Scottish Golf Breaks – Northern Lights

There’s a buzz about Aberdeen. You can feel it in the air. It mingles with the whiff of success that wafts from the exhaust pipes of the town’s expensive sports cars. The Granite City is doing alright for itself, and for once the place is booming not simply because of oil!

Golf is the new prized asset with the likes of none other than Donald Trump raising the area’s profile with his £750 million Trump International Links development. Aberdeen has also received a well-earned boost following the staging of the 2011 Walker Cup over the Balgownie Links of Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, the sixth-oldest club in the world. Read more

Celtic Manor – The ISPS Handa Wales Open

The Celtic Manor Resort has long been one of ht premier holiday destinations in Wales but in 2010 it shot to the forefront of the golfing world when the Ryder Cup came to town. With no expense spared, the magnificent Twenty Ten Course was built and, since the conclusion of the Ryder Cup, has become one of the most sought after courses in the world. Amateurs flock from far and wide to walk in the footsteps of their Ryder Cup heroes. Although this course is synonymous with the Ryder Cup it has also hosted other professional events including the prestigious Wales Open, which this year has a new title sponsor. Read more

Injured golfer wins £400,000 in Damages

As golfers we all run the risk of being struck by a stray golf ball whenever we step onto the golf course. We also run the risk of being the player who hits a shot that strikes another golfer. While most incidences of this nature would simply result in a ticking off or a long hard stare there is always the possibility of causing serious damage to another person. The chances are slight but the consequences can be great; as Anthony Phee found out to his cost upon being struck while playing a round of golf at Niddry Castle Golf Club, Winchburgh, West Lothian. Read more

Chalmers wins Australian Open in playoff

Two weeks after carving out a win the Australian Open, Greg Chalmers visited the winner’s circle for the second week in a row after coming through a play-off with Robert Allenby and Marcus Fraser to lift the Australian PGA Championship.

With the three players deadlocked at 12-under par at Coolum, the playoff ended at the first extra hole when Chalmers found the fairway and then the green, and two-putted for par as Fraser effectively killed his chance by finding water off the tee before carding a bogey.

Allenby pushed his tee shot to the right but was within 12-feet of the flag after three stokes. However, he couldn’t make the par putt and Chalmers knocked in his own putt to win on a day that saw the lead change hands several times; overnight leader Kim Kyung-tae, Aaron Baddeley and Matthew Giles all sharing the lead at one point on the final day.

It was a disappointing end for both Allenby and Fraser, who both required and made long putts to force extra time. It was also disappointing for Kim who had taken a four-shot lead into the final round, but was perhaps unsettled by Bubba Watson’s erratic double-bogey-bogey start which dropped the American down the leaderboard.

After four straight pars, the Korean did himself little favours with two unplayable lies at the fifth which resulted in a double-bogey and his lead was gone as Giles and Baddeley both joined the lead. Baddeley then moved in front on his own, moving two clear of the field before a bogey at the 12^th halted his progress and he was joined by Chalmers and Allenby.

As Baddeley also dropped away, Chalmers and Allenby were left to fight it out and were joined by Fraser who produced three birdies in his last eight holes to join the leaders before Chalmers came out on top in extra-time.

Pre-tournament favourite Adam Scott will be cursing his wayward opening nine holes on Thursday as he closed with a round of 68 to take a share of fourth place along Baddeley.

Chalmers will now contest the Australian Masters in Melbourne next month; should he win, he’ll emulate the feat of Robert Allenby in 2005 as the holder of all three Australian major events.

Otto holds on to win South African Open

Despite a few nerves, South African Hennie Otto held on to win his national title at the South African Open Championship – only his second ever European Tour win.

Seemingly with the title at his mercy and holding a three-shot lead with just six holes left to play, Otto crumbled to rack up a trio of bogeys at the 13^th, 15^th and 16^th holes during the final round to drop back into a tie for the lead with Austrian Bernd Wiesberger.

But the South African rallied to make birdie on the 17^th after chipping to six-feet and holing out, before making a par on the last to sign for a closing 72 and a 14-under par total of 274.

“I worked out that if I shot four under par they would have to shoot seven under. It didn’t work out that way.” Otto said after sealing his win.  “There are some great names on the trophy and I said it would be great if I could add mine. Today’s the day.”

Weisberger closed with a 68 to record his second runners-up finish of the season – he was part of the 5-man playoff for the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, won by Thomas Bjorn – with South African duo Thomas Aiken, Ockie Strydom and England’s Richard Finch a further shot back in a share of third place.

Finch’s closing 68 saw him climb to 107^th in the Race to Dubai, guaranteeing his playing card for 2012, after he entered the tournament in 121^st place – three places outside the cut-off.

Two-time winner of the event, Retief Goosen was in a challenging position heading into the final round, but could only manage a 1-over par 73 to drop into a share of sixth with Magnus Carlsson of Sweden and South African Trevor Fisher Junior. Fellow veteran Ernie Els followed up his Saturday 76 which dropped him out of contention with a 79.

Garth Mulroy followed up his win the previous week with a top-10 finish; a final round 68 saw him share ninth with fellow countrymen Jaco Ahlers and Branden Grace, and Scot Lloyd Saltman who double-bogeyed the last hole to book a place at Qualifying School at PGA Catalunya Resort as opposed to the UBS Hong Kong Open. A par would have saw him share third place.

Next Page »