Within the scorecard holder which sits in my back pocket every time I play golf is a piece of paper. On that piece of paper are 13 different numbers, one for each club in my bag. It’s been there since last year, after I went through a relatively painstaking process of hitting 20 shots with each club, on a launch monitor, and averaging out the distances for every club in my bag (minus my putter, of course).

I’ve come to depend on it. I’d probably surrender half the clubs in my bag before that piece of paper. Knowing my exact yardages with every club has legitimately helped me — until last week.

Sneaking in a few rounds in the neighbouring links courses around Royal Liverpool with some fellow Golf Digest staffers (we call these “research rounds”), it immediately became clear how worthless that piece of paper was on those courses. For the first time since I jotted those numbers down, I played golf never bothering to consider it.

So much golf, from the PGA Tour et al. is a game of execution. Picking a spot, and trying to hit it to that number. Like throwing a dart at the centre of a dartboard, your success or failure starts and ends with you alone.

Links golf is different. A certain wind will send a driver across a fairway, rather than down it. Or float it high and away into nowhere. Links courses can turn a 9-iron into a 5-iron, and a 5-iron into the best sand wedge in your bag.

Mastering most golf courses means imposing your will as a golfer on to the layout. Links golf requires a meshing with what’s in front of you, in that current moment. Sometimes that means putting the driver away for good, as Tiger Woods did when he won at Royal Liverpool in 2006. Other times, it may mean calling upon a shot you may have never played before. Never does it require scribbling numbers on to a piece of paper.

“There are several different options to play each golf hole,” Brian Harman said of Royal Liverpool. “If you’re into the wind you can hit way more club and send it up in the air to try to stop it, or you can try to finesse something lower. I enjoy the variety of shots you have to hit.”

There’s a famous quote from the legendary British golf writer, Bernard Darwin, that the elements at Hoylake make Royal Liverpool a “breeder of great champions”. The history certainly backs it up, from Walter Hagan to Bobby Jones, to Peter Thompson, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Brian Harman isn’t the name you’d expect to follow on that list. But standing in the rain as the 36 year-old hoisted the claret jug, Hoylake had done it again. Brian Harman was the man who forsook the formulas and mastered his feel instead. It’s the only way to conquer the elements of links golf. And in doing so Harman proved he is, undoubtedly, a great champion.

1. Good putting is boring putting

There was a lot of talk about putting at Royal Liverpool. Scottie Scheffler couldn’t make putts. Neither could Rory McIlroy, or Tommy Fleetwood. Brian Harman could, so he won.
Harman was, indeed, a tremendous putter at Royal Liverpool. But what, exactly, does that mean?
When most of us think about “good putting”, we think of draining long putts, and walking in 20-footers for birdie. Harman’s stats tell a different story. He gained 11.57 strokes on the green last week, but the longest putt he dropped all week was just over 30 feet. Rory McIlroy dropped two putts longer than that over those same 72 holes. So did Scheffler, and 29 other players.
Harman’s elite putting performance instead was predicated on making the boring, extraordinary. He didn’t have a three putt. He missed just one putt inside 10 feet, and none inside of five feet. When you do that, no one else can stand a chance.
“I expect to make those putts,” he said.
The problem the rest of us have is that we expect to make the wrong putts. Sure, it’s fun to drop 15 and 20 footers, but missing those doesn’t really matter, in the scheme of things. Making more of those putts five and 10 feet. Missing those are the killer of good rounds, and the key to avoiding bad ones.
Good putting doesn’t mean dropping bombs. It means making lots of little ones.

Travis Smyth. The Open Twitter

2. Know how to ditch spin in a hurry

Every time a golfer hits a ball, it flies into the air with backspin. It’s backspin that keeps the ball in the air. Of course, that’s not what you want when the wind starts gusting, as it did early during Open Championship week.
Killing lots of spin in a hurry strikes me as a pretty essential skill, for all golfers. This week, most pros I talked to said they generally settle on a combination of taking more club, swinging softer, and teeing the ball slightly higher (the ball being propped up in the rough has the same effect).
“When you’re trying to hit a low one, you are coming in quite steep. It’s easier off a tee, so you’re not catching the ground instantly at impact, which will create spin, which into the wind you don’t want to do,” said Travis Smyth after his hole-in-one on the 17th hole. “I took an extra club and chipped it.”
Simple enough, and something to keep in mind the next time you find yourself facing a stiff breeze.

3. Distance varies way more than you think

Of course, reducing your spin only mitigates the effects of an into wind shot. Ultimately, if you’re into wind, the ball is going to go shorter. Same with if it’s raining. Watching the pros slog it out on Sunday made me realise that the rest of us have a woeful under-appreciation for how much the rain, or wind, will affect our shots.
The reality is a player could be capable of hitting it 320 yards one day, but put that same player in certain elements, and they may struggle to crack 250 yards — as Rory McIlroy proved.

Rory's drive on the first hole in calm weather yesterday:

316 yards, 132 yards in

Rory's drive on the first hole in pouring rain today:

250 yards, 208 yards in pic.twitter.com/WMeOLASphr

— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) July 23, 2023

“If it’s raining a little heavier, an iron could easily go 20 yards shorter,” Sepp Straka, who finished T-2.
Sure, into the wind, the rest of us will take an extra club. Maybe two. Really, there should be time when we take five extra clubs, or expect a 70-yard decrease on a given drive. It’s uncomfortable to think about, but it’s half the battle when playing in the elements. And it’s something pros don’t think twice about.

4. It’s the external factors that kill you

If you’ve noticed so far, a lot of the things I learnt have to do with external factors. All the stuff that’s out there. There are lots of things out there, especially during Opens, and it’s easy to let them screw us up.
Even for pros.
For Emiliano Grillo, it was the wind on the driving range. It was blowing left-to-right most days. Perfect to counteract his draw. Then he stands up on the second hole, and for the first time, finds the wind blowing right-to-left toward out of bounds. That baby draw which was flying straight on the range is about to turn into a hook.
“It’s so hard to make the switch,” he said. “Standing on the second hole, I bailed out right both days. I probably hit my ball 100 yards right.”
For Max Homa, it was the hassle of moving everything around in the rain.
“The umbrella to the glove to the yardage book to the umbrella, it just gets tiring holding the dang thing and shuffling it around,” he said after I asked him the most difficult part of playing in the rain. “You just feel very out of sorts. It takes a few holes to get going.”
Yet both those players had their best Open Championship finish ever. As did Ben An, who says it was always unlucky bounces that would often send his rounds into a mental, downhill spiral. He said things only started to change recently, when he accepted those will happen and there’s nothing he’ll be able to do about it. The central skill in golf isn’t avoiding them altogether, but sucking them up and moving on when they do happen.
“I realised I usually get beaten by the golf course, not by other players,” he says. “I still have to work very hard on it, but I don’t lose my mind as much as I did before … It’s not perfect, but you have to learn to let it go, like what are you going to do next.”

5. Go short or long of trouble, but never around

The third hole is a quirky layout where an old racetrack used to be. A wall signifying out of bounds cuts in from the right at about 250 yards. During the previous two Opens at Royal Liverpool, players would hit a no-brainer iron miles short of it. This year, for the first time, players had introduced a third strategy: Sending a driver over the out of bounds, over the fairway, into the rough. Amateur Christo Lamprecht, who won the silver medal for low amateur after leading through 18 hole, opted for that strategy on day one. He birdied the hole.

 

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“It makes sense,” Bryson DeChambeau says. “You can take the OB out of play every time that way.”
While some players opted for ‘over it’ strategy the first two days, they abandoned it once the weekend rain came. But this was an interesting insight how they think about avoiding absolute, no-go areas like out of bounds: When trying to avoid a hazard, you need to either hit something short that has no chance of going into the hazard long, or something so long that it has no chance of catching the hazard short. Don’t flirt with it, and don’t try going around it.
On a slightly separate note, many proponents of a golf ball rollback would point to something like this as evidence the golf ball does need to get rolled back. I’m not unconvinced by that argument, but in this case, I’m just not sure that would tell the entire story.
Being able to go over everything does give this hole different shot options, which is the guiding principle for so much of the rollback debate. And because that ‘go for it’ option only requires a carry of about 260 yards, it’s a feat most long hitters could accomplish even with a persimmon driver — especially with the right wind.
Rather, this strategy exists now and not before because golfers in 2023 understand the statistical value of being in the rough, if it means being closer to the hole.
“There is typically something bad in play, constantly, so you might as well get it as close to the hole as you can,” says Scott Fawcett, the founder of Decade Golf. “Especially in major championship golf.”
Intentionally trying to hit your ball in the rough is simply not an idea which made sense until we had data that proved why it can. Wherever you may land on the rollback debate, that genie isn’t going back in the bottle.

6. Fully commit to a feeling that works

As often happens with these articles, I’m quickly approaching my word limit, so a quick note on how much I love that Adrian Otegui put this rehearsal practice backswing move into play because he liked the feeling of it in a practice round. He noticed his backswing getting too short. This helped him commit to the feeling of a full turn, in the final seconds it was time to swing.

Instead of waggles, Adrián Otaegui makes a full backswing while he’s over the ball. Then stops, resets, and swings.

“It’s new. It’s a feeling I had in practice rounds. I quite like the feeling, used it on the driving range, then introduced it into my routine.”

Practice vs real pic.twitter.com/QEBWIDHnLd

— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) July 21, 2023

A good reminder, that it doesn’t matter how something looks if it helps your swing feels.

7. Trust the process

I find it increasingly weird how, whenever Rory McIlroy gets into major contention and doesn’t win, pundits immediately reach for some mental platitude. It’s always some variation of Rory not being able to handle the pressure, or wanting it too much, or not wanting it enough, or lacking the killer instinct.
But what, exactly, does that mean?
Rory isn’t standing over a golf ball, thinking about how much making this putt would mean to him. None of these guys are, and they shouldn’t be, either. They may feel nervous, but that’s natural and normal. Even when they feel the nerves, they’re not trying to do anything different. “Process” was the word Rory McIlroy kept returning to during his Hoylake victory in 2014. It’s the same process he’s focusing on in 2023.
The truth is, the whole ‘he can’t handle the heat’ mental stuff is just a thing that people say who don’t want to look at the real reasons, so they make up catchy ones instead.
As far as I can see it, in Rory’s case, he’s a very, very good player (obviously). The key reason McIlroy is so good is because of his golf swing. He’s not the biggest guy, but he can hit his ball enormous distances because of how dynamic his golf swing is. But that dynamism also leads to occasional streaky ball-striking patches, especially off the tee. That’s what we saw during the early part of this season. That’s why to some outsiders, Rory can run hot and cold from round to round. It’s worth the trade.
Other times, he’ll struggle with consistent contact on his putting — that’s what happened on Saturday. Every player has different tendencies which pop up from time to time. This is Rory’s.

 

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Occasionally Rory also has a tendency, I think, to play too safe at certain times. Some variation of all of the above can explain most of McIlroy’s recent major near-misses.
The only way to win majors in the modern era is to fire on all cylinders. The fields are just too deep not to, as Brian Harman proved this week. Rory is one of the few exceptions: A player good enough to get himself into contention, even when he’s not firing on all cylinders. Just as Jack Nicklaus did, whose record doesn’t just include 18 major wins, but 19 other major top threes.
It’s not a bad thing, so save the mental game platitudes about Rory. Any minute now things will align, and Rory will get his major. Then many more after that.

The post Seven things learnt from players at the 2023 Open Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The LIV Golf Miami Team Championship will begin on Friday.

Otaegui had played in three LIV events — in England, Portland and Boston — but did not compete in its Bedminster, New Jersey or Chicago stops, or the recent overseas legs in Thailand and Saudi Arabia. His best finish was sixth place at the inaugural event outside London.

But this week, 29-year-old Otaegui has been chosen to play for Torque alongside teammates Scott Vincent and Jediah Morgan.

Otaegui captured his fourth DP World Tour title on the famed Valderrama course earlier this month by shooting a 19-under-par total to win by six shots over Joakim Lagergren.

A birdie at the last for a six shot victory, setting the tournament record at -19 ?@adrianotaegui | #EDAM2022 pic.twitter.com/2e4nCmSD6Z

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 16, 2022

He earned $500,000 for the victory, which was not the most widely popular in tour circles given the European circuit attempted to ban and fine any of its members who played in LIV Golf events. The bans were blocked by a UK arbitration court so LIV golfers such as Martin Kaymer, Ian Poulter, Patrick Reed, Talor Gooch and Lee Westwood have been able to compete on the DP World Tour.

With his win, Otaegui secured valuable World Ranking points, which LIV colleagues have not been able to obtain on the rival circuit because the fledgling series is not yet eligible to earn them. Otaegui jumped from 158th to 95th and, perhaps more interestingly, also moved into the top six for European Ryder Cup qualifying via its world points list. Coincidentally, Otaegui’s victory at Spain came on the same day LIV Golf’s individual season concluded at the LIV Golf Jeddah Invitational in Saudi Arabia.

This week at Doral, LIV’s team finale will not have an individual stroke-play component but will boast a $50 million purse. All 48 competitors are assured of earning at least $250,000. The bottom four teams are guaranteed $1 million while the winning team will split $16 million.

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The post Fresh off Valderrama victory, Dubai-based Adrian Otaegui ready to return to LIV Golf for team finale at Doral appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Dubai-based player was cruising with a six-stroke lead going into the final round at Valderrama in Sotogrande. When Otaegui kept the field at arm’s length throughout the final 18 holes to confirm the title was his — his fourth on the DP World Tour — he also became the first LIV Golf player to win on the former European Tour circuit.

A tournament record 19-under 265 was six better than runner-up Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren.

Otaegui played in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational in London, finishing tied for sixth, and made subsequent starts in Portland and Boston. After his initial LIV appearance, the DP World Tour suspended Otaegui and the other tour members who competed on the rival tour for three events and fined them £100,000. Otaegui and others subsequently appealed those penalties to a UK arbiter, who quickly stayed the suspension.

With a full hearing scheduled in the UK for February to decide whether the DP World Tour can prohibit LIV Golfers from playing in its events, they are still allowed to enter tour cometitions. Otaegui was making his ninth start in a DP World event since June. Otaegui missed just one cut and had three top-15 finishes.

At Valderrama, Otaegui opened with rounds of 67-66-64, making only three bogeys the first three days to take his commanding lead. Aware the potential to let complacency get the best of him on Sunday, Otaegui specifically adjusted his focus.

“I think that was a very big risk that I didn’t want to take,” he said. “I just tried to play my game. I tried to play like if I just teed off being square and just tried to beat the others just today. Just tried to stay focused and play every hole with the same intensity.”

The strategy worked as Otaegui made three birdies in a six-hole stretch early on Sunday (he played the front nine for the week in 15 under), never seeing the lead dip below five shots. A bogey on the 11th was offset by a birdie on the 18th as he claimed his fourth career DP World Tour win (the last coming at the 2020 Scottish Open) and became the first Spaniard to win the event since Sergio Garcia in 2018.

“I feel so happy to have my first win in Spain in front of these crowds on my favorite golf course in Spain,” Otaegui said. “It’s just unbelievable. I’ve very, very happy with everything It’s just the week went perfect.”

Otaegui has secured a spot in the DP World Tour Championships at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November, where he will hope to impress enough to get a full-time contract for the expanded LIV Golf 2023 season.

He also picked up world ranking points, something LIV Golf tournaments are not awarded as yet and is expected to climb inside the top 100 on Monday.

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The Dubai-based 29-year-old carded a third-round 64 on Saturday to reach 16-under, with countryman Angel Hidalgo and Swede Joakim Lagergren his nearest challengers on 10-under.

Otaegui could create a bit of history as victory would mean he would become the first player to have competed on the LIV Golf series to claim a DP World Tour title — he played on three LIV events at London, Portland and Boston.

Australia’s Min Woo Lee was another shot back in fourth, two ahead of fifth-placed Robert MacIntyre of Scotland.

“I’m very happy, everything went perfectly today,” said Otaegui. “I putted well, I felt very comfortable. The crowds were pushing amazingly, so that was unbelievable.

“I had a very good start with a nice birdie on the second and then three birdies in a row at four, five, six and that gave me a bit of momentum. I felt good on the course, tried to enjoy it, tried to stay focused. I missed a couple of birdie putts at the beginning of the front nine but finished with three good birdies.

“I’ve been trying to just play Valderrama. Be on the fairway, be on the green on the good side, and the ball was going where I wanted it to go. There are not many different ways to play Valderrama, other courses you can play holes a lot of different ways and still make a birdie. At Valderrama you need to play the good sides, so that was the key.”

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The 24-year-old Spaniard was hot with the putter at Real Club Valderrama, as he made eight birdies on a blemish-free card, to sit on nine-under alongside Dubai-based Spaniard Adrian Otaegui and Australia’s Min Woo Lee.

Otaegui added a five-under 66 to his opening 67 to make it a three-way tie at the top after Lee had gone 66-67.

The leading trio were three shots clear of Swede Joakim Lagergren, with Scot Robert MacIntyre and Spain’s Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez another shot back on five-under.

“I started the day hitting it so badly on the range, but I just tried to put the ball in the fairway on the first few holes and started to take some confidence,” said Hidalgo. “I made every putt today and that was the key.

“The support was amazing. It’s the first time I’ve played with so many people following me. I was a bit nervous at times, but it was great feeling. A 63 is a dream score and I’m so happy.”

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The 48-man field will play across 12 teams of four players each, which will be determined at The Draft on Tuesday, June 7.

MORE: Dustin Johnson to headline LIV Golf field in London

“Free agency has finally come to golf. This is an opportunity to start a movement that will change the course of history by bringing new and open competition to the sport we all love. The desire shown by the players to participate in LIV Golf demonstrates their emphatic belief in our model and confidence in what we’re building for the future,” said Norman, CEO and Commissioner of LIV Golf. “We couldn’t be happier at the diversity of our field, featuring players from around the world including major champions and those making their debut with us competing in their first professional event. We can’t wait to start our journey at Centurion Club with this group of first movers who are committed to growing the game in new and exciting ways.”

Here are the top five marquee players in the field

Dustin Johnson
The former world No. 1 was something of a surprise inclusion and will certainly draw in the crowds. The 37-year-old has two majors to his name (2016 US Open and 2020 Masters) and has racked up nearly 30 pro titles on tour. One of the most popular golfers on the planet.

Lee Westwood
The 49-year-old is one of the oldest guys still performing at the top on the main tours and is often mentioned as one of the best players never to win a major (he has three second-place finishes and three thirds across the four tournaments). He has been quite open and honest about looking for a bumper payday on the LIV Tour as he reaches the twilight of his career.

Sergio Garcia
The Spanish 2017 Masters champion dropped a not-so-subtle hint about his intentions to play on the LIV Golf tour when he was overheard saying he “cannot wait” to quit the PGA Tour after an errant penalty at the Wells Fargo Championship last month. A huge favourite in England, across Europe and the UAE.

Ian Poulter
Here is a man to watch for his fashion sense as much as his golf as he always dresses to impress during the big tournaments. While he has never won a major, the former world No. 5 has 17 wins on tour and is famed for his exploits for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup, meaning he always has a loyal band of followers.

Louis Oosthuizen
The South African shot on to the scene in 2010 when he won the Open Championship at St Andrews and has finished an agonising second in the other three majors a collective five times since, most recently at both the 2021 PGA Championship and US Open. Would love a money-spinning win before the Open heads back to the Old Course in Scotland as he searches for that elusive second major.

Here are Golf Digest Middle East’s five other players to watch:

Charl Schwartzel
The South African has been a fan favourite ever since he won the 2011 Masters at Augusta to claim the green jacket and his place in history. The 37-year-old has 13 pro titles on the PGA and DP World Tours and — win or lose — is always smiling on course.

Richard Bland
The veteran has been very outspoken about his intention to play the LIV Golf events, even if it means a ban from the DP World and PGA Tours. The 2021 British Masters champ has bloomed over the past couple of years and is playing the best golf of his life — possibly just at the right time.

Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat
One of the finest young exports to come out of Asia in recent years, TK is already a winner on the Asian Tour this season at the age of 15, where he became the youngest ever player to take a title on one of the main professional tours.

Adrian Otaegui
The 29-year-old Spaniard will hold a certain interest in the UAE as he is a Dubai resident. He has three DP World Tour wins to his name and recently hit the headlines by shooting a course record 63 at Al Hamra Club during the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in March, and just missed out on the ISPS Handa Championship in Spain in April.

Chase Koepka
If just for the name alone. The younger brother of a certain Brooks Koepka, Chase certainly knows his way around a golf course, too, with three amateur titles to his name, and runners-up spot at the Italian Challenge and Kazakhstan Open. He also finished fifth with brother Brooks at the 2017 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

The full field for the LIV Golf Invitational Series in London

(Name, Country, OWGR: Career Highlights)
Oliver Bekker, RSA, 93: Seven career wins
Richard Bland, ENG ,66: Two career wins
Laurie Canter, ENG, 114: One professional win
Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat (Am), THA, N/A: Youngest to win an OWGR event
Hennis Du Plessis, RSA, 128: Three professional wins
Oliver Fisher, ENG, 979: One professional win, 16 top-10 finishes
Sergio Garcia, ESP, 54: Major champion, 36 career victories
Talor Gooch, USA, 35: Two professional wins
Branden Grace, RSA, 118: 14 professional wins
Justin Harding, RSA, 111: 11 professional wins
Sam Horsfield, ENG, 72: Three professional wins
Dustin Johnson, USA, 13: Former World No. 1, Two-time major champion
Matt Jones, AUS, 68: Four professional wins
Sadom Kaewkanjana, THA, 125: Former Asian Tour Order of Merit leader (2 wins)
Martin Kaymer, GER, 210: Former World No. 1; Two-time major champion
Phachara Khongwatmai, THA, 133: Youngest player to win pro event (2013)
Sihwan Kim, USA, 138: Two Asian Tour wins
Ryosuke Kinoshita, JPN, 87: Three professional wins
Chase Koepka, USA, 1,543: Six professional top-10 finishes
Jinichiro Kozuma, JPN, 103: Two professional wins
Pablo Larrazabal, ESP, 65: Eight professional wins
Graeme McDowell, NIR, 376: Major champion, 16 professional victories
Jediah Morgan, AUS, 235: 2021-22 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit
Kevin Na, USA, 33: Nine professional victories
Shaun Norris, RSA, 69: 12 professional wins
Andy Ogletree, USA, 1,349: 2019 US Amateur Champion
Louis Oosthuizen, RSA, 20: Major champion; 20 professional wins
Wade Ormsby, AUS, 276: Four professional victories
Adrian Otaegui, ESP, 162: Three professional wins
Turk Pettit, USA, 720: 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Champion
James Piot (Am), USA: 2021 US Amateur Champion
Ian Poulter, ENG, 89: 19 professional victories; former World No. 5
David Puig (Am), ESP, N/A: Seven top-10 finishes in 2021 (NCAA)
JC Ritchie, RSA, 154: 10 professional victories
Charl Schwartzel, RSA, 120: Major champion, 23 professional wins
Hudson Swafford, USA, 91: Four professional wins; 12 top 10 finishes
Hideto Tanihara, JPN, 173: 16 professional victories
Peter Uihlein, USA, 319,: Former No. 1 Amateur; Four professional wins
Vincent Scott, ZIM, 109: Four professional wins
Lee Westwood, ENG, 74: Former World No. 1, 44 professional wins
Bernd Wiesberger, AUT, 90: 13 professional victories
Blake Windred, AUS, 250: Earned first professional win in 2021

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The post From DJ and Sergio to Bland and Koepka, your players to watch at the LIV Golf Invitational Series in London appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 27-year-old was among the front-runners from the morning tee offs at Stadium Course, PGA Catalunya Golf and Wellness in Girona.

A roller-coaster round of 68, including three bogeys, five birdies and a solitary eagle was good enough for Arnaus to take a share of fifth spot on four-under par, just behind the co-leaders Sebastian Heisele of Germany, England’s James Morrison, Chinese hope Haotong Li and South African Oliver Bekker.

Arnaus was in the clubhouse alongside France’s Jean-Baptiste Gonnet, another South African Hennie du Plessis and Scotland’s David Drysdale, and looking in good shape for a push at the title as he seeks his first DP World Tour crown.

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The post Dubai’s Adri Arnaus among early chargers at Catalunya Championship in Spain appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

But with a welcome respite of a few weeks away from the grind, it was local boy Pablo Larrazabal who prospered by claiming the inaugural ISPS Handa title just outside Tarragona.

There was a home-away-from-home comfort for Dubai’s Adrian Otaegui as he secured second spot behind his compatriot at the end of a torrid four days that were thrown into mayhem by the weather.

Larrazabal claimed his seventh DP World Tour title, and confirmed his return to form with a second win of the season in just four appearances this season. The Spaniard signed off in style as he birdied the final hole for a scorching 62 and a first win on home soil.

The 38-year-old, who won the MyGolfLife Open last month in South Africa, began the final round three strokes back at Infinitum — just outside Tarragona and one hour down the road from his home in Barcelona — and he catapulted himself into the mix courtesy of five successive birdies from the ninth.

Fellow Spaniard Otaegui and his two playing partners in the final group, Aaron Cockerill of Canada and South Africa’s Hennie Du Plessis, all remained in contention coming down the stretch having shared a three-way tie for the lead heading into the final round.

But Larrazabal’s 15-under total, after an eight-under final round, was enough to clinch a seventh Tour title – moving him alongside Jon Rahm, Alvaro Quiros and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano on the list of Spaniards with most wins, and making him the second multiple winner of the 2022 season after World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

Dubai man Otaegui had an opportunity to force a play-off with an eagle chance at the last, but a birdie was only enough to finish one stroke back in second spot, with Cockerill and Du Plessis finishing a shot further back in a share of third on 13-under.

“What a day,” said Larrazabal. “But I knew that my golf was there. I couldn’t make any putts the first three days but I told my girlfriend last night that she had to choose my clothing for the (winning) pictures.

“I knew that I had a low one in my bag and that’s what I did. Today I holed putts and that was key. I mean, to shoot 62 in windy conditions with the flags out there, it was good.

“This weekend my physical trainer was here. My girlfriend and my brother are here, my friends from home are here. So it’s been quite emotional but I kept the nerves down and kept concentrated and I managed to finish the job, so I’m very happy.

“Today I found something on the putting green going in (ahead of the fourth round) and I knew that I had a low one. And I had to have a low one. I don’t play golf for positions, I play golf for trophies and I knew that 15-under was the number to catch.

“I’m glad I got the seventh title here at home. I live one hour and 15 minutes up the road and it’s very special to win in Spain, in front of a few friends of mine, and obviously in front of my girlfriend and my brother.

“So it’s not going to be the most emotional win in my career but it’s one of them.

“It’s been tough, the last three years, the last maybe five, six years.

“When your golf is not there and then injuries, and then these 20-year-old kids are coming in and they’re flying the ball 50, 60 yards over yours and you’re not putting well, you’re not chipping well. There are a lot of things coming into my mind.

“I thought a lot about not playing any more. And sometimes if you believe and you keep working hard, life gives you back and it’s been a long road. For the trust and for the work I did, and for the patience, I think I really deserve it.”

Otaegui was gracious in defeat and knows his time will come sooner rather than later.

“It’s been a great day, no bogeys, holed a few par putts, played really well, lots of shots to the pin,” he said. “I think I did a great job and congratulations to Pablo — that has been an amazing round. It was windy out there.

“I am really happy. Of course, over 72 holes there has been good, and not that good, shots but I think I did the right thing.

“I need to have some rest now and get ready for next week. I came in playing very well and this week I just played well, so I’m enjoying myself a lot at the moment.”

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The post Larrazabal edges Dubai’s Otaegui in a Spanish Armada at ISPS Handa on DP World Tour appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
Tapio Pulkkanen and Johannes Veerman took advantage of the afternoon conditions at Infinitum’s Lakes Course to share the clubhouse lead on a storm-hit firsrt day of the inaugural ISPS Handa Championship in Spain.

The DP World Tour finally reached Europe for the 2022 season on Thursday for the first of two back-to-back Spanish events, but heavy rain and thunderstorms meant the opening day was delayed for over two hours.

David Law of Scotland posted the low score from the early starters with a five-under 65, but the afternoon groups were treated to more benign and softy conditions and they took advantage before play was halted overnight due to darkness.

Dubai-based Spaniard Adrian Otaegui led the home charge to sit two behind the leaders on four-under, thanks to a six-birdie 66.

Both Pulkkanen and Veerman endured tough starts – with the Finn bogeying his opening hole, the 10th, and the American opening with back-to-back bogeys after teeing off at the first – but they both bounced back in style.

Veerman, a DP World Tour winner at last year’s Czech Masters, birdied six holes on the back nine to sign for a six-under 64, while Pulkkanen birdied two of his final three holes to move into a share of the overnight lead.

South Africa’s Hennie Du Plessis and SSP Chawrasia of India were also on six-under through 16 holes when bad light halted play, while Jack Senior carded a 65 late in the day to join Law on five-under.

“I had a pretty slow start, bogey-bogey, and I thought maybe this isn’t so good a day, but I made two more birdies coming in to make the turn and then I just lit it up on the back nine — putting really hot and hitting it really good,” said Veerman.

“This golf course, you have a couple of tough holes out here but you have a lot of wedges, so if you can put it in play off the tee — because the rough is so long — you can really get it close because you have short clubs in your hands. We’ll see how we go tomorrow but I’m going to go back, get to bed early and go again.

“I came through Qualifying School here in 2019 so I only have good memories about this golf course so it’s nice to come back and play well again. I lit it up in the last four rounds after making the cut on the number, so I have some really nice memories around here.”

Pulkkanen added: “I have played 50 rounds here before because my national team used to come and practise here, so it’s almost like a home course. I just hit it solid and made some putts.

“I think the greens softened up a lot after the rain so that made it easier. The greens on Tuesday were quite tough and then they were slower after the rain. The rough was wet so you want to be on the fairway but my driving was really good so I didn’t need to worry about the rough and that helped a lot.

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The post Pulkkanen and Veerman set the early pace, with Dubai’s Adrian Otaegui on the prowl appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
The DP World Tour gets rolling again with a double-header in Spain, beginning on Thursday with the ISPS Handa Championship in Tarragona. While East Asia has continued to suffer a lack of golf events due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, Spain — in this case — is definitely the beneficiary.

The latest addition to the calendar will be held at Infinitum Golf and was created to plug the gap created by the pandemic-enforced postponement of the tournament with the same name in Japan. It precedes the Catalunya Championship in Girona, which is another one-off event replacing the Volvo China Open.

So after a few weeks off and a jaunt to the Masters at Augusta National for the top players on the DP World Tour, it is a timely return to Spain to mark the 50th anniversary of the tour back where it all began.

The European Tour, as it was then known, started with the 1972 Spanish Open at Club Golf de Pals in Girona, where home stars Antonio Garrido and a certain Seve Ballesteros began the revolution of European golf.

Just like that first Spanish Open, the 2022 Catalunya Championship will also be held in Girona at the PGA Catalunya Golf and Wellness and help uphold a tradition that has seen Spain become a mainstay on the tour and a production line for some of the world’s best golfers.

But first up is the ISPS Handa Championship in Tarragona, where a whole host of stars will be chasing the $2 million purse and looking to be the first to get their name engraved on the inaugural trophy.

With no defending champion, it will be tough to select the favourites, but the likes of high-flying Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and Dane Thorbjorn Olesen will be leading a pack of homegrown talents in the shape of Dubai-based pair Adrian Otaegui and Adri Arnaus, Pablo Larrazabal — who already has a win on tour this season in South Africa — Jorge Campillo, Nacho Elvira and Alejandro Canizares.

Bernd Wiesberger

A host of champions on tour heading to Spain be familiar to Middle East golf fans. Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson, who claimed his maiden professional title at the recent Qatar Masters, will join Ras Al Khaimah’s two champions on the UAE Swing, Ryan Fox and Nicolai Hojgaard.

The Dane will liven up the party alongside twin brother Rasmus, and leading DP World Tour players also in the line-up include the likes of Alexander Bjork, Jamie Donaldson, Laurie Canter, James Morrison, Andy Sullivan, Matthew Jordan, Joost Luiten, Chris Paisley, Ross Fisher and Soren Kjeldsen.

Larrazabal, who won his sixth DP World Tour title at the MyGolfLife Open in March, will certainly be one to watch, while Ferguson will fancy his chances now he has a taste for victory after some near-misses.

The Infinitum Resort in Tarragona has been home to the final stage of DP World Tour Q School in recent years and that could help Canizares, who has a first and third over the Lakes Course in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

From the big guns, former Ryder Cup player and world No. 78 Wiesberger will be keen to get his season on track after no top-10 finishes from his five starts this season.

The Hojgaard twins can be unpredictable, but both have DP World Tour titles in the bag and will certainly produce fireworks. You can expect to see at least one of their names on the leaderboard at some point.

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The post DP World Tour heads back to where it all began in Spain for 50th Anniversary celebrations appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.