Showdown at St. Andrews: Perez emerges victorious over Southgate at Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Sunday at St. Andrews, there is perhaps no better setting for the conclusion of a golf tournament. This year, the Old Course would end up playing host to a dramatic battle between Frenchman and European Tour rookie Victor Perez and Englishman Matthew Southgate, with Perez emerging on top, capturing the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. 

The two golfers finished their third rounds tied for the lead at 20-under. Both had played the Old Course relatively well over their first three rounds: Perez on Thursday, shooting a 64 and Southgate on Saturday, shooting a 65. The stage was set for an unlikely showdown between the two golfers.

Perhaps it wasn't the showdown we wanted, but looking deeper into these two golfers, it was certainly a showdown we could have expected. You see, despite being relatively new to the European Tour, both golfers had connections to links golf. Perez, in his rookie year, had been living in nearby Dundee for the past 18 months, no doubt honing his game on the many links courses in the area. Southgate, in his fourth year on tour, was no stranger to competition at the Old Course. In 2010, as an amateur he won the St. Andrews Link Trophy. He is also a member at Carnoustie. These connections would prove to be invaluable to both golfers.

With the stage set, the two golfers began their final round on a cold and windy Old Course. It was Southgate who would take the lead at the turn. Despite bogeying the first hole, he rallied back, birdieing holes 5-7 and 9; good enough for a one shot lead over Perez. His lead would grow to two shots after a three-putt bogey by Perez on the 11th hole. But Perez persisted; a birdie on the 14th hole and a bogey by Southgate evened out the score. 

Then came the infamous par 4 17th hole "The Road Hole". Perez placed his second shot safely onto the green after hitting the fairway with his opening drive. Southgate, on the other hand, drove his tee shot further but into the rough, resulting in a poor second shot that landed on the green, but much further away. A two-putt by Perez and three-putt by Southgate separated the two and pars on the last hole by both resulted in Perez winning the tournament by a single shot.

For Perez, the win is career defining (thus far) and his first on the European Tour. It is also most certainly the highlight of his 2019 season, having just one top-10 finish this year: the Hong Kong Open, which was also his first European Tour tournament. On top of the $800,000 in prize money, the Challenge Tour graduate will move into the top-70 of the World Golf Rankings and top-20 on the European Tour money list. He is also the first Frenchman to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

On his win, Perez stated. "The emotions were really high all day. It was really cold and windy, a long day out there and I felt I was able to battle. It wasn't easy, Matt played amazing. I was expecting some of the guys to charge and we were fortunate that it was kind of a one on one battle on the back nine. There's nothing like a win. The confidence that you get from getting it done, it's so difficult at this level to win. Being my first year, I'm obviously delighted."

On the pro-am side of the tournament, it came down to Tommy Fleetwood, who was paired with horseracing executive Ogden Phipps II and Rory McIlroy, who was playing with his father Gerry McIlroy. Both teams played extraordinarily well and finished at 39-under over. Interestingly enough though, the tie was not settled with a playoff, as is the case in most tournaments. Instead, the team whose pro finished with the lower final round score wins, being Fleetwood in this case with a 64 over McIlroy's 67.

As always, we finish up our coverage with our picks results, which for the most part, were relatively good:

1) Rafa Cabrera Bello: T61 at 8-under
2) Alex Noren: T15 at 17-under
3) Tom Lewis: T5 at 19-under

I said it at the start of the week, the winner of this tournament was going to be a golfer who had a history with links courses and it turns out that could have equally have been Perez or Southgate. Our dark horse pick Tom Lewis had an excellent week, in particular shooting a 65 at Kingsbarn and 64 at the Old Course over the weekend. Noren also played well but did have reoccurring trouble on the Road Hole. Cabrera-Bello unfortunately missed the cut.

Overall, like so many editions before it, the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship did not disappoint. We saw it all this week, excellent golf from the world's best golfers, a collection of perhaps the finest links courses in the world, and of course dramatic storylines. These are just a few reasons why I'll be watching this tournament again and again every year.

Congratulations once again to Victor Perez. Who did you think was going to win? Let us know in the comments below,


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

France's Victor Perez wins the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

(Getty Images)

2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Preview

This week, the European Tour travels back to St Andrews, Scotland, the home of golf, for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The prestigious tournament is iconic for its star-studded pro-am and is considered by many as a jewel of the European Tour. It is also unique in the fact that it is contested over three courses: the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie Golf Links and Kingsbarns Golf Links.

The tournament was first contested in 2001 as the Dunhill Links Championship and its format is similar to its PGA Tour counterpart, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Professionals are paired up with an amateur for the entire length of the tournament. Over the first three rounds, groups will get the chance to play all three courses, with a 54-hole cut being made of the top-60 professionals and top-20 pro-am teams. The final round is then played at the Old Course, where the professional with the lowest 72-hole score is crowned the winner. Likewise, the winner of the pro-am is the team with the lowest 72-hole score.

Over the years, many celebrities and notable persons have had the chance to play this illustrious tournament. This year, the amateur field consists of singer/actor Justin Timberlake, footballer Luis Figo, boxer Wladimir Klitschko and (naturally) Bill Murray, just to name a few. 

Each course this week will test golfers in different ways. Fresh off its hosting of the 2018 Open Championship, Carnoustie, also known as "golf's greatest test", will play at 7,412 yards. Kingbarns will play at 7,150 yards and is the newest of the courses in the rotation. Lastly, the iconic Old Course, with its enduring and prestigious history, will measure 7,307 yards. The chance to play these courses in this format truly is something special.

What is common between all the aforementioned courses is that they are links courses, which is something that is quasi-rare on the European Tour and even more so on the PGA Tour. This is something that has always bugged me about the professional tours, they don't play enough links courses. In my opinion, a links course is the truest and purest form of a golf course; where golf was meant to be played. Things are not perfect on a links course; you are constantly at the mercy of the weather and consistency amongst conditions is far from constant. It forces a golfer to think in different ways, look for different opportunities, play the non-conventional shot, etc. All of this adds up to a unique golfing experience, and with respect to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, an exciting tournament to watch.

The professional field this week is packed with European Tour royalty in addition to the top players of the world. It's always tough to make picks for this tournament, but this year I've decided to base our picks off of recent performance and performance on links courses:

1) Rafa Cabrera Bello

2) Alex Noren

3) Tom Lewis

Cabrera Bello is our top pick this week. He's coming into the tournament off a T6 finish last week at the BMW PGA Championship and T9 and T6 performances at the Scottish and Irish Opens earlier this year, respectively. Noren also performed well last week, finishing T28. He also finished T11 at the Open Championship earlier this year at Royal Portrush. Tom Lewis is our dark horse pick, but did have a good finish at the Open Championship this year, at T11. He also won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, the final tournament of the Korn Ferry Tour (formerly Web.com Tour).

Play kicks off early Thursday morning and is sure to be full of excitement and great golf. Be sure to check it out!


And let us know in the comments below who you think will win this year,

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews 

Rafa Cabrera Bello is our top pick this week at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

(Getty Images)

Danny Willett Wins Big On Home Soil

After firing off a 5-under 68 for his final round, 2016 Masters Champion and Englishman Danny Willett has won the 2019 BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club. He finished with a three shot lead over final round partner Jon Rahm. This is Willett's first win of 2019 and his last win since the 2018 DP World Tour Championship. He is also the first Englishman to win the tournament since Chris Wood in 2016.

Willett's final round was impressive, consisting of six birdies (including back-to-back on the 17th and 18th) and a single bogey. The bogey occurred on the 11th hole, where Willett found trouble with trees, but a key 40-foot putt limited the damage. Going into the final hole, Willett was up by two strokes over a pressing Jon Rahm. Rahm knew he needed at least a birdie to force a playoff, but was too aggressive with his second shot, finding water just short of the green. Willett on the other hand, took a safer approach and managed to birdie the hole for the win.

It is quite ironic that our last post here at Toronto Golf Reviews before our "break" was about Danny Willett winning the 2016 Masters. Even more ironic is perhaps the fact that at the conclusion of the 2018 BMW PGA Championship, Willett had dropped to 462nd in the World Golf Rankings, his lowest ranking since his rookie year. 

Like many golfers in the past, after his major win, Willett struggled on the course with his new expectations and off the course with injuries. He was pointless in the 2016 Ryder Cup, lost his PGA Tour card and managed just one top-10 finish in 2017. It was a low point for Willett, but not the end, although it easily could have been.

“I’ve had an undying want to get back… I was willing to change whatever had to be changed and that’s pretty hard to do… to jump full throttle into something you’re not sure if it’s going to work out or not.” the Englishman said of his post-Masters struggles.

And come back he did, after the 2018 BMW PGA Championship. His hard work paid off, resulting in top-10 performances at the Irish and Turkish Airlines Open and a win at the DP World Tour Championship. This propelled Willett up to 90th in the World Golf Rankings. Further top-10 performances in 2019 at the RBC Canadian Open and Open Championship pushed him into the top-60. Now with this win, Willett is back in the the top-40. 

Personally, I am happy to see that Danny Willett is back and not one of those "one and done" golfers. He's shown that he has what it takes to be an elite and world-class golfer. After all, he's had to battle high-profile fields in pretty much every tournament that he's won. If that's not the mark of a world class player then I don't know what is!

We end with a quick look of how our picks performed this week:

1) Matthew Fitzpatrick: T46 at 1-over

2) Tommy Fleetwood: T60 at 3-over

3) Rory McIlroy: T9 at 11-under

Not the best weeks for Fitzpatrick and Fleetwood, with both shooting over 70 in all their rounds. McIlroy on the other hand picks up another top-10 finish.

That's a wrap on our coverage of the 2019 BMW PGA Championship. Our couverage of the European tour continues this week of perhaps the best tournament on the European Tour (in my opinion), the exciting and dramatic Alfred Dunhill Links Championship!


Stay tuned for our preview and picks,

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

 

Danny Willett Wins the 2019 BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club

(Photo: Reuters)

2019 BMW PGA Championship Preview

The European Tour heads to Surrey, England this week for its flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at the Wentworth Club. Filled with a star-studded field consisting of top players from all over the world, this is one of the most elite and biggest events on the European Tour. Much is up for grabs this week: a nearly million Euro paycheck, 64 WGC points and exemptions into this year's US Open and the next 3 Open Championships being given to the winner.

The tournament will be contested on the West course at Wentworth, originally designed by Harry Colt in 1926 and adjusted over the years. The 7284-yard par 72 course is not the longest on tour but nevertheless tough. It's tree-lined, forest-carved holes demand accuracy and good ball-striking. It is also among the favourite courses for many tour pros who have had the opportunity to play it. 

Things are a bit different this year however, most notably the date. This is the first time that the tournament is being played in September, moving from its original slot in May as a result of the PGA Championship moving up to May. Given this, the weather may become more of a factor than in previous editions of the tournament. As of now, this doesn't appear to be the case for the first three rounds, but conditions could worsen for Sunday, which will no doubt make things interesting.

Perhaps a more interesting feature of this year's tournament is that GPS will be used to track slow play amongst the players. This is part of the European Tour's newly released initiative to combat slow play on tour. In particular, a tracking device will be placed on one player's golf bag in each group. Once a hole is completed, the information will be automatically sent to officials, who will be monitoring progress. Displays will also be available on each hole, to indicate tardiness, among other information. I am very curious to see what the results will, especially considering that we have an article on slow-play in the works. For more information, check out Golf Channel's article about it.

Personally, the BMW PGA Championship is one of my favourite tournaments to watch on the European Tour since it was the setting an amazing moment in golf, in my opinion. In the 2011 edition of the tournament, World Numbers One and Two, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald, respectively, had finished their final rounds tied for 1st place; a sudden death followed, on the par 5 1st hole of the West course. On the line was not only the tournament but also the title of World Number One. Donald and Westwood both started the hole well and both had roughly the same distances for their approach shots. Donald went first and landed his ball safely on the green, close to the flag. Westwood responded by landing his shot just inside Donald's but then watched his ball roll off the water-lined green into the water, resulting in Donald winning the tournament and the title. So much was on the line at that moment and Westwood, after seeing Donald's shot, knew he had to go for it. It was tense, yet exciting; that's why I'll never forget it. But moments like this seem to only happen at big tournaments like this. Luke also managed to defend his title the next year. 

As always, we end off with our picks for this week. Given the requirements of fairway accuracy and ball-striking, we decided to make our picks for this week loosely based on these stats:

1) Matthew Fitzpatrick

2) Tommy Fleetwood

3) Rory McIlroy

Fitzpatrick ranks consistently as one of the more accurate players on tour and doesn't drive the ball too far (something that will benefit him this week). Fleetwood is also very accurate off the tee and is coming off a T8 finish a few weeks ago at the Omega European Masters. McIlroy is our last pick and frankly is always a safe pick when he's playing well. He also won the tournament in 2014.

The first round kicks off early Thursday morning (EST time) and is the start of what's sure to be an exciting tournament. Be sure to check it out!

-Nick

Toronto Golf Reviews

Can Matthew Fitzpatrick win the 2019 BMW PGA Championship this week? (PressClub Global BMW)

Why Don't More People Golf?

 

 Golf is a funny sport.

It's funny in the sense that it's not like any other sport really. On one hand, we live currently in the era of eight-figure tournament purses and increasing stardom on the professional level. On the other hand, many critics of the game will tell you that golf is a dying sport on the local level.

I think it's hard to say at this moment if the game is trending upwards or downwards. What we can say for sure is that, at least in Canada, golf is certainly not in the same league as hockey, baseball or basketball in terms of popularity. Golf should be more popular though; there are many factors going for it: the aforementioned lucrative yet attractive professional level of the game, the amount of golf courses that exist (especially in the GTA), its close relationship with the professional world, just to name a few. 

But why isn't this the case? Why don't more people golf? To answer this question, I've compiled a list of reasons as to why this may be, as well as proposed solutions. Let's take a look at this in more detail.

Time Constraints

One of the most common complaints I hear about golf is that it takes too long. On average, a round of 18 holes takes a foursome of mid-handicappers like myself about four and a half hours, not including a break or grabbing something to eat between nines. It is a commitment no doubt; a day off work for most people playing during the week or a good portion of people's prized weekend.

As people today continue to get busier and busier in their daily lives, asking them to commit over four hours for a single activity is tough. I personally have been finding it harder and harder to plan a foursome with friends and I'm sure most golfers have experienced the same thing in one form or another. On a side note, we can of course talk about why a round of golf takes this long, but I think I'll save that discussion for another post.


Cost
I conducted a Twitter poll recently, asking our followers the same question we are asking ourselves here. The overwhelming response was that more people aren't golfing because they can't afford it.

Historically, golf has held the stigma of being perceived as a "rich man's sport", only played by those who need not worry about money. Today, this stigma is mostly a thing of the past, however there are some parts of the golf industry that are still expensive.

Among all sports, golf equipment is without a doubt at or near the top of the list in terms of price. New golf equipment is expensive. Pay a visit to your local golf store and you'll find the latest drivers costing upwards of $600, iron sets in excess of $1000, and so on and so forth. Although that high-priced equipment isn't, for the most part, tailored to new golfers, it can be a bit intimidating. For reference, an entry level set of golf clubs will cost you about $500. But as us golfers know, golf equipment is notorious for its depreciation value. This season's newest driver will easily drop $200 before the start of the next season, once the next "newest" driver is released. It's simply not with it, from a cost perspective, to buy the latest equipment.

The costs don't stop there, as green fees and memberships add to the overall bill (although they have been decreasing over the years, for some courses). This is another feature that is unique to golf; you are required to pay simply to play the sport, no matter what level. Don't get me wrong, these are necessary fees as they go towards the preparation and maintenance of the course, but nevertheless it still adds to the bill.


Difficulty
Ask a group of people to shoot a hockey puck, kick a soccer ball or shoot a basketball and most of them will understand how to do it. Ask them to swing a golf club and strike a golf ball, however, and most of them will not succeed. The mechanics of the golf swing are inherently more difficult than most sports. Even most golfers don't have a full understanding of it. It's what attracts us to the game though, this inherent difficulty. It gives us something to strive for. What's the one thing a golfer wants to do after they've played a great round, one where everything just seemed to click? Play another.

But this difficulty should not intimidate those who are new to the game. Rick Young (@YoungerGolf) of SCOREGolf brought up a very good point when I asked him about this topic on Twitter. He said, on the topic of difficulty, that "the game is only as hard as you allow it to be." And I think Rick is absolutely right about this. Golf is a mental game, a battle between you and your mind. You push yourself as hard as you want, you set your own goals. There is absolutely no need to become a scratch golfer to enjoy the game.

"The game is only as hard as you allow it to be."

-Rick Young on the difficulty of golf

How To Get More People Playing Golf
I've gone into much detail about why I think more people aren't golfing. Now let's look at some of the ways I think we can fix that.

Concerning time constraints, I think the key to overcoming this barrier is to promote the 9-hole round. Nine holes typically take about a couple of hours, which now puts it in a "reasonable" time frame for most people. In addition to this, golf courses need to have a great twilight special. In my experience, twilight rounds always have a much more relaxed feel to them; excellent for a new golfer. Plus the after-work/after-school time slot is much more accessible to the average person.

Concerning equipment costs, golf equipment manufacturers as well as retailers should be promoting more entry-level, less expensive equipment to attract new golfers. This is the best case scenario, but I understand that it isn't the most feasible option. In lieu of this, the new golfer can take things into their own hands and there is much help for this. Many deals on golf equipment are available, whether its in the form of used clubs or clubs on clearance. And new golfers please, speaking from experience here, do not feel the need to have the latest equipment! In my golf bag currently, I have a Ping G15 Fairway Wood and a 56 degree Paradise sand wedge, both outdated and cheap even when I bought them a few years ago. But they are hands down my favourite clubs in my bag; clubs that I have confidence with and clubs that are reliable. What's important to remember here is that buying golf equipment is a slippery slope that can get out of hand quickly. And for those who are concerned about high green fees, I encourage everyone to sign up for as many golf course newsletters and e-clubs as possible. Many times courses offer unique deals that may appeal to you. In essence, let the deals come to you.

Concerning difficulty, for those who are completely new to the game, a few introductions lessons wouldn't hurt, just to learn the basics. In fact, many courses in the GTA (and most likely all over Canada) have great lesson programs and are staffed by PGA of Canada members. On a more personal level, going out to your local driving range for a few hours can do wonders. Golfers need to figure out what works for them; each golf swing is different from the next. The driving range is where a golfer can test things out, without feeling the pressures that course-play brings.

One thing that I haven't talked about yet are the health benefits of golf. This was something that was also brought up by Rick Young and frankly, something that I was not fully aware of. According to Rick, walking 18 holes while carrying your clubs will burn about 1800-2000 calories, riding for 18 holes about 1200-1300 calories; impressive numbers considering the fact that it is "low impact" exercise. There's also the social side of the game. Meeting new people, being outside, spending time with friends; some of my best memories with my friends have been on the course. We need to be promoting this aspect of the sport.

I'll end on this statement. If you are reading this post and you are new to golf or have some interest in it but have never played, here's my advice to you. Golf is the only true individual sport in my opinion. It's one of the only sports that you can just go out and play; just you, your clubs, a ball and a course. I believe also that it is one of the most satisfying sports, on both a physical and mental level. So try it out, go to your local driving range, rent some clubs and give it a shot (no pun intended). You may like the game or you may not, but what I can guarantee you is that it'll be like nothing you've ever tried before.




-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews



The discussion doesn't end here. What are your thoughts on why more people don't golf? Do you agree or disagree with anything I wrote? Let us know in the comments below.  

With professional golf becoming more and more lucrative, why aren't more people golfing at the local level?
(Butch Dill/USA TODAY Sports)