Antoine Rozner of France shot a 6-under 66 Saturday to create a three-way tie for the lead after the third round of the Mauritius Open.
BEL-OMBRE, Mauritius – Antoine Rozner of France shot a 6-under 66 Saturday to create a three-way tie for the lead after the third round of the Mauritius Open.
Rozner is level with second-round leader Calum Hill of Scotland and Thomas Detry of Belgium on 16-under 200 going into the final round.
Detry shot a 67 despite two bogeys on his last six holes, while Hill birdied his last two holes for a 68.
Danish rookie Rasmus Hojgaard (66) and American golfer Sihwan Kim (67) were a shot off the lead.
Brandon Stone started the day a shot off the lead but triple-bogeyed the first hole before recovering with six birdies on the back nine to sit two strokes back, in joint sixth place with Renato Paratore.
Robin Sciot-Siegrist of France had the best round of the day with a 65 despite a bogey on the 18th, but is tied for 16th, six shots off the lead.
A golfer’s education is incomplete without seeing Royal Melbourne and the courses of Australia’s Sandbelt. Many American golfers, softened by the primping of their home courses, love visiting classic British links for their rugged naturalism and the …
A golfer’s education is incomplete without seeing Royal Melbourne and the courses of Australia’s Sandbelt.
Many American golfers, softened by the primping of their home courses, love visiting classic British links for their rugged naturalism and the ability to play a variety of shots along firm, fast-running turf that is exposed to the elements. British golfers, by contrast, sometimes tire of the vagaries of links golf and relish the high standard of greenkeeping present at many American courses, where the grass does indeed seem greener and the sun often shines brighter.
What’s special about the courses of the Australian Sandbelt is that nearly every course in this concentrated area of the Melbourne, Victoria suburbs, whether humble or celebrated throughout the world, manages to achieve the best aspects of both British and American golf without the downsides of either, combining beautifully presented inland courses that look and play as though they would be at home on a rough-hewn, fast-running British links.
Achieving this rare trick requires a combination of sandy soil on rolling terrain, the kind of land that provides excellent drainage and promotes the quality grasses that make courses bouncy while retaining a parkland feel.
This chemistry produces a style of golf that led Victoria native Peter Thomson to feel at home in winning five Open Championships in the British Isles from 1954 to 1965. He felt unwelcome on squishy American courses that eliminated, in Thomson’s opinion, the essential third dimension of the game: the run of the ball.
The greatest of these Sandbelt courses, Royal Melbourne Golf Club, hosts its third Presidents Cup in December and comprises two 18-hole courses (East and West), combined in various permutations through the years to form a Composite Course over which this year’s competition will be played. Yet Royal Melbourne is far from the only show in town.
If Royal Melbourne is, design-wise, to Australia what Augusta National is to America, sharing Alister MacKenzie as the co-designer of both, then surely Kingston Heath qualifies as that country’s Merion, a compact, beautifully routed championship course that requires shotmaking of the highest standard while being enjoyable for club-level players.
No. 15 at Royal Melbourne (Gary Lisbon via PGA Tour)
Victoria Golf Club, just across the street from Royal Melbourne, produced Thomson, 1954 British Amateur champion Doug Bachli and 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy. Even if not for its more-famous neighbor, people should get on an airplane to see Victoria’s distinctive bunkering and beguiling half-par holes.
Yet, just as it is always better to ask a local for tips on finding the best pub around, I asked several Australian friends to share their thoughts on what makes Royal Melbourne and the courses of the Sandbelt so admired and what we might learn from them.
What makes the Sandbelt distinct as one of the world’s great spiritual homes for the game?
Will Kay, a former member of Royal Melbourne: “With all of the best architects having their work on display in a 20-mile radius, it improves everyone’s standards accordingly. The unreasonable density of world-class courses is not seen anywhere else, and people in Melbourne don’t know how good they have it.”
No. 3 at Royal Melbourne (Gary Lisbon via PGA Tour)
Lynne Claney Brown, 15-time women’s club champion at Kingston Heath: “A high standard of conditioning and year-round golf probably makes Melbourne an ideal location for high-quality golf. A temperate climate – not too wet in winter, no snow, moderate rain, warm and dry summers – is ideal for consistent golfing conditions year round. Mix in with that, majestic native trees and plants and constant birdsong make for pleasant environs for golf.”
Mike Clayton, touring professional and course architect at Clayton DeVries Pont: “The strategies are quite simple on most Sandbelt courses. There is always an easier shot from one half of the fairway – and it’s a side almost always guarded by a fairway bunker or some rough grass. It’s also the home of some of the greatest short holes – between 130 and 170 yards – in the world.”
How would other courses around the world, regardless of climate or geography, benefit from copying ideas found at Royal Melbourne?
Neil Crafter, golf course architect, Crafter + Mogford Golf Strategies: “Dr. Alister MacKenzie and Alex Russell designed holes where width and latitude were given off the tee. But if the golfer was happy to finish anywhere on the fairway, he could face a very daunting and difficult approach over bunkers to a sloping green, if not positioned correctly.”
Will Kay: “There is a lack of length from the members tees which makes it more appealing to the masses. A short course can be even more interesting and challenging than a long course, and this is often forgotten in today’s efforts at design. This should not be confused with it being known as an easy course, as these tracks in the middle of summer are as difficult as anywhere.”
No. 9 at Royal Melbourne (Gary Lisbon via PGA Tour)
Mike Clayton: “Mowing lines. There is no rough between fairways and the fairway bunkers, so the ball runs freely into them – and if you are good enough or lucky enough to skirt the edge, the ball is never held up by long grass. There is no attempt to make the rough uniform or to create ‘equity of punishment.’ Members never complain about ‘unfair’ lies in the rough.”
In addition to the well-known Sandbelt courses like Kingston Heath, Victoria and Metropolitan, what courses would you take a visiting friend to play?
Mike Clayton: “Alister MacKenzie never visited Woodlands for a day, but if he had it’d be much better known. Spring Valley was designed by Vern Morcom, son of the greenkeeper who built all the MacKenzie work at Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath. Long Island was a struggling club with a terrific course until The National took control and secured its short-term (and hopefully long-term) future. With a little remedial work, it could be one of the best courses in the city.”
Lynne Claney Brown: “I always consider playing Woodlands an experience. Tight fairways and small, hard greens require a lot of skill. Spring Valley is often called the ‘hidden jewel’. It is a great design always in great shape.”
Will Kay: “Peninsula Kingswood has recently undergone some fantastic changes which line it up incredibly well against Royal Melbourne.”
Neil Crafter: “I would take them to Yarra Yarra, Commonwealth and Woodlands. That next tier of Sandbelt courses are brilliant and will give any visitor a wonderful sense of what golf in Melbourne’s Sandbelt is all about.”
Rory McIlroy matters as much to the European Tour as Tiger Woods does to the PGA Tour, no matter what Keith Pelley says.
LONDON, England – Rory McIlroy matters as much to the European Tour as Tiger Woods does to the PGA Tour, no matter what Keith Pelley says. The same goes for the Europe’s other “names.”
The European Tour chief executive was in an ebullient mood (when is he not?) at the European Tour Hilton Golfer of the Year lunch at the swanky Biltmore Mayfair Hotel in Grosvenor Square, London. Pelley celebrated Jon Rahm winning the Golfer of the Year award, and gushed over the Tour’s accomplishments in 2019.
Pelley spent part of his 25-minute speech reiterating his view that he wasn’t obsessed with star participation. The Canadian made the same point to a select group of journalists during the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, which Rahm won to end the season as European No. 1.
“Talk of player participation is very important to us,” Pelley said in Dubai. “But it’s not the only thing that defines a great tournament.
“If we spend our entire time on top-player participation and if that was the only metric that our sponsors and partners look toward, then we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.
“So we look at it but we don’t become obsessed with it.”
He would say that, wouldn’t he, since it’s getting harder to guarantee top player participation because of the money these guys are earning?
To make his point, Pelley lauded the Turkish Airlines Open and Nedbank Golf Challenge, two of the final three 2019 Rolex Series tournaments. Both tournaments featured up-and-coming players in Matthias Schwab and Marcus Kinhult going against established Ryder Cup stars in Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood.
True, both events featured exciting finales. They also suffered from a lack of “names.” They were the weakest of this year’s eight Rolex tournaments, events with a prize fund of $7 million or more. The Nedbank had a strength of field rating of just 191, Turkey was second weakest with a 234 ranking. By comparison, the BMW PGA Championship was strongest at 416, stronger even than the DP World at 367. The Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open was third at 309.
Pelley took the time during the Player of the Year lunch to have a playful dig at myself and other members of the media sitting at table No. 4 for our obsession with top-player participation. Here’s the truth, Keith: We have a better chance of covering a European Tour event if Rory and other top names are in the field. It’s a far easier sell to our sports editors.
Rory not only has greater appeal to golf fans, but non-golf fans too. Just as Tiger does. Most of my friends who don’t follow golf know who Rory is. Most probably have no idea who Schwab or Kinhult are, no matter how good they might become, and they might struggle even to pick Hatton and Fleetwood out of a police line-up.
Just as Woods moves the needle anywhere he plays, it’s the same with McIlroy on the European Tour. His involvement in a tournament, any tournament, means more fan interest, more media interest and therefore more publicity for the sponsor. I’ll guarantee the happiest sponsors of the eight Rolex Series tournaments this year were the three Rory played in – the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship and DP World.
I had a conversation recently with a golf administrator at a golf course which has previously held European Tour events. I asked if the course was interested in hosting another tournament any time soon. Yes, was the answer, but not if it meant getting the European Tour’s B-team.
If the Rolex Series events can’t guarantee the top names, then what chance do sponsors with less funds have?
Star participation matters, Keith, no matter how you spin it.
The Masters is all about providing the best experience for the players, one reason it has the smallest field of the four majors.
NASSAU, Bahamas – Seven tournaments from the six largest tours over the next three weeks could shape the field for the Masters, and perhaps pave the way for the largest gathering at Augusta National in more than 50 years.
Augusta National invites the top 50 from the final world ranking of the year, and then the top 50 one week before the Masters.
Among those on the bubble are former PGA champion Keegan Bradley, hanging on at No. 48, and Presidents Cup player Cameron Smith at No. 52. The Australian gets two more tries to get into the top 50.
The Masters already has 77 players who have qualified and are expected to play. From this week’s world ranking, 12 players in the top 50 are not yet eligible, meaning the size of the field could swell to 89 players going into the new year. Still to come are 12 events on the PGA Tour that offer Masters invitations to the winner, along with the top 50 from the April 5 world ranking and the Latin American Amateur champion.
Tiger Woods won against a field of 87 players this year for his fifth green jacket.
The Masters is all about providing the best experience for the players, one reason it has the smallest field of the four majors. It has not had more than 100 players since 103 played in 1966.
Why the increase?
Some of it has to do with the increased fall schedule on the PGA Tour.
A year ago, seven tournaments offered full FedEx Cup points, three of them limited fields in Asia. Only two of those seven winners were outside the top 50 in the world – Kevin Tway at the Safeway Open and Charles Howell III at the RSM Classic.
This year, the PGA Tour had 10 tournaments in the fall that offered a Masters invitation. Six of the winners were outside the top 50. Five of them were not among the top 150 in the world.
The tour had two new tournaments in the summer (between the last two majors), won by Nate Lashley in Detroit and Matthew Wolff in Minnesota. With one fewer event in the FedEx Cup postseason, 11 players who reached the Tour Championship – which comes with a Masters invitation – did not win. Five of them would have made the Masters field through other categories.
The Masters had a strong emphasis on amateurs in 1966, awarding invitations to the U.S. Amateur and British Amateur champions from the previous 10 years, the top eight and ties from the last U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Walker Cup team. That meant 26 amateurs were in the field.
Officials of the Waste Management Phoenix Open took the high road when asked about Phil Mickelson skipping their event to play in Saudi.
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Officials of the Waste Management Phoenix Open took the high road Tuesday when asked about Phil Mickelson’s decision to skip their upcoming tournament in order to play in the Saudi International.
Phil’s been a “great ambassador for us,” they said during a news conference to promote the 2020 tournament. Phil’s been a “very, very special part of our tournament for 30 years,” they said.
Both are true. Mickelson owes the Phoenix Open nothing. He’s played in it 30 times and holds or shares a part of 15 tournament scoring records.
“It’s hard to hold a guy down, or at fault, for making a decision like that,” said tournament director Tim Woods.
No, it’s really not, because this isn’t only about Mickelson deciding to skip the Phoenix Open for just the second time since 1989.
A daily sight at the Waste Management Phoenix Open: Phil Mickelson slapping hands with fans after another big round. (Michael Chow/Azcentral sports)
It’s about choosing to play in the Saudi International instead. An “invitation” to play in that tournament includes a hefty appearance fee. And all an athlete has to do for that fee is play a little golf and valet park his conscience.
The Saudis have a dubious human rights record, to say the least, but enough money to get people to look the other way.
The Saudi International debuted a year ago, just a few months after Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who worked for the Washington Post, was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey,
Khashoggi entered the consulate and never left. His body reportedly was dismembered with bone saws and possibly disposed of with acid.
There’s little doubt in the intelligence community that it was premeditated murder by the Saudi Government and the regime of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The royal family has denied those allegations.
But, hey, on to golf!
Last year, the Saudi Invitational featured several of the best American players, including Dustin Johnson (who won it), Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau.
Back then, they didn’t want to touch the touchy subject of the Saudis possibly killing and dismembering a journalist who lived in the United States.
“I’m not a politician, I’m a pro golfer,” Rose said, according to Golfweek.
“I’m not going to get into it,” said Koepka.
“It’s my job to play golf,” said Johnson.
Professional athletes, especially ones in individual sports, have a long history of being enticed by money. Come to think of it, that’s probably true of most of us.
And, granted, boycotting countries because of how they treat dissenting voices can be difficult. Truth often is elusive, and a standard can be difficult to set. If you don’t compete in Saudi Arabia, does that mean you also don’t go to China?
But judging by the growth of the Saudi International, more golfers are deciding that the easiest path is to have no standard at all.
Phil Mickelson hits from the tee box on the 16th hole during first round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
This year’s field will be even stronger. In addition to Mickelson, Tony Finau, who regularly plays in the Phoenix Open, told the Saudi Gazette he is playing there.
“I’ve always believed that to be considered a world-class player, you must compete in premier tournaments around the world,” Finau said.
That’s silly, of course, since winning a major will pretty much cement a player’s status as “world class.”
Mickelson’s comments to the Saudi Times were equally inane.
“I have enjoyed my previous visits to the Middle East and am looking forward to playing in a new country and doing my bit to grow the game in the Kingdom.”
How benevolent of him. I’d have more respect for Mickelson if he said something like this:
“Look, I turn 50 next year. My biggest pay days are behind me, so I wasn’t about to turn down the appearance fee I’m getting for from the Saudis.”
Mickelson’s decision has earned him a considerable criticism for the obvious money grab, and he responded on Twitter.
After turning down opportunities to go to the Middle East for many years, I’m excited to go play and see a place in the world I’ve never been. I understand those who are upset or disappointed. You’ll be ok. I’m excited to experience this for the first time.
The Father/Son is a feel-good weekend in the middle of the so-called “silly season” of golf.
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All things considered, the PNC Father/Son Challenge field is remarkably strong. For one thing, the qualifications to get in are steep. Only major champions and winners of the Players Championship are eligible, and 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus headlines that category.
The Father/Son is a feel-good weekend in the middle of the so-called “silly season” of golf. This year, it overlaps the final round of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
In addition to Nicklaus, the field includes icons Gary Player, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson. Despite the Nov. 27 death of his wife Hilary, who had battled pancreatic cancer, Watson remains in the field for now along with his son Michael.
Twelve of the 20 teams include a World Golf Hall of Famer. Individually, the final field shares more than 700 worldwide titles as well as 192 Champions Tour wins, with the all-time Champions Tour wins leader Hale Irwin, returning to this event after a two-year hiatus.
There are also seven former World No. 1 players in the field. That category includes Annika Sorenstam, who is playing with her father Tom and will become the first female professional to compete in the tournament.
The event will be played Dec. 5-8 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.
It was an impressive display of golf in the final round, particularly because Anne Van Dam had to overtake Nanna Koerstz Madsen to win
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Anne van Dam might have the most coveted swing in women’s professional golf. The Dutch player crushes it off the tee – she was the longest hitter on both the LET and the LPGA in 2019 – and the European Solheim Cupper has continued to pad her win column. Van Dam defended her title Sunday at the Ladies European Tour’s Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España. It’s her fifth title on that tour.
It was an impressive display of golf in the final round, particularly because van Dam had to overtake her Danish friend Nanna Koerstz Madsen to win her second title in this event. Interestingly, even Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez made an appearance in the gallery for the final round.
Madsen had a three-shot lead after three rounds at Aloha Golf Club in Marbella, Spain. She holed out for eagle at the par-4 ninth and was still two shots ahead at the start of the back nine. She was down to a one-shot lead on the 18th tee.
Madsen made a double-bogey there after dumping her drive left in the water. It was her third double-bogey in a final-round 74.
Van Dam played to her length and placed her tee shot in the middle of the fairway with a 4-iron. She won with a seemingly easy par for a final-round 70 and a 13-under total. She said she didn’t expect to see Madsen’s final hole unfold the way it did.
“Nanna is a good friend of mine so I would have loved to beat her in a playoff, it would have been a better feeling for me,” van Dam told the Golf Channel. “That’s what it is. It’s golf, she took more risk off the tee hitting a driver. I’ve been hitting an iron there all week.”
Madsen tied for second with Aditi Ashok at 12 under.
Van Dam is the second player recent history to win back-to-back Spanish Open titles. Spaniard Azahara Munoz did it in 2016 and 2017.
The Ladies European Tour wraps up its regular season this week at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open, a new event on the schedule.
For every birdie made during Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge, $500 will be donated to the ONE Bahamas Fund.
The destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian has left thousands of Bahamians homeless three months after the Category 5 hurricane hit the Abacos and then Grand Bahama. Several PGA Tour stars playing in the Hero World Challenge have raised money for relief efforts, and the tournament will continue its support this week.
For every birdie made during the Hero, $500 will be donated to the ONE Bahamas Fund. Eagles will raise $1,000 and an ace will bring a donation of $2,500. Tiger Woods is among those in the field with homes in the Bahamas along with Justin Rose. Adam Scott, who is not playing this week as he prepares for the Presidents Cup, also has a home in Albany.
Woods teamed up with Justin Timberlake, Nexus Luxury Collection and members at Albany to establish the ONE Bahamas Fund in September. Woods, the host of this week’s Hero World Challenge, said $6 million has been raised so far.
“We’re all devastated. We’ve seen what has happened to Grand Bahama and surrounding areas,” Woods said Monday morning on Golf Channel. “We got spared; we got lucky that it stayed to the east of us. Others weren’t. Some don’t have homes any more. Some don’t have running water. We’re trying to help as much as we possibly can.”
Woods said back home in Jupiter, Florida, there’s a hotel close to his restaurant where many Bahamians are staying because they can’t get back home.
“They had no home to go back to,” Woods said. “They didn’t know what happened to family members. It was devastating to see the stories that were told. Anything we can do to help; this is just the beginning.”
Damage from Dorian has been estimated at $3.4 billion, with more than 240 people still missing, according to a report in the Miami Herald.
Tiger Woods still believes Jack Nicklaus’ major record is in reach, as long as he does everything right just like at Augusta National.
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With planning to host the Hero World Challenge and getting ready for his role as a playing captain at the Presidents Cup, Tiger Woods says he hasn’t had any time to think about 2020.
Woods is in the Bahamas this week to host the Hero, which benefits his foundation. So win number 83 hasn’t exactly been top of mind, he said.
“I have been so busy trying to figure this stuff out. My mind hasn’t crept to 2020,” he said Monday morning during an interview with Lisa Cornwell on Golf Channel.
The Hero marks Woods’ return to competition – albeit a limited field of 18 of the world’s top players – since he won the Zozo Championship in Japan. That win was No. 82, tying Sam Snead for the most in PGA Tour history, and it came just a few weeks after Woods had a surgical procedure on his left knee.
So is 18 majors still attainable?
“I think it is. Obviously I have to do everything right like I did at Augusta. I have to have all the pieces come together,” said Woods, who turns 44 on Dec. 30. “Who knows? I was 14-1 when either leading outright or tied for the lead going into Sunday. I finally broke that slide and came from behind.
“Who knows? I’ve done it different ways. I’ve won tournaments; I’ve done that different ways. And I have finally won a major in different ways. Who knows what the future holds.”
When the Presidents Cup goes to Australia in a week, Adam Scott hopes the home crowd doesn’t get too carried away by Tiger mania.
Tiger Woods’ fame transcends continents. He’s not an American sports hero, he’s a worldwide one. But when the Presidents Cup goes to Australia in a week, with Woods competing as the first playing captain in the event since 1994, Australian Adam Scott hopes the home crowd doesn’t get too carried away.
As in, remember who to cheer for, mates.
Scott, the world No. 15 who is about to make his ninth Presidents Cup appearance, told the Melbourne-based Herald Sun this week that he hopes fans get loud for the Internationals. After all, noise and support are major factors in a home-course advantage.
“Last time it was too friendly,” Scott told the Herald Sun. “Quite bluntly, we want the home-crowd advantage, and I’ll be disappointed if they are cheering enthusiastically for Tiger or anyone on the U.S. team.”
The matches are returning to Royal Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia for the first time since 2011. The U.S. team won the Cup that year, which was also the last time Woods played in Australia.
The Presidents Cup scoreboard has grown more and more lopsided since, with the U.S. winning all three subsequent meetings. It’s worth noting, however, that the only International victory in the event’s history was at Royal Melbourne in 1998.
Scott’s Presidents Cup record stands at 14-20-5 for a run that dates to 2003.
With Jason Day now out of the International huddle because of a lingering back injury – and Presidents Cup rookie Byeong Hun An taking his spot – Scott is the most experienced player on the team. Counting An, more than half of the International team members are Presidents Cup rookies.
It makes the right type of crowd energy that much more important.
“I’m not saying be a poor sport, but one challenge our team has always had is gaining a home-soil advantage because it’s rare that stars like Tiger and DJ (Dustin Johnson) come to Australia (2011) or Korea (2015) where we play these things and the locals are excited to see them as much as anyone on our team,” Scott said. “But while we appreciate them very much, we don’t have to cheer for them.”
The Presidents Cup will be played Dec. 13-15 at Royal Melbourne. For U.S. viewers, the first match will air the evening of Dec. 12 because of the time difference.
