European Tour 2015 - DP World Tour Championship

by sirbenson Wed 24 Jun 2015, 9:39 pm

First topic message reminder :

I thought with no place to discuss European Tour events, and with important upcoming event. I felt it would be a good idea to set up a thread to I am going to try and keep this updated every week with selected tee times.

by raycastleunited Tue 20 Oct 2015, 1:54 pm

I remember walking up the 9th fairway at the Grove after belting a cracking drive. As I approached my ball and looked towards the distant green on the par 5, I decided 5 iron wedge was the best strategy. When I got to my ball, it was right next to one of those plaques (I was playing from whites not blacks)... from this spot Tiger hit a 5 wood etc etc. I put away the 5 iron, pull out the 3 wood - bring it on. Cue push into rough, hack out and chip on for a bogey. Laugh

by JAS Tue 20 Oct 2015, 3:21 pm

kwinigolfer wrote:Thanks JAS,
I think Westwood will take it northwards, pretty much said that that's what he's thinking. Not sure if Woodhall Spa could cope with a one-off like that?
Perhaps Rose will take it to a links course . . . . . . ?

Well their home courses are Worksop which I don't know and North Hants which I do, North Hants is just off the M3 near fleet so could draw a big crowd, not sure if it has the length or the space though.

Westwood has been known to frequent the Renaissance at Archerfield so that maybe a possibility.

Woodhall I'd put in the same category as Ganton, cracking venue and test but so so remote to get to.

by SmithersJones Tue 20 Oct 2015, 3:30 pm

Westwood will take it to Close House I think - they're one of his sponsors and he has an academy there, I believe.

by raycastleunited Wed 21 Oct 2015, 1:15 pm

Rose will take it to the highest bidder. He's a walking billboard, and if you ever look on his instagram page you will quickly realise that it is basically a corporate advertising page for taylormade. I don't blame him for being commercially focused, but just extinguish any romantic thoughts of the tournament being played at an old school venue.

by raycastleunited Wed 21 Oct 2015, 1:37 pm

Although it's very convenient for London and not surprising at all, I'm a little disappointed with the choice of the Grove... it's a bit unimaginative.

I don't mind the course. It has the truest, slickest and frankly best greens of any course I have played. The green complexes as a whole are great, I love the little run off areas and mounding which catch out imperfect shots but offer a chance to recover. It's just a bit uninspiring from tee to green, and there isn't enough challenge off the tee. It doesn't have the majesty of Woburn or Sunningdale, but not a lot they could have done with the site.

Lovely hotel mind, they treat you very well.

by Snap Hook Thu 22 Oct 2015, 1:13 pm

As no one else seems to have mentioned it yet, but what is Ian Poulter doing?!

I know he admits he is not the sharpest tool in the box, but not considering you might drop out of the Top 50 rankings seems pretty poor to me. This is your job for crying out loud and compounded by an anxious wait for a passport. Clearly needs someone to manage this stuff for him or get somebody new in - yes I am volunteering!

Anyhow seems to have managed a solid round today and fingers crossed he will get a good finish. However I am not a guru of the World Rankings but it would appear some hefty points are about to drop out of his rating, so needs a win soon or Top 75 will be an achievement!

Musing over.

by kwinigolfer Thu 22 Oct 2015, 1:21 pm

Lots on other threads Snap, and you'll be happy to know almost everyone agrees with you. He pretty much took the summer off and his form since his return has been horrendous.
But you're right that he needs Top Tens now just to stay in place.

by Snap Hook Thu 22 Oct 2015, 8:42 pm

Thanks Kwini - I have now read the rankings thread!

Very Happy

by kwinigolfer Fri 23 Oct 2015, 12:43 pm

Poulter in position to contend over the weekend.
If he could pull off the win, he'll also knock off a PGA Tournament requirement for '15/'16 when he plays the WGC-HSBC Champions.
Quite apart from secondary owgr benefits.

by Snap Hook Fri 23 Oct 2015, 12:50 pm

His mate JR looking good - though, Poulter is going to have to go some to beat his mate. I see Poulter is in the Turkey field - if he wins that, would he get in to the HSBC?

My feeling Mr Poulter is going to be playing a lot more golf next year.

As an aside, the planning of these upcoming tournaments is pretty poor, flying HKG - TUR - CHINA - CHINIA - DXB. Surely the Turkey event should have been after China?

by kwinigolfer Fri 23 Oct 2015, 1:04 pm

I don't see any option for the Turkey winner to reach the HSBC field unless otherwise qualified:

https://www.hsbcgolf.com/who-is-qualifying/

But Poults has made it through loopholes before . . . . . . . !

by kouchi Tue 27 Oct 2015, 1:09 am

Snap Hook wrote:His mate JR looking good - though, Poulter is going to have to go some to beat his mate. I see Poulter is in the Turkey field - if he wins that, would he get in to the HSBC?

My feeling Mr Poulter is going to be playing a lot more golf next year.

As an aside, the planning of these upcoming tournaments is pretty poor, flying HKG - TUR - CHINA - CHINIA - DXB. Surely the Turkey event should have been after China?

The 2nd China event at Lake Malaren and the Turkey tournament were swapped because of a G20 meeting in the Antalya region around mid november. A world class golf tournament around a G20 top seems to present too much of a distraction to world leaders. No chance of any greenside presence of mrs.Merkel though thanks to her classic DDR upbringing.

by kwinigolfer Tue 27 Oct 2015, 4:06 pm

Here's some good news for the European Tour:

http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/news/newsid=275784.html#ft5bZwbffSYOxOg0.97

Is it just the view from five time zones away, or are things slowly, but very surely, looking up for the European Tour?

by pedro Tue 27 Oct 2015, 9:11 pm

Don't think so kwini.

John Daly is still getting invites for big ET events.

by kwinigolfer Tue 27 Oct 2015, 9:42 pm

OK pedro, Silly me.
He'll be off on the Champions Tour next spring, so perhaps you'll be rid of him. Rich Beem instead.

by EmmDee57 Thu 29 Oct 2015, 8:52 pm

Played this course a couple of years ago and was very impressed by it. Not too difficult for the club golfer. Wayward shots in the trees could be punched out and wasn't too long off the silver tees.
Surprised to see really low scoring today from the pros but maybe they'll protect it with tougher pins over the next 3 days.
Loved the 18th hole, really good par 5.
Any one else played there?

by sirbenson Thu 29 Oct 2015, 11:17 pm

Not a huge surprise to see scoring that low considering the course has five par 5's and three or four short par 4!?

by I'm never wrong Fri 30 Oct 2015, 8:39 am

Thomas Pieters 5 under after 5 holes

by BlueCoverman Fri 30 Oct 2015, 8:59 am

My golf club run a trip to Belek every year Emm, usually 16 or 20 golfers.
I have been on it four times and played the Montgomerie on three occasions. Great golf courses there as you know and the all-inclusive hotels are excellent.
Our next trip there is for a week at the end of April and we are staying for the first time at the Regnum. That is unless the IS blow it up first when the G20 summit is held there next month!

by hend085 Fri 30 Oct 2015, 11:55 am

is it reasonably priced Blue?
might get a bit cheaper if people share your IS concern!

by EmmDee57 Fri 30 Oct 2015, 12:33 pm

Our group stayed at the Regnum this year. It's an incredible hotel and you'll love it there. It was £300 dearer for us to go back next year and we felt that other hotels still provide top class facilities for less so couldn't justify the extra cost.

Belek is excellent for golf.

by BlueCoverman Fri 30 Oct 2015, 12:58 pm

We are paying £1100 for a weeks all-inclusive at the Regnum including flights hend. That includes five rounds of golf, two on the National, two on the Carya and one on the Montgomerie.

The thing is with staying at the Regnum is they also own the National and the Carya and so you get preferential tee-times at those two courses. Last year we stayed at the Cornelia Diamond and got bumped to a 6.30am tee-off on the Carya which obviously wasn't ideal. The Regnum is rumoured to be owned by Roman Abramovich as Chelsea also have a big training facility there, whether that's true or not I don't know.

My comment about the IS was made a bit tongue in cheek but prices are definitely cheaper now than when we booked in May. That can only be because demand is lower, joking aside I wouldn't have thought that is because people have concerns about the IS in all honesty. The region is some 400 miles approximately from the Syrian border but there can be no doubt that Turkey is very politically unstable at the moment. Especially after the horrendous bombing recently which claimed the lives of around 100 people and I guess there must be more than a few UK golfers who are perhaps reconsidering their destination for their 2016 golfing holiday.

by Bob_the_Job Fri 30 Oct 2015, 1:57 pm

Interesting comparison today (Friday) for two NI players in Turkey - Rory shoots 5 under and drops 2 places, GMac shoots 7 under and climbs 20 places.

by I'm never wrong Fri 30 Oct 2015, 11:17 pm

I heard on the commentary - maybe yesterday - that there are lots of points on offer in Turkey and that if you do well you can leap up the R2D points list. Is this just because the tournament has lots of money on offer, or are there any other factors at play?

by GPB Fri 30 Oct 2015, 11:44 pm

I'm never wrong wrote:I heard on the commentary - maybe yesterday - that there are lots of points on offer in Turkey and that if you do well you can leap up the R2D points list. Is this just because the tournament has lots of money on offer, or are there any other factors at play?

IIRC, Because the purse is about 4-5 times many of the Euro Tournaments. No other multipliers that I am aware of.

by I'm never wrong Sat 31 Oct 2015, 7:12 am

Thanks GPB

by lorus59 Sun 01 Nov 2015, 7:19 am

I was checking the European Tour website for today's tee times and noticed that McIlroy is in the second last group and Aphibarnrat is in the final group. I could have sworn Rory holed his putt on the 18th first.

by kwinigolfer Sun 01 Nov 2015, 1:11 pm

To the Victor go the spoils.
Must be Ryder Cup year - good to see. All a bit tired and emotional at the end though . . . . . . . .

by sirbenson Sun 01 Nov 2015, 1:16 pm

Great to see Victor winning! He has had a difficult time since the Ryder Cup golfing wise and personal reasons (as he just said so in his post victory interview)

by I'm never wrong Sun 01 Nov 2015, 1:28 pm

kwinigolfer wrote:All a bit tired and emotional at the end though . . . . . . . .

Victor in tears, hugging his coach in full glare of the people around the green and the TV camera yet Mark Roe comments "Victor and his coach sharing a private moment"

by I'm never wrong Sun 01 Nov 2015, 3:27 pm

GPB wrote:IIRC, Because the purse is about 4-5 times many of the Euro Tournaments. No other multipliers that I am aware of.

It seems there is an enhanced points system for the Final Series of the Race to Dubai. The European Tour mention it HERE But it doesn't actually make it clear.

SkySports talks about it HERE Where it says that 8 million points are on offer. But then you had to know that there was a purse of "only" 7 million Euros.

Looking at the winner Dubuisson, he jumped 1,333,330 R2D points before and after the event, but "only" 1,027,669 Euros according to the ET website......unless someone knows different.

by GPB Sun 01 Nov 2015, 6:06 pm

FWIW: The EuroTour schedule says the Turkey Purse was 7 Million Dollars (not Euros). The purses are in Dollars for the three remaining events.

http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/tournament/index.html#SbkDiHtGT2L0j09b.97

by GPB Sun 01 Nov 2015, 7:32 pm

http://golfweek.com/news/2015/nov/01/european-tour-golf-final-series-changes-2016-race/

Alex Miceli at Golfweek wrote:ANTALYA, Turkey – The European Tour’s Final Series will look much different next year, with the WGC-HSBC Champions and BMW Masters dropping out, sources close to the Tour told Golfweek.

The European Tour long has seen the HSBC Champions as a poor fit, with players being limited by World Golf Championships qualifying restrictions. BMW, the German automaker, has decided to drop its sponsorship of the Masters event in China.

The HSBC conundrum never was more evident than this week on Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast. France’s Victor Dubuisson won his second Turkish Airlines Open in three years but was denied a spot in the second Fall Series event because he wasn’t inside the Official World Golf Ranking’s top 50 at last week's deadline.

“I discovered half an hour ago that I was not playing next week,” Dubuisson, who entered the week ranked 69th, said after his victory. “When I holed my putt, I was under the presumption to play next week. That's one of the reasons why I was so happy was that I could play the four events, but apparently the rules have changed and, you know, when you win a big event like this one, go back to top 50 in the world, top 10 in the Race to Dubai, it's not normal that I cannot play next week.”

Dubuisson’s plight will be addressed with forthcoming changes. The Turkish Airlines Open will remain the first event in the 2016 Final Series. But the second and third tournaments are undetermined, and the final event will be the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Earlier this week, the Turkish Airlines Open, which was played at The Montgomerie Maxx Royal here, extended its relationship with the European Tour for three years, through 2018. Turkish Airlines will continue as the title sponsor, but the tournament will move to the nearby Carya Golf Club on what is known as the Turkish Golf Coast.

The fate of the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, however, remained uncertain.

HSBC, the London-based banking company, has sponsored the prestigious event since 2005 but reportedly was looking at not extending its contract with the World Golf Championships past this year because of increased scrutiny of the bank and its expenses.

“This is our last year of our golf portfolio, so we are in discussions with everybody,” Giles Morgan, HSBC’s global head of sponsorship and events, said at the Sports Matters industry conference in September in Singapore, according to Agence France-Presse.

“We’ll make announcements when we’ve decided and figured out. Contracts come to an end. So you then have to go through a process of doing quite a lot of analysis about, has it worked; are we getting what we want; are they getting what they want? Is the partnership working?" Morgan added. “And then we sit down in a room and make decisions. We’re in the middle of that process right now.”

However, sources have indicated that HSBC is now planning to stay on as the title sponsor for at least one more year. Though the tournament will not be part of the Final Series, it will be held the week before the Turkish Airlines Open.

The European Tour would not comment on the changes.

by kwinigolfer Sun 01 Nov 2015, 8:21 pm

Seems to me the HSBC-Champions has rather lost its meaning, become Americanized (OK, PGATourized) but not supported by those it was modified to accommodate. Not really sure why it was part of the E.T's Final Series.

I wonder if the PGA Tour will dispense w/CIMB if next year's WGC-HSBC disappears and is not replaced; or will someone else take it over and keep it in the Far East?

Such intrigue . . . . .

by pedro Sun 01 Nov 2015, 10:16 pm

The HSBC is a I am a twonk of the highest order in the final series. It's only put in there in lack of alternatives, to boost the total R2D purse and lure in top players. The fact that "normal" R2D campaigners, like Dubuisson, is ineligable to play next week is a disgrace.

by I'm never wrong Sun 08 Nov 2015, 8:44 pm

I seem to be asking a lot of questions lately.
I've just been looking at the ENTRY LIST for the BMW Masters. Why is Justin Rose an invitee rather than taking up his position as in the top 60 OWGR?

by kwinigolfer Tue 10 Nov 2015, 4:17 pm

No idea Inw, but for some unfathomable reason that happens every so often, a seemingly illogical aberration in the categories.

But this is an interesting article from the Telegraph, suggesting the "Final Series" will have a different look next year:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/europeantour/11985298/European-Tour-to-reveal-new-entry-rules-and-seasons-finale.html

Had seen some of these changes suggested, but some seem new. All for the best as far as I can see.

by sirbenson Tue 10 Nov 2015, 6:42 pm

I assume the WGC will still be counted towards the Race to Dubai but just not in the final series, I take it the Nedbank will replace the BMW calendar wise.

Going back to players who have joint membership....Patrick Reed has coped quite well (yes I know the majority of his events are Majors and WGC's)

by pedro Tue 10 Nov 2015, 9:16 pm

So Turkey-Sun City-Dubai, with a possible WGC/Shanghai intermezzo? Not quite how FedEx would ship their parcel - if you know what I mean..

by GPB Fri 13 Nov 2015, 3:48 pm

Bjerregaard would go to top 3 in both Rankings for the Euro RC Team should he go on to win this week.

by super_realist Fri 13 Nov 2015, 6:15 pm

Euro Ryder Team looks very Rookie heavy right now. Means a couple of old heads will probably get the picks if it remains the same.

Lot's of fingers needing pulled out pronto.

by GPB Fri 13 Nov 2015, 6:20 pm

super_realist wrote:Euro Ryder Team looks very Rookie heavy right now. Means a couple of old heads will probably get the picks if it remains the same.

Lot's of fingers needing pulled out pronto.

Not enough picks for all the stalwarts that are well outside the top nine.

Westy, GMAC, Poulter, Sergio, Kaymer

by sirbenson Sat 14 Nov 2015, 12:17 pm

No surprise to see Fisher playing well, when I was at the British Masters a few weeks back he played very well from tee to green, just never made a putt.

Also saw Broberg and he goes at every pin!

by kwinigolfer Sat 14 Nov 2015, 1:15 pm

Q-School underway. Some surprising names, and some winning Walker (and ex Ryder) Cuppers:

http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/qualifying/season=2015/tournamentid=2015995/leaderboard/index.html#JQwPb0ODWjKCouOg.97

by kwinigolfer Sun 15 Nov 2015, 2:31 pm

Good spot with Broberg, sirb . . . . . . .

Happy to see him break through - lots made about new faces on the PGA Tour, but that tends to overlook the break throughs that so many 20-somethings are making on the E.T.

by sirbenson Sun 15 Nov 2015, 4:21 pm

Yep, very impressive Kwini! No surprise he has made most birdies this season on the European, I dunno how true that is but I heard it on yesterday's coverage!

by sirbenson Sun 15 Nov 2015, 4:25 pm

Who is going to win Rookie of the year?

An, Fitzpatrick or Lahiri?

by GPB Wed 18 Nov 2015, 2:23 am

Keith Pelley is indicating the EuroT flagship has moved from London to Dubai

http://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2015/11/17/european-tours-chief-executive-bmw-pga-purse-increase-dramatically-14221/

Symbolic?

by Shotrock Wed 18 Nov 2015, 1:17 pm

Interesting article and comments. Sounds as if Keith Pelley understands (finally) what really drives the professional game: money. And, now that a wealthy Chinese conglomerate owns Wentworth, I'm guessing they have the resources to meet Pelley's vision (demands?).

by pedro Wed 18 Nov 2015, 4:02 pm

Why does Pelley feel the urge to say that? Is he peed off that the BMW Masters in China is off? Yes he may put pressure on the Chinese owners of Wentworth but isn't he p'ing off BMW and kissing up to the Dubai sponsors?

If he has deemed Dubai the flagship event there's no way back, or?

And what's with his € vs $ and ET PGATour comparisons? He can never compete on money and purses anyway, so a bit academic comparison.

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