The quartet, all rising stars on the DP World Tour, will compete at Al Hamra Golf Club from January 25-28 before heading to Royal Golf Club in Bahrain the following week during the International Swing on the new-look 2024 Race to Dubai.

The events follow back-to-back weeks in Dubai with the Dubai Invitational and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic as the Middle East forms the focal point of the DP World Tour’s early 2024 schedule.

With defending champion Daniel Gavins having already confirmed his return to Ras Al Khaimah along with three-time Major Champion Pádraig Harrington and DP World Tour winners Rasmus Højgaard and Pablo Larrazábal, the field for the showdown at Al Hamra Golf Club is starting to take shape.

Padraig Harrington – Jared C. Tilton

Bradbury, who enjoyed a stand-out debut season in 2023, is looking forward to progressing further in 2024 after finishing 36th in his maiden year on the Race to Dubai.

“I enjoy playing golf in the Middle East so I’m excited to head back to Ras Al Khaimah and also visit Bahrain for the first time. They should be great events,” he said.

Fellow countryman Fitzpatrick earned his playing privileges for 2024 through a combination of the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca and strong performances in limited starts on the DP World Tour, including a tie for 17th in The Open at Royal Liverpool, and is now able to play a full schedule on the Race to Dubai.

“There was quite a lot of pressure last year because I felt like I had to play well in the limited opportunities I got to play, so it’s quite nice now to be able to plan my schedule a bit more,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s always nice to go out to the Middle East so I’m looking forward to getting out there next month.”

Germany’s Paul, who won the 2021 Mallorca Golf Open, is also looking to build on a strong 2023 which included two runner-up finishes and five other top tens.

“I felt like I played some good golf last season, particularly in the first part of the year, so hopefully I can do that again next year. I can’t wait to see everybody in Ras Al Khaimah and Bahrain,” he said.

Two-time DP World Tour winner Smith is someone who knows Al Hamra Golf Club well, having won the Challenge Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah, 2016 Golf Challenge, and always enjoys returning to a place where he’s enjoyed previous success.

Jordan Smith – Challenge Tour / Getty Images

“That victory in 2016 effectively secured the number one spot on the Challenge Tour Rankings for me, so I’ll always enjoy going back to Al Hamra,” said Smith. “This event, in addition to Bahrain, will be a really fun part of the schedule and I’m looking forward to getting out there.”

Main Image: DP World Tour / Getty Images

The post Al Hamra poised for young guns in Ras Al Khaimah Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Englishman carded seven birdies and an eagle at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course as he goes in search of his second DP World Tour title to add to his victory at the European Open in 2017.

The 29-year-old has enjoyed a banner year in 2022 with two runner-up finishes and six further top tens. He is currently 14th on the DP World Tour Rankings in partnership with Rolex and is set to record his highest ever finish on the season-long standings.

Sharing second in Portugal on eight-under are Joost Luiten of the Netherlands and Denmark’s Jeff Winther. The pair sit one stroke ahead of Gavin Green of Malaysia, Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren and Frenchman Robin Roussel.

The Portugal Masters is the final counting event on the 2022 DP World Tour schedule, with the top 117 golfers on the DP World Tour Rankings after this tournament retaining their playing rights for 2023. After the first round, Norway’s Espen Kofstad is the current last man in, projected to finish in 117th position.

“Anything like that you’re over the moon with,” Smith said. “I’m really happy with the way I played. I’ve been under the weather all week because I caught the flu last weekend. Not been feeling my best, they say beware the injured golfer. Considering my prep hasn’t been the best, I’m over the moon with it.

“A win is the only thing missing this year. I’ve been close a couple of times. Overall, it’s been a great year and I’m over the moon with it already. Just to top it off with a win would be amazing.”

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The post DP World Tour: Jordan Smith gets off to a flyer at Portugal Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Jordan Smith withdrew from this week’s Andalucía Masters during the first round, citing mental exhaustion with the European Tour’s bubble.

Smith, 27, was 11 over through 14 holes on Day 1 at Valderrama Golf Club. The former Ryder Cup venue is proving a formidable test, with just five players out of the 132-man field breaking par on Thursday. However, Smith let it known it was more than firm and fast conditions that spurred his WD.

“If people are wondering why I withdrew from this week’s event, the main fact was it was my 7th week in a row and ‘the bubble’ has gotten the better of me,” Smith wrote on Twitter. “Feeling like being in lockdown again not being allowed out the hotel does get to you after a while and mentally I had enough.”

Smith followed by saying it is the first time he’s pulled out from a tournament mid-round, and apologized to his team and the European Tour.

The European Tour’s protocols and restrictions returning from the pandemic have been uncompromising relative to the PGA Tour’s restart framework; in August, player John Catlin was disqualified when caught having dinner outside tournament grounds. In that same breath, the Euro Tour’s plan has worked, as it’s kept its constituents safe through the circuit’s return from the pandemic.

Smith entered the week 57th in the Euro Tour’s Race to Dubai, and No. 184 in the World Ranking.

The post European Tour player WDs mid-event, citing mental fatigue with Euro Tour bubble appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Welcome to another edition of The Grind where we almost got killed at the Travelers Championship last week. An American golfer who shall remain nameless nearly drilled me with a drive on No. 15. He shall remain nameless because he was only concerned with his lie as he walked right by me and a few others to get to his ball. Meanwhile, European golfers continue to display better manners in these situations. A week after Henrik Stenson laid down on the ground to pose for a selfie with a fan he plunked, Jordan Smith bought his victim (multiple) drinks at the BMW International Open:

Alles wieder gut! @Jsmithgolf entschuldigt sich ordentlich bei Wolfgang. ???#BMWInternationalOpen pic.twitter.com/foc1dAFcAt

— SPORT1 (@SPORT1) June 21, 2019

What’s next, dinner and a movie? Seriously, fans might start trying to get hit by these guys. Anyway, kudos to Smith, Stenson, and others who actually care about the well-being of us little people in the galleries—or, at least yell “Fore!” when they hit an errant shot. And it’s good to know karma exists because of the player in question. . . never mind. He had a good week. Karma is officially dead, but The Grind lives on! Let’s dive into everything else happening in golf.

WE’RE BUYING

Chez Reavie: Is this the dawn of the Chez Reavie Era?! Probably not, but no one should be shocked by Reavie’s Travelers Championship triumph after his T-3 performance at Pebble Beach the previous week. I just hope the guy who bet on Chez to win the U.S. Open bet on him this past week.

Rob Carr/Getty Images

And rejoice, short hitters! His average swing speed is only. . . 108! OK, that’s still a lot faster than mine. . . The diminutive Reavie is never going to overpower a golf course like the typical tour winner, but he has always been one of the best iron players in the game. The most puzzling part of his second PGA Tour title is how long he waited for it. First Tiger snaps an 11-year drought in the majors and now Chez ends his 11-year drought in non-majors. What a time to be alive!

Zack Sucher: This was the rare week on the PGA Tour where you could declare two winners. Sure, Sucher blew a five-shot lead on Saturday in stunning fashion, but his rally to finish T-2 was awfully impressive—and important. Consider that in six years as a pro he had earned about $850,000 and had needed “to take out some credit cards” during a seven-month stretch two years ago in which he made no money. Well, he earned $633,600 on Sunday. “It’s life-changing, to be honest,” Sucher said.

Hannah Green: Also life-changing? How about the 114th-ranked player in the world going wire to wire? In a major? Congrats to this Australian for doing just that, instantly becoming one of the more surprising major champs in golf history. What’s even more surprising is how calm she remained throughout.

Pretty cool moment: Hannah Green walks off 8 and a little girl hands her a blue sheet of paper on which she’d written a poem. Hannah reads it, keeps it, gives the girl a hug and heads to 9th tee w 3-shot lead, going after first major.

— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) June 23, 2019

Can you imagine Brooks Koepka doing that? Better yet, how about Tiger Woods in his prime? That is wild. Of course, considering the pace of play issues during the event, Green could have read a novella between holes.

Andrea Pavan: There was some shaky play from both Pavan and Matthew Fitzpatrick during their playoff at the BMW International Open, but the 30-year-old Italian finished in spectacular fashion with a winning birdie. Even better was his celebration (Check out the 27-second mark) with caddie Alejandro Molina.

It's Play-Off victory for @AndreaPavan89! ?#BMWInternationalOpen pic.twitter.com/pZY39ROLxA

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 23, 2019

So good. Reminiscent of Yogi Berra jumping into Don Larsen’s arms. And this isn’t Molina’s first epic celebration:

Come for the Pavan putt ?

Stay for the caddie celebration ? pic.twitter.com/iQy4XAioO2

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 22, 2019

Also, this dude has some serious soccer skills:

https://www.instagram.com/p/ByF9uFsH59K/?utm_source=ig_embed

OK, so we’re buying Molina as much as Pavan. That guy is awesome.

WE’RE SELLING

Brooks Koepka in non-majors: It was good of Koepka to keep his commitment, but seriously, why bother showing up? Koepka couldn’t have looked more disinterested to be playing at the Travelers and you can’t blame him. That has nothing to do with the tournament itself, but to tee it up at TPC River Highlands just four days after nearly winning the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach? And after a long cross-country flight?

Michelle Wie’s career: Sadly, we’re getting to the point of there being no point for Michelle Wie to show up at any tournament—and she knows it. “I’m not entirely sure how much more I have left in me, so even on the bad days, I’m just like trying to take time to enjoy it. But it’s tough,” said an emotional Wie after shooting an opening 84 at the KPMG PGA Championship. To Wie’s credit, she didn’t WD and spoke to the media the following day after an 82. If this is the end of the road (and hopefully, it’s not), Wie has been a pleasure to watch. Well, not during the table-top putting phase, but you get the point.

Matthew Wolff’s pro debut: From the winding down of one phenom’s career to the start of another, I drove up to the Travelers Championship on Thursday specifically to see what was being billed as an important moment in golf history. Apparently, I was the only one. Let’s just say there wasn’t much of a buzz for the pro debut of this DISRUPTOR, but the Wolfpack will certainly grow.

And Wolff will continue to improve, although a T-80 by the 20-year-old doesn’t sound so bad when you consider that a 20-year-old Tiger finished T-60 in his pro debut in 1996. . .

Holey Moley: I hate to pile on Stephen Curry after he had a tough NBA Finals in which his Golden State dynasty crumbled before our very eyes, but. . . wow, was this bad. Not that we should be too surprised considering most thought the show’s announcement was an April Fool’s joke. But. . . I mean. . .

Congrats to @StephenCurry30 and @ABC for somehow managing to make a golf show worse than #Shotmakers. https://t.co/iZxEqtWKTb

— Club Pro Guy (@ClubProGuy) June 25, 2019

Poor Kenny G. I didn’t think his career could dip any lower than appearing in that Valentine’s Day video for Kanye and Kim. I was wrong.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads to Detroit for the inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic, AKA that event funded by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert that replaced the Quicken Loans National on the schedule. Gilbert founded Quicken Loans AND Rocket Mortgage (among other things). He has a lot more money than you do.

Random tournament fact: The tournament will be played at Detroit Golf Club and Rickie Rocket Mortgage Fowler is in the field. And. . . that’s pretty much all we know at this point.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Back to Andrea and Alejandro:

Let the celebrations begin ?#BMWInternationalOpen pic.twitter.com/S5UeqMpRzl

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 23, 2019

That’s nice to see, especially on a day where Matt Wallace came under fire for berating his caddie during the final round.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Bubba Watson’s son Caleb nearly ended Brandt Snedeker’s season (and ability to have kids) with this line drive:

Yessir! Caleb with line drive at @BrandtSnedeker. Great hit!! @TravelersChamp #TravelersFamilyWiffleball #ProudDad #WiffleballLife pic.twitter.com/0sgnNxj9DA

— bubba watson (@bubbawatson) June 21, 2019

Kid’s got some pop.

ARCHIVE VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

How about this compilation of Gary Woodland high school basketball highlights set to the “Rudy” theme song?

https://twitter.com/CoreyRHolloway/status/1140720163211210752

Impressive! Then again, even my high school basketball highlights would seem a lot better accompanied by the “Rudy” theme song.

TWEET OF THE WEEK

Caddying for VJ. https://t.co/T8GbfZm4KY

— KIP HENLEY Blue Check Mark (@KipHenley) June 23, 2019

Boom. Roasted. Of course, Vijay has always had the rep as a caddie killer, but Kip added a little more about the experience:

Watching one of the greatest to ever lace em up, prepare and get after it. Most of working for VJ was so cool. He treated me like a son (even though I’m older than him) away from the course. He never let me reach in my pocket one time. I made almost 50gs in 5 weeks. https://t.co/R7Ds5XUiyJ

— KIP HENLEY Blue Check Mark (@KipHenley) June 23, 2019

Regardless of what people think that part didn’t matter. Sure there were a couple times where I was thinking “damn we been here all day” like every single caddie on the PGA Tour but I have never seen hard work not pay off. https://t.co/bnL0JlpZvm

— KIP HENLEY Blue Check Mark (@KipHenley) June 23, 2019

Fair enough.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

How about Drake hitting the links? We think. . .

https://www.instagram.com/p/By5icbWgioH/?utm_source=ig_embed

Rory McIlroy’s “Two Gloves Aubrey” comment was classic. And then there’s Dylan Windler, the Cleveland Cavaliers first-round pick out of Belmont who also maintains a one-handicap and practices trick shots in his spare time from shooting jump-shots.

Working on some new swings tonight @Topgolf pic.twitter.com/A6NTxc0bQy

— Dylan Windler (@Dylan_Windler23) September 23, 2018

Have a good rookie season, Dylan, and who knows? You could earn a sponsor exemption from Dan Gilbert into next year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic.

THIS WEEK IN DUSTIN JOHNSON-PAULINA GRETZKY PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

While Brooks followed up a stressful week at Pebble Beach by playing in another tournament, Dustin and Paulina went to the Bahamas:

Advantage: Dustin.

THIS WEEK IN PHIL BEING PHIL

Introducing the first “Phireside with Phil”:

First edition of “Phireside with Phil.”

I’ll be sharing some interesting stories that have taken place through the years and will hopefully have some guests in the future too. #PhiresidewithPhil pic.twitter.com/4NDVTPNKmt

— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) June 18, 2019

Please let this be a weekly thing.

THIS AND THAT

If you haven’t read Joel Beall’s (latest) great piece on Max Roberts, a high schooler who went from being homeless to state champ, check it out. What a story. . . . Jay Bilas mentioned Louis Oosthuizen multiple times during the NBA Draft. Jay Bilas is officially the world’s biggest Louis O fan. . . . With the British Open heading to Northern Ireland, NBC Sports commissioned a flute version of Yanni’s classic “In Celebration of Man” theme. It’s a nice little touch, but nothing tops the original. Not even the “Rudy” theme song. . . . And finally, we celebrated Father’s Day a week late in my house (Thanks, USGA!) and the highlight was waking up to this delicious bacon-and-egg on a bagel:

Well, other than spending quality time with my wife and daughter, of course. But yeah. . . that breakfast sandwich. . . mmm. . .

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Who is the most difficult tour pro to caddie for?

Should I wear a helmet to the next event I cover?

How much leftover bacon is in the fridge?

The post An epic victory celebration, Michelle Wie’s tearful goodbye(?), and a caddie blasts his former boss appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The Race to Dubai might be run but the sprint to the finish line at the 10th DP World Tour Championship is anything but done.

After a forgettable Saturday 74 for Tommy Fleetwood, Ryder Cup hero Francesco Molinari looks set to enjoy a lap of honour on Earth Sunday en-route to becoming European No.1.

But the focus will largely be elsewhere as Masters champion Patrick Reed looks to capture his first victory on foreign soil in a final group pairing where Danny Willett has an equally absorbing shot at putting all the pieces of his Humpty Dumpty career back together again.

Reed fired a five-under third round 67 and Willett a 68 to move to -14 but won’t have Sunday all to themselves with Englishman Jordan Smith (69) just a shot back and Lee Westwood in a group of three within two. If you believe in fairytales, how about Westwood making it back-to-back European Tour wins after his Nedbank Challenge triumph last week and winning the Race to Dubai decider for a second time, 10 years after capturing the maiden DP World Tour Championship in 2009?

Then again, major champions Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia and defending champions are only four adrift. Even at five back, Rory McIlroy will fancy his chances too. The race within the race might be done, but it doesn’t mean Sunday won’t still be a heck of a lot of fun.

Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Danny Willett plays his third shot on the 18th hole at JGE on Saturday.

They said it…

Patrick Reed
“Just to be in the situation to be able to come over here and play, with the limited schedule that I play over here on The European Tour, and to have a chance to go out and finish the year off right and win a golf tournament, give myself a little early Christmas gift, a trophy, would be amazing.

“It feels the same as if I’m back home playing the big events at home. When you come over and you play events like this, especially this event, the last one of the year, the guys are in this event because they have played some incredible golf throughout the entire season.

“Because of that, any one of the guys can win a golf tournament. You treat it like that. You treat it as it’s one of the major events. You have to go out and you have to play some solid golf. If you shoot even par around this place, you get lapped so you have to stay aggressive and you have to go and play well, and it feels how it’s supposed to be. When you get to that first tee, you get some adrenaline going and coming down the end, you have adrenaline.”

Danny Willett
“It would be nice, but there’s a lot of golf left, 18 holes. A lot can happen in 18 holes. I’m just happy with the golf game. The golf game is in good shape. The body is feeling good, and like I’ve said, it’s been a long old year with all the stuff that’s gone on and for this to be the last event I’m going to play in this year with a field this good is a real bonus. Going to go out and try and play some good golf tomorrow.

“I don’t think tomorrow could be a bad day regardless, or it could compare to some of the bad days I’ve had. There’s not many negatives we can spin. You pitch up tomorrow, you don’t play well, you don’t play well. You go back out, see the kids, you come back out in January and play well and see what happens. Yeah, in a nice place.”

Jordan Smith
“I don’t think I’ll go in with any expectations. Just going to go enjoy it. Whatever happens, happens. Yeah, I’m just not going to put pressure on myself.”

Adrian Otaegui
“Yeah, it’s been a good week so far. I’m feeling confident. I’m playing well, so just want to keep going and see what happens tomorrow.”

Rory McIlroy
“I think my lowest has been 65. I don’t think I went any lower around here but I’ve shot a lot of them, a lot of 65s and 66s.

“If I were to shoot 65 tomorrow, get to 16-under, it might hold up, especially with the conditions the way they are going to be. I just need to get off to a good start. I need to play the par 5s better, and if I can do that and just not make some of the silly mistakes I made today, who knows.”

Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Westwood plays his second shot on the 18th hole at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Saturday.

Lee Westwood
“Yeah, I’m clearly playing well. It’s just a case of regrouping and getting everything back into perspective and your goals, sights, back in line, and getting going again, playing again. It was no surprise that I was only 5-under after a couple of rounds, but it tends to happen when you’ve won the week before, and I didn’t make enough putts the first couple of days. Missed a low one. Should have been a lot better than it was, and today I made up for it.

“I just think experience is valuable, whatever you’re doing. Whenever you’ve been in a situation before, it’s got to help. I’m just pleased I shot 65 and got myself in there and closer to the leaders, with the conditions as they are and if the wind stays up, then they may not get too far away from front of me, but I was 5-under and the lead was 11, was it, so I was six behind and now I’m tied [he finished the day two back]. It’s a big improvement and gives me a chance tomorrow.”

Jon Rahm
“It’s just too bad I couldn’t make the birdie putts. I gave myself plenty of options. I just couldn’t make them to post a really good round but I’ll take a 69 and I’ll take the spot I’m in. Hopefully tomorrow I have a good ball-striking day and make a few putts early on, and give the guys on top a little bit of a scare.”

The post Reed and Willett head a gaggle of great (potential) storylines as 10th DP World Tour Championship goes to the wire appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
With three wins in 2018 to burst from journeyman touring professional to a player desperately unlucky not to earn one of Thomas Bjorn’s Ryder Cup picks for Paris, Matt Wallace has every right to own lofty expectations.

The problem is those expectations have got in the way of consistent scoring of late, not that you would have guessed it Friday at Jumeirah Golf Estates as the Englishman added a seven under 65 to his opening 68 to earn the halfway lead at the 10th DP World Tour Championship on -11, 133.

Since adding the Made in Denmark title in early September to his earlier wins at the Hero India Open and BMW International, Wallace has enjoyed just two top 25 finishes in his last seven starts to seemingly go off the boil.

But the 28-year-old discovered a simple secret in Turkey where he played better than his T-47 finish suggested, something he proved last week with a share of fifth at Gary Player’s Nedbank Challenge.

“I’ve got rid of all the expectations that have come with playing well and winning; I’ve expected higher from myself and that’s just killed me,” Wallace revealed after earning a one shot lead over the trio of Danny Willett, Jordan Smith and Adrian Otaegui.

European Tour

“So I’m playing with freedom now and trying to place as high as I possibly can come the back nine holes on Sunday and then that’s when I normally will try and kick in and want to win a tournament, depending on where I am.

“Last week was the best week I’ve had mentally because I’ve had no expectations and I finished fifth. That’s nice.”

So too was Friday at Jumeriah Golf Estates as Wallace went bogey-free. A pushed putt for birdie on 18 at Earth prevented the Uxbridge upstart from doubling his lead heading into moving day on Earth, not that he was too fussed given recent events.

“That’s up there with one of the best [rounds] this year,” Wallace said afterwards.

“With it being in round two, as well, it’s nice. Haven’t done that much this year, improving on the first round. I seem to play really nice the first day and just go backwards. That was nice today and hopefully more on the weekend.”

Related: No Ryder Cup hype but Rory and Reed made Friday one to remember at the DP World Tour Championship

Wallace has certainly proved he knows how to get it done should he be in contention down the stretch on Sunday. Surely that enhances your comfort levels this week?

“It won’t really help you in the first few days. I think it will help you come the last day when you know exactly what you need to do. You have to hole the putts. I’ve got a theory that the best putter on Sunday normally wins, and so if I can keep doing what I’m doing and get myself in contention come Sunday, I’ll just try and hole the putts on Sunday.”

While Smith and Otaegui added second round 68s to their opening 66s, Willett carded a matching 67 to be one of the stories of the day after his recent travails. The 2016 Masters champion rebounded from an opening bogey and another dropped on the 10th with seven birdies, the last of them on the 18th when his eagle attempt burned the cup.

“Pretty slow-ish start, but done well,” Willett said. “You kind of saw the scoring from this morning, you knew the scoring is pretty low, so you knew there was obviously going to be a few chances out there. Four nice ones in a row to the turn and then a made a silly bogey down 10 and then bounced back nicely again on them last eight holes.

“Yeah, a little bit up-and-down in there but all in all another 67 was a really solid day.”

The trick now is turning a solid day into a memorable weekend. After his injury-educed form dip since Augusta three Aprils ago, the 31-year-old is just happy to be in the mix.

“It’s nice. I’ve said it all year, really, since everything has been good. It’s nice to be back seeing the lads. It’s nice to be back in contention, playing good golf and moving well and actually enjoying the game that you took up many years ago because you loved it. Yeah, really in a nice place.”

The post Wallace rides lowered expectations to top of Race to Dubai leaderboard appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The frontman of “Moliwood” remains just that after the first lap of the Race to Dubai decider’s two-man dogfight but a late speed wobble means Francesco Molinari’s advantage over pal Tommy Fleetwood is far from comfortable.

Missed par putts on 15 and 18, the first of them a tiddler, saw Molinari slide from a potential share of Thursday’s six-under-par DP World Tour Championship lead with Jordan Smith and Adrian Otaegui to -4 and a tie for fifth place overnight.

Related: Smith and Otaegui lead the way after 66s

It was still a shot better than Fleetwood’s 69 and the icy-cool Italian wasn’t sweating on a blade that suddenly cooled after a near faultless first 14 holes on Earth.

“It’s a shame because I putted really well up until the 14th and then just misjudged the pace on a couple of those putts and left myself more work to do than I needed to,” said Molinari who will become the first Italian to be crowned European No.1 if he can keep his name above Fleetwood’s on the leaderboard come Sunday.

“But yeah, good day. Especially not having played my best. A few too many wayward tee shots probably, but I fought hard. The putting was fantastic, really, for the first 14 holes, so you know, I can improve on a few things.

Obviously some of the things are not going to be easy to maintain at the same level but I think I just have to keep going like I did today and do my own things, stay out of trouble, try to make birdies and see what happens.

Fleetwood needs to win this week and for Molinari to finish outside the top five to repeat as Race to Dubai champion. He showed with a uphill birdie putt from off the side of the 18th green that he has every intention of taking this fight to the wire.

Typically, his Ryder Cup sidekick is playing down the best-buddies battle.

“Well, obviously I’m not trying to think too much about it,” Molinari said.

“I’m trying to focus on the shot at hand and go hole-by-hole, shot by shot and do the best that I can. Today, being the first day, obviously you can have a very poor round and kind of get out of the game. But it was too early, really, to feel any pressure. I’m sure, depending on all the different scenarios on Sunday, it might be different.

Related: Resurgent Willett believes return to best golf is ‘close’ after opening 67

“It’s only Thursday, so there’s so many things that can happen. It’s really too early. We had fun. I think both of us, we didn’t really hit the ball maybe our best, but we managed to scramble well and get two solid rounds together.”

Fleetwood admitted afterwards the closing holes had been a grind and was chuffed with how he etched out a score to remain firmly in the fight.

“Yeah, it was more really good battling,” said Fleetwood who went bogey-free at sits on -3 in a crowded group including Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Alex Noren and Rafa Cabrera Bello.

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Fleetwood celebrates holing his birdie putt from off the 18th green during day one of the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

“To be honest, the first eight holes, I could have been a few better. I played lovely. Got really unlucky on 2. I burnt the edges on a couple of putts, so after 8, it was a case of just stay patient and pick some birdies as you go along.

“The back nine was completely opposite pretty much from 12 onwards, really, really struggled and just made really, really good up-and-downs. You can’t really rely on that for the rest of the week, so I’ll have to do a little bit of work or whatever it was, sort it out by tomorrow.

“Sometimes those are the rounds that maybe win you golf tournaments at the end of the week and that’s kind of what I’ve been lacking a little bit throughout the year. Today, just take all the positives and I know strengths of my game so hopefully I can fix them pretty quickly.”

Fleetwood described the opening round with Molinari as “a pleasure” despite the magnitude of the occasion.

“We don’t get in each other’s way. I think the great thing about being so close and friends, you have such a good understanding of each other’s personality and when it’s time to talk or when it’s not time to talk.

“There’s no weird feelings out there or no sort of uneasy moments because you know each other so well. It was a pleasure being out with him today and he was doing great. He put a great score together until a couple at the end.”

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By Kent Gray
What a difference a week makes.

This time last Thursday Jordan Smith was chewing on an opening 79 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City. To his immense credit, the 26-year-old Englishman fought back with rounds of 69-72-67 to etch out a T-21 placing in the penultimate event of the European Tour season.

Fortunately Smith won’t have to come from so far back at the 10th DP World Tour Championship after firing an opening 66 at Jumeirah Golf Estates to share the first round lead in the Race to Dubai decider with Spaniard Adrian Otaegui.

The six-under circumnavigations of Earth were two shots shy of the lowest opening round in 10 years at the tour championship, set by Peter Hanson in 2011. While Adrian Otaegui went bogey free, Smith roared home six under in his last six holes after birdies on 9th and 10 were wiped out by dropped shots on the 1st and 12th.

Related: Resurgent Willett believes return to best golf is ‘close’

“I struggled at the start last week but bounced back and ended up finishing tied 21st after a 5-under in the last round. So I’ve come in with a lot of confidence and just went out there and didn’t have any pressures or anything. Just went out and enjoyed it,” said Smith.

The boy from Bath is no stranger to season-ending success in the UAE after he won the Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge at Al Hamra Golf Club to top the 2016 Challenge Tour money-list and earn promotion to the main tour. He cashed in too, capturing his maiden European Tour title at the Porche European Open en-route to finishing 24th in the Race to Dubai with €1.28 million.

Smith admits the rookie success altered his game plan at the start of this season, to his detriment. But he’s rebounded in the second half of the year and came into Dubai on the back of a T-3 finish at the British Masters, a share of 55th in Turkey and last weeks commendable comeback in South Africa.

“It’s very close to my best,” Smith said when asked where his game was at.

“The first half of the year, I came out after a good year last year, just put too much pressure on myself, expecting too much rather than going out and just enjoying it and letting what happens, happen, which is what I’ve been doing the last couple of months which has been working. It’s been nice to finish the year on a high.”

Even par through 12 holes, Smith started his run with a birdie on 13 before an eagle on the par-5 next as his previously cold putter got hot.

“I hit a lot of good shots on that front nine. Just couldn’t quite find the hole. Hit a lot of good putts, all burning the edge and then something clicked on that back nine and they started going in.

“I think you can just take a lot of confidence into the next few days [off the back of the 66]. Me being 44th in The Race to Dubai, I can go out and go for it, not too much pressure. Just enjoy it, enjoy the next few days and carry on with the same play that I had today.”

Otaegui was understandably pleased with his opening day’s work.

“It’s always very good to have a good start. It’s more important to have a good finish, as well. But it’s obviously a very good feeling to have a good start like this, especially the way I played today,” said the 25-year-old, world No.76 who won the new Belgian Knockout earlier this year to go with his maiden European Tour win in the Paul Lawrie Match Play the previous season.

“It’s never easy but it’s true I played really well. I was solid from tee-to-green. I left myself lots of birdie chances. I thought I putted well. Six birdies, no bogeys, it’s always a very good start.”

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By Ryan Herrington
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland—In late May, shortly after the Players Championship, Rory McIlroy made the point of dismissing the creation of “supergroup” pairings during early rounds of big golf tournaments. The Northern Irishman said he understood fan interest in seeing a threesome of high-profile players competing on Thursday and Friday—at the Players there was McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, eight major titles between them—but that the groupings got in the way of those same players potentially being in contention and paired again on the weekend.

“I would rather see Rickie and Phil and Tiger play on a Sunday rather than on a Thursday and two of them going home,” noted the four-time major winner, who not so coincidentally was the one going home at the Players.

Apparently, the R&A heard McIlroy’s plea. When it announced its threesomes for Thursday and Friday at the Open Championship, there was no repeat of the U.S. Open pairings of Dustin Johnson/Tiger Woods/Thomas and Phil Mickelson/McIlroy/Spieth. Instead, most of the world’s top-ranked players were spread out throughout the draw.

To wit: Just one pairing at Carnoustie has all three members having won major titles: Darren Clarke, Bernhard Langer and Retief Goosen teeing off at 9:36 a.m. local time on Thursday. And with this one, well, none has won a major since 2011, so the “marquee” value is minimal.

Meanwhile, only seven pairings have two members with majors to their credit: 6:35 a.m., Sandy Lyle and Martin Kaymer; 9:58 a.m., Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose; 10:20 a.m., Louis Oosthuizen and Patrick Reed; 12:31 p.m., Henrik Stenson and Jimmy Walker; 1:15 p.m., Zach Johnson and Adam Scott; 2:48 p.m., Padraig Harrington and Bubba Watson; and 3:32 p.m. Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley.

RELATED: Complete tee times for Thursday and Friday at Carnoustie

In a handful of cases at Carnoustie there are two marquee players together, but in those instances, the third member of the group is less well known. Best example: the 10:09 a.m. pairing of Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler and Chris Wood. And in other cases, there is one big-name playing in relative obscurities, such as the 8:03 a.m. group of Phil Mickelson with Satoshi Kodaira and Rafa Cabrera Bello and the 1:37 p.m. pairing of Jason Day, Shota Akiyoshi and Li Haotong.

All that said, there remain some interesting groups to watch. Here are seven we’re most intrigued by:

Stuart Franklin

10:09 a.m.: Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Chris Wood
After his runner-up finish at the Masters in April, Fowler discussed how he finally felt like he was ready to win a major. He followed it up with a T-20 at the U.S. Open and got in his now regular links tune-up with a T-6 last week at the Scottish Open. Fowler’s game is in solid shape, and so long as Rahm’s temper doesn’t prove a distraction, he’s got a pairing that can set him up for a weekend run at Carnoustie.

12:53 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Marc Leishman, Thorbjorn Olesen
McIlroy comes into Carnoustie much more quietly than he did at the Masters and U.S. Open. Which just might be a good thing. “Rory clearly is always dangerous,” noted Rose. “Probably even more dangerous at the minute because he’s been a little quiet. I find that Rory is always quiet for a while, and then he’ll kind of kickback into gear.” Plus, McIlroy has got his wish in a pairing that won’t force him to feel like he has to put on a show and outplay his partners on Thursday and Friday. If he struggles this week, it’s on him.

Mike Ehrmann

1:04 p.m.: Dustin Johnson, Alex Noren, Charley Hoffman
Hoffman has been known to get off to solid starts at majors, and Noren is playing well and wants to avenge his poor showing in the big four. But all eyes will really be on Johnson. How does DJ bounce back from a disappointing Sunday finish at Shinnecock? And how does he try to play a golf course where he potentially can hit 400-plus yard drives on a handful of holes.

1:37 p.m.: Jason Day, Shota Akiyoshi, Li Haotong
Here’s an example of the R&A perhaps spreading out the players a little too thin (all due respect to Akiyoshi and Li). Does Day take this his pairing as an insult, or does he use it as motivation?

Jan Kruger/R&A

3:10 p.m.: Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Shubhankar Sharma
Garcia’s history at Carnoustie brings its own intrigue. But one of the ultimate feel players paired with one of the ultimate thinkers in DeChambeau could create its own melodrama. And as a bonus, there’s Sharma, who has his own cult following.

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

3:21 p.m.: Tiger Woods, Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Knox
Woods is returning to the Open for the first time since 2015, so no matter who he was paired with there would be interest. He and Matsuyama have played together in various events over the years, but interestingly this will be the first time Woods has ever been paired with Knox in a PGA Tour event.

Arep Kulal/Asian Tour

3:54 p.m.: Jazz Janewattananond, Fabrizio Zanotti, Jordan Smith
Yes, this is an honest-to-goodness threesome playing in the Open. Janewattananond (above) is a 22-year-old from Thailand who turned pro at age 14 in 2010. He qualified for Carnoustie by his play at the SMBC Singapore. Zanotti, a 35-year-old from Paraguay, and Smith, a 25-year-old from England, both were in the top 30 on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai in 2017. Do any of the three have a chance to win this week? Not likely, but we had to find a way to work Janewattananond into a story at some point this week.

The post The Open 2018: The 7 most intriguing pairings for the first two rounds at Carnoustie appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
This is a victory those in the know have been expecting for some time. One year on from recording a string of fine performances during his rookie season on the European Tour—most notably at the Open de France—and only seven days after a T-3 finish in Morocco, Alexander Bjork is a winner at the highest level. With a bogey-free seven-under 65 at Topwin Golf & C.C. in Beijing, the 27-year-old Swede claimed the Volvo China Open title by one shot over Spain’s Dubai-based Adrian Otaegui. Bjork was 18 under par for the 72 holes and picked up $526,377 for his trouble.

It was a busy and ever-changing final round, one in which any number of players challenged for the lead. At one point on the front nine as many as six men were tied for first place. Low scoring was also a feature. Englishman Jordan Smith set the early target with a 64 that took the European Open champion to 16 under par.

That was never going to be quite enough though. With matching birdies at the drivable 327-yard par-4 15th, both Bjork and Otaegui reached 17 under. The biggest turning point, however, arrived two holes later. Minutes after Bjork had holed from about 10 feet for his 20th birdie of the week (he also made one eagle), Otaegui three-putted for bogey, eventually missing from no more than three feet. Needing an eagle on the par-5 18th to force a playoff after Bjork played the 583-yard hole for a cautious par, the Spaniard’s greenside chip came up four-feet short. He settled for birdie and second place.

Similarly, Otaegui’s playing partner, Englishman Matt Wallace, needed three to get down from behind the 18th green after flushing his second shot right over the flag and, sadly for him, the green too. For him, that was two shots too many.

“It’s tough to describe my emotions,” said Bjork, who was once ranked in his country’s top-10 junior tennis players. “I’ve been feeling ready to make this step. I was less nervous this morning than normal. I was confident. But you never know when it is going to happen. I’m really happy and very proud of myself. Today was maybe the best round I’ve ever played in such a situation. I’ve been striking the ball so well off the tee and putting solidly. My swing feels right there. And it was nice that it worked so well today under the pressure. I was still able to hit good shots.

“I didn’t look too much at the leader boards early. But I knew I needed to make birdies coming home [he made four]. That actually helped me. In a way it was easier to be aggressive than to play safe. I guess it was meant to be. I was close last week. And I’m so happy to be the first Swede to win this event.”

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