According to Rory McIlroy, he is approaching 2020 with a new mindset, one in which he plans to play carefree golf. But what exactly does ‘carefree’ mean in terms of playing the game? Consulting the dictionary carefree is an adjective meaning free from anxiety or responsibility. Checking the thesaurus, I happen to have to hand synonyms for carefree include ‘breezy’ ‘cheerful’ ‘jaunty’ ‘happy go lucky’.
Alison Muirhead, from Scotland who last week won the Pre-Qualifier event came alive on day two of the final stage of Ladies European Tour Qualifying School. Firing a superb six-under-par 67 around the South Course at La Manga Club in Cartagena, Spain. Muirhead now leads by five shots from overnight leader Morgane Metraux who could only post a level par 73 around the South Course and Pia Babnik of Slovenia.
Thomas Pieters leads the Omega Dubai Desert Classic after an impressive opening round of 67 on the tough Emirates Golf Club course. The Belgian leads by one shot from David Lipsky of the USA with a gaggle of twelve players, which includes Englishman Eddie Pepperell, Robert Karlsson of Sweden and Dane Søren Kjeldsen, a further shot back.
Call us old cynics but are the latest set of changes at the Golf Hall of Fame just a dressed way to get Tiger Woods inducted into the Golf Hall of Fame a few years earlier and boost the quality of the list of possible inductees for the 2021 draft? The rules were only changed some four years ago to move the minimum age from 40 to 50 and now it is being edged back to 45.
Look out Claude Harmon you could soon be out of a job. A six-year-old hilariously analysed Brooks Koepka’s swing during last week’s the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Apparently, Brooks dips a bit during his swing and he should know which way the wind is blowing!
Encouraging signs from the first event with the European Tour’s new regime on slow play. The toughened up four-point plan did not result in any penalties but the general consensus was that the pace of play was better. Even Bryson DeChambeau seemed to have responded positively – might the penny be finally dropping?
Many happy returns from GolfPunk to arguably the greatest golfer that has lived and who turns 80 today. It may be that Tiger will surpass or equal Jack’s eighteen major titles mark, only time will tell but until then we raise our glasses to the Golden Bear and thank him for all those great memories.
Ping Europe Ltd has lost an appeal against an infringement decision from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and £1.25 million fine. The CMA had originally ruled that the manufacturer had broken competition law by stopping retailers from selling its clubs on their websites.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend on the, PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Women’s European Tour.
A lot of us have old clubs languishing in the garage or in the attic gathering dust. Those of a certain age may also have a modern-day antique - a wood actually made out of wood! But there is a man who has not one but over one thousand woods tucked away in storage and all of them made from what was the holy grail of golf manufacturing materials – persimmon!
Berkhamsted Golf Club has decided to allow both sexes to compete in the Berkhamsted Trophy, a long-standing top men’s amateur in the UK. This is a world-first for elite amateur golf and has the backing of the R&A and England Golf. The event which is entering its 61st year – has transformed from being a men-only tournament, into one which invites both sexes to compete for the same prize.
Master Craftsman Scotty Cameron has produced a reboot of his classic designs to produce eight new blade and mid-mallet setups precision milled putters. Retaining the classic Scotty Cameron look the putters look to deliver a tour level performance to the retail market.
