Euro Tour. Diamond Joost Wins Lyoness Open.

Bright Diamond, Dutchman Joost Luiten won the European Tour Lyoness Open title in Austria on Sunday.

Joost Luiten / Getty Images

Joost had a final round of -1 under par, 71 which was good enough to win him the Lyoness Open trophy at the Diamond Country Club, in a weather delayed afternoon in Austria. His final total of -17 under par was two shots ahead of Dane Thomas Björn, who finished alone in second place at -15 under par for the tournament.

Joost was obviously very happy with his win, his previous victory came in the Iskandar Johor Open in 2011;

“It’s been a great week so I am really, really happy. It was a long day, I started off with a bogey but I hit the ball nicely so I just wanted to focus on that, hit the greens, two-putt and make the others chase me. Unfortunately I made a few mistakes on the greens and didn’t make a lot of putts, but in the end I was three clear after my birdie on 16 and that gave me a little bit of air. It’s always nice to finish par, par and hold the trophy.”

Joost spoke about the one hour weather delay, due to the threat of lightning in the area;

“At that time I wanted to play on but it was good to have a break for me because I wasn’t playing really well so I just had some food and tried to focus again and went out there and tried to make pars and sneak in a birdie and that’s what I did.”

Thomas rued the minor golfing mishaps he endured, but was gracious in defeat;

“I played very well at the weekend but I just didn’t do enough today. I bogeyed the sixth and that made it a tough challenge, but I played well down the stretch and tried to put some pressure on.I was unfortunate on the 17th with the bounce. I never really applied enough pressure. But I came here to win or to at least get a top ten and I’ve done that and I’m pretty happy.I hit a lot of good shots. I was a little too aggressive with the putt on the 16th. They didn’t quite drop today, but I putted really well all week and that’s the biggest thing I’ve been struggling with for a long time. It’s been nice to putt well two weeks in a row. Joost has been knocking on the door for a long, long time and he’s a great player so I have to take my hat off to him. He played some wonderful golf this week and deserves it as much as anyone else on Tour. I played with him last week on Sunday and he’s got everything to make him a world-class player. He’s carried himself well when he’s come close to winning but not done it, so hats off to him, he deserves it.”

Third place was shared by Liang Wen-chong from China and Frenchman Romain Wattel, both finished the tournament on -14 under par.

Euro Tour. Lyoness Open, Joost Jumps Into Three shot Lead.

In the European Tour Lyoness Open third round Joost Luiten has jumped into a three shot lead at the Diamond Country Club in Austria.

Joost Luiten / Getty Images

Joost took a leaf out of the balloon’s performance and took off during the third round with a -5 under par, 67 that elevated the Dutchman to the top of the leaderboard at -16 under par, and three shots clear of the field going into the final round.

Joost said he found it easy;

“It’s easy if you play like I did on the back nine, but the first fives holes were tough. Once I settled down a bit I started to play better, hit some good shots and make some putts. The first hole you’re always nervous. It’s always better to be leading than be behind. I don’t mind playing with the lead.”

Tied in second place at -13 under par are the Spanish armada of Jorge Campillo and Eduardo De La Riva, who will be fighting to chase down the leader all the way to the end on Sunday. These two are the only ones who realistically have a chance to challenge for the lead during the final round.

Round of the day went to Thomas Björn of Denmark who had a sparkling third round at the Diamond Country Club of -8 under par 64. This score fired him up the leaderboard for a share of fourth place at -11 under par. His polished performance started to shine in strange circumstances on the par fourth 12th hole, when he was contemplating changing his ball , then saw his approach shot find the hole;

” I hit the drive and I said to my caddie to change the ball at the next hole as the flight was a bit funny. Then I holed the second shot and he looked at me and said, flying funny is it. I’ve been plodding along and playing alright but not great. Something clicked into place today and I couldn’t stop making birdies on the back nine.”

Thomas could produce another sparkling round tomorrow, but Joost is the one holding all the aces at the Diamond Country Club.

 

 

Euro Tour. Luiten Lights Up Lyoness Open.

Joost Luiten shining second round lights up the Lyoness Open on the European Tour at the Diamond Country Club, in Austria.

Joost Luiten / Getty Images

Joost Luiten shot a second round of -4 under par, 68 to break clear of the pack and lead the Lyoness Open by one shot at -11 under par.

Joost said he round was good, and the rough meant you had to play smart golf;

“It was good “I hit some nice shots in close for birdie. I didn’t make as many putts as yesterday but I’m really happy with the score. On this course you know you’re going to make a few bogeys but there are a lot of chances for birdie as well. You just have to try to stay patient and I think I did that well today. The greens are great, maybe the best of the season. They’ve had a lot of rain but they’re still probably the best greens we’ve played on this year. They hold the shots going in and they are quick. What a good job they’ve done here. You have to play smart on some holes and it’s playing long, the rough is very tough.”

There are three players tied in second place at -10 under par, Paul Waring, Callum Macaulay and Eduardo De La Riva.

Spaniard Eduardo is a Qualifying School graduate, and started his second round with an eagle at the long tenth, and finished it with five birdies in his last seven holes which propelled him into contention.

Eduardo was very happy with his round and his putting;

” Five birdies in the last few holes is very good, and the last two holes were only from a couple of inches. I’ve played very good in some tournaments but I’ve had some problems with my putter. With some good work it’s better, today I putted very well and I’m very happy.”

Paul was also happy, especially as his wrist problems have gone away;

“I’m very happy, I finished a little bit poorly but I played awful the last few weeks to be honest so it’s nice to feel I have got my swing back where it needs to be. I did a lot of work after missing the cut in Sweden and because I know the course here I even had Tuesday at home practising before flying out. The wrist is absolutely fine now, nothing to worry about, which is nice. I can go and play golf and practise as much as I want and we are starting to see some results out of it.”

Cullum has his brother on the bag this week, and it appears to have been a good selection;

“It’s unchartered waters for the last two or three years, and if I’m being honest it’s come out of nowhere. I’ve had a really poor start to the season and I’ve worked exceptionally hard to improve, but things haven’t been going my way. I did a lot of work last weekend in Sweden with Scott Arnold, who also missed the cut, and he made a couple of suggestions. It was very simple, I was de-lofting my irons on the way back and not getting any height. It’s taken a lot of repetition and it still feels a little bit funny, but I just need to keep hitting balls and get more comfortable. This sport can change in a heartbeat and you have to keep plodding along hoping things will turn. This is a big step in the right direction. I’ve got my brother caddying for me this week and he’s always pretty cool no matter what. It’ll be new for me playing in the last few groups in a European Tour event, but that’s why we play the game. We want to get better every week.”

Euro Tour. Lyoness Open. Tom Lewis Leads.

Tom Lewis, from England, leads after the first round of the Lyoness Open, powered by Greenfinity, at the Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg, Austria.

Tom Lewis / Getty Images

Tom Lewis stamped his authority on the Lyoness Open with an opening bogey free round of -9 under par 63, which gave him a two shot lead over the field.

Tom said it was really only his putting today that made the difference between today and the rest of his year;

“It’s a great start, “I had some good fortune around the 17th and 18th, which was my front nine, and that made the back nine more relaxed. I holed a lot of putts, which was really the only difference between today and the rest of the year. This year’s been tough but I’ve been very close and shown a lot of good stuff. Today it all came together and if I can have three more rounds like that I’ll be alright. I always seem to throw in a double bogey in a round or a tournament and it pushes me out of contention. I’ve got to try to limit the mistakes and not get too down on myself, and I’ve been working hard on that with a lot of people. I’ve got a lot of support from friends and family, and good coaches, so with a bit of talent I’ve got no excuses.We travel so much and there’s so many different places, grasses, time differences – it can get to a lot of players. Some weeks you’re feeling great and some weeks you’re not. I need to turn the great weeks into really great weeks, and the not so great weeks I need to grind it out. I’ve got high expectations and not very much patience. Because I’ve struggled the last year or so I’ve lowered my expectations, which has been a good thing and has got my confidence back up. Hopefully I can get off to a good start tomorrow and make a few birdies early on. If I make a few mistakes, which I will this week, I just need to not get down on myself and I’ll be fine.”

Dutchman Joost Luiten is in second place, with his opening round of -7 under par, 65, he also said his putter was his best friend today;

“It always feels good to have a great score in the first round, I was four under after four and that keeps the round going. I hit a lot of fairways and greens and the putter was my best friend today. The course is starting to dry out but you don’t get any roll on the ball. The greens are very good so you can really make some putts. The weather was perfect today and there was no wind, which was good because when it’s windy it’s a very tough golf course. I played well two years ago which was my first and only time here. I finished third, so I know I can play well on this course and I showed it again today. It doesn’t matter who’s the favourite, you just have to go out and shoot as low a score as possible.”

There are four players tied in third place, all at -6 under par, they are; Graeme Storm, Alexander Levy, Richard McEvoy and Simon Dyson.

Graeme thought he should have been at -8 under, the way he played, but missed some chances;

“I stayed very composed and tee to green I played as well as I could have, I think I only missed three greens and I holed a few nice putts. I felt as though I could have shot eight under today, but I missed a couple of chances. It’s slightly disappointing bogeying the last as I had the perfect yardage for a six iron. I just pulled it a bit, which I did with a couple of irons in the last few holes, so I’ll be going to the range after lunch to fix that. Other than that I played great all day. I had a nice little run on seven, eight and nine, and should have birdied the tenth as well.”

Defending champion and home favorite Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, had consecutive birdies at the sixth and seventh as he opened his account here with a -4 under par. 68.

“I’m not ecstatic, but it’s a good start, I kept it together well and had to scramble a lot, especially on my front nine. On the back nine I had a few chances and managed to take a few of them. I started with a 71 last year so this is three better. Hopefully that means I can get to 20 under this time.”

DP World Tour Championship, Its Luke and Rory Tied at the Top

Luke & Rory/ Getty Images

The World number one Rory McIlroy and World number two Luke Donald are tied at the top of the DP World Tour Championship after three rounds at the Jumeirah Golf Estates Earth Course in Dubai. Both of these splendid players have a Tournament score of -17 under par, attaining that number with third rounds of -6 under par 66′s.

 Luke  has amazingly extended his bogey free run at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course to 100 holes, that was good enough to distance himself from the rest of the field, with the exception of the World number one Rory, who started with a bogey at the first, but that was cancelled out by five birdies and an eagle at the long 14th.

100 holes without a bogey at this tournament, Luke could not believe it:

“I’m not sure I can believe that, that’s pretty good. I guess that’s my style, I don’t make too many mistakes. It’s going to be fun, great for the crowd and everyone watching around the world. Hopefully we can make some birdies.”

Rory said he had suffered another bad night with his fever, it did not show his golf;

“I woke up at four and was not feeling great, but I guess the adrenaline keeps you going when playing, “

When informed about Luke’s wondrous  run without a bogey, Rory smiled and replied,

“He must be due one. I think everyone is looking forward to the Number One and Number Two duel tomorrow, and that’s the way it’s panned out. I know I’m excited about it, and I’m sure a lot of people are. It will be a great way to finish the 2012 European Tour season.”

Joint halfway leader Marc Warren could only manage a par round of 72 to stay at -11 under par, now six shots behind Luke and Rory. Tied in second place at -14 under par are South African Major Champions Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, with four-time European Tour winner Branden Grace and Dutchman Joost Luiten two shots further back at -12 under par.

Given the Status of the leading pair, everyone else is probably too far back to make an impact in this Tournament, so it’s down to Luke and Rory to put on a show for the watching and waiting World.

 

Handa Wales Open @ Celtic Manor, Jaidee Wins

Thongchai Jaidee (Getty Images)

Thongchai Jaidee won the Handa Wales Open at a wet and windy Celtic Manor to claim his first European Tour win on European soil, all four of his previous victories on his home continent. Thongchai’s last round 72 gave him a tournament total of -6 under par, to win by one shot from Thomas Bjorn, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano, Joost Luiten and Richard Sterne, who all finished at -5 under par.

Thongchai was really pleased with his win. albeit with rules officials assistance;

” I want to say thank you to all my family, all the supporters and the sponsors here. Conditions were quite tough for me. I tried to hit everything on the fairway, that’s the main thing, then hit the ball on the green. It was very, very tough for me, not like Thailand!”

 Ross Fisher finished at -4 under par and left with far less happy memories this time after being penalised a shot for slow play when one off the lead. Ross  fell foul of European Tour rules when he took too long over shots at the 11th and 14th holes, exceeding the allocated 40 seconds on both occasions. By comparison, Joost Luiten was told to speed up, but no penalty stroke awarded. Would be interesting if they used this 40 second rule on the USPGA Tour, the amount of time some of those players take, they could be in danger of losing a few players at each tournament.

So golf is now another one of those sports where the winner is decided by officials, rather than the team or player who actually performs better but just gets a contentious call from officialdom. Are all the officials on the course presented with a stop watch at the start of play everyday ?

Ross commented after the tournament;

” I don’t think it’s justice, but there you go.”

Handa Wales Open @ Celtic Manor,Thongnchai Jaidee leads by one.

Thongchai Jaidee (Getty Images)

Thongchai Jaidee has given himself an opportunity to register his first victory on European soil as a third round -4 under par,67  in the Handa Wales Open at Celtic Manor puts him in the lead at  the top of the leader board. The Thai golfer now has an advantage in the ISPS Handa Wales Open,  over second round leader Ross Fisher, who could only muster a par third round and also Joost Luiten. Joost had an amazing third round of -7 under par 64, which propelled him up the leader board into tied for second place.

Thongchai is excited by the opportunity to win in on European soil for the first time;

 I’ve won a lot of times in Asia and I’ve played well a lot of times in Asia. In Europe, it’s very important for me to do well because the weather is going to be very difficult for me. I’ve learned a lot of things, how to play with these conditions. I think this time it’s a very good chance. You never know how it’s going to be tomorrow, but I’ll try to give it my best and look forward. If I keep my game plan like this, I have a good chance. I’ll play my own game, the best thing to do is to hit fairways, hit the greens and putt well. That’s my key tomorrow.”

The 42-year-old Thongchai birdied the par five 18th after an incredible drive measured at 410 yards,and then only needed a seven iron second to the 575 yard hole. He unfortunately pushed it into a bunker, but made a 12 foot putt for the outright lead.

 He was pleasantly surprised with the drive;

“I think 320 is the longest for me, so when we got to the top of the hill I asked ‘where’s the ball?’ and a marshal told me. I thought it was 390, but 410 sounds better.” He

Ross Fisher stubbed his toe in his hotel room on Friday night;

“There were a few expletives and it was extremely painful. I couldn’t put any weight on it and half-contemplated playing in trainers.
One of the toes is as purple as anything. I iced it and two of the toes were strapped together, but I hit it everywhere and I’m glad to finish. It would mean a lot to win. I set very high standards and I reached 17th in the world, so I know I have the game. “

“Given where I hit it that’s one of the best level par rounds I’ve ever had. I hung in there and dug deep.

Dutchman, Tim Sluiter is another shot further back after his third round score of  -3 under par, 68, and is alone with a tournament total of -5 under par.

Germany’s Marcel Siem has made a remarkable recovery from yesterday’s poor round, to shoot a third round -5 under par 66, which has put him in good position to maybe have a say in the outcome of this tournament tomorrow.