Azahara Muñoz, a star of Europe’s victorious Solheim Cup team at Gleneagles last week leads the way in the Lacoste Ladies Open de France. Muñoz carded at first round five-under-par 66 to share the lead with Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden.
European Captain Padraig Harrington has named Robert Karlsson as his first vice captain for The 2020 Ryder Cup against the United States at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin next September. Karlsson twice played in the Ryder Cup, in the victorious 2006 team that crushed the USA at the K Club and on the losing side two years later at Valhalla.
They may have been looking to run up high scores in the Ashes over the summer but yesterday three of England’s heroes were looking to go low at the ProAm event at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club.
At the Wednesday press conference with Rory McIlroy at the BMW PGA Championship the subject inevitably turned to slow play. It transpires that the world number two had been watching the Solheim Cup, or as GolfPunk had renamed it the Slowheim Cup.
Following close on behind the launch of their Go Faster Turbo Woods Cleveland have unveiled the Launcher HB Turbo Irons. Built for more speed and more precision and targeted specifically at improvement players the irons deliver maximum forgiveness and an easy-to-hit to profile.
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.
It was a brutal day at Gleneagles with high winds, rain and low temperatures testing the mettle of both teams. Team USA came out narrowly on top taking the afternoon fourballs by 2½ matches to 1½ after the morning foursomes had been shared. So, it is all tied at 8-8 ahead of the twelve singles today and the Americans, given their past record in singles, must be viewed as the favourites.
You couldn’t write the script. It all came down to the last putt on the last green and standing over that putt was none other than, controversial captain’s pick, the superb Suzann Pettersen. With nerves of absolute steel Pettersen stroked the putt right into the centre of the cup and the crowd went wild. Your writer’s children wondered what was going on with their father shouting at the television – “Unbelieveable, totally unbelievable”.
Europe take a slender lead into day two of the 16th Solheim Cup at Gleneagles. After Europe took the morning foursomes by a score of 2½ matches to 1½, an exciting rollercoaster of an afternoon ended in the fourball matches being shared to leave Europe with an overall lead by 4½ matches to 3½.
The players in the afternoon fourballs are on the back nine. The target time for the matches is four and half hours and they are on five hours and forty-five-minute pace. It seems that the men’s game is not the only one plagued by slow play problems.
The teams were introduced, the crowds were bedecked in the colours of the teams and Sharleen Spiteri and Texas hit the stage to liven up proceedings. First points in the fashion stakes probably went to Europe with their mid length coats and Solheim Cup tartan scarves winning it out over the the not quite so flattering short jackets of Team USA. A real spectacle indeed and here are some of the best images.
Rory McIlroy has won the PGA Tour Player of the year award for the third time, beating world number one Brooks Koepka into second place, and he got the Nicklaus award from the Golden Bear himself whilst having lunch.
