European Tour - Open de Espana

Almost forgot about this... I guess it's not hard to forget these days that there is still an European Tour out there after all... and, once in a blue moon, it even stops in Europe! It's been painful to see how badly the ET has been struggling this beging of the season and it hurts in particular this week to see how a country like Spain, who was leading the way in recent years hosting 5-6 events every year, is now finding it impossible to host more than one, and even this one, the Open de Espana, has had the prize fund cut by 500k€...

But putting all those negative thoughts aside, the good news about this year's Spanish Open is that virtually the entire creme de la creme of Spanish professional golf are coming to support their home event, which is great to see! Hopefully they will set an example to all other Europeans to support (at least) their home events in these tough times. And of course, the even better news is that The Mechanic is finally back in action after that freak skiing accident a few months ago, really missed his presence over the last period. Great to see also the Italian elite being present, but I can't understand why quite a few other top 100 Europeans, who don't really have other commitments across the pond either, decided it's not worth the effort to play in one of the very few events staged in Europe: Wood, Ramsay, Jamieson, Gallacher, Bjorn, Paul Lawrie, Noren, Wiesberger, etc.

In these conditions, obviously the field strength is going to suffer accordingly, with no chance of getting over the minimum 24 points, but that could be just enough for Sergio (with a bit of luck) to sneak inside the top 10 in the world rankings should he win. Gonzo said that he feels 'psychologically tired' after the Masters week, but he is eager nevertheless to do well in his home event. The tournament is returning after 12 years to the superb Parador de El Saler course in Valencia (Robert Karlsson won the last edition staged here in 2001, somewhat sad to see him sitting on the waiting list at the Heritage this week). It's not a long course (7052 yards/par 72), in a beautiful setting with plenty of holes along the Mediterranean coast. The weather forecast looks OK, with a chance of showers Friday afternoon, otherwise dry, and breezy all week especially Friday and Sunday.

I for one had about enough of the overhyped Masters and really look forward now to some more down-to-earth, good quality golf as well as to a turn in fortunes for the European golf(ers) this week, both in Spain and in Harbour Town...

Lots of great points in there, pd, great to have "proper" tournaments again in super locations.

Quite right, shame on those Europeans you mention; I suppose you can give an asterisk to Bjorn and Lawrie but the other guys need to stand up for their Tour.

Robbie Karlsson is wasting two years (last year and this) of his career and he's fallen in to a trap that one fears other Europeans will follow him in to. This is the second or third time he'll have been the unlucky "first alternate" not to make it - at the same time I see a confluence of many more "international" golfers taking spots the rank-and-file Americans feel they should have. No time to be a European stuck on the margins as Casey has discovered and others surely will.

You can enjoy your Rioja , I'll have a few bottles of Palmetto and let's enjoy some golf!

My prediction for this week: Kjeldsen-Campbell-Luiten-Garcia-Santos

Cheers, kwini

Completely agree that many of the ET guys that are understandably trying now their fortunes on the PGA Tour could very easily end up in a dark hole and find themselves wondering where did everything go wrong... One very simple fact that some pros may overlook when they make such moves is that it is all at the end a game of numbers. Having a big load of 'new' players coming to play on the PGAT won't mean that all of a sudden there would be more places available in the top 5 or top 10 finishers in the PGAT events to fit more people, or indeed in the top 50 or top 100 in the world rankings! 5, 10, 50 and 100 will always be the same...5, 10, 50 and 100, no more, no less, and if things don't seem to work out as hoped or planned, then you better be ready to get out of there quickly before your carrer goes down in a spiral. Something I hope Colsaerts and others like him will figure out before it's too late...

Casey is another good example for all this, and it looks that coming back 'home' to Europe and trying to rebuild his game/confidence/career may start to pay off, will see...Good start for him this morning in Spain. I hope Franny Molinari will find out soon what's been going wrong in his game lately, he really is struggling this year, proping the early leaderboard in Valencia...

Thanks for the notes Pd!

Interesting to see Peter You-line back on the ET again. Good for him, might as well see the world while he's young. Would think it very easy for him to stay in the US and rely on invites based on his US Am win(?) and who is dad is.

Believe Franny Molinari is ill, which may explain his performance this morning. He pulled out of the pro-am yesterday.

themightyone wrote:My prediction for this week: Kjeldsen-Campbell-Luiten-Garcia-Santos

I always new Spaniards have long names, but never heard of this guy...

Bjorn took this week off because he's going to Korea and China the next two weeks. Don't know how much an excuse this is though.

Yes, nice to see the ET in Europe, but it's not lasting long. Would be nice to see Sergio pull this one off.

pedro wrote:Bjorn took this week off because he's going to Korea and China the next two weeks. Don't know how much an excuse this is though.

Yes, nice to see the ET in Europe, but it's not lasting long. Would be nice to see Sergio pull this one off.

I prefer to watch him play golf

Cheers Sand, I only read now his last tweets and seems he's in trouble with his lower back. Not sure if that bothered him for a while or just now recently. Good start by his brother though...

pedro, as you say, that's probably not a very good excuse for Bjorn, specially for a former winner of the Spanish Open like himself (Franny apparently came this week as defending champ inspite of his back problems). Same goes for Paul Lawrie, whose win a couple of years ago in Spain played a big role in rekindling his carreer...

Thanks Setup. Any other thoughts as to who will be performing well this week?

Oh and pd, thanks, great write up once again! Cheers

I'm a Sergio man myself.

After backing Hot Snap yesterday in the Nell Gwyn, I was going to put on some of my ill gotten gains onto Sergio, but at a miserable 5/1, I decided to leave my money in my pocket.

Steady start from the young man, here's hoping.

pd,
I see ALL the names you mentioned as being awol from El Saler are in next week's Korea event (along with a pair of American Johnsons and King Louis), and most are playing in China also.

Not sure that the European Tour and its players are not shooting themselves fairly and squarely in both feet.

I wonder if the answer to the foot shooting is simple: a) income taxes, b) appearance money. I'd love if somebody would ask the pros the question straight forward though.

The only thing I would mention in partial mitigation, would be that after this they have two, better-paying events in the same part of the world. For the guys who played Augusta, there'd be absolutely no point in playing this week if they wanted to play at all for the next fortnight - they'd be travelling from the US, to Europe, to Far Asia. Far more sensible to skip the Spain stop, and fly straight from Georgia to Korea. Even for the guys who sat out last week, I can understand why, if you don't fancy three weeks on the spin, this is the more sensible one to miss out. If the tour's shooting itself in the foot, it's by coming back to mainland Europe for a single week before jetsetting off again, rather than stringing two or three tournaments together.

Anyone notice that Angel Cabrera, after one ET event, is #2 in the RtD rankings? He has played one con-sanctioned event and he didn't even win it.

Angel has played exactly one non co-sanctioned ET event in each of the last three years.

An ET member who doesn't qualify for WGC's and Majors is at significant competitive disadvantage when it comes to the RtD standings

Of course, that's all true Ned... But as it's always the case in tough times, some small sacrifices will be required from all involved to be able to come out of the tough times... I guess what we're also trying to imply here is that it's also up to O'Grady &Co. to think through better the calendar in future and try to place events in Europe in such a way to maximize as much as possible the presence of top European golfers...

Great to see Gonzo's good form continuing...

princedracula wrote:I guess what we're also trying to imply here is that it's also up to O'Grady &Co. to think through better the calendar in future and try to place events in Europe in such a way to maximize as much as possible the presence of top European golfers...

This is exactly it I think pd. The question is, do they want to? I get the feeling that while China, Korea etc remain happy to bankroll the tour, the best spots will carry on going to them, and nothing will change. But it might not be good for the tour long-term, as we've been saying for a while. Unless their ultimate aim is to become more Asian than European I guess; on that note, the rival tours in Asia should probably be a bit careful themselves... at the current rate of things, the ET will be predominantly Asian-based before too long, and the Asian and OneAsia Tours aren't in the best of health as it is. Supporting your events with ET co-sanctioning is one thing, but at what point does it turn into direct competition?

GPB - not sure which point you're trying to make with the Cabrera stat? There's a point that could be made regarding the validity of the R2D if someone can jump in after a single event, but it's worth remembering that they still have a minimum entry requirement - while Cabrera is popping up on the list now, chances are he won't play enough events and will be wiped from the list when the season-ending sums are done. Last time he fulfilled requirements was 2008, and he fell out with tour on that exact issue the following year.
On the other hand, I think his presence at No 2 is probably a reflection of the wider problems the tour has. Given that we've had the Desert tournaments, a couple of WGCs and some smaller events too, it's a worrying sign that only one person has earned more than the Masters gives to its runner-up. There are some guys on the R2D with 11 appearances under their belts already... where's all the prize money? It can't just be getting split very evenly so far. El Pato is onl 24th on the PA money list, in comparison, and that's with 5 other cheques cashed.

Ned

yes, I am well aware that there is a minimum requirement, but doesn't Angel's likely appearance in the top 60 (or 65 or whatever the number is) prevent #66 from playing in the RtD?

And yes, the prize money discrepancy between regular ET events and the Premium events is enormous

Angel's 2nd place check is going to worth 2.5 times what the winner this week is going to get.

Cabrera is a life time member of the ET. So he doesn't have to fulfil a minimum no. of tourneys, or? As I see it, he's already now more or less qualified for the ET final series?

Yes it's scary that you can jump diectly to no.2 with one 2nd place finish - 4 months into the season. Just a sign of the poor performance of ET players in the WGCs and Masters, as well as too many Mickey Mouse tournaments.

It's now less than half of the ET tourneys that are played in Europe, and if you don't count the small opposite tourneys, it's only 40%.

pedro wrote:Cabrera is a life time member of the ET. So he doesn't have to fulfil a minimum no. of tourneys, or? As I see it, he's already now more or less qualified for the ET final series?

I believe Ernie Els was ineligible for the 2012 RtD championship because he had not played enough events.

Happy 20th Birthday, Matteo!!
Great birdie gift at the last hole, should make sure he's around for the weekend...

What a couple of days for Shane Lowry! +6 yesterday followed by -6 today (best round of the week so far, still to play last hole). Not one for the faint hearted to follow, but showing today what he's capable of if he cares enough...

Some Mad(sen) scoring out there, great course though...

PD he was +7 over for the tournament thru 22 holes. plays last 14 in -7!
John Daly and Rory woulda both walked off the course!

GPB wrote:Ned

yes, I am well aware that there is a minimum requirement, but doesn't Angel's likely appearance in the top 60 (or 65 or whatever the number is) prevent #66 from playing in the RtD?

And yes, the prize money discrepancy between regular ET events and the Premium events is enormous

Angel's 2nd place check is going to worth 2.5 times what the winner this week is going to get.

Don't quote me on it, but I think there's a requirement that's set before the Tour Championship event, to have already played your minimum events minus 1 (with the Championship being your final event). So if you're two or more events from your minimum, you're basically kicked out of the standings and everyone moves up one. I believe that's what Cabrera fell foul of when he fell out with the Tour a few years ago, after missing his flight to his final tournament and no longer being eligible for Dubai.

Nice move by one of my older favorites, Rapha Jacq, would be great to see him win again...
Impressive form for Uihlein though, or You-line as Lairdy called him earlier...

Is it just my imagination, or do the French golfers have an impressive record in Espana?
A couple of wins for Levet, one for Bourdy, another for Rapha (he of the gorgeous golf swing); maybe some others?


I wish some of these Europeans were joining the PGA Tour on the back of actually WINNING something.
Very poor return from the Europeans in the dozen or so years they've been flocking over here.
Apart from Rory, Rose and Sergio I'm not sure there have been multiple wins in the States during the past dozen years by any European who transferred to the PGA Tour.

kwinigolfer wrote:
Apart from Rory, Rose and Sergio I'm not sure there have been multiple wins in the States during the past dozen years by any European who transferred to the PGA Tour.

Luke won twice in 2011 (Match Play/Disney). Paddy won twice in 2005 (Honda/Barclays).

Luke started on both Tours simultaneously so deliberately didn't include him, but Harrington has his PGA as well - good call.

Stars not really aligning in Spain - good chance for David Howell to finally break through again. Among quite a few others of course.

Kwini, Didn't Carl Pettersen start on the EuroT?

GPB,
I think so, but an American to all intents and purposes, even including dual citizenship.

Actually, 12 years ago Carl was playing on ET at El Saler in the Spanish Open finishing 16th...

Spaniards vanishing from the top of the leaderboard.
C'mon Jacq, or otherwise my FT is in deep trouble...

No one seems to be able to run away with this... Warren once again throws away a great chance near the end. Can still win it, but not the easier way...

Allez Jacq!! One birdie at the last and who knows...
Kieffer looking good right now...

Did I say not the easy way?!
That was dead easy! Wow!!!!

RE: Pettersson... Carl's goal was to play on the PGA Tour all along. He was basically "Americanized" by the time he finished college at NC state, and was planning to remain here all along to be with his college girlfriend and future wife.

He attempted PGAT Q-school in both 2000 and 2001 but did not advance to the finals either year. But when he finally did get through Q-school in 2002... that was pretty much it for playing in Europe. I think he's played only 5 non co-sanctioned events on the Euro Tour since...

Oh dear, Marc Warren crumbled once again under pressure...
His last five holes read like this: bogey-bogey-(holes bunker shot for birdie)-bogey-bogey

But my man, Jacquelin, got his birdie at the 18th in regular play to get into a play-off with Aguilar and Kieffer. All three just pared first play-off hole (18th), so off to the 18th tee once again...

Followed Aguilar once, on a miserable day which he brightened up considerably; with his golf and demeanour, not just his shoes.

Even so: Allez Rapha!

Fantatstique!! Allez Rapha!!

Wow!! That was some putt from Kieffer!
So, it's between the French and the German now... C'mon Rapha, plese don't capitulate...

Off to the 18th tee for the 9th time this week... we can be here for a while...

Lather...Rinse..and Repeat!

I hope next time Rapha ends up in a different place on that green, he obviously can't make it from that spot...

princedracula wrote:I hope next time Rapha ends up in a different place on that green, he obviously can't make it from that spot...

At least he missed it on the left side this time.

Ah, for f@%# sake...

Time for play-off coffe no. 3...

Perhaps one of them can imitate real life a la Anfield and bite the other?

Is Maxi Kieffer always so slow??

kwinigolfer wrote:Is Maxi Kieffer always so slow??

Erm... yes. Loved the commentator a few holes ago as he was going through his long and rather annoying routine... "we may as well call him Maximillian, we've plenty of time"

Finalement! Certainly the longest play-off that I can remember watching. Don't think I want to see the 18th at El Saler for a while now...

Delighted for Rapha and for my FT. Funny comment in his interview, saying that they're expecting another child in November and that so far he's got a child each year when he got a win...

Let's hope he has plenty more children!
Allez Rapha . . . . and Mrs Rapha of course.

At the rate he was going, he could have missed the birth while still playing in the play-off.

Anyone know what happened with David Howell on the final day?

The numbers suggest a bit of a meltdown...