European Tour: Dubai World Championship

First topic message reminder :

We don't seem to have a place to talk about this. I don't have time to write a proper article but I'm sure there will be comments to be made about the tournament.

If anyone does a proper writeup this one can be allowed to die but best to have somewhere to discuss it

Paul Lawrie sets the early pace with a 65
Luke bogies the 1st but birdies the second
Rory birdies the first then doubles the second!

Twitter was already going ballistic about Rory taking an early lead over Luke on just the first hole - but tables quickly turned!

Not sure where you get the fluke finish suggestion for Lawrie from Kwini? he may not be the most fashionable of golfers but he has already won this season and had 4 top tens. He is clearly not a McIlroy, Westwood or Donald but he is still a very good golfer who has sustained a 20 year career on the european tour and is still winning and contending. He also comes across as one of the good guys out there and his foundation does sterling work in the north east of Scotland. I'm delighted to see him do well.

I'm also delighted for AQ, I've been backing him for the last few years to no avail, hopefully he will push on now and join Lawrie as a major winner.

Caito,
I was asking the question, not making a statement.
I've always had a lot of time for Lawrie and would never diminish his achievements.
But you guys know him a lot better; I know he's had injury niggles, but this year's model has enjoyed more success than in the recent past.
Was just wondering whether you see this continuing. Just one shot behind Donald for thr weekend, and that looks pretty sporty from my TV set.

Am also reminded frequently on 606xx about his immense contribution to his community. Hopefully it will be a spark for Ramsay and Knox as well.

Well he'll be 43 in January so realistically it is unlikely that he is going to compete regularly at the sharp end but like a lot of guys that age he is more than capable of having a good week (c.f. DC). He looks after himself a bit and has always had a great swing so who knows? he could stick around for a few more years yet.

Agree he is a good example for some of the of the other young scots out there, let's hope one or two of them can push on.

Think Lawrie has always been a hardworker on his game but said this week that he was hitting more balls than ever as he was really motivated to show his sons (both around scratch I think) that he can still cut it at the top level.

Great performance from him and brilliant result for both Quiros and Donald. Think Donald showed he was number 1 after playing poorly in round 1 and then getting close to winning the tournament.

kwinigolfer wrote: Nothing like the pure joy on Alvaro's face. Fantastic! Nothing "in your face" about his reaction. Thank goodness.

Morning kwini,
If you were an aircraft, you'd make one heck of a stealth fighter.
Luuuuuke was also very gracious in the post tourney presentations. In the next 50 years, I wonder how many others will get a Luke Slam, winning both money titles in the same year. Extraordinary.

My Kings lost on the ice last night. They're the epitome of futility. And my Lakers have apparently withdrawn from the Chris Paul trade due to unprecedented interference from the commissioner. I now understand one of the reasons why you don't like the NBA.

Hi venice,
Thought perhaps Luke cut his comments about his family to a minimum to avoid the sheer emotion of the past few weeks.

Wish the Shark Shoot-Out was on Live, birdies and eagles galore! Love watching that tournament; it may be early Christmas presents for the players but they look as if they're having a blast. Pity it conflicts with "Dubai" as McDowell and Poulter have enhanced the field in recent years.

What do you think of the Ryan Braun allegations/results? Reminds one of Contador - certainly not the way Selig wanted to keep MLB in the news, especially after the feel-good of Ron Santo into the HOF and the ducats lavished on Pujols.

One would think that Norman would insist on live coverage for his event. Nothing else is going on with NBC having only the Sunday Night NFL game. Wait, I forgot, they're showing figure skating. Looks like the Pro Bowlers Tour will be on my tube. Geez.

Ryan Braun, MVP for the National League, proves that the most valuable digestible substance is a daily kick of PHD's. Which reminds me, steroid discussion was practically verboten on bbc 606. What a waste of time that was for the posters and the mods. Wonder if I can say here that Ryan Braun is a drug user.

Personally, I would just legalize the whole slew of pharmaceuticals as it is completely out of hand. I would venture to say that half of all high school athletes in the U.S. take some form of supplements not intended without a prescription. Have a good dozen friends from the gym that coach various sports from this age group and they're pretty open about it. And yes, at least 3 of them coach high school golf.

Tres happy to see Quiros win and give himself a great start for Ryder Cup qualification. He'd make a pretty fantastic model for a golfing superstar! Also very impressed by Lawrie's efforts this week and for his season generally. Doubt he'll ever get the recognition he deserves mind you. Bit like Graeme Dott of the snooker world. Maybe it's the dour Scottishness? What do you think Super_Realist?

I'm probably the only one but not particularly thrilled to see Donald win. Clearly been the best but I'd rather an out and out European Tourer won the RTD. Probably not easy given the spread of world tournanments but would certainly be a personal preference.

venice1 wrote:Wonder if I can say here that Ryan Braun is a drug user.

Oh I don't think there will be any problem venice given this site is ostensibly being run by WWE fans!

I thought the course stood up well this week and looked better than first impressions last year. Any thoughts?

Hibbz wrote:Tres happy to see Quiros win and give himself a great start for Ryder Cup qualification. He'd make a pretty fantastic model for a golfing superstar! Also very impressed by Lawrie's efforts this week and for his season generally. Doubt he'll ever get the recognition he deserves mind you. Bit like Graeme Dott of the snooker world. Maybe it's the dour Scottishness? What do you think Super_Realist?

I'm probably the only one but not particularly thrilled to see Donald win. Clearly been the best but I'd rather an out and out European Tourer won the RTD. Probably not easy given the spread of world tournanments but would certainly be a personal preference.

It's just a cash award though isn't it. My European Tour golfer of the year would be Bjorn not Donald.
Anyone got any idea who won the most cash if you exclude earnings from the majors and WGC's ?

Hibbz,
I think Lawrie is like a lot of players in that although I wouldn't say he's dour, he's just a fairly quiet golfer with not much interesting to say.

He played really well today though and it must encourage him for next year.

I often put a few quid on Quiros in the majors as I think he has more substance to his game than the other bombers like Watson, Garrigus and JB Holmes.

Good to see him smile even when he was dropping shots.

Super,

A great win for Quiros and a lovely bloke to boot, but I can't see him winning a major yet. I just think the swing is too fast and the nerves of being in contention in a major for 4 days will eventuallly throw off the timing and lead to some distructrive shots.

Diggers wrote:Anyone got any idea who won the most cash if you exclude earnings from the majors and WGC's ?

Just had a quick look, here's the top few ET prize money only (minus majors / WGC)

Donald 3.2m
McIlroy 1.7m
Kaymer 1.8m
Schwartzel 1.4m

Bjorn 1.4m

Donald is streets ahead

Super, what happened to Clarke? Dead last. Are you sure he isn't just a bad weather links player?

ScottieD18 wrote:Super,

A great win for Quiros and a lovely bloke to boot, but I can't see him winning a major yet. I just think the swing is too fast and the nerves of being in contention in a major for 4 days will eventuallly throw off the timing and lead to some distructrive shots.

I agree Scottie, more of an each way bet for a top 6/7 finish, especially given he's usually around the 80/1 mark.

Destructive shots (as the likes of Johnson and Quiros are partial) are far more detrimental than being a shorter hitter. Hence why players like Watson, JB Holmes etc will never rule the roost.

Better to be a jack of all trades like Donald, than a basher who just tries to hit it as far as he can.

I'd really like to see Lawrie have a great year next year and maybe qualify for the Ryder cup. Would certainly be one the eye for all his mockers. Super, I'm sure he's got plenty of interest to say I just think maybe he doesn't think everyone needs to here it ad nauseum. Poulter, Westwood, McIlroy and other tw@tterers please take note!

I've also started backing Quiros in the majors and he often seems to give you some hope of a tasty return before ultimately leaving you with nothing. Much like every other bet I have in truth.

Agreed Hibbz, Lawrie has plenty to say you just need to take a look at his foundation website, but he is not a self promoter or a celebrity.

Ryder cup may be a bit of a stretch but he didn't do badly the last time he was there did he?

I am starting to sound like the official Paul Lawrie fan club lol!