By John Huggan
Latest estimates put the population of Carnoustie at just under 14,000 people. So it’s not that crowded, unlike the AIG Women’s Open leader board after 54 holes of play over the little Angus town’s world-famous links. Anna Nordqvist and Nanna Koerstz Madsen lead the way on nine under par, but as many as 15 players are within four shots of the Scandinavian pair. It’s a chasing group that contains six major champions, one of which happens to the World No. 1 and the Olympic gold medalist, Nelly Korda is three back.

Nordqvist it was who made the most significant move of the day. Cheered on by a large crowd of family and friends (the Swede is married to local man, Kevin McAlpine, who caddies for fellow Scot Martin Laird on the PGA Tour). The six-time Solheim Cup player went round in a bogey-free, seven-under-par 65. The low score of the week so far propelled Nordqvist upward from 23rd to first.

“I’ve been playing really solid this week—and last week at the Scottish Open I also hit the ball really well,” said the 34-year- old. “My game has been coming together for a while. Today I was just very steady. I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, which gave me a lot of good chances. That was the difference between today and the first two rounds. And of course, I made a few good putts out there. I had to stay patient around the turn though. I had good chances on 9, 10, 12 and 13—all inside like 12 feet—but didn’t make any of them. I’m very happy with my round, though, especially finishing with birdies on 15 and 17.”

Almost as pleased was Lexi Thompson. The statuesque American is two shots off the pace on seven under par, after a third round 70. That was a good effort in conditions that gradually deteriorated over the course over the day. Those at the back end of the field suffered most, Thompson included.

“We got the first nine in great weather, not too much wind,” she said. “The rain coming in was unfortunate, but you expect that over here. It is such a demanding golf course in general. You have to trust your lines and your shots. Putting weather into play makes it even more difficult. You just have to stay in the moment and focus on one shot at a time. I was looking away from leader boards. I’ve been trying to focus on myself, my game and my emotions. That’s all I can control and whatever happens, happens.”

One shot back of Thompson, Brooke Henderson finished perhaps the most downcast of the leading group. (Along with American Yealimi Noh, who shot four over in the last three holes.) Two shots got away from the Canadian over Carnoustie’s demanding finishing stretch, a fate she greeted philosophically. Because it could have been worse. Amidst her bogeys on 15 and 17, Henderson saved par with nifty chips on both 16 and 18.

“I did a lot of good things today which is really nice,” she said. “The closing holes are definitely the toughest holes out here, especially when it starts raining. It got a little bit trickier then. But I’m happy how I played today and how I battled coming in.”

A similar air of satisfaction surrounded Lizette Salas, runner-up to Korda in June’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. On eight under par, the 32-year-old American is the leading pair’s nearest challenger after a 70 that saw her make nine pars and four birdies in her last 13 holes—in the worst of the weather.

“You have to mentally prepare for conditions like this,” she acknowledged. “It really forced me to go back to boring golf instead of trying to be aggressive in order to make a move. The wet conditions really kind of settled everything for me. I did get off to a really shaky start. After five holes I was a couple over and struggling. But the momentum switched. I was able to hit really good shots coming down the stretch to give myself good looks.

“We’ve got a big event in two weeks [the Solheim Cup], but at the same time I do want to win this tournament,” she continued. “I’m really trying to check myself whenever I get down. We’re all going to hit bad shots this week. It’s how I can recover from that by thinking more positively. Battling in the final group with Nelly at the KPMG, I learned a lot. That experience is going to help me stay calm and be patient tomorrow. This is a whole new ballgame and a whole new challenge. But I think I’m ready.”

On a board this tightly packed with star names, it looks as if she better be.

The post Packed, star-studded board promises theatrical finish at Carnoustie appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Back in 2018, the last time the Open Championship visited Carnoustie Golf Links, the famed and ferocious finishing stretch from the 15th tee to 18th green provoked the usual mixture of shock and awe from the unfortunate competitors. “A slog,” was 2014 champion Rory McIlroy’s verdict. Zach Johnson, the Irishman’s successor as “champion golfer of the year,” came up with one word, “nasty.”

And three years on, nothing much has changed, both psychologically and statistically. “No. 17 is a beast,” says Lydia Ko. “And 18 is also a beast.”

Which sounds about right. Just as they were halfway to Francesco Molinari’s eventual triumph in 2018, this week the last four holes are all among the top-six toughest after 36 holes of the AIG Women’s Open. Which is the stat you can take to the bank at any Carnoustie Open, male or female. Day-to-day, though, the identities of the other hardest holes can vary.

Take this week. On Thursday, the most difficult hole on the ancient links (relative to par) was the 387-yard fifth. Famous at the venue for Ben Hogan’s iconic chip-in for birdie during the final round of the 1953 Open, the fifth green has two tiers. The slope between the two is somewhere between “steep” and “severe.” And when the pin is placed on the upper level, as it was for the opening round, this relatively innocuous hole is suddenly transformed. Jekyll becomes Hyde, pushing the field average up to 4.48. But in Friday’s second round, the fifth averaged only 3.96 and was ranked only 14th hardest. Because the pin was on the lower level, Hyde back to Jekyll.

Weather, both good and bad, plays its part, too. It wouldn’t be golf in Scotland otherwise. The first two rounds have been played in relatively benign conditions, a fact reflected in the average scores. In Round 1, the 144-woman field averaged an impressive 73.15; for Round 2, it was 72.93.

Things can change in a hurry though. European Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew recalls competing in a Scottish Ladies Amateur Championship “sometime in the early 1990s” when she was the only player to break 80 on a particularly severe day out on the Carnoustie links. And she shot 79. So things can get (Car)nasty, even if the deteriorating forecast for the third round isn’t predicted to be not quite so cataclysmic.

Only eight eagles were made during the first round. And, unusually, one of those came on the closing four holes. Australia’s Su Oh was the lucky player, her 6-iron approach (one she says she hit “fat”) finished at the bottom of the cup on the 437-yard 15th.

A closer inspection of holes 15-16-17-18 on Thursday reveals some interesting trends. For one thing, the fairway on the 17th—the hole dubbed “Island”—was the easiest on the course to find, although hitting the green in regulation is a lot harder.

To the surprise of no one, the hardest green to find on Day 1 was the 16th, a notoriously difficult 220-yard par 3. Not much more than one-in-three players managed to locate the putting surface in one shot.

We could go on and on. Suffice to say that, during Day One, the field played the course in a collective 166 over par, 149 of which were accumulated on Carnoustie’s “final four.” Hardest finishing stretch in golf? Of course. Nothing else is close.

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By John Huggan
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — It is April 2018 and 12-year-old Maggie Whitehead is sitting at home in northeast England watching the Drive, Chip and Putt competition the Sunday prior to the Masters at Augusta National. “That looks like fun,” thought the youngster. “I’d love to play in that. So why don’t we have something similar over here in the United Kingdom?”

In search of an answer, Maggie wrote a letter to a man in St. Andrews. And that is how her on-going relationship with R&A Chief Executive Martin Slumbers began. Intrigued by the passion in her words, Slumbers—an enthusiastic advocate for bringing more young girls into golf—replied, inviting the then 7-handicapper to Carnoustie for the Open Championship.

That was exciting enough, but there was more to come.

“The highlight for me was meeting Tom Watson,” says Whitehead, now 15. “That was incredible. And such a great memory. Everything that has happened since I wrote that letter has been unbelievable. I didn’t know I was going to meet Tom until he walked through the door. I just knew I had a surprise waiting for me. We met in the media centre. I watched him do a radio interview. Then he interviewed me, and I interviewed him. That was really cool. I got to ask him about all his past experiences in the Open, which was really interesting. Just to hear him talk was wonderful. For me to see a legend like him in person was next level.”

Speaking of which, Maggie has moved onwards and upwards over the last three years. The 7-handicapper is gone—“for a while, I had a streak going where I cut my handicap in half every year from the age of 9,” she says—replaced by one who is the English Girls Under-16 champion and plays off plus-4. And this week she is back in Carnoustie, again at Slumbers’ invitation, where she played in the Tuesday pro-am preceding the AIG Women’s Open alongside her correspondent and LPGA pro Jessica Korda.

“I have kept an eye on Maggie’s progress, which has been considerable,” says Slumbers, who was regularly outdriven by his young partner. “Today was the first time we’ve played together though. I wish I was 15 years old again. I was very impressed. She has such a modern, powerful game. She strikes the ball really well and is fearless … unlike me over 60-yard shots. As I said to her on the way round, she needs to take her time before moving up through the grades. After she does her GCSE exams next year, senior golf is another level. She’ll find more girls who can play as well as she does. That’s the next test. And if she is good enough, she’ll keep moving on. But she has a great attitude. And she’s great fun.”

David Cannon/R&A
Whitehead and Slumbers played for the first time together in the pro-am on Tuesday ahead of this week’s AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie.

Indeed, Slumbers’ assessment is hard to fault, Whitehead’s long and straight driving especially striking. Off a tee that was admittedly well forward, she all-but-drove the green at the par-4 fifth, saving Slumbers the trouble of sweating over yet another 60-yard pitch. All of which was achieved with the classic confidence of someone in the middle of a purple patch of form. As well as claiming that Under-16 title, Whitehead was fourth in this year’s English Under-18 mixed championship and third in the Under-18 event for girls.

“I’m pretty happy with my overall record,” she says. “I’ve finished in the top 10 at every event I’ve played in 2021. Next year I won’t play as much though. I have my exams to focus on. I will be going to America in 2024 to look at a college. But that is something to look forward to. Collegiate golf is really the next level for amateurs.”

There might be something else in Whitehead’s future, too. Slumbers clearly knows a good thing when he sees it and an offer has already been made for the pair to compete in the Sunningdale Foursomes next year. In that event, men and women, professionals and amateurs compete alongside and against each other.

“I’m glad Maggie wrote her letter,” Slumbers says with a smile. “And I’m glad I replied as I did. The great thing about the R&A is that we have the ability to fulfil some dreams and let people have a chance. I couldn’t be more proud of Maggie. She has grabbed that chance with both hands.”

The post Meet the 15-year-old girl who has the ear of the most influential person at the R&A appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Not quite one year on from what was surely the most unlikely—and heartwarming—tale in professional golf in 2020, Sophia Popov is back to defend the Women’s Open title she won so memorably at Royal Troon last October. Things are a bit different now, of course, both geographically and psychologically. The west coast of Scotland is now the east, the rugged links of Carnoustie the venue for the 28-year old’s title defense. And the previously unheralded German arrives in Angus not as an all-but complete unknown ranked 304th in the world, but as the highest-ranked (28th) European golfer on the planet.

Not everything is different though.

“Playing my practice round today, I was feeling a lot of the same emotions I had last year,” she says. “It’s just so exciting to be back playing some links golf and enjoying the venue because it is so special. Plus, I have a lot of memories from having played here in 2011 as an amateur. I’m just enjoying myself being out there, which is very similar to last year. Back then, I didn’t know what was going to happen on Sunday. And I don’t know this year either.”

Somewhat ironically, Popov is actually in danger of being too well known this week. Her smiling countenance adorns posters dotting the premises and videos running on a continuous loop in the clubhouse have already drawn many good-natured comments from her fellow pros.

“You only realise it once you get on-site and you see your face everywhere,” she said. “And you think, oh, my God, it’s been a year now and this is the event that changed so much for me. I think everyone is fed up of seeing me, to be honest. But it’s really funny because when everyone comes by they call me ‘defending champ.’ Normally I’m way too humble of a person to even identify with something like that, but I know this week I can. So I’m just taking it all in. I’m like, ‘Yep, I’m defending.’ So I’m getting better at just accepting that and being all cool about it.”

All of which is a long way from the 54-hole Cactus Tour events that were Popov’s home in the middle of last year, a time when she was reduced to caddying for close friend Anne Van Damm only weeks before Troon came along and changed her life. Since then, however, Popov has proved that her maiden LPGA victory was no fluke. Her elevated world ranking is evidence enough of a string of high finishes that have guaranteed her a place on the European Solheim Cup team that will be finalized and announced on Sunday evening.

To that end, Popov has been in regular contact with Solheim skipper Catriona Matthew. No bad thing. The Scot’s routinely calm demeanour is a soothing influence on one inclined to excitement when the subject of the biennial contest with the United States is mentioned.

“A lot of times, I mentally get ahead of myself a little bit, just really looking forward to that week,” admits Popov. “But I’m proud of how I have backed up my win here last year with some other finishes to make the team. I did that pretty well throughout the end of last season and the beginning of this season. Now I fully grasp the idea that I really belong on that team. So I can really enjoy it and look forward to it.”

Richard Heathcote/R&A
An emotional Popov walks to collect her trophy after winning at Troon last year.

As for the state of her game right now, Popov arrives on the back of a missed cut in last week’s Women’s Scottish Open at Dumbarnie Links. Which is not to say she is not harbouring positive vibes about what lies ahead.

“My game is actually in a better spot than I think it is,” she says. “A few weeks ago I was playing so much I got tired and mistakes were creeping in. Every week seemed to be really long and gruelling. So I’ve been trying to keep everything simple. I tend to over-complicate things for myself by trying to be the perfect ball-striker that I think I can be. But that’s just not necessary around here. You just have to pick good targets and miss the ball in the right spots. My practice rounds have been good. So it’s about keeping my head in the game and making sure I stay focused, especially on some of the tougher shots.”

Of course, if all else fails, she can always think about last year.

The post Sophia Popov returns to the Women’s Open as a confident defending champ and Solheim Cup lock appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — We’re talking course set-up. At Carnoustie. It’s a combination that immediately brings to mind the 1999 Open Championship, a horror show defined and defiled by the long, thick and suspiciously verdant green grass that all but covered the ancient links. All of which sounds nice from a distance. But it wasn’t pretty up close.

Sergio Garcia left the course in tears after shooting 89 in the opening round. Australia’s Rod Pampling led the field after Day 1—and missed the cut 24 hours later. Then there was Greg Norman. Having missed the 17th fairway by less than a yard, one of the most powerful players the game has ever seen was able to move his ball only a few feet with a full-blooded swing.

The climax, of course, was all but unbelievable. No one who witnessed it will surely ever forget the triple-bogey 7 Jean Van de Velde wretchedly posted on the 72nd hole. It was a tough, albeit fascinating, watch. A 6 would have won the Frenchman the claret jug that Paul Lawrie ultimately claimed.

Things are different now, though. In the wake of that much-maligned championship, officials with the R&A assumed control of the sometimes dark art that is course set-up. Today a lot of thought goes into a) producing a good challenge for the best players (male or female) in the world, and b) ensuring that the features of a course—fairway bunkers and greenside slopes and undulations, by way of example—are brought into play.

“Over the course of four championship days, our aim is to produce a reasonably balanced setup that provides a nice sense of variability during the course of each round,” says Grant Moir, the R&A’s Director of Rules who will lead the course setup team for this week’s AIG Women’s Britsh Open at Carnoustie.

Which provokes an obvious question: Given the difference in how far the game’s leading women hit golf balls in comparison with their male equivalents, what, if any, adjustments will have to be made when setting-up the course?

“We’re not really in the business of trying to get the women hitting the same clubs as the men into the greens,” Moir says. “It can be done. But it would probably need more of a downward adjustment in yardage than we are prepared to make. Or want to do. Besides, the games are slightly different. Even if one of the women is hitting two clubs more with an iron, they can be just as accurate.”

Distance apart, the biggest gender-based disparity is that the women are able to create less spin on their approach shots. In turn, that has implications for pin positions. If the vast majority of players are going in with, say, a 4-iron, there is no point in sticking a flagstick only three yards over a bunker. That would be silly, as would excessively fast putting surfaces in a place with the wind potential of Carnoustie.

“We want to be able to use as many areas of the greens as we can,” Moir says. “Excessive speed only reduces our options. We tend to work towards 10 feet on the Stimpmeter. It’s a nice middle ground. We can adjust downwards or upwards from there.”

In some ways, Moir has more fun setting-up a course for women. For men, there isn’t much thought required when it comes to most tees, take them back as far as possible. But for the women, there is more scope to move things around. Every tee on the course is in play, albeit Moir searches for those that best bring in the hazards and features on each hole.

“Typically, I look to have the fairway bunkers placed around the 260-, 265-yard range,” he says. “That’s the number in my mind. But it’s only a starting point.”

David Cannon
The R&A’s Grant Moir says he has the chance to be more creative with the set up of a links course for women’s major compared to a men’s major.

Speaking of which, what about the rough that so scarred that ’99 Open? How intimidating is the links many regard as the most difficult on the Open rota going to look from the tee?

The answer can be summed up as “no more than normal,” which is still, in places, pretty frightening. For the Women’s Open there will be three cuts of rough. The first is your classic “semi-rough.” It will be pretty short and designed primarily to take the spin off the ball. Playable, but liable to cause a loss of some control.

Then there’s a second cut. It will either be cut slightly higher, or cut then allowed to grow naturally during the week. Either way, the idea is to create indecision. Moir wants players to be unsure as to exactly what they are going to get, adding nicely to the inherent randomness of links golf.

Beyond that, there will be what the R&A calls ‘unmanaged rough.’ That is basically left to nature.

With so much going on in the run-up to a championship (course visits typically start up to two years in advance), communication is vital. The players need to know what R&A officials are doing with the course, and why they are doing what they are doing. Which is why every player will receive an information sheet when they arrive. That provides details on course setup. If different tees might be in play, for example. Heavily stressed is the ability of any player to raise concerns over anything they see. It could be a lack of sand in a bunker. Or a run-off area that has been damaged during practice. Whatever, the players are given numbers to call and names to contact.

“We also get out there during practice days to engage with them and the caddies, just to get general feedback,” Moir says. “If a general concern arises from a number of players, we hear about it pretty quickly. That’s important. If we keep things to ourselves, people inevitably make assumptions that might not be factual.”

OK, some specifics. Are there any holes at Carnoustie where Moir can have some fun with the setup?

“The focus when talking setup tends to be on par 3s. I enjoy the ability to move tees around on those holes. I’m a big fan of the eighth hole here, with the boundary fence on the left and the bunkers on the right. It’s a challenging hole, especially when the ground is firm. There are some pin positions I would only use if we move the tee up a little. So we’ll likely do that, depending on the weather conditions.

Stuart Franklin Playing from the front tee, Carnoustie’s par-3 eighth, shown during the 2018 Open Championship, offers a variety of unique pin position.

“The 11th hole is one we will think about playing as a drivable par 4,” he continues. “There is a tee in front of the burn there. I like the way that hole sets up for those who want to have a go from the tee. There is potential for an eagle if the drive is long and straight. But it is also easy for me to put the pin in a place where the player who chooses not to ‘take on’ the drive will find it hard to make birdie.”

Then there is Van de Velde’s golf grave, the 18th. Like most fans, Moir is looking forward to seeing the top women taking on what is perhaps the most fearsome finishing hole in golf. It’s a hole where no one is ever totally confident until the ball is in the cup. There is trouble off the tee. There is trouble on the second shot. Even laying-up short of the Barry Burn is fraught with danger. Ideally, Moir wants to see the players going in with a longish club.

“That’s where the real challenge lies,” he says. “The 18th requires a really good drive, then a really good approach. It’s a hole made for drama. I like that scenario. We never have a winning score in mind. All we’re trying to do is provide a challenge that identifies, not only the best players that week, but the best players of the time. We simply want to provide an appropriate challenge for a major championship.”

All of which sounds a lot better than 1999.

The post Behind the scenes as the R&A sets up Carnoustie for the AIG Women’s Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

17th Hole — Old Course, St. Andrews
In the opening round of the 2015 British Open, the field averaged a bogey (4.8) on the Road Hole. Not sure why. All the 450-yard par 4 requires is a tee shot over a railroad shed/hotel to a blind, dogleg-right fairway surrounded by heather, with an approach to a narrow green guarded by a bunker that’s harder to escape than most prisons and a stone wall lining the back of the hole that garners overrun balls. Nothing to it.

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18th Hole — Blue Monster Course, Doral
For years, the Blue Monster’s finishing holes lived up to its namesake. However, following a $250 million renovation to the course, the 18th has made players tremble in even greater fear. Specifically, a tightened fairway has correlated to an uptick in balls in the lake. During Thursday-Friday play at the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Championship, there were four birdies in 145 attempts against 69 bogey-or-higher scores.

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12th Hole — Augusta National
Many a green jacket dream has drowned in Rae’s Creek at Augusta National’s 12th hole, which Lloyd Mangrum once called “the meanest little par 3 in the world.” Swirling winds and the whirlpool effect wreak havoc, not only on players’ shots, but their mindset. Two-time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw blames the hole’s location on an old Indian burial ground. “Sometimes it comes down to superstition. When the wind comes up while the ball is in the air and knocks it into the water, the local caddies will say, ‘The spirits got it.’ “

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Fourth Hole — Bethpage Black
How can this 517-yard par 5 at Bethpage Black — one of the hardest layouts in America — be the course’s second-handicapped hole? For one, add 100 yards to that distance, because the hole makes a severe track uphill. The view from the tee will make the most courageous individual seek shelter– go left, you’re in a cavernous bunker; right, in thick rough. Traversing up the hill requires a long shot over a deep wall of sand, with the green surrounded by, you guessed it, more beach.

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17th Hole — TPC Sawgrass
“It’s like having a 3 o’clock appointment for a root canal,” Mark Calcavecchia once said of the 17th at TPC Sawgrass. “You’re thinking about it all morning and you feel bad all day. You kind of know, sooner or later, you’ve got to get to it.”

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17th Hole — Ocean Course, Kiawah Island
In compiling Golf Digest’s 20 Toughest Golf Courses in America, one of our panellists said, “I think the 17th hole is the toughest par 3 in the world. If the wind blows, watch out.” Tipping out at 231 yards, the 17th will bring those of weak demeanours to their knees.

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Photo By: Stephen Szurlej

18th Hole — Carnoustie
Jean van de Velde. Enough said.

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13th Hole — Whistling Straits
Thanks to a strong Sunday gust at the 2015 PGA Championship, Bubba Watson overdrove the 409-yard hole. However, don’t let Bubba’s feat fool you: The hole known as “Cliff Hanger” is one of the most arduous challenges in championship golf. Anything less than an accurate tee shot will find the sand. Same sentiment applies to the approach, with shots off to the right falling towards Lake Michigan.

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First Hole — Oakmont Country Club
Hitting off the first tee is hard enough. When the opening hole is a 482-yard par 4 with eight bunkers off the fairway and two more by the green? It can be a downright dream-killer

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Photo By: Stephen Szurlej

Eighth Hole — Pebble Beach
The Pacific Ocean hugging the cliffs is breathtaking…until you put your tee in the ground, and in that case, the view becomes breathtaking in a different manner. A well-hit drive can overrun the fairway and into the drink, and the green, which runs front to back, is guarded by four traps. Forget making par; not losing a ball is the real goal.

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Photo By: Dom Furore

14th Hole — Coeur d’Alene Golf Resort
Fact: 80 percent of scary movies take place near a remote lake. Throw in a 218-yard shot to the floating island, along with a boat ride to the green, and we’re staying far away from this Idaho resort.

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Fifth Hole — Pine Valley
While many of Pine Valley Golf Club’s holes don’t leave much room for error, the par-3 fifth does not suffer fools. The 220-yard hole requires an uphill shot over water and bunkers to a narrow, sloped green. Bogey is your friend.

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Extreme 19th — Legend Golf & Safari
The longest par 3 in the world at 395 yards, a shot from the top of Hanglip Mountain takes close to 20 seconds to land at this South African course. Players have to take a helicopter to reach the tee. God forbid if you bring the wrong club.

The post The 13 most terrifying, frightening, fear-inducing holes in golf appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
With a blazing 8-under-par 64 in the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational last March, Francesco Molinari was riding the biggest wave of his career. His come-from-behind victory was his fourth in a 10-month span, a run that included his first major title, the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie.

A month after blitzing Bay Hill Club’s Championship Course to overcome a five-stroke deficit to Matthew Fitzpatrick, Molinari appeared poised to add an even bigger prize – a green jacket. The Italian standout took a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Masters, and he still led with eight holes to go.

Then he found disaster, as many would-be Masters contenders have done in the past, dumping a tee shot into Rae’s Creek at the par-3 12th to suffer a double bogey. Yet another watery mistake at the 15th ended his bid as Tiger Woods, playing in the same group, took advantage of the errors and went on to win his fifth Masters.

Back to defend his title at Bay Hill, Molinari, 37, is in search of the form he displayed 12 months ago. It has not been easy. Not that it ever is.

“Yeah, I’m a little bit behind where I was planning to be, obviously, at this time,” he said Tuesday at Bay Hill. “The start of the season has not been as good as I hoped for, but it’s only the start. There’s been a few physical things and technical things, but I’m working through it. I think I’ve got some good planning for the next few weeks building up to Augusta and some good direction to work towards. And, yeah, just looking forward to being out, play 18 a day and hopefully getting sharper day by day.”

Ranked 26th in the world – after leaving here last year No. 7 – Molinari, it’s not unfair to say, has struggled since he stumbled at Augusta National. He said it himself. The start of the season hasn’t been what he hoped for.

His best finish this season is T-22 at the WGC-HSBC Champions in China. In his last four starts, he missed three straight cuts before finishing T-53 at the WGC-Mexico Championship, which doesn’t have a cut. He currently ranks 168th in the FedEx Cup standings.

It hasn’t been all bad since the Masters, though. He made the cut in the following three majors with a tie for 16th in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and a T-11 finish in his title defense in the Open Championship at Royal Portrush, in Northern Ireland.

Perhaps a return to Bay Hill, where he’s finished in the top-10 in four of seven appearances, will ignite his game. He enjoys the course, even though he considers it more of a bomber’s paradise. Ball striking, he said, has largely been his problem the past few months, and the fact that he is 206th in driving accuracy and 210th in greens in regulation validate the assessment.

“I try to be honest with myself,” he said. “I think in golf it’s never too easy because there’s a part of you that always makes you think you’re close even when you’re not. I wouldn’t say I’m particularly close right now. I would be, my expectations going into the next few weeks are really to build up some momentum and get better day by day and not really thinking too far ahead of myself. There’s work that I need to do to be physically better and fitter than I am right now and technically to be sharper. So that’s the plan for the next few weeks.

“But not always results in golf are directly linked to where you are exactly in a certain moment,” Molinari added. “So, results might come earlier than I think, but the plan is still no matter what the results are going to be, to work hard the next month and get better.”

The post Francesco Molinari diligently working to end post-Masters slide appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Stephen Hennessey
If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered how tour-player prize money gets paid out after tournaments. Thanks to an unfortunate situation involving Tommy Fleetwood on the eve of the PGA Championship, we now have somewhat of an answer. Although Fleetwood’s team, now, are the ones really looking for answers.

Thanks to a tweet from the user @GregThornerGolf, who is a golf instructor in New England, he alerted us to the fact that his friend, who is apparently also named Tommy Fleetwood, received the 29-year-old Englishman’s payout from his T-12 showing at Carnoustie.

We didn’t know whether to believe this at first—so we went to the source. Fleetwood’s wife, Clare, confirmed in an email to Golf Digest that this situation, is, in fact, true. And Fleetwood’s team is now dealing with getting the funds back. Now we know: yes, tour pros receive a direct deposit like the rest of us working folk. And yes, even the world’s best players have issues when it comes to their paychecks.

Here’s the look at the other Tommy Fleetwood’s Wells Fargo bank account.

No joke, a friend received Tommy Fleetwood’s Open Championship winnings in his bank account last weekend!! They have the same name and he was a PGA pro but still, how does this happen? Didn’t believe him until I saw it…good thing he is an honest guy! pic.twitter.com/bE534xfYDV

— #Break30 Golf Short Game School (@GregThornerGolf) August 8, 2018

How could Tommy Fleetwood’s winnings from the Open Championship have found their way into a random guy’s bank account? We don’t have an answer to that. And apparently neither does Fleetwood’s team. As Fleetwood’s wife described to us: A “huge clerical error by the European tour accounts department.” [sik] We’d have to agree! Any amount of money would be a lot. But more than $154,000? That’s a ton of money, even if you’re an elite tour player like Fleetwood. Imagine if this was, say, Francesco Molinari’s $1.89 million for winning at Carnoustie? Or Brooks Koepka’s $2.16 million? Hell, the next FedEx Cup winner, who will take home more than $10 million? Insanity.

We’re sure the European Tour will make good on this. As for the other Tommy Fleetwood, we admire his honesty about this. This story might lead a lot of golfers to ask themselves the question: What would you do?

UPDATE: It appears Fleetwood himself got a kick out of the situation as well.

Hey @darrenrovell tweeted about me !! I’ve made it!!! ? https://t.co/h6aXBgbdna

— Tommy Fleetwood (@TommyFleetwood1) August 8, 2018

Once he got paid, that is.

The post Tommy Fleetwood’s British Open earnings got deposited into the wrong Tommy Fleetwood’s bank account? Yes, apparently it’s true appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Justin Rose entered the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational as a tournament favourite, coming off a runner-up finish at Carnoustie and boasting five career top-five finishes in Akron. However, in the event’s final stop at Firestone C.C., the World No. 2 won’t be teeing it up at all.

Rose withdrew from the WGC competition on Wednesday afternoon, citing back spams. Rose, in a now deleted message, tweeted a picture of himself and teacher Sean Foley on the driving range hitting balls an hour before the announcement.

The Englishman has a history of back woes, missing three months of action in 2016 battling the issue. The good news is the injury is not expected to keep Rose on the sidelines for the PGA Championship, as the Englishman still plans on teeing it up at Bellerive next week.

The past calendar year has arguably been the best performance of the 37-year-old’s career, with Rose posting four worldwide wins and 19 top 10s in that span. He enters St. Louis at 18-1 odds.

Rose is the second player to withdraw from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, with Adam Hadwin dropping out due to a hip ailment.

The post Justin Rose withdraws from WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with back injury appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

In a video shared by SB Nation’s Brendan Porath, you can see club drops, club tosses, hands on his head, hands on his face, and even a full, disgusted walk-off from the young and extremely technical tour star during a practice session following a first-round 75 at the Open Championship. Check it out:

Not sure if this came out last week but last night was first time I saw it.

L’Artiste battling the demons on the range in the middle of a major. Appears at one point he must have upended the studio in a fit of rage — paintbrushes scattered all over the range. Heavy stuff. pic.twitter.com/SOYP2wZh6X

— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) July 27, 2018

So many questions. Was Bryson upset about his shoulder bothering him? Was he disappointed with the angle of his one-plane swing? Or did the USGA outlawing his on-course compass push him over the edge?!

Also, how did this clip take more than a week to go viral?! What an amazing snapshot into the frustration and pressure tour pros are constantly battling.

Regardless, we know that DeChambeau, who still managed a T-51 at the Open, is feeling a lot better about his golf game only days later (And according to his agent, DeChambeau was laughing about the whole episode 10 minutes later). Following an opening 66 on Thursday, DeChambeau added a second-round 68 to take the halfway lead at the Porsche European Open.

Quite an impressive turnaround. We’re guessing Bryson’s post-round range session in Germany on Friday — if there even was one — went a lot smoother.

Related: Patrick Reed confronts camera crew at Porsche European Open

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