There were plenty of great moments to cherry pick from the ensuing celebrations, but our favorite belongs to Fox who was seen gleefully whispering to caddie Dean Smith during the trophy presentation “We get to go back to August next year.” Indeed you, Ryan. Indeed you do.

"We're going back to Augusta."@ryanfoxgolfer ?#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/lE7JZyuN4e

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 18, 2023

If you’ve ever wondered if the pros care as much about the Masters as much as you do, this is your reminder. Sure, the $1.4 million pay day was nice, but Fox and Smith were downright giddy about the prospect of teeing it up at Augusta National next season. That tells you everything you need to know about the Augusta aura.

The 2024 Masters will be Fox’s second Masters after qualifying for the first time in 2023. As for Smith, he had one simple request for his player: “Go and win it.”

The post Watch as giddy Ryan Fox whispers: ‘We get to go back to Augusta’ to caddie appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The BMW PGA Championship is considered the DP World Tour’s flagship event, and rightfully so given the list of past winners. Among some of the game’s best player to claim the title have been Tony Jacklin, Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Jose Maria Olazabal, Colin Montgomerie and Rory McIlroy. And recent champs have also double as major winners, too, including Francesco Molinari, Danny Willett and Shane Lowry, winner a year ago at Wentworth.

Suffice it to say, joining this honour roll is something New Zealand’s Ryan Fox certainly aspired to do this week. But the way he grabbed it on Sunday was particularly impressive. A closing 67 that included a triple-bogey on the third hole then eight birdies on his final 13 holes — capped by a six-footer on the 18th — allowed him to beat Tyrrell Hatton by one stroke.

The 36-year-old had won three times previously on the DP World Tour, but this victory was the most prestigious. The Rolex Series event offers an overall prize money payout of $9 million with Fox claiming at first-place pay day of $1.53 million.
Here’s the overall prize money payout for each golfer who made the cut this week at Wentworth.

Win: Ryan Fox, -18, $1,530,000
T-2: Tyrrell Hatton, -17, $776,700
T-2: Aaron Rai, -17, $776,700
4: Jon Rahm, -16, $450,000
5: Viktor Hovland, -15, $381,600
6: Tommy Fleetwood, -14, $315,000
T-7: Callum Shinkwin, -13, $232,200
T-7: Rory McIlroy, -13, $232,200
T-7: Adam Scott, -13, $232,200
T-10: Ludvig Aberg, -12, $161,325
T-10: Connor Syme, -12, $161,325
T-10: Sepp Straka, -12, $161,325
T-10: Hennie Du Plessis, -12, $161,325
T-14: Romain Langasque, -11, $129,600
T-14: Min Woo Lee, -11, $129,600
T-14: Joost Luiten, -11, $129,600
T-14: Tom Hoge, -11, $129,600
T-18: Tom Kim, -10, $105,300
T-18: Billy Horschel, -10, $105,300
T-18: Shane Lowry, -10, $105,300
T-18: James Morrison, -10, $105,300
T-18: Vincent Norrman, -10, $105,300
T-18: Matt Fitzpatrick, -10, $105,300
T-18: Alexander Bjork, -10, $105,300
T-25: Marcus Helligkilde, -9, $90,900
T-25: Rikuya Hoshino, -9, $90,900
T-25: Jason Scrivener, -9, $90,900
T-28: Nathan Kimsey, -8, $80,100
T-28: Richie Ramsay, -8, $80,100
T-28: Adrian Meronk, -8, $80,100
T-28: Matthew Baldwin, -8, $80,100
T-28: Jorge Campillo, -8, $80,100
T-33: Thomas Detry, -7, $70,650
T-33: Thorbjorn Olesen, -7, $70,650
35: Julien Brun, -6, $66,600
T-36: Luke Donald, -5, $56,700
T-36: Shubhankar Sharma, -5, $56,700
T-36: Louis De Jager, -5, $56,700
T-36: Daan Huizing, -5, $56,700
T-36: Adrian Otaegui, -5, $56,700
T-36: Justin Rose, -5, $56,700
T-36: Andy Sullivan, -5, $56,700
T-36: Mikael Lindberg, -5, $56,700
T-36: Darius Van Driel, -5, $56,700
T-45: Rasmus Hojgaard, -4, $43,200
T-45: Robert MacIntyre, -4, $43,200
T-45: Yannik Paul, -4, $43,200
T-45: Robin Sciot-Siegrist, -4, $43,200
T-45: Johannes Veerman, -4, $43,200
T-45: Masahiro Kawamura, -4, $43,200
T-51: Calum Hill, -3, $32,850
T-51: Daniel Brown, -3, $32,850
T-51: Dan Bradbury, -3, $32,850
T-51: Matthew Jordan, -3, $32,850
T-51: Tom McKibbin, -3, $32,850
T-51: David Law, -3, $32,850
T-57: Matt Wallace, -2, $27,450
T-57: Oliver Bekker, -2, $27,450
T-57: Rafa Cabrera Bello, -2, $27,450
T-57: Santiago Tarrio, -2, $27,450
T-61: Adri Arnaus, -1, $24,300
T-61: Aaron Cockerill, -1, $24,300
T-61: Lukas Nemecz, -1, $24,300
T-64: Nicolai Hojgaard, E, $21,600
T-64: Sebastian Soderberg, E, $21,600
T-64: Danny Willett, E, $21,600
T-67: Marcel Schneider, +1, $19,350
T-67: Ashun Wu, +1, $19,350
T-69: Alex Fitzpatrick, +2, $16,200
T-69: Zander Lombard, +2, $16,200
T-69: Hurley Long, +2, $16,200
T-72: Nicolas Colsaerts, +3, $13,495
T-72: Jordan Smith, +3, $13,495
T-74: Kalle Samooja, +4, $13,488
T-76: Jeremy Freiburghaus, +5, $13,480
T-76: Pablo Larrazbal, +5, $13,480
T-76: Oliver Wilson, +5, $13,480
79: Scott Jamieson, +8, $13,474

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It doesn’t necessarily mean anything with as many as 12 days to go before a meaningful ball is struck at the Marco Simone Country Club in the 44th Ryder Cup. Then again, it might just mean a lot. Whatever, the facts are, collectively and mostly individually, that the 12 men who will represent Europe in the biennial contest with the United States produced performances in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth ranging from, in a couple of cases, merely “so-so” to (mostly) outstanding. If captain Luke Donald was looking for positive momentum — a sure bet — this was a good four days.

For one thing, the team nearly produced a winner in Tyrrell Hatton, the 31-year-old just missing out on claiming the biggest title on the DP World Tour for the second time with his T-2, one shot back of Ryan Fox. For another, 11 of the 12 finished in red figures, the one exception Nicolai Hojgaard, with a even-par 288 total.

Still, perhaps most importantly was the form of the best three players — Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Viktor Holland — in the European side. Even in these times of statistical overload, the winning formula in any Ryder Cup is simple. If your best three players all perform close to their best and win, say, four points each, you are almost certainly going to be holding the trophy at the end of the three-day match.

You want evidence? Look at the emotional reaction of McIlroy after the Northern Irishman won his first point at Whistling Straits in the singles two years ago. He knew that the six-point lead with which the US had entered the final day could easily be attributable to him. He had played poorly over the first two days and lost three games. If he plays well and wins three points, the match is tied. Such is the responsibility of every team’s elite.

Anyway, the presence of Europe’s three leading musketeers in the top-seven at Wentworth (as well as Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood) is a sure sign, if confirmation were needed, that the home team in Italy are going to be difficult to beat. Asked to sum up the leaderboard, McIlroy did not hesitate.

“It’s awesome,” said the four-time major champion. “We’re in a good spot. We had a really good day in Rome on Monday. The team’s been shaping up really well for the last couple of months, And everyone’s clearly in pretty good form. I’m sure the boys are all excited to get to Rome and get going. Everything is headed in the right direction.”

McIlroy also expressed some surprise that many members of the opposing American team will arrive in Italy on the back of a month-long absence from competitive play. He wasn’t openly criticising such a policy, but there was an element of surprise in his assessment.

“The Americans will certainly be well-rested,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any substitute for being sharp and playing tournaments. The only thing is its match play and not stroke play, so it’s a little bit different. But I don’t think us playing a little bit more over these last few weeks is going to hurt us at all. If anything, I would say it’s better for me. I wouldn’t have liked to go into the Ryder Cup with my last start being the Tour Championship. But that’s personal preference. I like to play my way into the big events.”

The encouragement McIlroy clearly gleaned from his own play and those of his teammates was echoed by European captain, Luke Donald. The former World No. 1, a two-time winner of this event, didn’t do too badly himself, considering all the distractions that surely came his way over the four days. A closing 69 saw the 45-year-old pull up in a tie for 36th place alongside team member Justin Rose and ahead of Ryder rookies Robert MacIntyre and Nicolai Hojgaard.

“I was watching the leaderboard as I went round today,” said Donald, whose players were a collective 128-under par. “There were six [team members] inside the top-six at one point and a couple of others just outside that. They are coming in with a lot of good form. I’m very happy. This tournament always throws up random names early on. But by the end the cream rises. I’m excited to get to Rome. I’m ready for it. And I think my team is too. All the big names you would expect to do well are doing so.”

So it’s looking good for Europe. So far at least.

The post Europe’s Ryder Cuppers have momentum after the BMW PGA success — and plenty of confidence, too appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Yes, Adrian Meronk is still upset, which is fair enough, given the level of disappointment he has experienced recently. Eleven days from hearing he was not going to be part of the European Ryder Cup team later this month, the 30-year-old from Poland is riding a wave of sympathy from all corners of the DP World Tour and Wentworth during the BMW PGA Championship, where he is nine-under after two rounds and firmly in contention. He is, as he was quick to agree after signing for a second-round 68, “a man on a mission”.

“I definitely think it is wrong,” said Meronk, of European captain Luke Donald’s decision not to select him. “I feel like I deserved it. I feel like I showed over the last three years on the DP World Tour how good I was. If you look at the numbers and the results. I felt like it was enough. But now it’s over.”

Maybe so. But the aftereffects continue to linger for the Australian Open champion, who this year won the Italian Open over the Marco Simone course that will host the Ryder Cup.

“The Ryder Cup is definitely a motivation,” Meronk said. “But I’m trying to turn all that disappointment and anger into fuel and motivation, especially this week. I’m very motivated, even though this is my fourth tournament in a row. I can feel it in my body. But I want to keep going and play my best golf.”

Buoyed by “a lot of good words” from Ryder Cup assistant captains Thomas Bjorn and Nicolas Colsaerts, Meronk has been further heartened by what he has been hearing from the vast galleries roaming Wentworth this week.

“I have been getting a lot of support,” Meronk said. “It’s been unbelievable to be honest. From the players. From coaches. From staff. From spectators. It’s been very encouraging. Today, I had people shouting to me in Polish, saying I should be on the team, I deserved it, I’m good enough. I know all that. It doesn’t really matter now though. But it’s nice to have that support from so many different people.”

Moving forward, Meronk’s word of choice is “acceptance”.

“The key for me was to accept the decision,” he said. “Then move on. I’ve had my parents, my girlfriend, my coach, my caddie, my psychologist all helping me with that. We just accepted it as a team and moved on. I’m not sure what was the best advice I have received. That’s a good question. Again, I have to say ‘acceptance.’ I know that is easy to say. It’s like having a bad round or a bad tournament. You have to let it go. This was a bit tougher to accept because it wasn’t based on me. Someone else made the decision. I’ve been pretty good at that though. Acceptance is the key here.”

Still, there are little signs that, even this soon after the infliction of a clearly painful wound, some healing is taking place. Immediately after the realization of his exclusion sunk in, Meronk had no intention of watching the Ryder Cup. Now, however, his position has softened. At home in Poland, he will be taking in every moment on a course he knows — and plays — so well.

“I will watch,” he said. “It is still one of the greatest tournaments in golf. It is going to be exciting. Marco Simone is close to my heart.”

Moving along, Meronk wasn’t above giving out some advice for those in charge of the qualifying process that he feels has treated him so cruelly. One could argue it is flawed, having identified Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre as an automatic qualifier and having failed to do the same for Tommy Fleetwood. Even a cursory glance at the numbers confirms that the latter comprehensively outplayed the former over the course of the qualifying period.

“I do think six picks is too many,” Meronk said. “I would say four is reasonable. I think leaving one or two picks for the big tournaments at the end is a good idea. They picked the team after four weeks of break then two small events. At least one spot should be reserved for this week.”

As for the future, both immediate and intermediate, Meronk seems determined to remain philosophical about his fate. Already he is looking forward to 2025, when the Ryder Cup will visit a raucous Bethpage Black on Long Island.

“I definitely have my eye on 2025,” he said. “I was saying that before the team was announced. If I play well and keep improving, I hope that will be enough to qualify and not be picked for the team. That will be my goal in two years. Plus, it will be easier for me to get past all of this after the Ryder Cup. The talk will be over. Now there is a lot of hype around and you can’t really avoid it. I know it’s there and I know people are going to talk about it. I know I’m going to see the guys around on the range and in the gym. Which is fine. I haven’t tried to avoid anyone. We eat together and train together. It would be impossible to avoid people. Again, acceptance is the key. That’s all I can do.”

There is one more thing, of course. The best response Meronk could ever give to Donald’s snub is to win this week at DP World Tour headquarters and claim the biggest title on the circuit. And don’t think he hasn’t thought of that.

“My golf has been very solid,” he said. “I’m very pleased with my long game. I struggled yesterday but today was better. I had a lot of good chances and I’m excited for the weekend. It could be a huge weekend. But I don’t want to put any extra pressure on myself. I know what I am capable of. I can only control that. I’ll focus on my strategy and see where that takes me.”

Not to Marco Simone, of course. But perhaps to Bethpage. Time will tell. Or, the next European captain will.

The post Still miffed by Ryder Cup snub, Adrian Meronk turning anger into motivation as he contends at BMW PGA appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Tyrrell Hatton has never been one to keep his feelings to himself — whether is four-letter-wording himself after a rare poor shot, alarming greenskeepers with equipment abuse that would make Nick Kyrgios proud, or lambasting the course itself (just as poor old Augusta and Yas Links — Abu Dhabi).

The self-confessed “angry golfer”, who is playing the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth this week in the DP World Tour’s flagship Rolex Series event, showed his Mr Hyde side once again on Thursday, but the target of his wrath this time around was a little bit different.

Watch as a member of the Surrey wildlife gets on the wrong end of a Tyrrell tirade:

"I hate wasps!"

It's always entertaining when @TyrrellHatton's around ?#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/SdXRd8QIGq

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 14, 2023

Yep, even wasps are not safe out there when Hatton is on the course.

Mid-swing on the par-3 fifth at Virginia Water, the Englishman, who is set for his fourth Ryder Cup at the end of the month, had to take a step away and then take a swipe at the pesky interloper. He then composed himself but found the rough, forcing him to have to work hard to save par — that wasp did not show its face again.

Still, I am sure Hatton was more contented when he came off the 18th to sign for a four-under 68 and is firmly in the hunt for what would be a second title at Wentworth — wildlife beware!

The post Watch as Hatton hits a stinger — wasp is latest to feel Tyrrell’s wrath appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The fourth Rolex Series event of the season got under way and the trio teed off before 9am local time, with a bumper crowd in tow at Wentworth.

With things outside the ropes close to perfect, Swede Aberg — who only turned professional in June — set about achieving a similar result inside as he made five birdies in a row from the 11th to fly up the leaderboard and challenge for the lead.

A double-bogey on the 17th somewhat stalled his progress but he birdied the last to finish at four-under and was happy with his day’s work.

“It was great,” he said. “A little bit more people than I’m used to following me around. It was really fun playing with those two guys. Obviously the level of golf that they can do is pretty amazing and for me to watch that is pretty cool.

“I was kind of walking around and then almost pinched myself in the arm on the fairways but really enjoyed it and proud of the way I handled it today.”

Highlights from Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg's opening round ?#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 14, 2023

While Aberg will be making his Ryder Cup debut in Italy later this month, Hovland will be playing in his second after recently winning the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour.

The duo may be separated by just two years in age but Hovland is vastly the more senior player in terms of experience, and he believes weeks like this in front of huge crowds will help Aberg in Rome.

“I think it’s a good experience for him,” said the Norwegian after shooting a 69. “The way he’s played the last couple of months, he has not been a pro very long but he certainly doesn’t look scared of the moment. So I think it’s just a great experience for him but I think he’s ready regardless.

“Ludvig was certainly on a heater mid-round and the crowd was loving it.

“Hopefully we can make a few more birdies and less mistakes to get the crowds going but just a great atmosphere here.”

“This is what I’ve been wanting to do for such a long time and for me to actually be here, to actually play in these events that I’ve watched for such a long time is pretty cool. I try to embrace it and I try to have fun with it and take it for what it is.”

Aberg was level par at the turn after a birdie on the fourth and bogey on the ninth but he put an approach to two feet at the 11th, capitalised on the par-five 12th, hit more smart irons into the 13th and 14th and holed a long putt on the 15th to rattle off five birdies.

A tee-shot out of bounds on the 17th saw him fall back but he made a two-putt birdie on the last to give himself a solid start.

“I hit some nice iron shots,” he said. “I feel like this golf course is pretty straightforward. If you put the ball in front of you off the tee you get a lot of mid-irons.

“Luckily today I hit a few nice ones and obviously made a few putts as well. I think that’s what I’ve got to keep doing and just take it for what it is.”

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On the surface, things were looking good for Danny Willett. At six-under through 14 holes in the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship, the 2016 Masters champion seemed set to challenge the lead of Marcus Helligkilde. The Dane’s morning eight-under 64 was, by two shots, the best score of the day.

Unfortunately, Willett knew better when it came to his prospects of making it to the clubhouse in one piece. As so often over the last few years, he was feeling a familiar dull ache in his left shoulder.

“I’ve got a tear in my left shoulder and it’s gotten bigger,” Willett said by way of explaining what happened next — five dropped shots over the last four holes.

“That’s the problem. It’s why I pulled out [of the Irish Open] last week,” Willett said. “I had an MRI earlier this week and that showed the tear has doubled in size. I hit balls on Tuesday for half-an-hour. Then again for half-an-hour yesterday. I couldn’t play in the pro-am. Then I warmed up today. That’s all I’ve been able to do.

“In fairness, I felt pretty strong,” he continued. “But when it goes, it goes. And it went on the 15th tee today, although I felt uncomfortable on the 14th tee. The tendon jumps over because the joint isn’t sitting in properly. As soon as that happens, it feels almost like a dislocation. I did some press-ups out there in an effort to take away some of the stress and maybe get my rotator cuff stronger. But that’s just a short-term thing.”

Indeed, it was increasingly obvious that Willett was struggling physically, as a succession of shots flew off in a variety of directions. He made a double-bogey on the par-4 15th after hitting a wayward tee shot well right of the fairway. Another double came at the par-5 17th, where Willett’s second shot nestled beside two trees. He tried popping the ball between them with his third, but failed to move the ball, then took an unplayable lie before scrambling for his seven. One last dropped shot came on the par-5 18th after again missing the fairway well right.

It was ugly stuff and a complete contrast to what had gone before. Seven birdies had dotted the 35-year-old Englishman’s card over that opening 14 holes.

“It’s a shame,” he said. “If I’m healthy and my movement is all right, I can play. I’m going to be talking to a surgeon on Monday. Potentially, that’s what it is going to take. The tear has doubled in size over the last nine months. It all stems from just playing golf. I’ve had this for a few years. We’ve actually managed it pretty well with rehab. But I just can’t do everything I want to do, which is why the last few years have been a bit slow. I can’t practise like I want to practise, and I can’t train like I want to train. And the reason for that is it is getting bigger. I’ll see a specialist in Manchester on Monday. I’d guess I could be out for six-nine months.”

More immediately, Willett’s further participation in an event he won in 2019 is in some doubt. But he left at least hopefully he could make it to the first tee on Friday.

“I’ll see about tomorrow,” he said. “I’m going to train for a bit this evening, then again in the morning. To see if I can get it strong enough. And, fingers crossed, get through more than 14 holes. And yes, I was surprised to be six-under after 14. My wife drove down here this morning. So did my father-in-law. I told them it might not be. But I gave them something to watch for a few holes. It’s frustrating. For the first time in a while I feel like I’m swinging it well. I just haven’t been able to put in any time. I save it all for the golf course. Today was typical. After 10 holes I was thinking it was maybe going to be all right. Then it happened and I couldn’t.”

The post ‘When it goes, it goes’: Danny Willett’s shoulder injury leads to a disastrous final four holes at BMW PGA appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

He’s the guy everyone has been talking about in the run-up to the 44th Ryder Cup and that didn’t change at Wentworth at the BMW PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy. Jon Rahm. Victor Hovland. The three best players on the European team that captain Luke Donald will lead at the Marco Simone Country Club near Rome at the end of this month all had plenty to say about the most unlikely member of the team, Ludvig Aberg.

And why not? Not much more than three months ago, the 23-year-old Swede was an amateur. A special one, ranked No. 1 in the world, but still playing college golf. Even now he will make his Ryder Cup debut as the first to do so without having played in a major championship. In that respect alone, Aberg is worth discussing. Even the supremely gifted McIlroy was intrigued to meet the lad who so many are describing as “a generational talent,” to the point where the four-time major champion was almost giddy with anticipation.

“I first noticed Ludvig when he won the Haskins Award and the Nicklaus Award for being the best college player,” said the Northern Irishman, who will be playing in his seventh Ryder Cup. “There were some people in the golf community touting him to be on this Ryder Cup team when he was still playing college golf. He has obviously had a phenomenal start to his pro career and played well. He’s having an incredible start to his career. Anyone who watches him play golf can see the potential and kind of talent that he has. I had an opportunity to play with Ludvig for the first time on Monday, which I was excited about. I told him: ‘I’ve been looking forward to this for a while.’”

While that might be the ultimate compliment Aberg has been paid, there was a lot more to be said about the Texas Tech graduate. He certainly didn’t disappoint McIlroy.

“He probably exceeded my expectations,” McIlroy said. “Everyone talks about what a great driver of the golf ball Ludvig is — and he is. The ball-striking is incredible. But I was really impressed with his wedge play and how he can control his trajectory with shorter clubs. I was on the bandwagon before. I’m certainly at the front of it now.”

And McIlroy has company. Sitting right beside him on that bandwagon is Rahm.

“When you’re creating the kind of reaction Ludvig has, it’s a good thing,” said the Masters champion. “Because clearly people see the potential you have. He’s already played good enough to capture the attention of the best players in the world and the media. Coming from behind and making four birdies in a row and taking the lead to win the European Masters is not easy. So clearly he’s showing it. He’s got great potential.

“The only thing that matters is what’s going on in his head. A lot of times as players we put a lot more pressure on ourselves than the media can put on us. I wouldn’t quite know how to answer the question [how much of a risk his selection is], but he definitely has the talent to back it up.”

There is one thing Aberg has going for him. While Hovland and Nicolai Hojgaard hail from Norway and Denmark respectively, their shared Scandinavian heritage will surely make the young Swede more comfortable than he might have been otherwise. Hovland certainly thinks so, citing their ability to converse in a language not English and the fact that the pair beat McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood at Marco Simone.

“Swedish is very tough for me to read, but when we speak with each other, it’s very easy,” revealed Hovland (in English). “There’s a lot of Swedes in Norway, especially in golf instructing. Almost half the coaches are Swedish in Norway. So I’m very familiar with the language. I think that makes it a little bit more familiar when you’re on a team and on such a big stage. Everything for me and Ludvig and Nicolai is in a foreign language, so it’s nice to have someone that you can speak with. Even though they are from different countries, like Ludvig and Nicolai, we have a very similar culture.”

Even Aberg was asked to comment on Aberg. And, with a smile, he complied.

“I would say I’m a very calm person,” he said. “I don’t get too high, not too low. I like to see myself as a very nice, considerate, I don’t … you know, I want to treat people the way that I want to be treated, and I think that’s very important. I like to keep my feet where they are and not get too caught up in the moment or something like that. So I like to view myself as a nice person. But I guess it’s up to other people to figure it out.”

Don’t worry about that. Just about everyone already has.

The post Ludvig Aberg was the breakout star of the European Ryder Cup scouting trip, according to his teammates appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

He wasn’t giving away any secrets as such. Still, for those in the market for insights into the European side’s demeanour heading into the upcoming Ryder Cup, there are few better places to go than a Rory McIlroy press conference. Speaking at the BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the World No. 2 was close to his interesting and informative best during a 20-minute joust with the media.

Perhaps to the chagrin of the former European Tour, which makes its home here at Wentworth, the questions posed to McIlroy were almost exclusively based on the biennial contest with the Americans set for later this month at the Marco Simone just outside Rome. And, as he nearly always does, the Northern Irishman delivered, covering a variety of sub-topics starting with the much-vaunted team spirit every European team claims to own. It will surely surprise only a few to hear the carefully nurtured relationships that have helped carry Europe to 11 victories since 1979 — to the Americans’ nine — remain a priority this time round.

“It’s a transitional time for the European Ryder Cup team,” said McIlroy who, alongside his 11 teammates, was part of Monday’s scouting trip to the host course. “It’s exciting. And what has been refreshing is that I feel like the 12 of us are on the same level. There’s no type of hierarchy on the team. I remember the 2012 Ryder Cup, I went in there as No. 1 player in the world and had won two majors in the previous two years. But I still didn’t feel like I could speak up in the team room. This doesn’t feel like that, which I think is really good.

“It’s just about making the new guys as comfortable as possible,” continued the four-time major champion. “To me, that has been a really cool thing about the last couple days. I don’t think any of these guys need their hand held in any way. I’d rather them look across to me than look up at me, if that makes sense. That’s the way I’d hope they see me. We are all part of a team and we are all trying to do our bit. No one is more important than anyone else.”

That theme of equality and camaraderie was later picked up by Jon Rahm.

“We have players that have more experience, but there’s no hierarchy,” insisted the Masters champion. “On that team, we’re all the same. It’s all for one and one for all. That’s kind of how it is. We are all there to accomplish the same goal. We are all part of the same team. What you’ve done before and what you might do after that week, doesn’t matter at all.”

And McIlroy wasn’t quite done. In fact, he was only getting started. Which surely speaks to the 34-year-old’s emotional attachment to the Ryder Cup. No one who watched his tearful reaction to Europe’s heavy defeat and his own relatively poor performance at Whistling Straits two years ago will forget the obvious strength of his disappointment.

“I told a story on Monday night to the team about watching Brookline in 1999 on TV and crying after America came back and Europe lost,” McIlroy said. “And obviously I cried in 2021. So not much has changed. I feel like I’m someone who should go out there and win points for the team. I didn’t do that. We’re not used to playing for other people in this game. So when you’re playing for your teammates, you want to do well for them. I felt like I didn’t do that. I felt like I didn’t give a good account of myself. That stung, and the score line stung. It was a difficult week for me.

“But that emotion was real and what I said at the end of that tournament was all true,” he continued. “It is by far the best experience in sport, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with your teammates in an environment like that is I think the epitome of competition and sport.”

Amid all of the above, McIlroy is now the third-oldest member of the European team after just Rose and Shane Lowry. Combined with his obvious stature in the game, it would be realistic to assume that European captain Luke Donald is leaning on the soon-to-be seven-time Ryder Cupper for advice and input.

But that assumption would be flawed.

“Luke has sort of let me be a little bit,” McIlroy said. “We’ve played a lot of golf, and we have chats. We live on the same street in Florida. We live 10 houses down from each other, so it’s not as if we don’t see each other all the time. But it has just been on a more casual sort of basis. It has not been sit-down talks and strategies and pairings. That’s not my job. I don’t want to have that role. I’m one of his players and I just want to do my best for the team.

“That said, if there’s anything asked of me by a leading player, a veteran player, a player that’s played in quite a few of them, I’m certainly happy to take direction and do what’s needed of me,” McIlroy continued. “But I don’t feel like it’s my place to give the captain my opinion unless it’s asked for. Luke has a lot of great vice-captains around him and has leaned on a couple of past captains, as well, which has been great.”

Spoken like a true team player. Ah, but there was one moment of mock-acrimony. Asked if he viewed himself as something of a “father figure” within the squad, McIlroy was quick to correct the questioner. “Older brother,” he said.

Older and wiser, of course.

The post ‘Big brother’ Rory is watching — older and wiser — and helping the next generation appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Have you ever wondered if superheroes have heroes? Have you ever lain awake at night pondering who Spider-Man looks up to while web-slingin’ around the Big Apple? Well, now we have our answer:

It’s Jon Rahm.

Tom Holland is all of us when Jon Rahm hits driver ? #BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/jASimu5n2E

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 13, 2023

That’s the (very relatable) look Tom Holland — best known for his role as Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — had on his face watching Jon Rahm smoke his opening tee shot at the BMW PGA Championship pro-am on Wednesday. Holland is the star of a multi-billion-dollar film franchise. He plays one of the most iconic and popular characters of all time. He dates Zendaya. The fact he could barely scrape his jaw off the grass watching Rahm swing a golf club says pretty much everything you need to know about how good Jon Rahm is at swinging a golf club.

It wasn’t all oohs and ahhs, however. The pair also shared nice chat about Rahm’s Masters victory back in April, with Rahm admitting he was holding back tears walking up the 18th fairway think of countryman Seve Ballesteros.

Reminiscing about a famous Masters victory ?️ #BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/L8w2fjzBc4

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 13, 2023

Is there a bromance blooming at the Wentworth Club this week? We’ll have to wait and see, but Spidey could always use a new sidekick. We hope you’re not afraid of heights, Rahmbo …

The post A Marvel to watch! Tom Holland’s face watching Jon Rahm’s opening tee shot at the BMW PGA Championship pro-am pretty much says it all appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.