Which they have been, at least in comparison with his outstanding play in 2018.

Although his round over the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course that day had gone pretty much to plan—he made six birdies and an eagle—the man who for at least six months of last year was the best golfer in the world has been struggling with his game. Not since the Masters in April has this immensely likeable individual—who can forget his hilarious “bedroom” scene with close pal Tommy Fleetwood in the immediate aftermath of the 2018 Ryder Cup—finished in the top 10 at any tournament anywhere on the planet he has spent the last few months crisscrossing. That run did not end in Turkey. One day later, Molinari made a double-bogey 7 on the final hole, shot a two-over-par 74 and finished T-44.

“It was always going to be hard to beat last year,” Molinari said with a shrug. “That would have been nearly impossible. I did pick up where I left off over the first part of the season. But something stopped working or hasn’t been working as well, since then. The second half of the season has not been as good as the first half. I don’t have any reasons for it. I need to go through what has happened with the people around me and see if we can come up with a reason. But right now I’m still in full playing mode. I still have Dubai [next week’s European Tour season finale] and Hong Kong to play. I’ll sit down after that to think about it and judge it.”

Indeed, things have changed since Molinari went on the half-year tear in 2018, winning the most important event on the European Tour (the BMW PGA Championship) and the oldest and most important event in golf (the Open Championship), becoming the first European golfer to score five points from five matches in the Ryder Cup, and topping the European Tour’s Race to Dubai standings.

Molinari’s 2018 win at Carnoustie was the highlight of a career-defining run that started to fade at this year’s Masters. (Getty Images (2))

Things have changed even since the first half of 2019, during which the now-38-year-old shot a Sunday 64 to win the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational and reached the semifinals of the WGC-Dell Match Play in March. To the surprise of no one, Molinari arrived in Augusta as one of the favourites for a Masters he would lead for long spells before two unscheduled visits to the water on the 12th and 15th holes in the final round dropped him to a T-5 finish.

“Although it is maybe too easy to identify Augusta as a turning point, my confidence did take a hit that week,” Molinari said. “After that, my results have not been as good. Confidence is such a big part of every sport, and especially in golf. I was feeling good going into the Masters. Everything was going my way. But it all changed that week. It has been many little things. I haven’t hit the ball as well. I haven’t putted as well. So my confidence is lower. Until Augusta, it was like a snowball effect getting bigger. Then it started to go the other way. And it has been hard to stop.”

A closer inspection of his life on and off the course does reveal some possible reasons for the recent decline in performance. For one thing, he is getting older, closing in on 40. Like it or not, that epochal age does still represent something of a turning point for just about every professional athlete.

For another, he is trying to play both the European Tour and the PGA Tour from the London base his wife, Valentina, loves so much (she previously spent a year there as a student). That has obvious implications for travel. It’s safe to assume Molinari has suffered more than most from jetlag this year. Take late September: Molinari went straight from defending his BMW PGA title at Wentworth to the Safeway Open in California—then went back to London.

Molinari’s swing instructor, Denis Pugh, watches Francesco during this year’s Open Championship at Portrush. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Even without family responsibilities—the Molinaris have two young sons—that sort of time-zone-changing travel is never easy to cope with. So perhaps there is a decision to be made in the near future: continue to live in England or find a base, at least for a while, in the United States?

Then there are expectation levels, both his own and those of the public. Had Molinari’s 2018 been his 2019, and vice versa, his career would be seen to be progressing on a more logical trajectory. Instead, the word “slump” is not far from some lips.

All of which is surely premature. Molinari’s beautifully orthodox action and much-improved putting stroke are simply too good for his current form to be anything other than a temporary dip. So, while some tough conversations are surely ahead with swing coach Denis Pugh, putting coach Phil Kenyon and performance coach Dave Alred, it would be more than foolhardy to predict anything other than at least a partial resurrection of fortunes in 2020. Class, as someone once said, is permanent. Form, for a variety of reasons, not so much.

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Ranked 113th last month and way outside the cut mark of top-50 that would earn him a spot in Dubai, Sharma has improved to 61st in the subsequent four tournaments. That run was kickstarted by a tied seventh-place finish in the Italian Open, and on Sunday, at the Turkish Airlines Open, he finished with a superb bogey-free eight-under-par 64 to replicate that tied seventh finish again.

Those efforts have earned him a place in the Nedbank Challenge, the penultimate event of the season where only the top-60 players from the Race to Dubai get in (the 76th ranked player is in this week to complete the field of 60).

The 23-year-old was the toast of golf world early last year, when he won the Joburg Open and the Maybank Championship, and then led the WGC-Mexico Championship against some of the biggest names in the game going into the final round.

But after playing the Masters last year on a dream special invitation, his career flight trajectory spiralled downwards for various reasons – the foremost being a punishing schedule that saw him play week after week in an effort to secure a PGA Tour card.

He did manage to finish 28th in the Race to Dubai in the end, but his ranking dropped from a career-high 64 to 330 at the end of September this year.

There were signs at this year’s Open Championship in Portrush that Sharma’s game was getting back in the groove. At the BMW PGA Championship, he finished T17, which could have been much better but for an ugly triple-bogey eight on the par-5 fourth hole on the opening day.

When he reached Rome for the Italian Open, the gun, as far as qualifying for the DP World Tour Championship is concerned, was against his head.

With his back against the wall, Sharma has turned into a birdie machine. In the 16 rounds since the Italian Open, he has made 81 birdies, which is second only to Joachim B Hansen’s 83 on the European Tour in that period.

“It’s been a while since I have felt this comfortable on the golf course. I have had some issues or the other and while I would get into a hot stretch once in a while and make a few birdies in a bunch, I was not making enough of them,” said Sharma, who has now improved to No237 in the world in the past one month.

“I changed my driver (to a PING G410) in Rome, with which I am getting a lower ball flight and I have been able to hit more fairways. And my iron play has been really good in this last one month.

“I desperately want to make it to the DP World Tour Championship. Being in Dubai at this time of the year shows that you are among the elite of the European Tour. If you make it, it shows that irrespective of the results, you have had a good season.”

Sharma feels he has a slight advantage at the Gary Player Country Club this week. Johannesburg, and South Africa, is very close to his heart, having secured his first international win in late 2017 at the Joburg Open, which was played at Randpark Golf Club.

“I love South Africa and the reasons are obvious. But apart from the happy memories, there are a few other things that should help me in Sun City,” added Sharma.

“My caddie, Dean Smith, is from South Africa, and he knows the course well. I have also played it last year and I am more aware of its intricacies and the effects of altitude there. And most importantly, I am playing well and will take a lot of confidence from Turkey to there.

“As is evident from my scores, I am making a lot of birdies, which is always a good thing. I now have to sharpen up a few things and try to minimize the mistakes that are leading to bogeys. I seem to have a couple of holes these last few events that I have played badly.

“Hopefully, everything will come together and I will be flying in to Dubai next week.”

The $7.5 million Nedbank Challenge, which offers a whopping winner’s cheque of $2.5 million, starts on Thursday. The top-50 players in the Race to Dubai after that make it to the DP World Tour Championship at the Earth course in Jumeirah Golf Estates the following week.

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By Ryan Herrington
To the victor goes the spoils, and in the case of Tyrrell Hatton, those spoils were plentiful. In holding on under the lights to win a six-man playoff at the Turkish Airlines Open on Sunday afternoon/evening, the 28-year-old Englishman earned the $2 million first-place check with the event being part of the European Tour’s lucrative Rolex Series events.

Given the unique circumstances of the victory, however, the discrepancy between what Hatton took home and what the fivesome of runners-up—Erik Van Rooyen, Kurt Kitayama, Matthias Schwab, Victor Perez and Benjamin Hebert—at Montgomerie Maxx Royal course in Antalya, Turkey, made was particularly pronounced. A solo second-place finish at the tournament was worth $828,000, but because you had to add the prize money for the third, fourth, fifth and sixth places, then divide the aggregate among the five players, the amount was diluted to $430,589.98.

In other words, Hatton, the playoff winner, earned $1.5 million more than the other five vanquished playoff foes.

Hatton shot a Sunday 67 to get into the playoff after starting the final round three strokes back of Schwab, the 54-hole leader. Hatton then made a chip-in birdie on the par-5 18th to be one of three players to get through the first hole of sudden death. A par on the second trip to the 18th and a birdie on the third kept him alive, until finally a par while playing the hole for a fourth time in the playoff gave him the victory.

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By John Huggan
For the first time on the European Tour since the 2003 Alfred Dunhill Championship, there were six starters in a sudden-death—and ultimately floodlit—playoff for the Turkish Airlines Open title and the $2 million first-place check.

Erik Van Rooyen, Kurt Kitayama, Tyrrell Hatton, Matthias Schwab, Victor Perez and Benjamin Hebert all shot 20-under-par 268s for 72 holes over the largely defenceless (little or no wind, soft greens) 7,133-yard Montgomerie Maxx Royal course. Thankfully, given the looming sunset, it took only one trip up the 558-yard par-5 18th to cut the playoff field in half. Van Rooyen, Perez and Hebert all bowed out after failing to make the required birdies.

After playing the 18th a second time in extra holes, there still remained three. Hatton failed to follow up his unlikely chip-in on the first playoff hole and settled for par. Schwab’s clumsy pitch from behind the putting surface meant he did likewise. And Kitayama missed from six feet for what would have been his third victory in his first season on the European Tour, an unprecedented feat.

A third time round, Hatton and Schwab turned wayward drives (all three missed the increasingly elusive fairway) into birdies. Exit Kitayama, who remains engaged in a spirited and high-quality struggle with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre for rookie-of-the-year honours.

Perhaps not surprisingly given the stress each man must have been feeling amid the unfamiliar lighting, the eventual conclusion on the fourth playoff hole was laced with errors. While the ever-expressive Hatton was still remonstrating with himself after missing from roughly eight feet for a winning birdie, Schwab stepped up and missed from half that range. It was over par for Hatton versus bogey from Schwab.

Hatton celebrates after chipping in on the 18th hole during the first sudden-death playoff hole. (Jan Kruger)

“This surreal, I actually can’t believe I’ve won,” said Hatton, who shot a closing 67 to get in the playoff. “It’s been quite a difficult year off the course, but the last month I feel like I’ve really found my game again. I’ve been saying to a few people on my team that if I was lucky enough to win again, I would definitely savour the moment. Golf is great when it is going well, but when it isn’t, it kind of hits home. So I’m thrilled. I’m just so happy.”

Indeed, for the champion, who had fallen 25 places to 48th in the World Rankings since the start of 2019, there was irony in this, his fourth career European Tour victory. At the end of this month, the Englishman will undergo surgery on the wrist injury that has bothered him since the 2017 Masters.

“I know it’s not normal to feel excited about an operation, but it’s such a relief to get to the bottom of what has been a very worrying problem,” Hatton said. “I’ve had three steroid injections that basically lasted six months each time, but that couldn’t go on and so since July I’ve been seeing the tour doctors just to see what I can take to get me through each round.”

In truth, Schwab surely left the premises with the most regrets. After sharing the lead on Day 1, the 25-year-old Salzburg-native held it outright until the 72nd hole, when he missed a 20-foot birdie try that could have avoided the playoff entirely, setting for a final-round 70 after taking a three-shot lead into the final 18. Schwab also was the only man in the playoff who did not make at least a birdie on that closing par 5.

“I’m not feeling too great, obviously,” was his immediate reaction to what was clearly a painful defeat. “But it was a close call. I had some good looks and good chances coming down the stretch in regular play. I just didn’t take advantage of them. A second-place finish is not too bad though. Even if, at the moment, it doesn’t feel too good.”

Schwab held the lead throughout the final round as he was trying to win his first European Tour title. (Warren Little/Getty Images)

Schwab should not feel too bad. Like his compatriot Bernd Wiesberger, he is a man on the rise, a fact that will not have escaped the notice of European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington. This was just the latest in a string of high-finishes from the 2017 Vanderbilt graduate. Not only was this second-place tie Schwab’s sixth top-10 finish in his last nine events, he has 10 in all, more than anyone else on this season’s European Tour. En route, he has broken par in 31 of his last 35 competitive rounds. Given that sort of sustained form, a maiden win cannot be far off.

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By John Huggan
Tiger Woods almost did it during the 2000 U.S. Open. And now Eddie Pepperell has actually done it in the Turkish Airlines Open.

Run out of balls that is.

But where Woods found the 18th fairway at Pebble Beach with his second attempt—and what was, unknown to him at the time, the last ball in his bag—Pepperell continued to fire approach shots into the pond adjacent to the par-5 fourth green on the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course during Saturday’s third round until he had no ammunition left.

Uncharacteristically, the usually talkative 28-year-old Englishman, two over par on his round and even par for the tournament before playing the hole, had little to say about his premature and eccentric departure from the $7 million European Tour event. Reached by text in his hotel, the World No. 47 would only say there was “nothing to add really.” Although he did admit to being unsure as to exactly how many balls he had launched into the water on what was his 13th hole of the day alongside former U.S. Open and PGA champion Martin Kaymer and George Coetzee of South Africa. In that uncertainty, Pepperell was not alone.

“Eddie hit his shots to the green, then came over to tell us he had run out of balls,” said a rather bemused Kaymer after completing his own round of 69. “Then he walked off. I thought he lost four or five. We are about 80 per cent sure it was five, 20 per cent four. He was quick, so it was hard to keep track. He did not ask if he could borrow one from me or George. It did not look like he wanted to play. He did not putt with his putter on the third hole; he putted with a wedge. So there was a lot happening.

“I have never seen anything like that before. I only watched it on television, in ‘Tin Cup.’ This is the first time I have seen it live.”

Disqualified from the event—the official reason “failure to complete a hole”—Pepperell may face further penalty in the form of a fine. But at 41st on the Race to Dubai standings when he arrived in Turkey, he is in no danger of missing out on the next event, the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa, where the top 60 available players will make up the field.

Elsewhere, Matthias Schwab of Austria continues to lead. The 24-year-old Salzburg resident made six birdies and an eagle in a third-round 66 to reach 18-under-par 198. Schwab is three shots clear of a five-strong group that contains former Masters champion Patrick Reed, up-and-coming Scotsman Robert MacIntyre, two English Ryder Cup players in Ross Fisher and Tyrrell Hatton and Benjamin Hebert of France.

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Schwab, who was impressive in finishing tied fourth in his maiden WGC appearance last week at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, was birdie-hunting once again at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course as he shot a seven-under-par 65 with an eagle and six birdies to tie for the lead with England’s Tom Lewis.

The 25-year-old Austrian turned professional in 2017 and secured his card on the European Tour after his debut season on the Challenge Tour. In 2017-18, he easily retained his playing privilege by finishing 72nd in the Race to Dubai with four top-10s, but has forced everyone to sit up and take notice of his immense talent this season.

Day One rewind #TurkishAirlinesOpen #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/7osMVUNmdP

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 7, 2019

The Rohrmoos resident is on a hot streak. He was tied second at the Porsche European Open after two straight top-10 finishes and was tied fourth at the Italian Open last month. He is now up to 18th in the Race to Dubai and having started 2018 ranked 572nd in the world, he has leapt to No.102 after the HSBC Champions.

Harrington, who will be leading the European Ryder Cup team when the tournament is played next year at Whistling Straits, had said earlier that he wants to be paired with young European players in the lead-up to the biennial showdown with the United States to get a better understanding of the inventory of players he could call upon.

On Thursday, the two were paired alongside Frenchman Victor Perez, winner of this year’s Dunhill Links Championship. Following the round, Schwab was asked the inevitable question about the Ryder Cup.

Getting to know Matthias Schwab ?#TurkishAirlinesOpen #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/2WIo2a0ACt

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 7, 2019

“Obviously, I thought about it because he’s the next captain. But that’s about it,” said Schwab. “It’s obviously nice, but still, I mean, I’m not really making too much of that. It’s always nice to play with a major champion, someone who has achieved as much as he has, but other than that, I’m just trying to play as well as I can.”

Matthias Schwab’s opening 65 in 5 minutes ? pic.twitter.com/SUfFCd6kAX

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 7, 2019

And even though Schwab may not be trying to impress Harrington, the Irishman, who had a horror quintuple-bogey 10 on a par five before recovering to finish at three-over, loved what he saw.

“Matthias played very well…and I assume he would have been under a bit of pressure too. It was a good sign and he is certainly very able to play the game, that’s for sure,” said Harrington.

“There are plenty of young guys out there fighting and it’s hard for them to set themselves apart, but Victor and Matthias are certainly doing that. I am bound to have two or three rookies at least in the team next year, so we will see how it progresses over the next year.”

Harrington was also asked if he liked putting pressure on the younger players.

“That’s not my plan at all but I find it interesting,” he added. “I quite enjoy being in that position to see how they react. I am not there to test them though, I am just there to go out and play with them and get to know them.

“At the end of the day, if these guys play their way into the team, it’s irrelevant what I think. But if there is experience automatically in the team you are going to be picking rookies and if there are rookies in automatically then you are picking experience. They just need to play golf and let their clubs do the talking. That’s always the best way.”

Sweden’s Alex Noren, Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and American David Lipsky started with rounds of 66 each to be tied third.

Two-time defending champion Justin Rose scripted a rousing finish, turning an average round into a superb five-under par 67 with a hat-trick of birdies from the 16th onwards. He was joined at tied sixth place by the reigning BMW PGA champion Danny Willett of England, Netherland’s Joost Luiten, Belgium’s Thomas Detry, Scot Scott Jamieson and Frenchman Benjamin Hebert.

Rose said he was delighted with his score, especially after how poorly he hit the ball during the pro-am on Wednesday.

“I guess job done. The hot finish was exactly what we needed. I was aware of the leaderboard. Obviously, it was a perfect day to play golf as it normally is here in Turkey and I could see the lads got in low,” said the world No8, the highest-ranked player in the field.

“It’s a 100 percent improvement from yesterday. I was happy I got off to a good start today and I felt positive that I was actually swinging the club much better. I feel like I’m not exactly where I need to be, but I did a good job switching from range to scoring today.”

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By John Huggan
Robert Rock isn’t part of the 75-player field at the $7 million Turkish Airlines Open, the sixth of eight Rolex Series events on this season’s European Tour. But golf’s most famous head of hair is still to be found on and around the picturesque Montgomerie Maxx Royal course this week. Known also for the quality and efficiency of his full swing that at its best helped him knock off Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy down the stretch to win the 2012 Abu Dhabi Championship, “Rocky” has become a unique figure on the Old World circuit. Still exempt after finishing 108th on this season’s Race to Dubai, the 42-year-old Englishman doubles as one of the most sought-after swing coaches.

“I like to consider myself an old-style golf pro,” says Rock, a two-time European Tour winner. “I’ve always taught people. I started as a club pro and never really thought I’d be playing tournaments. So I’m just returning to that, an area of the game I’ve always enjoyed and where I feel like I can make a contribution.”

Rock’s most high-profile client so far has been rising English star Matt Wallace, No. 28 in the World Ranking, but that might change. Ten-time European Ryder Cup player Lee Westwood is the latest recruit to a growing stable that numbers nearly two dozen.

“Rocky and I have grown a lot together,” Wallace says. “I love the way he teaches. And I love the stuff he tells me that has nothing to do with the swing. When I played with Tiger at the Open this year, [Rock] gave me so much great advice about how to handle that. He has taken me to the next level, really. When he tells me what will work under pressure, he really knows. And he can get inside my head better than someone who is just a swing coach.”

Rock watches Matt Wallace, one of more than 20 golfers he has begun working with as a swing instructor. (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

Part-time psychologist Rock may be, but his main focus is on the full swing. It is a subject in which he is well-versed.

“It’s nice to be known for my swing,” Rock says. “I’ve worked hard on it. I have always tried to eliminate extraneous movement. I like efficiency. I’m not a naturally good golfer, so I’ve learned the game bit by bit, eliminating the problem bits in my swing and the bad shots along the way. I’ve had to do it that way. I’ve never been a great putter. You can’t afford too many sloppy shots if you are not making too many putts.”

Interestingly, Rock’s coaching career started with two Ladies European Tour players, Amy Boulden and Kelsey MacDonald. European Tour player Oliver Wilson was next, the former Ryder Cupper coming to Rock in 2014 and winning the Dunhill Links Championship almost immediately. These days, the players Rock works with (alongside two associates) include Pablo Larrazabal, Nino Bertasio, Matthias Schwab, Wade Ormsby, Jason Scrivener, Thomas Bjorn and Bradley Dredge.

That list contains a wide and diverse range of actions, proof enough that Rock has never been tempted to create swings and players in his image. He retains a somewhat old-fashioned approach to his second job.

“Aesthetics are not that important to me,” Rock says. “A really good swing tends to look quite nice, but it doesn’t have to. If you are careful and organize the bits that matter, you can make just about anything work. Plus, I don’t want to be the sort of coach that uses endless devices to help a player. TrackMan doesn’t have ears, which is why I like to work out what players are doing. I like to watch. I like to listen to the strike. I like to make sure shots sound as if they are coming off the club properly. That is something that only comes after years of paying attention. OK, shots often look similar. But if they don’t sound crisp, the player isn’t going to be too consistent, especially under pressure.”

What Wallace also appreciates about working with Rock is that he doesn’t necessarily take himself too seriously. “He’s older than me. He’s uglier than me. But he does have great hair,” Wallace jokes. “I can’t imagine what he has lost in hat endorsements.”

As for his playing career going forward, Rock is sanguine but realistic. He recognizes that the potential “black hole” that can engulf so many in their mid-40s—no longer competitive on the regular tour, too young for the senior circuit—is getting closer.

“I’m going to play as long as I am exempt,” Rock said. “This year I’ve played 20 events. I’ll do the same next year. As I’m going to be on tour anyway, I might as well play. That actually helps me help my guys. I can relate exactly to what they are seeing and doing, which is not to say many players couldn’t do what I am doing. Guys out here know more than they think they know. But people get a little bit scared by coaching. They think you have to know loads—and I suppose you do—but I can think of plenty who would have a lot to offer as coaches even as they are still playing. Right now, though, I’m the only one.”

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The world No.8 won the Turkish Airlines Open in 2017 by one shot and emerged triumphant in a play-off against Haotong Li last year at Regnum Carya just down the road from this year’s venue, the Montgomerie Maxx Royal.

“You talk about doing things for the first time in your career, you don’t get the opportunity to do that very often, so three-peat would clearly be a first for me,” said Rose, the highest ranked player in the $7 million Rolex Series event.

“To win the same event three years in a row would be incredible. It would be a huge honour to join that seriously illustrious list and something I’m keenly aware of. I am going to enjoy the challenge to try and do. It’s definitely a focus for me and an inspiration.”

The 39-year-old Englishman has won a major, an Olympic gold, two WGC titles and also been the No1 player on either side of the Atlantic in a career that just seems to be getting better with age. A three-peat would just add to his already impressive CV.

“I think it is just one of those things that you don’t necessarily rank. I think winning the major championships, that’s where you really have to absorb the pressure and really you get asked the most questions of yourself when you’re sort of trying to win those tournaments that you’ve dreamed about as a kid,” said Rose.

“I think a three‑peat, so to speak, is something that sneaks up on you. Obviously, now the third time, the pressure becomes probably a little bit more because it becomes a bit more than just the tournament itself. You’re trying to achieve something for the first time.

“To rank it is very hard to do. It’s one of those little asterisk moments in your career, where you actually did win three tournaments in a row. It’s just a cool moment.”

Rose said the task becomes even more difficult at a different venue, even though he played good enough to finish tied third alongside Tiger Woods when the inaugural edition of the tournament was held at the Montgomerie-designed course in 2013.

“When you switch venues, that’s probably more difficult to do,” he explained.

“With major championships, you can get one Augusta specialist who has a great opportunity to win there year‑in and year‑out because the course suits their game. But winning at Royal Portrush and going to Royal St George’s is a completely different animal for example. It is very difficult to win major championships consecutively and multiple times.

“Obviously, that’s the one unknown factor for me this week. I have played here, but as long ago as 2013. When you win back‑to‑back on a certain golf course, you’d rather it was the same venue.

“But definitely something in the water here in Turkey. I really enjoy being here. I think it’s sort of the weather, and the style of golf is really nice here, too. You’d liken it to Sotogrande, Valderrama…tree‑lined and really, really fun golf. Courses are always in great condition and I like the overseed sort of style of the rough and the surrounds this week.  We shall see.”

Rose had been critical of the new schedule in the past, voicing concern about the four majors being played in four months. The 2020 schedule is going to be even tougher, considering it being the Olympics and Ryder Cup year.

However, he changed his tune slightly and said: “It is condensed and I was maybe critical of the major championship schedule this year in terms of saying that  I feel like they are all just lumped together and we aren’t able to focus on them individually.

“I’m just going to try to keep my game at a level and just sort of roll through the season and try and just focus on that, rather than in the past when I have always tried to wave the peak and trough and try and hit it at the right time.

“But thinking about it, the best you can do is six weeks between the majors. So four to six…I mean, as a pro, that is quite a big difference with the peak and the trough, but it is not completely different. You can’t have three months between each major geographically with weather and all other things. I kind of changed my opinion on it a little bit when I sat down and thought about it.

“But 2020 is an even more condensed because clearly the FedEx Cup is important and The Ryder Cup is important and the Olympics are important and that all happens in the blink of an eye through the back end of the summer. I think I’ll make good, intelligent choices the beginning part of the year, and that will kind of feed the summer.

“And we are independent contractors. That’s the difference between us and football. No one is telling me I have to play anywhere. So, if I make bad decisions, it’s my problem.”

Rose has been paired on the opening day Thursday with reigning Open champion Shane Lowry of Ireland and the current Race to Dubai leader, Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger. They tee off at 12 noon local time (1300 UAE time).

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Among the many lucrative possibilities for Lowry was the Tiger Woods-hosted limited-field Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, but the Irishman has decided to shut shop for the winter, spend time with his family and get ready for the 2020 season.

Speaking at the Turkish Airlines Open in Belek, Antalya, Lowry said: “We’ve had a lot of approaches and I’ve just had to say no. It’s a nice luxury to have. It’s hard to turn down such invitations as the Australian Open and the Hero World Challenge, but I feel if I am going to perform well next year, it is something I have to do.

“I’d already been in touch with the Hero World Challenge organisers to say that I did not want play, so I will not be heading to the Bahamas either.

“I need a few weeks off over the Christmas/New Year period. We looked at it and if I had committed to Tiger’s event, I would have only had about 20 days at home.

“I will start 2020 defending my title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, so I look forward to teeing up there in the New Year.

“It would have been nice to head down to Sydney for the Australian Open, but I do feel I need to give everything I have in the next couple of weeks and then take back my life like I do every year before coming back in January fully charged and firing on all cylinders.”

Currently ranked third in the Race to Dubai, the 32-year-old was relishing the chance to add European No1 crown to his already impressive CV.

“For me, I think it would be the icing on the cake. I’m going to give it my best shot but if I don’t win it, I won’t be too disappointed,” said Lowry.

“I’ve had a decent year and I’d be pretty happy with what I’ve got at Christmas. It’s my main goal over the next few weeks to perform as best as I can and go to the final 18 holes in Dubai with a chance to win the Race to Dubai.

“To be European No1 would be really special and would add to the year I’ve had.”

The world No19 has played seven tournaments since that unforgettable week at Royal Portrush Golf Club where he was a popular winner of the 148th Open Championship. He has had three top-15s, with the tied 11th at the BMW PGA Championship being his best result. He also missed the cut at the Italian Open.

Asked to evaluate his game following the Open win, Lowry said: “It’s been okay and it’s much like everyone else out here… you are always expecting more out of your game but then in saying that, I don’t have too many expectations on myself.

Jan Kruger/R&A
Lowry during the final round of the 148th Open Championship

“It hasn’t exactly been riveting stuff, but it is not really bad either. I haven’t shot many bad scores, but I’ve just not really shot the lights out or put four good rounds together either.”

In his last three visits to Turkey, Lowry has had every round at par or better. He was tied 14th last year and tied eight and solo eighth in 2017 and 2015.

“It’s nice to be here. It’s definitely one of those weeks where it’s a really nice week. Lovely weather, lovely golf course, great hotel,” said Lowry.

“I know a few guys and I have my families here, so it’s a chilled week, but there’s a lot of business to take care of as well. I’m looking forward to getting out there.”

Lowry has been paired with twice defending champion Justin Rose of England and the current Race to Dubai leader, Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, for the first round on Thursday. He will start his campaign at 12 noon local time (1330 UAE time).

The post Lowry eyes Race to Dubai title, rest and then UAE return to defend in Abu Dhabi appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
ANTALYA, Turkey — There was more than a little bit of stumbling and fumbling along the way, but Justin Rose eventually claimed the Turkish Airlines Open title in a playoff with Li Haotong. The pair, two-thirds of the final group on the final day, had earlier tied on 17 under par over four rounds at the Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort on Turkey’s southern shore.

Which sounds pretty good only until a wee bit more detailed look at the leader board reveals Rose reached 19 under par after 70 holes. And that both men were 18 under on the 72nd tee. In other words, Rose, the defending champion and needing a win to get back to World No. 1, finished bogey-bogey; Li contented himself with a dropped shot at the last, taking four shots to get down from just under 150 yards. Pretty this was not.

And it got worse.

After watching Rose two-putt for par from roughly 25 feet on their second visit to the 18th green, Li settled down over his 12-footer for birdie and what would have been his third European Tour victory. Would have been. Never online, the ball missed low and left and, not insignificantly as things turned out, ran maybe a yard past. The second putt was … how to put this … awful. Really awful, the ball missing the cup by maybe an inch on the right.

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The sad thing was, over their first 16 holes, both men had put on a terrific display. Yes, each rode his luck at times, but the general standard gave no hint of the carnage that was to follow. Li’s pars at the seventh and eighth holes had more to do with good luck than good judgement. Rose’s pitch to the par-5 12th was headed well past until it struck the pin and stopped a few feet away. And one hole later his tee shot was headed for oblivion in the right trees until it hit an unfortunate individual on the left knee (yes, Rose did shout “fore!”).

Otherwise, each played some terrific stuff. Li’s highlight was a 3-wood to the par-5 15th green that pulled to a halt no more than two-feet away, the resulting eagle hauling the Chinese player into a tie for the lead on 18 under par.

Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Li and Rose played solid golf through 16 holes on Sunday, only to stumble at the finish.

Rose was his usual clinical self—at least until his last two holes in regulation. Not one bogey and five birdies dotted his card to that point.

“There were moments out there where it looked like both of us weren’t holding our nerve very well,” said Rose, who picked up €1,166,660 for what was the first successful defense of a title in his career. He also moved to third in a Race to Dubai, although he cannot win that year-long race to go with his FedEx Cup title on the PGA Tour. For reasons he was loathe to reveal—“they will become apparent next year”—Rose said rather mysteriously that he will not be playing in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in two weeks.

“But this was a fun battle overall,” he continued. “And obviously I do have to spare a thought for Haotong. That was a tough way to finish. He hit a positive putt to try and win, but that 18th green is very tough. Getting back to No. 1 is something to be proud of. It doesn’t make you one under par on the first tee the next time you play, but it’s something to be proud of for sure.”

RELATED: Watch Li Haotong’s amazingly creative eagle at the Turkish Airlines Open

As for Li, who had started the day with a three-shot edge over Rose, even his broken English was up to the task of conveying exactly his understandable disappointment.

“It is a tough day for me,” said the 23-year old, who memorably outdueled Rory McIlroy down the stretch to win the Dubai Desert Classic in January. “I think I played well the whole week, but didn’t hole a few putts on the last and that was it.”

A little further down the leader board there were signs of redemption for two Grand Slam champions whose recent play has been more minor than major. Former U.S. Open and PGA champion Martin Kaymer’s closing 66, five under par and bogey-free, lifted the German into a tie for fifth alongside Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark, one shot head of Danny Willett.

“I played very well,” confirmed Kaymer, who dropped only two shots all week. “I could have made a few more putts here and there, but the game was really spot on this week. I think I gave myself enough chances, and I needed a good finish to get into (the season ending DP World Tour Championship) in Dubai. Hopefully that was enough. But I’m really looking forward to playing next week [when the European Tour plays its next playoff event in his native South Africa]. I’m very close.”

Former Masters champion Willett had less to say about his T-7 finish, but the Englishman, one of 20 in the 78-man field, must have been encouraged by his play after so long in the doldrums. In recording his third top-10 of the season and only his fifth on the European Tour since winning at Augusta in 2016, the 31-year-old Yorkshireman hit an array of splendid shots. As with Kaymer, only his putting let him down over the closing holes.

Which was a familiar tale at the end of an ultimately strange day.

The post The finish wasn’t pretty, but Justin Rose defends his title at the Turkish Airlines Open and returns to World No. 1 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.