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. Nordea Masters. Mikko Makes It His Trophy

Mikko Ilonen made the European Tour Nordea Masters his trophy with a last round -3 under par 69 for a total score of -21 under par.

Mikko Ilonen / Getty Images

Mikko, from Finland, claimed his first win for six years at the Nordea Masters on the Bros Hof Slott Golf Course in Sweden. He actually won this event in 2007, and said it was special to it again, apart from the bogey at the 12th hole;

“It’s pretty special, I could feel a lot of support from Finland, especially today. I just got ahead of myself with the first putt. I’ve said for weeks now it doesn’t really bother me if I make a bogey because I know I can make it up and it was the first time I went for the 13th in two. To bounce back this soon is really good, it’s really satisfying, but the show I saw in China. I didn’t lose the tournament, Brett won it, so hats off to him.Obviously I’ve been waiting for this moment for a few weeks now. People have been expecting me to win but most of all I’ve been expecting myself to win, so to pull it off here after those second places is very satisfying. It’s been a long time since I won but I haven’t forgotten how it felt. In life there are ups and downs and I’ve found a better balance now. Life is good, my family is good and golf is alright, so I can’t complain.”

Local boy Jonas Blixt. who plays most of his golf on the US PGA Tour where he won last year,  took second place. He was three shots back at -18 under par, a last round effort of -4 under par, 68, just not quite enough for him to get first place for Sweden;

“I’m pretty happy about the way I played this week, I didn’t win but I made a good run at it so that’s what I’m happy about. It’s been fantastic and I’m never going to forget this. It’s been nothing but amazing this week, it is cool to come home and have people screaming and cheering, and I don’t really get that in the States so much, it’s awesome.”

Austrian Bernd Wiesberger was in third place alone on -17 under par for the tournament. Italian Matteo Manassero finished in a tie for fourth place at -16 under par. He shared that score with Dane Thomas Björn and Swede, Rikard Karlberg.

 

European Tour, Barclays Singapore Open. 1st round Play Suspended

Thomas Bjorn/ Getty Images

European Tour event the Barclays Singapore Open got off to a slow start as play was suspended midway through the day. Thomas Bjorn, of Denmark was the clubhouse leader at the suspension of play, with his -5 under par round of  66 at the Sentosa Golf Club. Thomas had won three times on the European Tour last year, but has yet to record a victory in 2012, but he said he always enjoys coming to Singapore, commenting that it is not a long course;

“I came here and saw the golf course, and knew that everything was about driving the golf ball well. It’s not the longest golf course in the world, so if you can keep it in the fairway you can produce a score, and I did that very well today. It’s only round one though, so we’ll work from here. I always enjoy coming to Singapore and Malaysia., you have got to pace yourself a little bit, and not use too much energy through the week. It is quite nice for the body to be feeling nice and warm out there, with no cold for the old joints to get you into trouble”

There are three players who have finished at -4 under are, they are Simon Khan, Chinnarat Phadungsil and Pablo Martin. The former BMW PGA Champion Simon Khan led the way for most of the morning but slipped up with two bogeys in his last three holes, Simon remarked on the heat out on the course;

“The heat wasn’t quite as intense first thing, but it soon warms up here. Round the front nine I really got it going nicely but on the back nine maybe I didn’t hit it quite where I wanted to. I dropped my first shot on sixteen, trying to get a bit cute between clubs, then just hit a bad tee shot on the last. I wasn’t really concentrating on the tee, I think by that point the heat had got to me a little bit, but overall I was pleased how I handled it today, and it’s a good start.”

Pablo Martin needs to climb 51 places by the end of next week to retain his playing privileges and to hopefully avoid a trip to the Qualifying School, he hopes he can put together four good rounds this week and is yearning for some good luck;

“I haven’t been playing or scoring well all year really. I haven’t been able to put together four decent rounds in a row, which has been very frustrating. But hopefully my luck will turn here, and this can be my week. I’ve got two tournaments left until the end of the season, so I want to make the most of them and finish the season strongly.”

Phil Mickelson has had a miserable day, finishing at +2 over par, after his opening round of 73. Rory McIlroy has played eight holes and is cruising along at par, while Adam Scott has completed his round at par. Play will resume early Friday morning, preceding the second round.

I was expecting some much lower scores on this course, as the players have been allowed to pick and place the ball, just because there there could be some mud on the ball. Play the ball as it lies, that is what we all have to do.

I am going on a golf trip at the weekend, and there is no WIFI where I am going so will have to catch up reporting on this tournament when I return.

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.”

Brandt severely jet Lagged, and minus clubs in Spain

Martin/Getty Images

Brandt Snedeker has had a nightmare flight from Miami to Madrid to compete in The Volvo World Match Play Championship. The aircraft  had to make an emergency landing after a passenger suffered a heart attack, and required urgent medical attention. After about a four hour delay on the ground, Brandt finally arrived in Malaga, minus his suitcase and clubs. Brandt was forced to use a makeshift set for Wednesday’s pro-am, he said of his extra long flight;

“It’s been weird. It’s been a long couple of days, but it’s worth it to get here. We had to make the emergency landing in the middle of the ocean out in the Azores and spent three or four hours on the runway dealing with that situation. So I’m a bit tired. I’m trying my best not to nap before tonight, that will be the main thing. I love match play. The one-on-one situations, when you can dictate the match by how you play, there is a lot of strategy involved. I love having one man to beat instead of 130-140 other guys. There’s a lot more pressure on every putt, which I kind of like.”

He tee’s off on Thursday against Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, both of them are the only representatives of their respective countries.  He will need a good night’s sleep before he starts his bid to become the first U.S. player to win the event since Mark O’Meara in 1998.

Brandt missed out on selection for the 2010 Ryder Cup, but believes he’s in good shape to make the team for the first time.

“There’s a long way to go before that, but that’s a main goal of mine this year,” he said. “There’s a lot of golf left, but winning this week would be a step in the right direction.

“I’m trying to get back into form after missing the cut at the Players last week, but I’m not too far off. I have been playing some good golf and my short game’s in good shape. I love coming over to Europe, the culture and the lifestyle. It really is my cup of tea here. I just always play bad, for some reason. I’m going to really need those clubs to arrive.”

Since Brandt’s win at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, he has only finished in the top ten once. That was at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship the following month. That could be a good omen for Brandt as the $3.5 million event this week in Spain, will be played using the same match-play format. A successful few days by Snedeker will give U.S. team captain Davis Love III a nudge ahead of the Ryder Cup against Europe in September.

Ian Poulter is the defending champion of this event, and seems in good heart, he loves matchplay.

Rory McIlroy shoots 65 to lead the way at Dubai Desert Classicf cered

Rory McIlroy shoots a seven-under-par 65,  that could have been a 61, ti tie the lead at the Dubai Classic.  Lee Westwood and Thomas Bjorn also had rounds of 65 and Martin Kaymer dunked his first-ever hole-in-one from 180 yards with an 8-iron Martin won an Omega watch worth $20,000 for his perfect strike. His Rolex sponsor was no doubt delighted. He is now two shots behind McIlroy and Thomas Bjorn who are at 13 under for the tournament. While Lee Westwood is lurking at 10 under and Spaniard  Rafael Cabrera-Bello is at 12 under. Rory said of his round:

“I definitely think it could have been better than 65.I don’t want to say easy but it was as simple a 65 as you’re going to shoot. I was never really under any pressure early in the round. This was very stress-free golf. I feel like you should shoot in the mid-60s and the way I’m playing this week, if I didn’t shoot anything like that around here, I would be pretty disappointed. “

He was cheered on by his father and also girlfriend , Caroline Wozniacki.

Questioned about the Masters, Rory commented;

“You start to think about shots you will need, it would be nice to knock off a couple of wins before going to Augusta.”

KARIM SAHIB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Robert Rock, who is at four under for the tournament was asked; who is better, Woods or McIlroy, his reply;

“Ah, you can’t ask me that, that’s not fair. I am sure we are going to see some interesting battles between the two this year. Both are just brilliant in every department. Rory was fantastic. From the ninth onwards on Thursday he played perfect golf. I feel lucky to have been up close to watch it. The way he played the 18th both days was really impressive. You can’t do much better than hit a long draw off the tee and a high iron to 10 feet. Makes the game look simple, especially off the tee. He is probably the best driver of a ball I’ve seen. He made my 67 look average.”

Robert Rock Wins HSBC Abu Dahbi Championship

Robert Rock has won the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship by one shot over Rory McIlroy. Roberts final round 70 earned him a winning total of -13 under par and edged out Rory McIlroy whose last round 69 left him on -12 under par for the tournament.

Tiger Woods final round of 72 left him two shots in arrears at -11 under par, the once legendary last round charge never appeared. Still with his appearance money he still took home more cash than anybody else. As I said in an earlier blog, just a well paid vacation for him. What is evident is that although Tiger is playing good golf, he is still not the world beater he once was.

Finishing with Tiger on -11 under par were Thomas Bjorn and Graeme McDowell, who both showed good form in this tournament and that bodes well for the rest of the season for them.

Lee Westwood finished with -6 for a share of 17th place and world number one Luke Donald could only muster a total of  -1 and finished in 48th spot. The first time for a long time that Luke has not finished in the top ten. I hope that’s not a sign of things to come for him or his position at #1 could be in jeopardy.