Connor Syme Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

DP World Tour: Callum Shinkwin in cruise control to claim Wales Cazoo Open title at Celtic Manor

Matt Smith — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 06:25:36 +0000

By Matt Smith
After three days of nip-and-tuck, Callum Shinkwin ran away with the Wales Cazoo Open as the Englishman cruised to a four-shot victory at The Celtic Manor Resort.

The 29-year-old held a one-stroke advantage over Frenchman Julien Guerrier heading into the final round and, while he did relinquish the outright lead early on after a bogey at the third hole, he soon extended his lead and ruthlessly hammered home a dominant victory.

Three successive birdies from the fourth and another at the ninth meant he was five clear at the turn on the Twenty Ten Course and Shinkwin never relented, while Guerrier fell back as the Frenchman struggled on the final day.

A couple of birdies on the way home earned Shinkwin a one under final round 70 and a 12 under par winning total.

Connor Syme had mounted a late charge with an eagle at the part five 11th followed by a trio of consecutive birdies from the 15th hole, but it was not enough to put serious pressure on the runaway leader and the Scot settled for a runner-up finish on eight under par, signing for a closing 68.

Callum Shinkwin was the only player in the field to shoot all four rounds under par ?#CazooOpen pic.twitter.com/9syyLc35FM

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 7, 2022

“I feel great, even though I had a few shots of a lead heading into the back nine it’s still not easy, especially when Connor then made a charge,” Shinkwin said. “There was a lot of pressure still and even down the last, it’s not an easy hole, a lot of people have made a high number there even if they’ve hit the fairway. It’s still one of those ones you have to commit to with your shots.

“Connor didn’t really come into it until he eagled 11, he was four under at the time, then he didn’t do anything straight after that. But then he birdied 15, 16 and 17 and the 17th was the big one for me, holing that par putt to guarantee a three-shot lead going down the last.

“The scores haven’t been there before this but this week was my week. Winning anywhere is fantastic, it’s a great feeling, winning with family and friends here it means so much more.”

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European Tour pro nearly kills himself practicing at home, is latest sign this lockdown needs to end soon

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 09 Jun 2020 01:33:11 +0000

By Alex Myers
The PGA Tour returns this week (thank goodness), but the European Tour still has more than a month to go before the six-event UK Swing. Hopefully, its players can keep from hurting themselves—or their property—practicing at home until then. But if Connor Syme is any indication, that’s not as easy as it sounds.

The Scottish pro posted a video of him hitting a shot on his personal practice setup, something many (bored) golfers have done these past few months. The difference? Syme managed to nearly take his own head off. Check it out:

View this post on Instagram

Bruv seriously ???.. bit dazed now ?

A post shared by Connor Syme (@connorsyme) on Jun 5, 2020 at 2:17pm PDT

His stunned reaction is the best part. And here we thought the most dangerous part of tour pros being stuck at home was the awful haircuts.

Anyway, it’s just another sign this lockdown really needs to end soon. Feel better, Connor, and thanks for sharing. Looks like you’re making good contact at least.

The post European Tour pro nearly kills himself practicing at home, is latest sign this lockdown needs to end soon appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The speedy Shot Clock Masters is won by a journeyman who took 146 starts to get his first Euro Tour title

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 05:05:27 +0000

(Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

By Ryan Herrington

Coincidence. Irony. Serendipity. Call it what you will. There was plenty of something baked into the fact that the winner of the Shot Clock Masters, the tournament where taking your time costs you, was a 37-year-old journeyman who grabbed his first career European Tour title in his 146th career start.

Finland’s Mikko Korhonen had made 12 visits to European Tour Qualifying School, earning a card four times. While on tour full time since 2014, he had yet to win a title until Sunday when he closed out a six-stroke victory over Scotland’s Connor Syme at Diamond Country Club outside Vienna, Austria, with a Sunday 69.

“It feels great, beautiful. It’s been a long wait so it feels so good,” said Korhonen, who shot a 16-under 282 total. “Yes, I have thought that I might not be in this position. I’ve been up there a couple of times and couldn’t do it at those times but now I’m so happy and relieved that I have done it.”

Matthew Lewis

Korhonen would have gotten things done even quicker on Sunday if not for two weather delays that stopped play.

Suffice it to say, Korhonen did not record a slow-play penalty in the event where every player on every shot was on the clock—50 seconds allowed for the first player approach a shot in a group, 40 seconds for the rest. Only four golfers were given an extra stroke for dawdling—two nabbed for being only 1 second over the allotted time—as tour officials glowingly lauded the rapid pace of the rounds compared to the season average on tour (roughly 30 minutes quicker over the weekend).

“We’ve seen this week that this [Shot Clock] can definitely improve the game,” European Tour CEO Keith Pelley said. “It also shows that if the players get into the right mindset, then they can play quicker.”

Korhonen was praised by the usual crew in the wake of his victory, as was the entire concept of truly enforcing pace of play, with 25 referees working the clock with various groups.

Well done @Karhanen! A very well deserved victory! Today is YOUR day! And congrats to all involved at #ShotClockMasters – a brilliant concept! https://t.co/gutNSVDxK8

— Thomas Bjørn (@thomasbjorngolf) June 10, 2018

Shot clock masters looks to be another success for everyone @EuropeanTour , been a good run of new and innovative ideas since Mr pelley arrived ???

— Paul Lawrie (@PaulLawriegolf) June 10, 2018

The caveat to all this happy talk about the quick pace is the fact that the event’s field contained none of the tour’s elite players. The highest ranked golfer among those who made the cut was Wade Ormsby at No. 132, and only four golfers inside ranked 200th or better played the weekend (Korhonen was No. 200).

Moreover, only three finishers ended the day inside the top 35 on the Race to Dubai points list, with Korhonen jumping from 65th to 35th place. While the tour is to be commended for trying something like this, where the pace of play is overtly enforced, it’s little more than symbolic without the tour’s top golfers participating in the endeavour.

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