By Kent Gray
Andy Sullivan has shown a proclivity for winning going away on the European Tour, having waltzed to the 2015 Portugal Masters by nine strokes and the new English Championship by seven as recently as August.

Early in the third round of the inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, it seemed the 34-year-old was intent on more of the same.

When Friday playing partner Matt Wallace stiffed it to tap in range on the 1st, Sullivan retorted with his own tight wedge-birdie of his own and seemed to be setting out where he left off in opening rounds of 61- 66.

By the turn he’d stretched his three stroke overnight lead to four over the third member of his all-England group, Ross Fisher. A big lead, perhaps even something unassailable heading into Saturday’s final round, was in the offing.

But this untraditionally scheduled moving day didn’t quite go to plan. Suddenly the free-flow of birdies became more of a holding pattern. A frustrating bogey on 10 was followed by a stretch of steady/unspectacular par golf.

Sullivan eventually signed for a 68 to get it to -21 for the championship. That was good enough for a two-stroke buffer over Wallace (67) with Fisher (68) and Italian Renato Paratorte (65)  a stroke further back on -18.

At least Sullivan will take a little momentum into the final round, if not a comfortable led with 11 players within five strokes on a course that could easily give up a low score to give one of the contenders setting out earlier a clubhouse target to make Sullivan sweat.

But if Sullivan and recapture the ball striking that marked his closing three holes, he he’ll be tough to haul in. A drive, two-putt birdie on the par-4 16th got him going again and was backed up with another gain on the tricky 17th when he rifled a 5-iron in tight in a near carbon copy of his second round shot of the day on the same hole Thursday. There was some final frustration when the master chipper was unable to get up and down for birdie from the front of the 18th but neither Fisher or Wallace were able to covert on the reachable par-5 either, limiting the damage.

“I’m happy with four under,” said Sullivan who will chase a fifth European Tour title on Saturday.

“I didn’t think I played brilliant golf. Started off really nicely front nine, played really solid. Ten through to 14 I didn’t swing it that great, didn’t give myself that many chances. Found some good swings coming in, which was really good, dug deep there and managed to get a few birdies coming home. Four under is a pretty fair reflection on how I played.

??????? -21 Sullivan
??????? -19 Wallace
?? -18 Paratore
??????? -18 R. Fisher
?? -17 Laporta
?? -17 Rozner

With one round to go at the #GolfInDubai.

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 4, 2020

“All in all, stayed patient and got my just desserts coming in with those two birdies. That’s what we were talking about before we got out there, it’s about being patient and I’m sure it will be the same tomorrow.

“There’s a lot of golf to be played, a lot of birdies to be made tomorrow. Just got to go out there and play golf. If I play as good as I did the first two days, I’ll be a confident man.”

THEY SAID IT…

Matt Wallace (ENG), 63-67-67 (-19)
“It was alright, didn’t swing it as good today. I felt a bit nervous, if I’m honest. Not at the start, but then a few tee shots didn’t feel as comfortable, didn’t strike it as well.

“Had to tell myself to let it go and struck it better coming in. Frustrating to miss that putt on the last. The grain really gets quite strong as the day goes on. On 17 it broke more, 18 broke a lot. I wouldn’t have given it outside the hole from that distance, and I would have had to.

“The birdie on the next hole (after bogey on nine) settled me down, but I knew I could hole that putt. I knew good drive, middle of the green to a back pin that was quite dangerous, I knew that I could hole that putt on a hard hole. Then I hit a great shot into 11. Staying patient, waiting for my run, a little bit. I hit a really bad shot on nine, which could have got to me – and would have probably got to me in the past – but I know that I’m swinging it well and I know I’m going to give myself loads of chances. Same tomorrow, I’m going to have loads of chances tomorrow.

“I’m not thinking about that (winning tomorrow), if I’m honest. I had a chance in Scotland and was in a better position in Scotland to win and I didn’t. I’m two behind a Ryder Cup player, someone who is playing really well. I’m going to have to go really low tomorrow. It’s not just him, someone could come from 15, 16 and shoot nine or ten under. You’ve seen out there, Robert Macintyre was seven-under through nine, so that can happen. Hopefully it can be me, but I’m just going to relax now and get ready for the fight tomorrow.”

Robert MacIntyre (SCO), 66-68-66 (-16)
“Happy with six under par, I’d have taken that before I went out but with the start I had I should have scored a lot better. That’s the way things happen and I have another day to fix it.

“It happened the other day. It’s nothing new. It’s part of the game and it happens all the time. You want it not to happen, but it’s part and parcel of the game. I enjoyed it as much as I could but to finish the way I did wasn’t so sweet.

“There’s still going to be pressure. If I’ve not go nerves on the first tee, I’m not in the right job. It’s going to be like a shootout again. It suits my game and I’m putting good, I just need to tidy it up a bit and see where it ends up.

“[Eagle on seven] 256 yards to the pin. Sitting alright in the rough. I hit a perfect five wood. It normally goes 250, slightly downwind I hit it perfect – right where I was aiming it – and it left me a nice putt.”

Par save of the day…

That’d be @RossFisher.#GolfInDubai pic.twitter.com/TeqVpZwdCj

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) December 4, 2020

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By Joel Beall
The USGA announced Monday that 10 players have earned exemptions into the 2020 U.S. Open through their performance in the European Tour’s U.K Swing.

The USGA’s flagship event, which will be comprised solely of exempt players due to the cancellation of local and sectional qualifying in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, invited the top 10 aggregate point earners from the Euro Tour’s five restart events who weren’t already in the Winged Foot field. The 10 are Sam Horsfield, Thomas Detry, Andy Sullivan, Rasmus Hojgaard, Renato Paratore, Romain Langasque (who won the Wales Open on Sunday), Sami Valimaki, Dubai-based Adrian Otaegui, Connor Syme and Justin Harding.

Horsfield, 24, has won twice in August, capturing a breakthrough victory at the Hero Open and returning to the winner’s circle two weeks later at the Celtic Classic. Detry, 27, finished runner-up to Horsfield at both events. This marks Horsfield’s fourth appearance in the U.S. Open with Detry—a former Big Ten Player of the Year at Illinois—making his major championship debut.

Sullivan, 33, a former member of the European Ryder Cup team, is making his first U.S. Open start since 2016 at Oakmont. Harding, 34, was in the mix through 36 holes at the 2019 Masters and will be making his second consecutive U.S. Open start.

Other U.S. Open exemptions still to be handed out will be the top-five point earners from the three-event 2020 Korn Ferry Tour Series as well as the top five in the final FedEx Cup standings who are otherwise not exempt.

The 120th U.S. Open begins on Sept. 17 at Winged Foot Golf Club West Course in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Gary Woodland is the defending champ.

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By John Huggan
Only 19 centuries or so after the 73-mile long Hadrian’s Wall was built to signify the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire, another native of the Italian capital has left his mark on the northeast of England.

With a final round of two-under-par 69 for a 72-hole total of 266, 18 under par for four circuits of the Close House course just outside Newcastle, Renato Paratore made off with the British Masters title. The 23-year old finished three shots clear of the highly promising Dane, Rasmus Hojgaard, with Justin Harding of South Africa third, one stroke farther back.

In nice touch at what was a spectator-free event, a group of Paratore’s fellow players formed a guard of honour with clubs raised in salute as he left the 18th green. And after an interview with Sky television, the world No. 270 was able to say hello via video link with his delighted mother back in Italy.

RELATED: Lee Westwood says he won’t play in PGA Championship

“I’m just really happy,” was Paratore’s immediate reaction to a victory even his all-conquering ancestors would surely have been pleased with. “I played really solid. I didn’t except to play this well so soon after the lock-out. But I have worked really hard over the last year.”

Indeed, it was a fine performance of some solidity from Paratore, whose only previous victory on the European Tour came at the 2017 Nordea Masters. Bogey-free over the first 64 holes, he made 20 birdies in all [only six of those on par 4s]. But his final round was not a totally stress-free day out in the picturesque Northumberland countryside. Standing on the 198-yard par-3 12th tee—statistically the most difficult hole on the course—Paratore had dropped two shots in his previous three holes and his lead was down to two. He passed the test, though, his long-iron [remember them?] tee-shot into the strong breeze finding the centre of the elusive putting surface en route to a steadying par.

RK
Renato Paratore plays his third shot from the 17h greenside bunker during final round of the British Masters.

“I didn’t think too much about not making a bogey for so long,” he claimed after moving up to sixth place on the season-long Race to Dubai. “If I did that, I would probably make one. So when it did come, I wasn’t too worried. The ninth hole was very difficult today because of the wind. Besides, I made birdie at the very next hole. My aim was just to play good and win the tournament. That conditions were tough helped me, of course. There were no really low scores. And I was playing well. So my focus was simply on staying ahead.”

That he did, early on courtesy of a deft short game. Having missed each of the first two greens in regulation, the fast-moving Italian—no one in the modern game takes less time to play—chipped close on both occasions.

RELATED: PGL reportedly talking to European Tour

Perhaps the only other moment of high stress was answered equally emphatically. Faced with a 15-foot putt for a birdie 4 on the penultimate green that would maintain his three-shot edge, Paratore—who putts with his glove on—holed out dead centre. It was a pure stroke worthy of the animated celebration that followed.

Still, while Paratore’s play over the four days was worthy of much praise, the field the Italian left in his wake was far from the strongest ever seen on the European Tour. In a sign of what will likely be at least the short-term future, only four of the top-50 finishers—Harding, defending champion Marcus Kinhult, Andrea Pavan and Eddie Pepperell—arrived at Close House ranked inside the world’s leading 150 golfers. And only two of Wednesday’s starting lineup, Pepperell and tournament host Lee Westwood, could boast rankings inside the top 85.

None of which will matter to the new champion in an event that boasts a star-studded cast of former winners: Tony Jacklin. Nick Faldo. Peter Thomson. Bobby Locke. Bob Charles. Seve Ballesteros. Greg Norman. Lee Trevino. Ian Woosnam. Colin Montgomerie. Sandy Lyle. Justin Rose. Lee Westwood. Bernhard Langer.

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By John Huggan
ABU DHABI — As ever when the matter at hand happens to be the professional life and times of the ever-volatile Sergio Garcia, there is a lot going on. First though, the good news. Eight days after his 40th birthday—“I’m closer to 60 than I am to 20” he joked—and in an event where he has never finished outside the top 20 in six previous appearances, the Spaniard is on eight-under 136 halfway through the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Tied with Haotong Li and Renato Paratore, Garcia is two shots behind the 36-hole leader, Italy’s Francesco Laporta, who topped the Challenge Tour rankings last year. Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Matt Fitzpatrick are nine under, with Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen and Patrick Cantlay among those two shots further back. World No. 1 Brooks Koepka is three-under 141 after following up an encouraging first round back from injury on Thursday with a disappointing 75 on Friday

Garcia’s second-round 69, four birdies, one bogey, was shot with 14 new clubs in his bag. Free to choose the make-up of his set following his split from Callaway, the former Masters champion is currently a free agent able to employ a mixture of manufacturers.

“Unfortunately I wasn’t comfortable enough with the Callaway ball, and they needed me to play it,” he explained. “So we decided to part ways. Nicely, though. There were no bad feelings from either side, which was great. I’m playing whatever feels best for me or fits me best. That’s where we are, and that’s what I was working on over the Christmas break.”

It wasn’t the easiest of decisions though. Suddenly able to pick from an array of goodies rather than use what he is being paid to play, Garcia took some time to find exactly what he wanted.

“Feel is important, but for me a club has to look good,” he said. “If it doesn’t look good, I’m not going to be able to play it, even if it’s the best club in the world. Then, when I try it and when I test it, I have to see good numbers. It’s as simple as that.”

Specifically and at least for the moment, Garcia’s fairway woods are TaylorMades. The others, including driver and putter, are all made by Ping. The ball in play is a Titleist.

“I’m sure I will try a couple of different things along the way,” Garcia said. “But I’m pretty happy with what I have at the moment. I doubt I will change the irons. They feel really good, as do the fairway woods. Just about the only thing I might look at is the driver, just to see if I can find a few more yards. I’m comfortable with it right now though.”

Another pleasing aspect of what is Garcia’s seventh visit to this event was the pace of play. Along with just about everyone else in the 132-strong field, he noticed a positive difference.

“People seem to be a bit more aware,” he said. “We were actually on the clock just after the turn, but we caught up quickly. Overall though, it did feel a bit quicker.”

That brief chat with a rules official is hardly Garcia’s first brush with the laws of the game, of course. In two weeks, he will return to the Saudi International, where last year he indulged in a famously extended tantrum. First there was a wild, club-swinging episode in a greenside bunker. Then, more seriously, a number of putting surfaces were damaged.

As a result, Garcia was disqualified from the event, a punishment many of his fellow players on the European Tour felt was inadequate. Because his behavior had a directly negative impact on the other competitors, the prevailing mood favored a longer suspension rather than a one-event DQ.

So it is that Garcia will soon be making a controversial return to the European Tour’s most controversial event, in a land hardly renowned for its adherence to basic human rights. Not surprisingly, Garcia has been making strenuous efforts to make belated amends.

“I feel terrible about what happened last year,” Garcia said earlier this week. “Obviously there were some outside things that got me to that point. But I want to go back. I want to show my respect to them.

“The easy thing would have been for me to hide and never go back there,” he continued. “But I love the people there, and I love the guys, all the people we met and the Sheikh and everyone that takes care of us during the tournament. They are amazing people, and they wanted me to go back. So that was an easy decision, and I’m excited to go back there. I want to show myself, show the true Sergio, and show them my respect and try to play the best that I can. And hopefully have a great tournament.”

Which he is halfway to doing this week on the other side of the Persian Gulf. What the weekend holds is anyone’s guess. But one thing is for sure. Life with Sergio is never dull.

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By Kent Gray
If Brooks Koepka’s peers were secretly hoping the world No.1 would slowly ease his way back into competitive golf and leave them to scrap it out for the Falcon trophy this week, well, they should have known better.

A bogey-free 66 represented a fine return after three months out rehabbing his surgically repaired left knee. It left the 29-year-old American just two shots adrift of -8 pacesetters Renato Paratore and Shaun Norris and ominously poised at the 15th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA. So much for ring rust.

“I’ve kind of known I’ve been hitting it really well, putting it really well for a couple of weeks,” said Koepka after his fastest start to the $7 million Rolex Series event after a 77 when he missed the cut here in 2014 and a 67 en-route to a T-9 finish last year.

“I think the first day I picked up the club, same thing. Felt like I hadn’t left. I’ve done it for years and years. You don’t forget how to swing the golf club.”

Apparently not. Koepka wasn’t flawless off the tee but managed to escape an awkward, partially (tree) impeded waste area lie at the first real hint of trouble on the 6th, his fourth to last hole after starting on 10. Throughout he relied on some silky touches around the greens, normally the last part of your game to return after such a lengthy spell on the sidelines, as he sauntered around the pristine National layout and up the front page of the leaderboard.

The World Number One’s opening round in 5 minutes ?#ADGolfChamps #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/uaKp6Icv2Z

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 16, 2020

The highlight was a chip-in birdie on the 17th, his 8th hole, from some gnarly rough beyond the green, before another gain from out of a greenside trap at the next to turn in four-under. A lengthy putt for another birdie on the 2nd, his 11th hole, also made the highlights reel.

“Yeah, solid. I like the way I’ve played,” he said. “Controlled distances. Controlled flights. Controlled spin. Everything. That’s exactly what you want to do. Felt good to be back out playing, just feeling the competition again. I’m pretty pleased with it.

“To chip one in there, I wasn’t expecting that, but my short game was really good. The strike was really good. I worked hard with Pete [Cowan] in trying to make sure that I know what I’m doing, and understand what I’m doing and can make it repeatable.”
Koepka clearly seems to have Abu Dhabi Golf Club, with its lengthened 11th and 16th holes, sussed even if his driver wasn’t fully co-operating.

“Some of these fairways are like 12 yards wide, so I’m not really expecting to hit them,” he said. “But when you know where the pins are at, you can kind of play the hole backwards and figure out if you can be aggressive off the tee and hit driver…sometimes it pays off to have that lob wedge, even when it’s in the rough, and other times you’ve just got to lay it back. You’ve got to understand the golf course and really how to play it.”

1st competitive round for 89 days.

No problem for the World Number 1 ?#ADGolfChamps #RolexSeries

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 16, 2020

As a statement of intent for the busy year ahead, Koepka’s opening round of 2020 was mightily impressive. Perhaps the only question mark now is how his knee pulls up overnight even if there were no concerns immediately after his opening gambit.
“I feel fine physically. I’m out of shape but…,” he said before being interrupted.

“You don’t look out of shape?”

“Well, it takes a little bit to get in golfing shape. You stand on the putting green for 30 minutes and putt and your back starts to ache. Just little things like that. But it will be fine. Only take a couple more weeks.”

It’s scary to think how he might play once he’s back up to full fitness.

“I’m excited and it will be nice to be able to practice again. I haven’t been able to practice; last year, I just couldn’t practice. It was too painful and wasn’t being able to do the things I wanted to do.

“I told my team in the last year, I was just going to really rededicate myself for the next five, six years, and we’ll see where we are. From there, you know, who knows, other things might be a priority.”

Who knows what Koepka’s record might eventually look like. One round doesn’t make a tournament, much less a season, but on the early evidence, don’t be surprised if 2020 Abu Dhabi champion is part of the legacy.

The post With an opening 66, Brooks Koepka shows why he’s the world’s best appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Rounds of 64, both coincidentally blighted by bogeys on the par-3 7th, will see Paratore (pictured above) and Norris (inset) take a two stroke buffer into Friday at the $7 million Rolex Series event. It’s way too early for leaderboard watching but chances are neither will be able to avoid it the way Brooks Koepka returned to competitive golf on The National layout Thursday.

How to start a tournament, by @RenatoParatore #ADGolfChamps #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/pLFmvaIS4G

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 16, 2020

Koepka’s bogey-free 66, matched by Aussie Jason Scrivener, belied the three months he spent on the sidelines recuperating from surgery on his left knee. With four majors and a swag of other top flight wins, the 29-year-old American will clearly have no issue playing the role of hunter.

Both pacesetters at least bring form with them to Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Paratore was second at the Mauritius Open last month and the 23-year-old Italian knows how to win too, even if the world No. 267’s sole triumph came back at the 2017 Nordea Masters.

Shaun Norris plays his tee shot on the 17th hole during the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

Norris is still searching for a maiden European Tour victory but the world No.59 is no journeyman, having claimed a pair of Asian Tour wins and two more on the Sunshine Tour – to go with six visits to Q-School. With a win, three seconds and seven top-five finishes in his last 14 starts, mostly in Japan, things are finally looking up.

Shaun Norris’ lowest career round on the European Tour #ADGolfChamps #RolexSeries

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 16, 2020

“It’s been a rough year last year after losing my father. But my brother is back on the bag again and feels like everything is working at moment,” said the 37-year-old South African. “We are having a lot of fun out there, and that’s the main thing. Really happy with what’s happening.

“Who wouldn’t want to win one of these events. To win one of the Rolex Series events to start off the year would be fantastic. I’ll stick to my game plan and just see what happens.”

Round 1 scores in Abu Dhabi ?#ADGolfChamps #RolexSeries

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) January 16, 2020

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