) to take the title by a single stroke. At just 21 years of age the future looks bright for Gaganjeet and he will be keen to cut his teeth on the European Tour and build on a bright start to his career on the worldwide professional Tours. Congratulations to Gaganjeet on last week’s win, we look forward to seeing more of him on the European Tour in the years to come.
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Another player making a start on the European Tour this week is current Challenge Tour player Lee Slattery. Lee dropped back to the Challenge Tour having failed to keep his card in 2009 but will still receive a number of starts on the European Tour in 2010 thanks to his category 12 exemption courtesy of a 136th place finish on the inaugural Race to Dubai. Lee received a late invite to this week’s Avantha Masters which he was understandably keen to take but there was one small issue, his irons and wedges, which did not conform to the new R&A groove regulations. However, the Titleist Tour Team is always on a heightened state of readiness in case of such emergencies and Lee was soon in possession of a brand new set of Titleist CB irons and two Vokey Spin Milled C-C wedges made to his specific requirements. Player and clubs seem to have immediately taken a liking to each other and two solid opening rounds of 70 (-2) and 69 (-3) have Lee inside the top-20 places on the leaderboard and in position for a strong finish. Lee was Challenge Tour Order of Merit winner back in 2004 and will be looking for a similar year as he seeks to regain full European Tour playing privileges for 2011. One thing’s for sure, he will certainly have Titleist on his side in 2010 as his new irons and wedges may soon be joined by new 909 metals which are waiting for Lee on his return from India. We wish him all the very best for the season.
Lee Slattery
Model: Titleist CB
Composition: 2-PW
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S300
Length: +1/4” (#6 Iron @ 37.75”)
Lie: Std (#6 Iron @ 62.5°)
Loft: 1° Strong (#6 Iron @ 30°)
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweight: D3
Model: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C
Loft / Bounce: 52.08 & 58.08
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Length: Std
Lie: Std
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweight: 52° @ D3, 58° @ D5
Model: Titleist 909D2
Loft: 9.5°
Shaft: Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Whiteboard 73 X-Flex
Length: 44.5”
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweight: D3
Model: Titleist 909F2
Loft: 13.5°
Shaft: Titleist Speeder Fairway by Fujikura X-Flex
Length: 43”
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweight: D3
Model: Titleist 909H
Loft: 17°
Shaft: Aldila NV-85 Hybrid X-Flex
Length: 41”
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet .580 Round (+1/64”)
Swingweight: D3
Next week sees a break in European Tour action as the world’s top players head to Arizona for the WGC Accenture World Match Play Championship. With $8.5 million to play for the competition will be intense and a number of Titleist Ambassadors, including new world #2 Steve Stricker, recent Qatar Master Champion Robert Karlsson and current world #7 Rory McIlroy will be among the favourites to contend. The Blog will be back in early March from the Malaysian capital city of Kuala Lumpar for the Maybank Malaysian Open but for now it’s goodbye from New Dehli.
February 12th, 2010
There really is only one place to start on this week’s Blog and that’s with a look back to the Qatar Masters where Titleist Ambassador Robert Karlsson claimed a comeback victory. Since claiming the European Tour Order of Merit title in 2008 Robert has been unlucky with injury but, after battling a persistent eye problem for the majority of the 2009 season, he is now back to full fitness and back on form. This was evident last week in Qatar as the Swede birdied the 71st and 72nd hole for a bogey-free closing round of 65 (-7) to claim victory by a three-stroke margin. We would like to congratulate Robert on his tenth career European Tour victory; it’s great to see him back on top form after such a disrupted 2009 season and his return to the winner’s circle is a welcome site for all European golf fans as we head towards the Ryder Cup in September. As proved in 2008, a confident Karlsson is a hard man to beat and it would be no surprise to see him in contention this week at the Dubai Desert Classic. Grattis Robert!!!
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Talking of which, that’s exactly where we are coming from with this week’s Blog. The Emirates Club, Dubai is once again the host venue for the coveted Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament which consistently attracts some of world golf’s biggest names. This year is no exception and a stellar field is once again in attendance. The aforementioned Robert Karlsson will be strongly fancied after tasting success last week in Qatar and current European #1 and Pro V1x loyalist Lee Westwood will also be one to watch. But we couldn’t come to Dubai and not mention the reigning champion, Rory McIlroy. Rory claimed his maiden European Tour victory at this event 12 months ago and goes into this season’s Dubai Desert Classic as one of the most consistent performers in world golf. Rory has finished fifth or better in each of his last five European Tour events and is seemingly in contention whenever and wherever he tees it up. This week is no different and Rory is certainly in no mood to relinquish his crown without a fight as opening rounds of 68 (-4) and 70 (-2) would testify. Rory is currently one shot off the halfway lead and in a strong position to mount a successful title challenge.
During the practice days in Dubai the Titleist Tour Team spent some time working with Portugese Titleist Ambassador Jose Filipe Lima. Jose is back on the European Tour after a successful season on the Challenge Tour in 2009 and will be looking to produce the sort of form that saw him record a European Tour victory at the Saint Omer Open in 2004. Jose took time out during his practice session to work with Tour Technician Phil Dimmock on his driver set-up. Using a Trackman launch monitor, the test revealed that his current 909D2 8.5° was not quite producing the optimum spin rate causing the ball to drop out of the sky a little early. This lack of spin also made it harder for Jose to turn the ball over and hit the little draw that he likes with the driver. Fortunately, the fix for Jose was very straight forward with the switch to a higher lofted head producing the required result. Specifications for Jose’s new driver are detailed below:
Jose Filipe Lima
Model: 909D2
Loft: 9.5°
Shaft: Aldila V*ooDoo XDV6 X-Flex
Length: 45”
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Ribbed .580 (Std)
Swingweight: D3
Denmark’s Soren Hansen was another player to make a tweak to his driver set-up this week in Dubai. Soren has been using the Aldila RIP 70 X-Flex shaft in his 909D2 (9.5°) but felt this specification was yielding too much spin. After consultation with the team Soren decided to go back to a shaft that worked very well in his old Titleist 905R driver, the Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Whiteboard. The Diamana Whiteboard is designed with a strong tip section which helps reduce spin and is a shaft that has found favour with a number of hard-hitting Titleist players over the past couple of seasons. Soren’s full driver specification is detailed below.
Soren Hansen
Model: 909D2
Loft: 9.5°
Shaft: Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana Whiteboard 73 X-Flex
Length: 45”
Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Ribbed .580 (Std)
Swingweight: D3
A quick glance at the halfway leaderboard in Dubai would suggest another enthralling weekend ahead of us with the likes of Westwood, McIlroy and Karlsson all in contention. This is the final week of the European Tour’s ‘desert swing’ before moving on to an entirely new venue for the inaugural Avantha Masters in New Delhi, India. The new event marks a new destination for the European Tour and the sights and sounds of one of the world’s most bustling cities will provide a unique backdrop for this event (and a new experience for the Titleist Tour Team!!). We will report back from our voyage of discovery at the same time next week.
February 5th, 2010
