2015’s Top 10 Moments on the Euro Tour – #2 was my Pick!
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
2015 will go down as one of the more exciting years of golf for a very long time! Jordan Spieth’s run at history, Jason Day finally getting his Major, and Rickie Fowler making a statement that he belongs with the world’s best. But some great things happened on the European Tour as well. Alistair Tait of Golfweek puts together his list of Top 10 moments. One of the top moments for me was watching an amateur almost win the British Open! The final round had all the drama you could ever wish for! Check out this great list!
Tom Watson finished his final British Open at St. Andrews in a bit of Scottish sunlight. ( Getty Images ) By Alistair Tait
From the GB&I squad’s Walker Cup victory to Tom Watson’s final British Open, here are the top 10 moments from the European Tour and European amateur golf in 2015, according to Golfweek’s Alistair Tait:
Thomas Pieters won the 2015 Czech Masters for his first European Tour victory.
10. Former NCAA champion Thomas Pieters won twice.
He establishes himself along with Sullivan, Broberg, and Fitzpatrick as a possible future Ryder Cup star. Don’t be surprised if the Belgian makes the team sooner rather than later.
9. Kristoffer Broberg showed why many insiders have long been talking up his talents.
He won the BMW Masters. Many feel he could be the player to challenge Henrik Stenson as the world’s best Swede.
8. England’s Andy Sullivan was the only player to win three times on the 2015 European Tour.
Best of all, he did it with a smile on his face. No surprise there: he’s one of the friendliest European Tour players.
7. Scots have taken many Americans to their hearts over the years. Add Rickie Fowler to that list.
His Scottish Open victory was one of the year’s most popular wins.
Matthew Fitzpatrick, shown at the 2015 British Masters following his first European Tour win
6. Matthew Fitzpatrick stole Ian Poulter’s show.
He won his first pro tournament at Woburn Golf Club, Poulter’s home course. An Englishman winning an English tournament was very popular.
To see the other 5 “Top 10 Moments on the European Tour for 2015.” Go here!
Do the players on the PGA Tour use cast or forged irons?
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Do the players on the PGA Tour use cast or forged irons, and if so, do they make a difference to their play?
I have always played forged clubs my entire career. Last year I changed to forged because I believed the hype that the forged clubs would be more forgiving. Wrong! This year I switched back to clubs that are forged but have a slight cavity back. The best of both worlds.
The feel of forged to me is a much softer feel, and I can feel the mis-hits better as well, which helps me work on hitting the ball in the center of the clubface. I play a lot better with these clubs!
Do the PGA Tour players reduce their lofts on their irons to help them hit the ball further the same way manufacturers are doing for the average golfer? These questions are answered today by David Dusek of Golfweek Magazine.
David Dusek answers a reader’s question about the percentage of golfers on the PGA Tour who opt for forged irons instead of cast irons.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Former World #2 Paula Creamer had a spectacular amateur career before turning Pro in 2005.
She won 19 National tournaments and was voted “Player of the year” by the AJGA in 2003. As a professional, she has won 10 times on the LPGA Tour, one being the US Open in 2010. She has won another 2 tournaments worldwide.
Her conduct both on and off the course has always been exemplary, and she is a darling with the crowds! This photoshoot for Golfweek gives a little insight into this popular (and good looking) star!
Go behind-the-scenes at the “Golfweek for Her” photoshoot with Paula Creamer.
Tiger Woods falls to 56th – How long before he exits the top 100?
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
Tiger Woods has been, still is, and will be in the future, the biggest needle mover in golf!
But how long before people tire of him and move on to the exciting young guns like McIlroy, Koepka, Day, Lee, Katayama, and Spieth? I miss Tiger playing the great golf we have come to expect from him, and people like me still hang on to the hope of a resurgence. But the realist in me understands that time waits for no one, and maybe, just maybe, the Tiger/Phil/Ernie era is over.
The great thing is that people are standing in the wings who are more than willing and able to take that mantle and show the world just how great they are. And I, for one, cannot wait for the 2015 season to unfold. The Masters is just around the corner, and the world will be glued to their TV’s.
Alex Miceli of golfweek.com gives his perspective on Tiger Woods falling to 50 to 1 odds for the Masters.
SAN DIEGO – Tiger Woods’ chances of winning a fifth green jacket and his 15th major title in April seems merely a pipe dream – at least in Las Vegas. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has put the former World No. 1 at 50-1 odds to win the Masters this spring.
Tiger in happier days
In the past two weeks, Woods has dropped from 12-1 to 20-1 and now to 50-1 odds to win the Masters.
Woods withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open on his 12th hole in the first round, citing tightness in his back. A week earlier, he missed the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open after shooting a second-round 82, his highest 18-hole score as a professional.
Now Woods is back home in Florida contemplating his next start, which likely would be at the Honda Classic if he is healthy.
“It’s frustrating that it started shutting down like that,” Woods said of his back and upper-leg discomfort after the WD. “I was ready to go. I had a good warm-up session the first time around. Then we stood out here and I got cold, and everything started deactivating again. And it’s frustrating that I just can’t stay activated. That’s just kind of the way it is.”
While Woods’ stock has fallen in Las Vegas, Rory McIlroy is still the odds-on favorite (4-1) to complete the career Grand Slam at the Masters.
After his victory at the Farmers Insurance Open, Jason Day has moved to 15-1 odds with defending champion Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth and fellow Australian Adam Scott.
When the updated Official World Golf Rankings are released Monday, Day will likely move from eighth to fourth and bump compatriot Adam Scott.
That will leave McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Watson in the first three spots.
Will Tiger have a resurgence anytime soon?
As for Woods, he will continue to fall from his current rank of No. 56 and is likely to end up outside the top 60. That will be his lowest position in the rankings since the end of 1996 when he began his PGA Tour career.
Rory and Horizon Sports Dispute settled out of Court.
Golf Chats is a website to encourage discussions on various subjects relating to the game of golf. I am Mel Sole, Director of Instruction of the Mel Sole Golf School and SAPGA Master Professional. I invite you to enter into a discussion on this or any article on the golfchats.com website. The input is for the entire subscriber base to learn something new each time! Please post your comments below. Keep it clean and tasteful. We are here to learn from one another!
I reported a few days ago about the upcoming trial between Rory McIlroy and Horizon Sports.
We were all waiting for a huge legal battle. Just like the one we have always waited anxiously for on the golf course between Tiger Woods and…………(insert player name here.) But like the rivalry we were expecting, it didn’t materialize. Alistair Tait from Golf Week fills us in on the details.
The trial between Rory and Horizon Sports was over quickly!
Rory McIlroy can concentrate fully on winning the career Grand Slam at Augusta National this April. He and former management team Horizon Sports Management settled their long legal dispute.
After 18 months of bitter wrangling, the two sides needed only 10 hours to reach an out-of-court settlement.
McIlroy appeared briefly in Dublin’s High Court on Tuesday. Justice Brian Cregan postponed the case after hearing the two sides were “making progress” in discussions. Lawyers for both sides negotiated for 10 hours at the Four Courts complex in central Dublin. Today, the parties issued a joint statement:
“The legal dispute between Rory McIlroy and Horizon Sports Management has been settled to the satisfaction of both parties. They wish each other well for the future. The parties will be making no further comment.”
McIlroy, 25, of Northern Ireland, sued Horizon for £4.5 million. (approximately $6.8 million) Over allegations that Horizon’s fees had been excessive and that he had been coerced into signing an “unconscionable” contract at a Christmas party. Horizon countersued for £13.5 million ($20 million), claiming breach of contract for unpaid fees.
The trial was expected to last about eight weeks. With an approximate cost of £40 million ($60 million).
McIlroy, the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, won the recent Omega Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour. He is coming off of a four-victory season in 2014. That included the Open Championship and PGA Championship. He lacks winning only the Masters for the career Grand Slam.
