Horsfield had played the first two rounds in Australia, but his bothersome right hip finally gave way after the second round. Having enjoyed his playing experience at the party hole enclosed by grandstands, he wanted to see what it was like from a fan’s perspective. So he popped out to watch Majesticks teammate Ian Poulter, who happened to be in Koepka’s group.

Two minutes later, Horsfield was limp-sprinting to offer congratulations and high-fives to his good friend Koepka.

“My first natural reaction was to go crazy,” Horsfield said. “Then I saw the video later and thought: ‘Oh my god, what an idiot.’”

Horsfield laughed at the memory on Tuesday while taking a break during his practice session at LIV Golf Chicago. This week marks his return to active duty as a member of the Majesticks, as he’s missed the last seven tournaments of the 2023 League season.

Horsfield underwent surgery soon after Adelaide to repair a torn labrum in his right hip. He also had a piece of bone shaved from the hip, and also addressed the cyst growing on top of it. The problem had lingered for a long time, but the 26-year-old Englishman tried to play through it. Ultimately, surgery was required in early May, forcing Horsfield to the sideline, with reserve player Laurie Canter taking his spot in the Majesticks line-up.

“The day after surgery, I felt better than I did beforehand,” Horfield said. “I knew I made the right decision. It’s just been a long four-and-a-half/five months.”

During his extended absence, Horfield stayed in touch with his Majesticks teammates, which includes Poulter and fellow co-captains Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson. They offered much-welcomed encouragement, advice and support on how to deal with injuries. Horsfield also watched the broadcast stream of every single LIV Golf round. At LIV Golf London, he visited the Centurion Course and walked nine holes with his team during a practice round.

“Nice to see the boys but it was torture for myself,” Horsfield said. “I just wanted to grab a club and play. It sucked. But I used that week as part of my rehab to walk.”

Horsfield received the go-ahead to fully practise three weeks ago, and he’s also managed a few rounds at his home base in Orlando. He wasn’t specifically trying to make a push to return before the end of the season, but he’s glad his body responded in a positive manner to allow him to play.

He feels good about his swing, too. Not only is he pain-free, but by eliminating the hip problems, his lower body is moving more fluid. “My body is moving way differently,” he said. “I can actually load and turn my right hip instead of bumping it.”

He’ll start this week 42nd in points, but he’s guaranteed status for next season due to injury exemption. So the final three tournaments of this season (and perhaps a few more starts, including the International Series’ Hong Kong Open in November) will allow him to shake the rust off, get back into a groove and set a benchmark for areas to work on during the off-season. And of course, contribute as much as possible to a Majesticks team still seeking their first podium result of the season.

‘I’ve got a lot of things to work on,” he said.

What he doesn’t have this week, though, is expectations.

“None,” he said. “But for not playing golf, I feel like my game’s in good shape. When I swing, it feels good. Hopefully, I’ll play well but just to make it three days pain-free is what I’m really most looking for.”

And for the first time since Adelaide, another party hole is set for Rich Harvest Farms this week in Chicago. If Horsfield gets the opportunity to celebrate again, he won’t have to hobble this time.

The post Sam Horsfield returns to Majesticks line-up for LIV Golf Chicago following hip surgery appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Englishman found himself three shots behind overnight leader Fox after eight holes on Sunday but showed his mettle on the back nine, clinching a two-shot victory with a winning score of 13-under par courtesy of a closing 68.

Horsfield’s third victory, following his wins at the Hero Open and Celtic Classic in 2020, comes just two weeks into his return from a three-month injury lay-off.

And the 25-year-old, who had his partner on the bag this week, was emotional as he completed a fourth round which contained four birdies and a single bogey.

“I was trying not to cry while I was over that little tap-in at the 18th. Having Issi on the bag, it’s been an amazing week. Mick (Seaborn, his regular caddie) is not here but I wish he was. I said yesterday I wanted to do it for him, and I was able to do it for him. I’m just so, so happy.

Horsfield said Seaborn “had been going through a tough time”.

“I definitely thought about Mick quite a lot,” he added. “Especially on the back nine, I pulled a few clubs that he definitely would have wanted me to hit.

“Issi has been amazing. I’ve been so happy on the golf course. It’s just like golf’s sort of got in the way this week, until a little bit there on the back nine. I asked her coming down 18 ‘are you nervous’ and she said yeah. But we’ve had an amazing week and I’m just so happy that she was here to enjoy this.”

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The post Emotional win for Horsfield on DP World Tour at Soudal Open in Belgium appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
It was an English march at the Soudal Open in Belgium as Dale Whitnell, Sam Horsfield and Callum Shinkwin led the way after the first round.

They each fired opening 65s at Rinkven International Golf Club on Thursday morning, and with no-one able to catch them in the afternoon, they head into the second round one clear of the chasing pack.

It had looked as though Whitnell might prove impossible to catch on day one, after he notched nine birdies in his opening 16 holes, before a double bogey-bogey finish meant he had to settle for a 65.

Yannik Paul, Jeff Winther, Alexander Björk, Adrian Meronk and Spaniards Alvaro Quiros and Nacho Elvira finished day one in a tie for fourth on five-under.

A pair of amateurs were in the mix, too, with Charles Roeland firing a 69 and 14-year-old debutant Lev Grinberg shooting a 70 on his home course, while home favourite Thomas Pieters also opened with a 69.

“I played really nicely,” said Horsfield. “I kept the ball in play, this is a golf course where positioning is quite important off the tee and I was able to position it nicely to give myself a lot of good looks, and rolled in a few.

Whitnell added: “You can only take the positives really. I have been sort of feeling like the game has been getting there, I have struggled the last six weeks or so with a bit of form and swing changes, it has not been quite where I have wanted it to be, but the first 16 holes was flawless.

“I am making a few changes with Craig Lockwood, my coach, but it’s minimal and nothing massive. I missed the cut the last three weeks by three shots, two shots, one shot, and I was six-over par for 21 holes at The Belfry and got back to one-over, almost made the cut. I am trying to focus on the process rather than the outcome.”

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The post DP World Tour: English players flying flag at Soudal Open in Belgium appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
With 36 holes to play in the final European Tour season before the circuit is rebranded to the DP World Tour, Collin Morikawa is comfortably on track for a place in history that will forever traverse whatever name, shape or form the tour takes.

While former Open champion Shane Lowry enjoys a three-way share of the halfway lead at the DP World Tour Championship, it is the reigning Open champion that leads the big dance.

With a second successive 68 on Earth at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Morikawa strengthened his bid to become the first American winner of the Race to Dubai title.

The 24-year-old Californian will begin Saturday’s third round in a share of 6th place with fellow major champion Martin Kaymer and importantly only two strokes off the -10 halfway lead held by Irishman Lowry, Englishman Sam Horsfield and American John Catlin.

Only five players can deny Morikawa the European No.1 tag with Englishman Paul Casey and Matt Fitzpatrick the best placed at -5. Critically, Morikawa’s countryman Billy Horschel, the only other player who can win the Race to Dubai without winning the DPWTC, is a whopping 10-shots off the pace in a share of 43rd in the 53 player field.

“I’m aware,” Morikawa said of his commanding position entering the final weekend of the season. “But I’ve got to focus on the weekend. I want to win this tournament. That’s all I care about, winning this tournament …everything else will kind of settle itself.

“That’s my focus. We’ve played a decent two days and we’ve got two more rounds to go.”

Lowry fired a seven-under 65 to earn his share of the leaderboard summit after overnight leader Rory McIlroy slipped a shot back after a double-bogey finish.

Warren Little/Getty Images
Rory McIlroy undid a lot of good work with a double bogey seven on Earth’s closing hole in Friday’s second round.

McIlroy seemed destined to back up his opening 65 with another round in the 60s but found sand and water on Earth’s closing par-5 en-route to a 70 to finish on -8 alongside Sweden’s Alexander Björk.

“I’m playing nicely. I started well again today and hit a lot of good shots on the front nine. It was sort of a little scrappy around the middle but was able to hang in there with my short game,” said McIlroy.

“Hit a nice one on 16, so the good stuff is in there. It’s just a matter of, yeah, I mean, I still feel like I played well and I feel like 70 is sort of the worst I could have shot today, especially with the finish and hopefully that’s the bad one out of the way.”

Shane Lowry acknowledges the galleries after his second round 65. (Photo Getty Images).

Lowry, who finished joint second behind Jon Rahm in the 2017 DP World Tour Championship, is in pursuit of his first title since hoisting the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush in 2019. His Friday 65 included five birdies and a chip-in eagle on the 14th.

“I feel like my game is in good shape and I feel like I know my way around this place and I know how to play here,” said Lowry.

“I’m happy to be atop of the leaderboard, late tee time tomorrow and I’m looking forward to the weekend.

“Just keep doing what I’m doing. For me personally, it’s two more days left and then end of a long year and a half, I suppose, long couple years. I’m looking forward to giving everything and leaving it on the course this weekend and hopefully I’m there near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon.”

The post Collin is comfortable as Shane soars and Rory slips heading into the weekend on Earth appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
In the wake of a four-month COVID-19 lockdown and the subsequent resumption of the 2020 season, the reshaped European Tour—diminished financially and thinner on top in terms of field strength—actually came to represent lands of opportunity for some. Many top-ranked players from Europe chose instead to ride things out in the United States and play on the PGA Tour, providing less familiar names with multiple chances to flourish on the Old World circuit.

“The last few months have been a time for a lot of guys to break through, or re-establish themselves,” says former Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn. “The outside pressures have largely been removed. With no crowds present, everyone is just playing golf. And no one has been paying much attention to those who have played poorly. So things have become a lot freer. It’s been easier to play without some of the mental obstacles that normally lead to discomfort, especially during final rounds. But that sort of environment has been non-existent on tour this year.”

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And many have taken advantage. Following a return to action at the Austrian Open in July, 10 players have recorded maiden victories: Joel Stalter, Sam Horsfield, Romain Langasque, Rasmus Hojgaard, John Catlin, Garrick Higgo, Callum Shinkwin, Robert MacIntyre, JB Hansen and Antoine Rozner. Meanwhile, three actually went on to repeat that feat.

Redemption, although not quite so prevalent, also found its place. Three men—Andy Sullivan, Marc Warren and Ross McGowan—have all returned to the winner’s circle after long absences.

So, who most notably emerged to seize the moment? Here’s a brief look at the most promising golfers among the lot.

Andrew Redington

Rasmus Hojgaard
World Ranking March 15: 184
World Ranking Dec. 7: 82

Bjorn is not surprisingly a big believer in his fellow Dane. “Rasmus has all the tools,” Bjorn says. “There is no weakness in his game, and he has a great attitude. He works hard and believes in himself. He asks the right questions. Things still have to break your way and things have to happen the right way for anyone to get right to the top. But nothing is holding him back. He has a remarkable talent, as him winning two of his first 19 events clearly shows.”

The first of Hojgaard’s wins came in December last year, at the relatively low-key Mauritius Open. But his second win at The Belfry in the U.K. Championship was more impressive, coming as it did at the at the end of a four-week run in which the 19-year-old finished second at the British Masters, T-6 at the Hero Open, and third at the English Championship.

REWIND: Golf Digest Middle East’s 2014 conversation with the ‘voice of golf’

• • •

Warren Little

Robert MacIntyre
World Ranking March 15: 67
World Ranking Dec. 7: 59

“Rookie of the year” on the European Tour in 2019 after a string of fine performances that included a T-6 finish in his Open Championship debut at Portrush, Macintyre’s breakthrough at the Cyprus Showdown is perhaps the least surprising in this group of emerging talents.

“I’ve watched Bob a lot over the past couple of years,” says fellow Scot and 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie. “His rise has been quick and steady. He seems like a lovely lad. I can see him winning more. He clearly has a good attitude, temperament and way about him. And he has the game. How high he goes remains to be seen. But judging by the World Rankings (MacIntyre is the highest-ranked Caledonian at 61st), he looks like Scotland’s best chance to have a Ryder Cup player next year.”

• • •

RK

Antoine Rozner
World Ranking March 15: 202
World Ranking Dec. 7: 123

The climax to what had been an unobtrusively impressive season came late, with a victory in the first Golf in Dubai Championship. Twice a winner and eighth on the 2019 Challenge Tour money list, Rozner had accumulated as many as five top-10 finishes—including a playoff loss at the Mauritius Open—in 19 starts before his breakthrough victory. Only twice had he missed the cut. And the final-round 64 with which he clinched that win was the 27-year old Frenchman’s 19th round in succession at par or better.

Those numbers are impressive enough. But there’s more. In his rookie season on the European Tour, Rozner ranks inside the top 15 in both driving distance and greens in regulation. And only two men—Ryder Cup players Andy Sullivan and Tommy Fleetwood—have a stroke average lower than his 69.72. Given his present rate of progress, Rozner could become only the fourth Frenchman to take his place in the biennial contest with the United States.

• • •

Richard Heathcote

Sam Horsfield
World Ranking March 15: 222
World Ranking Dec. 7: 99

The 24-year old Florida-based Englishman (his family moved stateside when Horsfield was just a child) might not be the most consistent player on the European Tour, but when he gets a sniff of victory he tends to take it. Twice in two weeks back in August he did just that, first at the Hero Open, then at the Celtic Classic. None of which will have come as a surprise to Ian Poulter or Terry Mundy. The six-time Ryder Cup player is a long-time mentor of his younger compatriot and Mundy—Poulter’s caddie—is Horsfield’s co-manager.

“He’s the best young player I’ve ever played with,” said Poulter when a 14-year old Horsfield first beat him over nine holes. A decade or so later, it’s safe to say that assessment is proving more than prescient.

• • •

Warren Little

John Catlin
World Ranking March 15: 211
World Ranking Dec. 7: 96

Most weeks, there aren’t many Americans on the European Tour. But Catlin has long proved that a lack of familiar accents is no barrier to success around the globe. Four times the 29-year-old former University of New Mexico student won on the Asian Tour. And now he has half as many wins in Europe to add to his burgeoning resume.

“My goal at the start of 2019 was to win on the European Tour, so to have accomplished that is hard to put into words,” was Caitlin’s verdict after seeing off two-time major champion Martin Kaymer to win the Andalucian Masters at what is surely the most difficult course on the circuit, Valderrama.

And only three weeks later, Catlin was back, this time at the Irish Open, where he came from behind to pip soon-to-be Scottish Open champion Aaron Rai to lift one of golf’s most historic titles.

• • •

Ross Kinnaird

Callum Shinkwin
World Ranking March 15: 351
World Ranking Dec. 7: 149

In truth, Shinkwin should not be part of this list. Needing only a par 5 on the 18th hole at the Dundonald Links to win the 2017 Scottish Open, Shinkwin missed the green left with his second shot, found an unfortunate lie, then took four more shots to hole out for a bogey 6. Perhaps inevitably, he lost the playoff to Rafa Cabrera-Bello at the first extra hole.

So victory more than three years on at the Cyprus Open in November was a triumph over adversity as much as anything else. Especially as, mired in a slump, the former English Amateur champion had lost his European Tour card at the end of the 2018 season.

“That was the final kick up the backside I needed,” he said in the wake of his playoff victory over Finland’s Kalle Samooja. “And you can say I got what I deserved back in 2017. But it makes this all the sweeter.”

The post These are the rising stars you should be watching on the European Tour in 2021 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
A second player has been forced to withdraw from the year’s second major due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Sam Horsfield, a 23-year-old Englishman who played collegiately at the University of Florida, shared news of his positive test on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/wWrKE6GLLy

— Sam Horsfield (@hr59sam) September 14, 2020

Like the first player to test positive and withdraw (Scottie Scheffler), Horsfield said he is asymptomatic and complying with CDC guidelines.

Horsfield, like Scheffler, had been playing some great golf recently, as Horsfield had won twice on the European Tour since the post-COVID restart to reach a career-high ranking of world No. 81.

The PGA Tour had not had a positive test in six weeks through last week’s Safeway Open. In total, only seven players and four caddies had tested positive since the restart. With Scheffler and Horsfield, that total is now nine.

The post Sam Horsfield tests positive for COVID-19, becomes the second player to withdraw at Winged Foot appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

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.

The post Horsfield among 10 European Tour players granted exemptions to 2020 U.S. Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
For the second time in three weeks—uniquely with a missed-cut in-between—Sam Horsfield is a winner on the European Tour. And for the second time in three weeks—with a tie for 56th in-between—Thomas Detry was second. Finishing in near-darkness after a downpour mixed with the threat of lightning caused a two-hour delay earlier in the day, Horsfield’s bogey-free closing round of 67 at Celtic Manor in Wales gave him an 18-under 266 total for the week and added the Celtic Classic title to the Hero Open he won a fortnight ago. Detry, who also shot 67, was two shots back, one more than was the case last time the pair went at it on the golf course.

Three men tied for third on 15 under par: Thomas Pieters, Detry’s fellow Belgian and the highest-ranked player in the field; overnight leader Connor Syme of Scotland; and the ever-popular figure of Englishman Andrew (Beef) Johnston.

In contrast with the immediate aftermath of his maiden victory on the European Tour, Horsfield was a lot more coherent on this occasion—and rightly proud of the fact that he had not dropped even one stroke to par after the triple-bogey 6 he made at the short 17th on Friday. There were, however, one or two moments of near crisis for the long-time Florida resident over the next 37 holes, especially down the stretch in the fast-fading gloaming.

A badly-pulled tee-shot off the 16th tee saw Horsfield playing from heavy rough, the ball well below his feet. A huge heave from there put him in a greenside bunker, from which he conjured up a beautiful recovery to no more than four feet. Par was saved. Likewise, from way left of the 17th green he was able to again get up-and-down, this time by way of a 18-foot putt that all but killed off any hope his rivals had of even a playoff. And Horsfield’s routine par on the 575-yard 18th confirmed that impression.

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“It was pretty crazy,” said Horsfield, now a two-time winner on tour, who will move into the top 80 on the World Rankings and is guaranteed a spot in next month’s U.S. Open. “But I was a lot more relaxed this time. My goal this weekend was to have no bogeys. And I was able to do that. The putt on 17 to keep that alive was huge. But I was solid all week and it was nice to have that little cushion coming to the last.”

Winning so recently had benefits, too. Claiming to never feeling either nervous or uncomfortable, Horsfield, who is managed by Terry Munday, Ian Poulter’s long-time caddie, appeared outwardly calm even if the waywardness of those shots coming in betrayed at least some anxiety. Then again, his strategic thinking and course management was hard to fault.

Warren Little
Sam Horsfield plays his approach shot on the 18th hole as he wraps up the victory at Celtic Manor in Wales.

“On [the driveable] 15th, I laid-up rather than go for the green,” he explained. “It was a perfect 3-wood number, but there is so much trouble around that green. The birdie on 14 was huge because it gave me that option. Had I been only one-ahead I probably would have gone for the green.”

Earlier in the day, incidentally, former Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn completed what he called the “hardest thing I’ve ever done,” the roughly 130-mile trek from European Tour headquarters at Wentworth to Celtic Manor. Along the way during the four-day journey, the 49-year-old Dane generated much in the way of donations to UNICEF U.K. and the Golf Foundation. And, judging by his gradually deteriorating “pace of play” towards the end of his journey, nearly as many blisters.

The post Sam Horsfield makes it two wins in three starts on the U.K. swing with victory at the Celtic Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
You have to go back to last year’s Oman Open and Kurt Kitayama’s victory to find the most recent American winner of a regular European Tour event (non-major or World Golf Championship). The Californian still holds that mildly esoteric claim to Old World fame, but this week’s champion comes close to pushing Kitayama aside. The record book will show that England’s Sam Horsfield won the Hero Open at Forest of Arden by one shot from Thomas Detry of Belgium. But any audio of the event will quickly reveal Horsfield’s accent is a twang grown in Florida, where the Manchester-born 23-year-old has lived since he was 5.

Whatever, Horsfield’s maiden victory on his “home” tour was achieved with a curious mixture of aplomb, alarm and, ultimately, some semblance of serenity. Six shots clear of the field and 18 under par after making his sixth birdie of the third round at the 422-yard par-4 11th, the former Palmer Cup player (yes, he represented Europe against the U.S.) stumbled all the way back to 14 under before getting into the sanctuary of the clubhouse. By the time he signed his Saturday scorecard, his advantage was down to a single stroke.

Ten holes—five birdies, four pars and one bogey—would pass in the final round before Horsfield made it back to 18 under par, his fragile overnight edge doubling in size as a result. That was the good news. Not so cheery was the fact that the 3 he made at the 435-yard 10th was his last dip under par until the 516-yard par-5 17th, a hole Horsfield reached tied with Detry on 17 under the card. The Belgian had actually gotten to 18 under, but a miss from no more than four feet on the final green meant a closing bogey.

Cue the shot of the week, given the context. After finding the fairway with a 3-wood from the tee, Horsfield’s 5-wood approach from a slightly downhill lie—Sky Sports on-course commentator Wayne Riley described as “both fluffy and cuppy”—flew the waterfront and right of the putting surface and finished just off the back edge, no more than 20 feet from the flag. Two putts later the world No. 224 was back (yet again) to 18 under and armed with a vital advantage, one that proved to be just good enough. A two-putt par from 50-feet on the difficult 211-yard par-3 18th saw him round in a closing 68 and, more importantly, over the finishing line.

“I wasn’t aware of what Thomas had done on 18 until I got to 17 tee,” said Horsfield, a long-time protege of fellow Englishman Ian Poulter. “So I knew we were tied. My caddie and I were like, ‘Go do this thing, just hit some good shots coming in.’ I wanted to leave myself a good 5-wood number. That is my favourite club. I had 233 yards with the wind into and off the left. So it was playing maybe 245. It was a perfect hold-up, cut 5-wood, but I had to ‘man-up’ and hit a good shot, which I did. That’s my favourite shot in the bag and I executed it perfectly. It was one of the 5-woods of my life.”

RELATED: Watch this Euro Tour pro use a boat (yes, a boat) to hit a recovery shot of an island

All of which sounds pretty straightforward. But it wasn’t long before Horsfield, who shot a third-round 61 in last week’s British Masters en route to a T-10 finish, was showing a bit more emotion. Confronted by a FaceTime link with his mother, sister and grandmother back in Florida as he left the 18th green, Horsfield was barely able to speak.

“That was awesome,” he said. “My mom has always told me that she hoped I would be the first person I call after I win. And when I was talking to [Sky’s] Tim [Barter] by the green I could hear her and my sister celebrating. So it was pretty emotional.”

Speaking of which, a ways down the leader board, Miguel Angel Jimenez rounded off his record-breaking 707th European Tour appearance with a even-par 72 that left the 56-year-old Spaniard at seven-under for the week and in a tie for 34th place.

The post European Tour up-and-comer Sam Horsfield wins first title on his ‘home’ tour at Hero Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
Sam Horsfield’s career-best on the European Tour is a 62, shot in the final round of the Scandinavian Invitation last August. Yet the 23-year-old Englishman can go lower, as his scorecard from a recent round at Streamsong Black in Florida would indicate.

A 59 to brighten your Sundays, courtesy of @hr59sam ? pic.twitter.com/jfanDCkUrw

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 31, 2020

Suffice it to say that’s an awful lot of circles beside his name. A front-nine 29 included five birdies and an eagle, which he duplicated while shooting a back-nine 30. Given the par of 73 for the course, that amounts to a 14-under 59, an accomplishment that’s never been achieved in a PGA Tour or European Tour event.

Shooting a 59 anywhere is impressive, but to do it at Streamsong Black is pretty amazing considering a few things about the Gil Hanse course that opened in 2018. Golf Digest architecture writer Ron Whitten has described the course’s putting surfaces as “the boldest, biggest set of greens in North America.”

And that eagle 3 on the par-5 fourth hole is something we only wish we could have seen. We don’t know if Horsfield was playing from the tips, but if so, the hole feels way longer than the 601 yards listed on the card thanks to a very elevated green.

We’ve got to wonder, too, whether the wind that frequently serves as the course’s best defense was down a bit given not just Horsfield’s score, but that of two of his playing partners. (Sierra shot a five-under 68 and Gordo four-under 69. How would you like to have posted those pretty nifty rounds only to get trounced by Horsfield?)

Horsfield, currently 222nd in the World Rankings, opened his 2020 European Tour season with a 64 but in seven starts had made only three cuts.

The post If you’ve never seen a scorecard with 10 birdies and two eagles, check this out from a European Tour pro’s 59 at Streamsong Black appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.