Henrik Stenson Defends at The 2014 DP World Tour Championship

Stenson's new favourite city is probably Dubai right now...

That's right, for the second year in a row Henrik Stenson has won the DP World Tour Championship, the final European Tour Playoff event, at the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. He finished with a score of 16-under par and a two-shot lead over his fellow Ryder Cup teammates Victor Dubuisson, Justin Rose, and Rory McIlroy. This is Stenson's 9th European Tour (ironically his last win being this tournament last year) victory and with it he moves to 2nd in the World Golf Rankings.

This is an impressive feat for Stenson, considering the status of his game just a few years ago. At the end of the 2011 season, he was ranked over 200th in the world and things weren't looking good for him. I remember watching opening rounds of European Tour tournaments and seeing Stenson's name at the bottom of the leaderboard, most of the time shooting over-par rounds. I thought at that time that we would be seeing the last of Stenson, but I was wrong. It's great to see how much he has improved over the past years and him becoming the second ranked golfer in the world really accents this change.

As we knew before, due to the about of points he accumulated before this tournament, Rory McIlroy officially wins the 2014 Race to Dubai Points Race, his second win of it in two years.

Again we saw low scores during the weekend rounds, with 5-6 under being a popular score amongst many players. On the other hand, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, who was in the final grouping with Stenson and who played phenominal golf Friday and Saturday, faltered with a final round of 75.

Frenchman Victor Dubuisson also had a good week. His T2 finish was enough to raise him to 17th in the World Golf Rankings, the highest he has ever been. 

Finally, here is how our picks finished the tournament:

1) Rory McIlroy: T2 at 14-under (-14)
2) Justin Rose: T2 at 14-under (-14)
3) Mikko Ilonen: T55 at 4-over (+4)

Rory and Rose both gave Stenson a run for his money this week and were really close to winning it.

And that's it, the 2013-2014 European Tour Season is now over. Personally, I think this has been one of the better seasons of the European Tour and certainly one of the most entertaining. The Tour will take a one week break before the 2014-2015 season starts with the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Henrik Stenson wins the DP World Tour Championship for the second year in a row

Henrik Stenson Leads Going Into The Weekend At The DP World Tour Championship

Two rounds have now concluded at the 2014 DP World Tour Championship, the final event of this year's European Tour season. The leader going into the weekend is last year's winner Henrik Stenson, who's two rounds of 68 and 66 puts him at 10-under, with a two shot leader over the likes of Rory McIlroy, Richie Ramsay, and Danny Willett.

We're seeing some good golfing being played so far, but the heat of Dubai is making this no easy feat. In a post-round interview today, Stenson noted that he "felt like I hit the wall on 12 [hole]" and said he struggled to finish off his round, mentally and physically. Still, he finished well and is in a very good spot to win again, which would result in this being his first defended title in his playing career.

It may be hot but players are still shooting low scores on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, with almost half of the field shooting sub-70 rounds today, more than yesterday, which I think is pretty good. The low round of both days was a 64, shot by Rafa Cabrera-Bello earlier today; he was actually on track to shoot a sub-60 round. Then again, we're are seeing the top European Tour players here this week.

In other news, Irishman Shane Lowry aced the 13th hole par 3 during his second round, which played at 206 yards. This is his first professional hole-in-one and only second in his career.

Finally, here is how our picks are doing:

1) Rory McIlroy: T2 at 8-under (-8)
2) Justin Rose: T5 at 7-under (-7)
3) Mikko Ilonen: 58 at 6-over (+6)

TGR favourites Graeme McDowell and Miguel Angel Jimenez are at 2-under and even par, respectively. 

It's no surprise to see Rory near the top of the leaderboard, especially when the European Tour stops in Dubai. His second round however was up and down, with two bogeys (one after a mis-hit hook) and four birdies, most occurring on the back nine. Justin Rose seems to have a habit of starting off his round bad, then coming back and doing well. In his first round, he was 4-over through 6 holes, but made six birdies and a bogey to finish at 1-under. Mikko Ilonen unfortunately isn't having his best week.

Stay tuned Sunday for our final post for the tournament and to see who won it,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Will Stenson be able to defend the DP World Tour Championship?

2014 DP World Tour Championship Picks

Well it's finally here, the last event of the 2014 European Tour season, the DP World Tour Championship, which is being played at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, UAE. This week, the top 60 golfers in the Race to Dubai rankings will play to earn the highest rank they can on the list, as the Race to Dubai race has already been won by Rory McIlory (his second win of it), due to an impressive year. The tournament also has one of the largest purses on the European Tour.

Jumeirah Golf Estates features two Greg Norman-designed courses and is played in the Middle East, specifically the elite city of Dubai. I said last week that I think we see some of the best golf on the European Tour being played in the Middle East and it's becoming one of the more popular spots to host European Tour events.

Weatherwise, despite being mid-November, the temperatures will be around 30 degrees for all of the rounds, which will be a change from the last few playoff events.

One of my picks this week is Rory McIlory and for a good reason; he's plays good golf here I think. Dubai was home to Rory's first European Tour win, the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic (now the Omega Dubai Desert Classic) and just until recently was sponsored by Jumeirah. He doesn't need the win but it would make for a landslide victory of the Race to Dubai points race.

Here is our full list of picks:

1) Rory McIlroy
2) Justin Rose
3) Mikko Ilonen

Of course we'll also be watching Graeme McDowell and Miguel Angel Jimenez, as we do whenever they play.

Stay tuned for our Weekend Update post tomorrow,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Rory McIlroy was nineteen at the time of his 2009 Dubai Desert Classic win (Getty Images)

Brooks Koepka Wins the 2014 Turkish Airlines Open

With an excellent closing round of 63 (1 eagle and 5 birdies), Brooks Koepka wins the 2014 Turkish Airlines Open at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal golf resort in Antalya, Turkey, with a score of 17-under (-17), good enough for a one shot win over Ian Poulter, in this his first European Tour win. It may have been his first win, but it was probably one of the most important for Koepka, as it gives him European Tour exemption until 2016.

Koepka wasn't the only player to go low today. The low round of the day was a 62 which was shot by Henrik Stenson (3rd) and 2013 winner Victor Dubuisson (T15), but there were many players who shot low rounds as well. Ian Poulter for example, came back from a Saturday 75 with a 67 earlier today. I'm betting this probably had something to do with those thunderstorms and softened everything up for the final round.

Despite there being one playoff event left in the 2014 European Tour season, Rory McIlroy has won the Race to Dubai point race. He claims this title since over 2 million points separated him and runner up Henrik Stenson, but the final playoff event, the DP World Tour Championship, offers just under 1.7 million. This caps off an excellent year, if not his best so far, for the young man from Holywood, Northern Ireland.

Rory may have won it all, but we'll still be covering the DP World Tour Championship next week, with picks and all. Keep in mind that only 600,000 points separated second place from eight in the Race to Dubai rankings, so players will without a doubt be battling for second place.

Also, I personally think that some of the best golf on the European Tour is played in the Middle East. It brings out the competitiveness in the players more that the normal European Tour event, probably since both the closing and starting tournaments of the European Tour are played there.

So there's bound to be good golf played next week; stay tuned for it starting with our picks on Wednesday.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Brooks Koepka wins the 2014 Turkish Airlines Open (Getty Images)

Storms Delay Round 2 of the Turkish Airlines Open

We've seen about one and a half rounds of this year's Turkish Airlines Open so far at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal Golf Resort in Antalya, Turkey. Earlier today, severe thunderstorms forced play to stop during the second round. This round of the 3rd European Tour playoff event is scheduled to be finished early tomorrow morning local time (8:00AM). The current leader is Ian Poulter at 13-under.

So far though, we've seen some great golf over the first two rounds, especially from some unexpected players. In the opening round, Miguel Angel Jimenez stunned everyone by shooting a 9-under 63 in a round that consisted of an eagle and seven birdies. We've commented recently on how Jimenez has been on a high-score streak in recent weeks, especially after his 88 at the BMW Masters, so it was nice to see one of our favourites shoot a low score. Putting those few weeks behind him, his opening round was good enough for the overnight lead and a one shot lead over Ian Poulter.

Today however, Jimenez faltered slightly (so far) and he's currently at 8-under (+1 on what holes he was able to play today). He's not for off the lead though at T4, but on the other hand Ian Poulter currently sits atop the leaderboard with a three shot lead and is 5-under on his round today. Ian Poulter year so far hasn't been his best, but his game looks good at the moment. Just last week during the HSBC Champions, he was quoted saying he just played his best round of the year, referring to one of his four rounds last week.

Pre-thunderstorm, the course itself has looked vulnerable given the low scores so early on. It will probably get even more benign after the storms, as rain leads to softer conditions, which generally leads to lower scores.

In other news, Scottish golf icon Colin Montgomerie, for whom this course is named after, played his 600th European Tour event yesterday, but unfortunately shot a 76.

Unfortunately we weren't able to make any picks this week, so we're just be reporting about the tournament itself. So stay tuned for our Sunday post of who ended up winning,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Will Jimenez be able to regain his lead after the storms pass? (Getty Images)

Bubba Watson Wins the 2014 WGC-HSBC Champions

After a final round that saw several players come within a shot of the lead over the last few holes, the 2014 HSBC Champions at Sheshan Golf Club (Shanghai) is now over and the winner this year is Bubba Watson, after a one hole playoff battle between South African Tim Clark and himself. The two of them finished the tournament at 11-under (-11) but on their first playoff hole, a birdie by Watson and a par by Clark decided it. With this win, Bubba now moves up to 7th on the World Golf Rankings. He would of taken home valuable European Tour playoff points as well, had he been a member of the European Tour.

Things weren't looking good for Bubba after going bogey, double bogey on the 16th and 17th holes. On the 18th hole, he found himself in a bunker on the par 5, about 60 yards away from the green, going for eagle. He hit his sand shot and watched in land on the green and roll into the hole, catapulting him back into the tournament by putting him at 11-under, much to everyone's surprise.

It was really anyone's tournament up until the last few holes. With Bubba and Clark both in earlier at 11-under, the last hole saw chances by Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, and Hiroshi Iwata to join this playoff (I thought for sure one of my picks would win it!). Both GMac and Iwata had birdie putts that would have done just that, but both missed. Sunday got the best of McDowell again as he unfortunately finished over par once again, despite holding the lead going into the weekend. For Iwata, a win this week would have been huge for his career, as a WGC win makes a player eligible for a variety of things such as tour cards and major eligibility.

On the other hand, Kaymer's tournament finished abruptly on the par 5 18th hole. After laying up, Kaymer hit a good shot that landed right of the green and unfortunately rolled into the water, ending his chances at a playoff.

Oddly enough, McDowell and Kaymer still benefited points-wise from the tournament. McDowell finished T3 but all of the players ahead of and tied with him are not European Tour members, thus the Race to Dubai playoff points they won mean nothing. So in the end, GMac ends up winning the most points at the end of the week, which is a big bonus with only two more events to go. Kaymer finishing T6 takes home the second most points, along with the people he is tied with. GMac and Kaymer are now ranked 9th and 10th in the Race to Dubai points list, respectively.

Finally, here is how our picks finished the tournament:

1) Graeme McDowell: T3 at 10-under (-10)
2) Martin Kaymer: T6 at 8-under (-8)
3) Adam Scott: T12 at 5-under (-5)

Good finishes all round, however one again GMac comes up short at this tournament. I think he'll win a WGC soon enough though.

Next week is the second last European Tour playoff event, the Turkish Airlines Open in Antalya, Turkey, so stay tuned for our coverage of that.

-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Bubba holes out for eagle on the 18th hole at the 2014 HSBC Champions

Graeme McDowell Leads Going Into The Weekend At The HSBC Champions

We're halfway through the rounds of the 2014 HSBC Champions (with the third round set to start shortly due to the time difference) at Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai and one of our picks (and TGR favourite) Graeme McDowell leads going into the weekend with a score of 10-under and a three shot lead over Ian Poulter.

The Northern Irishman started his week of with a pair of 67's and had a combined total of twelve birdies through those rounds. Gmac seems to be playing very good golf in the past few weeks. While it's still too early to say, a win for GMac this week could prove helpful in the last few weeks of the European Tour Playoffs. He leads ahead of Ian Poulter who birdied four out of his last five holes to gain second place.

Sheshan was slightly vulnerable in the first few rounds, with good scores being shot all around. The low round of the week so far was shot by Japanese golfer Hiroshi Iwata, with a 7-under 63. Some players were not so lucky in their opening rounds, such as another TGR favourite Miguel Angel Jimenez, who shot a 78 in his opening round.

Even more unlucky was Australian Brody Ninyette, who shot a 86 90 and is in last place with a score of 32-over (+32). Brody battled through stomach issues before and during his rounds. The main reason he continued to play though was the guarenteed $40,000 he would get; since this even has no cut, all players get a paycheck. However a scorecard signing error resulted in Brody being disqualified. Ninyette's second round score of 90 was a tournament record and beat the old one by six shots.

Also in the news was Patrick Reed, who during his opening round muttered homophobic remarks to himself that were caught by Tv microphones, after three-putting the 10th hole. He has since apologized via Twitter.


Finally here is how our picks are doing so far:

1) Graeme McDowell: 1st at 10-under (-10)
2) Martin Kaymer: T11 at 3-under (-3)
3) Adam Scott: T15 at 2-under (-3)

Good results all over the board. I would personally like to see Adam Scott win another tournament before the year ends.

Stay tuned for our Sunday post on who won the tournament,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Can GMac hold onto his three shot lead and win the HSBC Champions?

2014 WGC HSBC Champions Picks

The second event of the European Tour Playoffs and last WGC event of the year has begun, we are of course talking about the WGC HSBC Champions, being played at Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai, China. This week, we'll be seeing 79 of the top players from all parts of the globe playing for valuable WGC points as well as points for other merits.

The HSBC Champions is probably one of the most prestigeous tournaments of the entire season, mainly because of what's needed to get an invite. Invitations are sent out to basically players who have won top-ranked tournaments on their respective tours and anyone in the Top 50 of the WGC. The Top-15 on the European Tour Race to Dubai Ranking as well the Top-5 players from the previous FedEx Cup also get an invite. Due to this, the field is full of the world's best golfers; you're pretty much getting the best of the best in this tournament. It's for this reason that I think it's one of the best stroke play tournaments of the year; it really shows how global the game of golf is too.

The tournament returns to Sheshan Golf Club again this year, after being played in 2012 at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China. Sheshan has hosted the HSBC Champions ever since the tournament was created.The course is also known for it's lengthly par-3's as well as it's 8th hole, a 603-yard par 5.

As I mentioned before, given the immense depth of players in the field this week, it was hard to choose three picks to win. Ultimately here is who I ended up choosing:

1) Graeme McDowell
2) Martin Kaymer
3) Adam Scott

Stay tuned for our Friday post to see who's leading going into the weekend,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Marcel Siem Wins the 2014 BMW Masters

It really came down to the wire this week at Lake Maleran, but after a single hole of sudden death German golfer (and one of our picks) Marcel Siem has won the 2014 BMW Masters in Shanghai, China with a score of 16-under (-16). The playoff hole was between Siem, Ross Fisher, and Saturday leader Alexander Levy. Siem birdied the 18th hole while the others parred, and did so in some fashion with a chip-in, a chip-in which earned him roughly $2 million USD and major playoff points. This is Siem's first European tour win of the year and last win since the Hassan II Golf Trophy in 2013.

As we reported yesterday, the storyline of the tournament looked quite different. Levy was leading by four shots and on track to make tournament history, but a final round of 78 drastically changed this. This just shows you that even when things look for certain, they can always change. On the bright side though, Levy still takes home a paycheck of $1 million USD.

It wasn't just Levy who stumbled during the final round. In general, scores were much higher today than in the first three rounds, due to strong winds. Look at Rafa Cabrera-Bello for example, who's Friday's round and Sunday's round differed by nearly 20 strokes (66 and 84)!

Today was particularly bad for TGR favourite Miguel Angel Jimenez. "The Mechanic" hit four balls into the water on his final (9th) hole, which earned him a 13 on the par 4.

As for the rest of our picks, here is how they finished up:

1) Graeme McDowell: T16 at 10-under (-10)
2) Miguel Angel Jimenez: T77 at 19-over (+19)
3) Marcel Siem: WINNER


That's a wrap for this week so stay tuned for the second European tour playoff next week and WGC event, the HSBC Champions, also in Shanghai,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Marcel Siem chips in to win the 2014 BMW Masters in Shanghai, China

2014 BMW Masters Update

The first of the European Tour's Final Series is currently underway (the European Tour's version of year-end playoffs). We are talking about the BMW Masters of course, which is being played at Lake Maleran Golf Club in Shanghai, China. Going into the final round, the leader is Alexander Levy at 22-under (-22) with a four shot lead over Jamie Donaldson. As of now, Levy's on track to shoot the lowest score to par in the history of the tournament.

This is a unique event for a few reasons. To start, it is home to the largest first prize reward in golf, with a whopping $2 million USD going to the winner, from a $7 million USD purse. Also, it only hosts a small field consisting 78 of the top players from the European and Asian Tour. Its also a relatively new tournament, having first been played in 2011.

Conditions were optimal for scoring all week so far. We've seen many low scores like a 62 from Donaldson today. When the course is set up this way, it's always more exciting to watch, I think.

Since this is the European Tour playoffs, the field is of course packed with the top European Tour players such as Ian Poulter, Victor Dubuisson, Justin Rose, etc. Given this, it was hard to choose our picks this week, but since our favourites are playing this week, we had to choose them. Here is how they stand going into the final round:

1) Graeme McDowell: T7 at 12-under (-12)
2) Miguel Angel Jimenez: T69 at 3-over (+3)
3) Marcel Siem: 3RD at 17-under (-17)

That's some really good golf being played by GMac and Siem, but who knows if Levy's lead is too large to over come. As for Jimenez, he started with an opening round 77 and hasn't been able to recover from then.

Stay tuned for our tournament recap and the winner, tomorrow,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

Alexander Levy's on track to with the 2014 BMW Masters