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DP World Tour: Callum Shinkwin in cruise control to claim Wales Cazoo Open title at Celtic Manor

Matt Smith — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 06:25:36 +0000

By Matt Smith
After three days of nip-and-tuck, Callum Shinkwin ran away with the Wales Cazoo Open as the Englishman cruised to a four-shot victory at The Celtic Manor Resort.

The 29-year-old held a one-stroke advantage over Frenchman Julien Guerrier heading into the final round and, while he did relinquish the outright lead early on after a bogey at the third hole, he soon extended his lead and ruthlessly hammered home a dominant victory.

Three successive birdies from the fourth and another at the ninth meant he was five clear at the turn on the Twenty Ten Course and Shinkwin never relented, while Guerrier fell back as the Frenchman struggled on the final day.

A couple of birdies on the way home earned Shinkwin a one under final round 70 and a 12 under par winning total.

Connor Syme had mounted a late charge with an eagle at the part five 11th followed by a trio of consecutive birdies from the 15th hole, but it was not enough to put serious pressure on the runaway leader and the Scot settled for a runner-up finish on eight under par, signing for a closing 68.

Callum Shinkwin was the only player in the field to shoot all four rounds under par ?#CazooOpen pic.twitter.com/9syyLc35FM

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 7, 2022

“I feel great, even though I had a few shots of a lead heading into the back nine it’s still not easy, especially when Connor then made a charge,” Shinkwin said. “There was a lot of pressure still and even down the last, it’s not an easy hole, a lot of people have made a high number there even if they’ve hit the fairway. It’s still one of those ones you have to commit to with your shots.

“Connor didn’t really come into it until he eagled 11, he was four under at the time, then he didn’t do anything straight after that. But then he birdied 15, 16 and 17 and the 17th was the big one for me, holing that par putt to guarantee a three-shot lead going down the last.

“The scores haven’t been there before this but this week was my week. Winning anywhere is fantastic, it’s a great feeling, winning with family and friends here it means so much more.”

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DP World Tour: Shinkwin and Guerrier set for Wales Cazoo Open showdown at Celtic Manor

Matt Smith — Sun, 07 Aug 2022 07:55:56 +0000

By Matt Smith
Callum Shinkwin and Julien Guerrier will battle it out for the title at the Wales Cazoo Open after an enthralling Day 3 duel at The Celtic Manor Resort saw them both pull well clear of the field, with Shinkwin holding a one-stroke advantage over his French playing partner.

The duo traded blows throughout the day, with Guerrier leading for the early exchanges having entered the weekend two clear, but four birdies on the back nine nudged Shinkwin one shot ahead on 11-under, the Englishman carding the joint lowest round of the week with a six under 65.

Guerrier certainly did not give the lead away, having opened with a birdie and picked up two more before the turn, but his first bogey of the round at the 16th meant he surrendered his place at the top for the first time all day.
A third-round 68, however, left him right in the mix for a maiden DP World Tour title, especially as he sits five clear of third place going into the final day.

Connor Syme was the closest challenger on six under after the Scot picked up three shots in the final four holes to sign for a 68 and move to a five under total, six shots off Shinkwin’s lead.
“I’m delighted, 65 was a really good score today,” said Shinkwin. “I’m playing really well and didn’t make any mistakes and I’ve come out of it with the lead.

“The game has been very good for a long time but it was just a matter of clicking into place. It felt like it was great three months ago but the results weren’t there. Recently I’ve been playing really nicely and had a few pretty good results but not capitalising on how I’m playing.

“I never really paid any attention to what Julien was doing, although he was playing really well, I just tried to make sure I played my own ball and my own game, and whatever I shot I shot and that’s what I did and towards the end I took the lead.”

Guerrier added: “I’m pretty happy, to play under par on this course is always a good thing. Of course it felt a little like a match play, but my main goal was to remain focused on my game. If Callum is playing well that’s not my concern, really good for him of course, but I tried to remain focused on my game and stay in the zone. It’s a long road so we will see what happens tomorrow.”

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Wales Cazoo Open: Julien Guerrier leads by two at Celtic Manor

Matt Smith — Sat, 06 Aug 2022 06:55:46 +0000

By Matt Smith
Frenchman Julien Guerrier goes into the weekend at the Cazoo Wales Open with a two-stroke lead at Celtic Manor.

He followed up his opening 67 with a 68 on day two for a seven-under total and a lead over England’s Callum Shinkwin and American Johannes Veerman.

Shinkwin mixed seven birdies with four bogeys in an impressive second-round 68, while Veerman holed his approach shot at the 18th for a closing eagle to secure a 68 of his own.

Jack Senior, Espen Kofstad, Marcus Armitage and Thomas Detry were another shot back on four-under.

Guerrier is hunting his first DP World Tour victory, having gone close at the Cazoo Classic at Hillside Golf Club last month.

He said: “It was a really good day for me. My driving and my iron game were not very good, I was really far from the pins but I only made one three-putt — my putting was really good and that was the key today.

“I played some bad shots but I made some good shots, otherwise I would not have shot three-under. I try to avoid watching the leaderboard, I try to focus on my concentration and it’s a very demanding course.

“Anything can happen at every hole and so I just try to play safe and in the good areas on a difficult golf course.

“My learning from Hillside is to stay patient, stay focused and concentrate on your own game, that’s all.”

David Howell, making his 700th DP World Tour appearance this week, comfortably made the cut on two over after shooting a level-par 71.

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DP World Tour: Jamie Donaldson feeling good on home return to Wales for Cazoo Open

Matt Smith — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 08:24:42 +0000

By Matt Smith
Welshman Jamie Donaldson is looking forward to getting back in action on home soil at the DP World Tour Wales Open —now branded the Cazoo Open.

The Welshman finished just one shot out of a play-off at the 2001 Wales Open at Celtic Manor, the same season he graduated from the European Challenge Tour and set in motion a storied DP World Tour career.

He has since claimed three wins, sealed the winning point for Europe at the 2014 Ryder Cup and become a firm fan favourite along the way.

But it all started in Newport and the 46-year-old was delighted to be back at the 2010 Ryder Cup venue.

“It’s big because when I first started playing professionally on the DP World Tour this was one of my first invites to come down here and play and it was fantastic,” he said at Celtic Manor.

“I finished fourth and just missed a play-off by a shot in my second invite in 2001 so it’s great to come back here.

“The ball is running, it’s a bit firmer and faster, the greens are running very well, they’re holding but they’re putting great as well so they’re quite quick.

“Overall it’s in great shape, the rough is up in places, you don’t want to hit it too wide. It’s pretty fair and looking like it’s going to put up a stern test.”

History of the @CazooOpen ?#CazooOpen pic.twitter.com/Y4jTD3m1oy

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 3, 2022

After a spell in the doldrums at the end of the last decade, Donaldson has come roaring back to form, last season achieving his best finish on the DP World Tour Rankings since finishing fourth in 2014.

He missed the cut in his last start at The 150th Open Championship but earned his spot at St Andrews by finishing sixth at the Genesis Scottish Open and is happy with the way his game is trending.

“The Scottish Open was big, I knew I needed to play well to get in The Open,” he said. “I sadly ran out of steam at The Open, that was my fourth week in a row so it didn’t go as well as I planned.

“But the Scottish Open was fantastic, the Irish Open the week before I finished 20th so it was just building nicely, it was a good run of events and hopefully I can take that form into this week.

“I’ve just had two weeks off which was great to spend some time with the family. It was nice to have the rest, be able to go again and get ready for another big run.”

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A timely win gives young Frenchman his maiden Euro Tour title and a spot in the U.S. Open

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 23 Aug 2020 22:38:49 +0000

Warren Little
Romain Langasque closed with a bogey-free 65 and to win the Wales Open on Sunday, his first European Tour title.

By John Huggan
He won the 2015 British Amateur at Carnoustie. A month later, he made the cut in the Open Championship at St. Andrews. And the following April he did the same in the Masters at Augusta National. Then he turned professional. Ever since, however, it is fair to say that Romain Langasque hasn’t exactly lived up to his promise.

Until now.

With a bogey-free six-under-par 65 on Sunday over the 2010 Course at Celtic Manor, Langasque came from five shots back to win the Wales Open. In claiming his maiden European Tour title, the 25-year-old Frenchman emerged from a congested leader board to finish at eight-under 276, two shots ahead of Finland’s Sami Valimaki.

Still, it wasn’t Valimaki who had the eventual champion most worried as the final group reached the par-5 18th. Needing a birdie to tie Langasque and with a wedge in his hands, Sebastian Soderberg spun his third shot back into the water fronting the putting surface. End of tournament. That the Swede eventually made a triple-bogey 8—only one shot more than overnight leader Connor Syme—was both sad and irrelevant to the final result. But there was more torture to come. As well as a pile of cash and world ranking points, his late disaster cost Soderberg one of the 10 spots available in next month’s U.S Open through the “mini Order of Merit” that concluded in Wales.

“I was playing really good since the start of the week,” said Langasque, who made two of his six birdies in the last four holes. “I was focusing on my own thing, shot-by-shot. That was the only objective. Despite being tied for the lead as early as the turn, I didn’t really feel the pressure. I’m so satisfied with the way I played the back nine. … I had so many birdie opportunities. The second shot on 16 and the tee shot on 17 were my two best swings of the week. I did hit my 4-iron second shot on the last too close to the water. So that was not easy. But I even enjoyed the 25-minute wait for the other guys to finish. I’m very happy.”

As he should be. Given his past propensity for (relative) success in his first visits to major championships, the former Spanish Amateur champion is understandably looking forward to the U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

“Everything is now happening so quickly,” he said. “I’m really happy. This is where I want to be. I have some good opportunities coming up now. I’m can’t wait to get to my first U.S. Open. There will be no public so there will be less pressure, I think. I’m proud of myself.”

Langasque will be joined at Winged Foot by Sam Horsfield, Thomas Detry, Andy Sullivan, Rasmus Hojgaard, Renato Paratore, Valimaki, Syme, Adrain Otaegui and Justin Harding.

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European Tour still faces logistical hurdles ahead of its late July restart

Golf Digest Middle East — Sat, 30 May 2020 22:10:50 +0000

Luke Walker

By John Huggan
Much fanfare surrounded Thursday’s announcement that the European Tour will resume its 2020 season with an initial six-tournament U.K. Swing starting at the British Masters July 22-25. The tour’s chief executive, Keith Pelley, was understandably excited about the prospect of competitive play on the Old World circuit, fallow since the Qatar Masters in early March.

Still, while the likelihood is that the British Masters, English Open, English Championship, Celtic Classic, Wales Open and U.K. Championship will all take place through the end of August—all without spectators—a few hurdles remain to be cleared.

In a memo to the tour membership that has been seen by Golf Digest, David Park, a former Walker Cup player and the European Tour’s head of player relations, outlined a situation that he says “continues to evolve.” Perhaps most importantly—and although on-going discussions have been “positive”—Pelley’s request for a player exemption from the two-week quarantine currently in place for those entering the United Kingdom has not yet received official government approval. With such a broad-based international membership, that is a vital component for the European Tour.

Should that come to pass, other logistical issues remain. Full details of the tour’s Medical Health Strategy and required testing are still being finalized. Meanwhile, as “behind closed door” events, the tour has told players that no family or guests will be permitted onsite in this initial run of tournaments, and officials continue to evaluate access for key support staff (coaches, trainers, managers and manufacturers).

And while it will be a condition of entry into all six tournaments that players and caddies stay in “designated official hotels,” the creation of an all-inclusive “bubble” at three of those will be an issue if full fields of 144 golfers are to be accommodated. Assuming every player and caddie will each require a room, a minimum of 288 will be needed. Throw in support staff and that number will surely exceed 300.

Forest of Arden, host to the English Open, boasts only 214 rooms. Hanbury Manor, site of the English Championship, has only 149, plus 12 suites. The situation is happier at Celtic Manor, where the Celtic Classic and Wales Open will take place. The 2010 Ryder Cup site has well over 500 rooms in a variety of on-course premises, including 330 in the resort hotel alone. Equally, the Belfry has 319 bedrooms, enough to comfortably host every player and caddie at the U.K. Championship.

Significantly, however, players and caddies have been warned not to book “any other accommodation for the U.K. Swing.” Park points out that “this is an essential part of reducing the risks associated with the spread of COVID-19 and everyone’s safety. Also, this has been a key part of the discussions with the U.K. government to enable the events to take place. The European Tour is arranging for sufficient hotel rooms for all players and caddies at each of the events.”

Having said that, no promises are being made to the players that full fields of 144 will be achieved. As is the case for regular European Tour events, 2020 exemption categories will be used as the basis to fill the fields. But, although invitations to non-tour members are to be kept to a minimum, “a small number may be required to assist with commercial and sponsorship agreements we are working on with potential partners for each of the events.”

“Final field sizes will be determined by the number of people we are permitted to have onsite for a behind-closed-doors event by the local and national authorities,” Park said.

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