European Tour announce Early-2010 Tour schedule
October 19, 2009 by Brian · Leave a Comment
Despite ongoing negotiations for several tournaments, the European Tour has announced their schedule for 2010 up to the US Masters at Augusta in April.
As in previous seasons, the 2010 season will actually begin in late-2009 with two events – the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek, and the South African Open at Pearl Valley – being played in South Africa prior to Christmas.
The early part of 2010 will see the inaugural playing of two new tournaments which have been added to the schedule. The Africa Open will take place in South Africa during January, while the Hassan II Trophy will be contested in Morocco in March.
Missing from the first release of event dates are the Johnnie Walker Classic, the Malaysian Open and the Indonesian Open which together carried a combined prize purse in excess of $4 million.
The released schedule for the 2010 golf season is:
December 2009:
10-13 Alfred Dunhill Championship, Leopard Creek, Malelane, South Africa
17-20 South African Open Championship, Pearl Valley, Paarl, South Africa
January 2010
7-10 Africa Open, East London GC, South Africa
14-17 Joburg Open, Royal Johannesburg and Kensington, South Africa
21-24 Abu Dhabi Championship, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
28-31 Commercialbank Qatar Masters presented by Dolphin Energy, Doha, Qatar
February
4-7 Dubai Desert Classic, Emirates Club, United Arab Emirates
18- 21 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, Dove Mountain, Marana, Arizona
March 2010
11-14 WGC – CA Championship, Doral, Miami, Florida, USA
18-21 Hassan II Golf Trophy, Royal Dar Es Salam, Rabat, Morocco
25-28 Andalucian Open, Parador de Malaga, Malaga, Spain
April 2010
1-4 Estoril Portuguese Open
8-11 US Masters, Augusta National, Georgia
8-11 Madeira Islands Open BPI-Portugal, Porto Santo, Madeira
Ryan Moore sheds ‘maiden’ tag at Greensboro
August 25, 2009 by Brian · Leave a Comment
Ryan Moore, without a win in five years as a professional, finally opened his account with victory in the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Moore, the 2004 United States amateur champion survived a three-way play-off to beat fellow American Keith Stadler and Jason Bohn with an 18-foot birdie putt at the third extra hole to finally shed his maiden tag.
Since turning professional Moore has struggled with a long-standing injury to his left hand which has curtailed his career, even though he was considered to be the next Tiger Woods by many when he made the jump from the amateur ranks.
Going into the final round, Moore was four strokes off the pass but a five-under par round of 65 which included a run of five successive birdies at Sedgefield in ideal conditions pushed him to the top of the leaderboard with a 16-uner-par total of 264 and he might have won the tournament in regulation had he not missed an eight foot par putt on the last. The bogey on the last hole put him into a playoff with Bohn who was already in the clubhouse following a final round 62, while Stadler also had a chance to win the tournament on the 18th green but like Moore carded a bogey to join the playoff.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia was a stroke further back, but could have made it a four-way playoff had his bunker shot on the last hole not stopped on the rim of the cup. However, Garcia had had chances to close out the tournament earlier and a birdie on the seventh saw the Spaniard reach 18-under par. But three putts at the eighth hole knocked the stuffing from Garcia and he completely lost his game after.
Moore’s win saw him collect a winner’s cheque for $918,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points, while he also jumped up to 25th on the tour money list.
World PGA Alliance aims to improve golf standards in developing markets
August 18, 2009 by Brian · Leave a Comment
The world’s leading PGAs have come together to form a new coalition – the World PGA Alliance according to reports.
The alliance has been formed from the respective PGAs of the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, Germany, Great Britain & Ireland, Japan, South Africa and Sweden with a remit to ‘establish and guide global standards for teaching and playing and to share best practices in developing players’, the announcement said.
With such a remit, the alliance will become a pivotal force in developing the game of golf and its related businesses where the game is still in relative infancy. It will also help strengthen the roles fulfilled by PGA professionals in the areas of golf instruction, player development and also the business of the game.
In essence, the new coalition will strive to strengthen ties and help raise standards for golf professionals in emerging golf markets. This will help develop these markets by way of shared membership programs in most aspects of the game by sharing knowledge and resources.
The alliance will be led by the chief executives of The PGA of America, The Professional Golfers’ Association (of Great Britain & Ireland) and the PGA of Australia.
More information on the World PGA Alliance can be found on the PGA website – www.pga.com/global
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