Daan Huizing Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Fox in the hunt as Li Haotong stays ahead in Munich

Matt Smith — Sat, 25 Jun 2022 08:15:03 +0000

Li Haotong. DP World Tour

By Matt Smith
Li Haotong took a one-stroke lead into the weekend at the BMW International Open after carding a second-round 67 at Golfclub München Eichenried.

Seeking his first DP World Tour win since the 2018 Dubai Desert Classic, Li, from China, followed up Thursday’s course-record equalling 10-under par round with a five under 67 for a 15-under total.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, already a winner this season at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic, is bogey-free through 36 holes in the Bavarian state capital as he carded an eagle and six birdies, with his last gain of the day coming on the 18th hole to move to within a stroke of Li.

Daan Huizing is two strokes further back on 12-under par after a three-under round of 69, following on from a first-round 63. In a share of fourth are 2016 Ryder Cup star Thomas Pieters and Englishman Jordan Smith, who is seeking a second DP World Tour win on German soil, on 11-under, while Maximilian Kieffer leads the home charge in solo sixth on 10-under par.

“I’m feeling great,” said Li. “I think I’ve only missed two cuts this year. It’s been working, especially off the tee, I’ve improved a lot and it’s back to where I was. I just need to keep grinding, keep improving and showing up.

“I was feeling the pressure on the last few holes. Hopefully I can just play my golf and keep calm.

“To be honest, I didn’t drive the ball as well as yesterday. My short game was okay. It depends when you get in the rough, the lie could be really bad, or it could be good. Sometimes you just need luck.”

RAK champ Fox: “I’m really happy. I did everything right the last couple of days and my short game has been really tidy — that’s been a big positive. I don’t think I’ve ever gone bogey-free for 36 holes. I’m happy and in with a chance over the weekend again.

“(Li’s score) proved there was a low number out there. We had a really nice group, I really enjoyed playing with Billy and Tom. We got it going for a while and fed off each other. It’s nice to be up there and shoot a decent score today and be there or thereabouts for tomorrow.

“I had a couple of really good shots just before the rain delay and I was really disappointed we stopped. Obviously we had no choice, it was pretty dark out there. It was a little scratchy the first couple of holes coming back, but I made a nice birdie on 11 and then a 35-footer on 14, then hit some good shots coming home after that. It took a little more to get the rhythm back, but I was happy that the half-scratchy shots I hit were still not that bad. That’s what golf’s about right? It’s not how good your good is, it’s how good your bad is, and my bad has been pretty good the last couple of days.”

Huizing added: “It was definitely not as smooth as yesterday but you can’t expect to shoot nine-under every day. I’m happy I got it to three-under with the way I played, it’s a good score. There’s definitely a couple of things to clean up, but that’s OK. We’re in a great position and that’s where I want to be.”

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DP World Tour: Li Haotong hits brilliant 62 at BMW International Open in Germany

Matt Smith — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 05:59:34 +0000

Li Haotong. DP World Tour

By Matt Smith
Li Haotong fired two sensational eagles in his last four holes sign for a 62 and tie the course record in Munich and open up a one-shot lead on day one of the 2022 BMW International Open.

Starting from the tenth tee, the two-time DP World Tour winner carded six birdies before eagles at the sixth and ninth — the front nine’s two par fives — took him to 10-under par.

The 26-year-old’s flawless 62 gave him a one-stroke advantage over nearest challenger Daan Huizing, who finished with back-to-back birdies to sign for a bogey-free 63.

Home favourite Nicolai von Dellingshausen made an eagle, seven birdies and a single bogey to sit alone in third on eigh-under.

Two strokes back in a share of fourth place are six golfers, including Ras Al Khaimah champ Ryan Fox and Daniel van Tonder.

Maximilian Kieffer provided one of the highlights of the day as he delighted the home crowds with an albatross on the par five 11th hole – the first of his career.

“It’s been an incredible day for me,” said Li, the 2018 Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner. “I didn’t expect that because I spent a couple of weeks off in Dubai, which was hot — I didn’t practice much. I had a good start, two birdies on the first three holes. Then turned my back nine, I think I had six one-putts in a row, which helps. Then hit every fair I think.

“It helped me cool down mentally a little bit, low expectation, no expectation, just play golf and enjoy every shot.

“The last few weeks I’ve played solid, I just couldn’t put it all together. Hopefully this week I can use some experience from there and put things together.”

Huizing added: “I was hitting it well, good off the tee and I think that’s very important. But I holed some nice putts as well, that gets a round going when you convert pretty much every chance you get.”

Von Dellingshausen said: “I just saw (Li) on the leaderboard for the first time in 16, I was still leading then I saw him make eagle and then another one somewhere. I would have loved to make the eagle on 18, but it didn’t drop – that’s fine, I’m still very happy.”

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Southgate, with an ace, and Waring lead in Muscat after 65s

Kent Gray — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 14:49:38 +0000

Matthew Southgate had his second ace inside a month on the opening day in Muscat.

By Kent Gray
With Frenchman Alexander Levy the highest ranked player in the field at No. 62 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), the new NBO Oman Open offers fading stars and lesser lights the chance to shine.

Paul Waring and Matthew Southgate duly obliged Thursday, the Englishmen grabbing a share of the lead in the $1.75 million European Tour event with seven under 65s.

Both went bogey free around the majestic Al Mouj Golf layout but Southgate’s card was illuminated by an ace on island green 5th. The seven iron dunk from 165 yards was the 29-year-old’s second hole-in-one inside a month after he binned a nine iron on the par-3 7th at Emirates Golf Club during last month’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic; it was also the second ace on the historic day in Muscat after German Marcel Siem holed out from 162 yards on the 13th moments earlier. In a bizarre coincidence, the caddies of both players are twin brothers – Gary and Guy Tilson.

Southgate and Waring lead by a shot from Dutchman Daan Huizing who hit the first shot of the championship and just 65 further strokes to cash in on a special invite having played four of the five Challenge Tour events previously held at Al Mouj, including a T-10 at last November’s NBO Golf Classic Grand Final.

Ryder Cupper Andy Sullivan and fellow Englishman Callum Shinkwin were a shot further back after 67s while Matteo Manassero’s name was a welcome sight among a group of six players on 68.

Waring, the world No. 251, will be relived with his fast start after a challenging beginning to 2018 which has seen the 33-year-old miss three successive cuts en-route to Muscat after opening the wrap-around season with a T-41 effort in Hong Kong before Christmas.

Paul Waring

The 2005 English amateur champion played last season on a medical exemption after wrist and shoulder problems but also enjoyed a career-best campaign, finishing 60th on the Race to Dubai rankings and saw light despite the unwanted weekends off.

“I’d missed three cuts on the spin but I didn’t feel like I’d played badly to miss them. I didn’t feel too far away,” Waring told EuropeanTour.com after a round that included a hat-trick of birdies from the 14th (he started at 10) and birdies on all four par 5s.

“It was definitely a bit of a glide. I played some of the best golf I’ve played for a little while. I actually missed a few chances, which sounds ridiculous. I did hole a nice one on one from 30 or 40 feet which is nice to keep the momentum going. I’m really happy with that.”

Southgate’s early form hasn’t been much better than Waring’s. Ranked 163rd in the latest OWGR, he missed the cut at the SA Open and in Abu Dhabi before T-57 and T-62 finishes in Dubai and Kuala Lumpur.

It was a good day for this guy ?

Shoots 65
Makes a hole-in-one
Takes the first round lead pic.twitter.com/rIK3woah9R

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 15, 2018

The Southend-on-Sea professional provided one of the stories of 2015, coming through all three stages of Q-School to regain his card after surgery for testicular cancer just months earlier. More recently Southgate has been in the news for cruelly incurring a four stroke penalty at the DAP Championship during last September’s Web.com finals, a freak incident that ultimately cost him a PGA Tour card.

Putting on the 15th at Canterbury Golf Club in Ohio, his ball was struck by a leaf that blew across the green, nudging the ball off line ever so slightly.

Southgate finished the hole, but made a huge error in the process as he should have placed his ball back to its original location and replayed the shot without penalty. Instead, by continuing the hole, he was handed a four-stroke penalty – two for playing from the wrong spot and two more for signing an incorrect card.

Here’s the incident:

Golf is hard … especially when you’re playing for a @PGATOUR card. pic.twitter.com/SoyWo6X01q

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) September 24, 2017

Sullivan, T-6 in Dubai and T-17 in Malaysia, is trending nicely as he looks to September’s Ryder Cup in Paris. The 31-year-old concedes complacency crept in after he slipped to 62nd place in last year’s Race to Dubai standings following back-to-back top 20 finishes in 2015 and 2016.

He achieved just two top-10s in 2017 but is determined to get back to the top after the high of qualifying for the 2016 Ryder Cup in Hazeltine.

“I think it was just a bit of complacency,” he told EuropeanTour.com. “I got to the Ryder Cup pretty early and achieved everything in really quick time and you just don’t realise how hard you have to work to maintain these things. I’d be guilty of that and of not quite performing how I wanted to.

“Since DP World we’ve put the hard work in and it’s nice to see it coming back to where it was so early. I didn’t expect it to happen quite so quickly.

“Once you’ve played one Ryder Cup you don’t want to miss another one, it’s so special. My first one was in America and obviously we got humped but the whole experience is so awesome, being a part of that team, you just don’t want to miss another one.

“One of my goals is to try and force my way into that team. I know it’s going to be difficult and I’ve left myself a lot to do but that’s where I want to be again.”

Levy, for the record, signed for a one-under 71 Thursday, as did Andrew “Beef” Johnston. Shubhankar Sharma, the 21-year-old Indian who leads the 2018 Race to Dubai after wins at the Joburg Open and Maybank Championship in the past two months, finished with a 73 despite a near tap-in eagle on the par-5 12th.

It was a tough day for the local hopes. Al Mouj teaching professional Steven Troup (SCO) is tied for 128th overnight after a 77 while Oman national team amateur Azaan Al Rumhy carded an 80. Bahrain amateur Nasser Yaqoob was on +13 after an 85.

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