European Tour 2016 - Dubai

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Selected RD 1 Tee Times
1 07:40 Felipe AGUILAR Raphaël JACQUELIN
1 07:50 Renato PARATORE Mikko ILONEN
1 08:00 Romain WATTEL Jaco VAN ZYL
1 08:10 Matthew SOUTHGATE Kiradech APHIBARNRAT
1 08:20 Ricardo GOUVEIA Padraig HARRINGTON
1 08:30 George COETZEE Pablo LARRAZÁBAL
1 08:40 Marcus FRASER Brandon STONE
1 08:50 Victor DUBUISSON David LIPSKY
1 09:00 Jorge CAMPILLO Julien QUESNE
1 09:10 Tommy FLEETWOOD Nacho ELVIRA
1 09:25 Joakim LAGERGREN Soomin LEE
1 09:35 Nicolas COLSAERTS Alejandro CAÑIZARES
1 09:45 Richard STERNE Byeong Hun AN
1 09:55 Charl SCHWARTZEL Grégory BOURDY
1 10:05 Rikard KARLBERG Alexander LEVY
1 10:15 Shane LOWRY David HORSEY
1 10:25 Bradley DREDGE Matthew FITZPATRICK
1 10:35 Richard BLAND Scott HEND
1 10:45 Francesco MOLINARI Andrew JOHNSTON
1 10:55 Thomas PIETERS Søren KJELDSEN
1 11:10 Sergio GARCIA Haotong LI
1 11:20 Thongchai JAIDEE Ross FISHER
1 11:30 Joost LUITEN Jeunghun WANG
1 11:40 Martin KAYMER Andy SULLIVAN
1 11:50 Lee WESTWOOD Bernd WIESBERGER
1 12:00 Thorbjørn OLESEN Chris WOOD
1 12:10 Louis OOSTHUIZEN Rafa CABRERA BELLO
1 12:20 Branden GRACE Tyrrell HATTON
1 12:30 Rory MCILROY Alex NOREN
1 12:40 Danny WILLETT Henrik STENSON

Lipsky's win also came out of the blue but he sort of disappeared?

I'm never wrong wrote:Didn't mean to create confusion, just wondered why Boxy said it. If there are one year exemptions I guess that's it. Ta everyone.

I'm glad you brought it up... that's the only way we learn... :-)

Pieters alongside Clarke this week in Denmark...

And Kaymer auditioning with Bjorn, Kjeldsen & Lowry with Paul Lawrie!

Lowry is surely the longest shot of the lot.

I suspect Clarke told Westwood that he didn't have to play this week.

Agreed about Lowry; don't think his head is screwed on right at the moment - he needs to go back to playing golf and stop aspiring to phony targets.
Falling between two stools at the moment and feel he'd've done much better to play Bethpage and let the chips fall where they may (pun not intended).

GPB,
DC likely told lw1 to play either last week or this. Nothing special about his effort last week unfortunately.

Don't think Kaymer needs auditioning, I think they all know what he stands for. He'll probably just talk tactics and potential pairings with TB.

But I find the Pieters / Clarke pairing interesting. Don't know Pieters that well so don't know what he has to offer outside the ropes and whether he could be a good fit for the team.

No pain, no Dane...

http://app.europeantour.com/webapp/news/newsid=305995.html

Wonder if the American RC team will bring in some Navy Seals to try the same thing?

Pieters trying to justify a pick... -7 after 12

Fantastic performance from Pieters, making a strong case even stronger!

Just heard a new (to me) golf phrase, uttered by Richard Boxall on Sky. It's called the "Son-in-law" shot - not quite as expected.

A 62 for Pieters. And he's playing with Darren.

Pieters and Lagergren only 23 shots ahead of Jin Jeung, always a reliable worst round/last place selection.

So far we've seen a HIO on the famous 16th as well as an albatross...

Tom Lewis 57 watch

WOW!!!

Twelve under after 13 holes!!!

While there is a legit 59 watch (or better), USA Golf Channel switches from the Denmark tournament to the web-com event in Oregon, at 9 am Oregon time.

Looped out, so dropped shot. But a par 5 coming up.

Well done Tom Lewis, not a great finish, but sure he'd've taken 62 six hours ago.


Lowry & Olesen may not have been able to play their way on to Capt Clarke's flight to MSP but they can sure as hell play themselves off it. 59's needed by both on Friday!

Gutsy fightback from Lowry!

great effort from him. lowest score of the day

Kaymer staking his claim . . . . .

Really cool what the Made in Denmark tournament has done in creating "Himmerland Hill" at the short par-3 16th hole. It very much reminds me of the "old" Phoenix Open #16 before it got infrastructure and went corporate. Incredible crowds, granted way less rowdy than Phoenix... but still the same kind of atmosphere...

Most weeks the Euro Tour has so much trouble getting larger and enthusiastic crowds. The Irish Open and this event are really raising the bar in getting fans to show up and get involved... Most of the rest of the Euro Tour, and even some PGAT events should take note.

Some signs that the E.T. is starting to "get it" with the tournaments, especially those where Pros themselves are engaged.

There's a fine line though, and I think the otherwise very gallery-friendly Travelers misses the boat by having the 16th green almost inaccessible and the 17th surrounded by corporate grandstands. Great for TV but fans on the ground miss out.

Must be bad weather forecasted tomorrow. Going off on split tees and dew-busting. First tee time at 7:30 local time.

This is an incredible finish from Thomas Pieters! Darren Clarke must pick him, will win a good few majors!

DC has a very difficult decision to make doesn't he??!!
I'll bet he was hoping a veteran, or even Lowry would show him something.
I would have gone for Molinari earlier, but he played himself out of it.
Kaymer and Pieters as a partnership? Could do worse . . . . . .

kwinigolfer wrote:DC has a very difficult decision to make doesn't he??!!
I'll bet he was hoping a veteran, or even Lowry would show him something.
I would have gone for Molinari earlier, but he played himself out of it.
Kaymer and Pieters as a partnership? Could do worse . . . . . .

Kaymer would pick Pieters....just had an interview on Sky, I wonder has Martin been told he is in already!

Looks like Pieters will join Kaymer and Westwood as Captains picks.

If Knox doesn't get picked, I suspect he will be jaded by the whole process of joining the European tour.

That would not bode well for a player like Jon Rahm ever joining the European Tour.

I'm sure Clarke will get stick if Europe loses and Clarke didn't pick Pieters. I remind that the US moved their deadline back to be able to pick red hot players - like Horschel was back then. And Clarke would not risk to get criticized for not picking Europes Horschel.

Clarke will get stick whoever he picks if he loses - hindsight is always a wonderful thing

I took a bet on Kjeldsen getting the last pick but I'm not sure he's done enough despite being heavily favoured on the 606v2 poll.

I'm just a little worried that Pieters is still a bit green to be thrown into that when we already have a lot of rookies. I know Soren would also be a rookie but he's still more experienced

The only thing that speaks in favour of Kjeldsen is his experience. But I'm not sure if he has proven himself on the big stage. Yes, Volvo Masters and Irish Open, plus good Major performances, but on a completely different level than LW or Kaymer. You can say the same about Pieters but at least he's hot. A couple of weeks ago I'd have picked SK but am probably leaning towards TP now (without knowing him and his personality I should add.)

Very difficult for Pieters to be overlooked now. I said a few days ago Kaymer, Westwood & Knox. Probably shouldn't judge over one weekend but have to say Pieters probably just overtook Knox. Clarke could of course ignore the rookie/experience balance and go for both but I doubt that's what he'll do. The big questions re Pieters are, can he sustain the current rich vein of form for at least another month and can he step up on the biggest stage. Knox didn't have a great weekend clearly, was it just a bad week? what if he wins one of the next 2 tournaments? Incidentally, why do we pick 2 weeks before the Americans do? Kaymer's form is decent if not spectacular but coupled with his experience should be enough. Westwood I'm not so sure, he's been better this year than last but apart from the Masters 2nd place hasn't exactly set the heather alight but again the experience will be a heavy factor. Clarke shut the door on having him as a vice (unless he goes for 6) so I'm guessing he's already pencilled him in as a pick.

Why do you guys always talk about "rookies" as if they are all of the same ilk? For example Spieth in 2014 was well on the way to being one of the best players in the world whereas someone like Donaldson is just there for the ride.

It is not a bad thing per se, but if all your rookies are young, thin skinned, out of form and have never performed on the big stage you’d have to worry. That's why I'm not so worried about the likes of Rafa.

Mac,
That's a particularly dumbarse thing to say about Donaldson, even for you.

Spieth won 2 1/2 points, Donaldson was playing well going into the RC and earned 3 points, including that decisive win against Keegan Bradley.

"there for the ride"? Only in your warped sense of logic.

Intentionally ironic group playing together:
Wiesberger, who would have seemed likely to be a Ryder Cupper a year ago but has disappeared.
Noren, who would surely have qualified if fully fit for a year.
Westwood, Captain's pick!

kwinigolfer wrote:Intentionally ironic group playing together:
Wiesberger, who would have seemed likely to be a Ryder Cupper a year ago but has disappeared.
Noren, who would surely have qualified if fully fit for a year.
Westwood, Captain's pick!

Wiesberger and Noren must be thinking: “B!tch!”

Total shocker (and I don't mean the three digit sex maneuver) for FitzyPoo. +5 and really struggling for form over the recent months. His top 50 OWGR will probably be in jeopardy if he doesn't get things going soon. 5 missed cuts and not much to shout about when he has made the cut since his Nordea Masters win.

Yup, Not what DC wanted from most of his RC crew. Westwood in particular needs to get going, no point in having his "general" misfiring. Bogeys on two of the three Par-5's somehow increasingly typical.

Looks like at least seven European Ryder Cuppers are committed for Italy in two weeks.

Kwini

Whats the deal with wonder boy DeChambaeu? It was mentioned in twitter that he had also had a shocker today in the Omega. Does he have a route to the PGAT or the European tour or is he off to the minor tours next year?

Qualified for the four tournaments of the web.com Finals, starting next week.
We followed him for a few holes at Hartford, slow and seems a bit entitled in the way he seemed to relate to his playing partners. Boring. But hits it a mile.

Nice eagle for lw1 on the Par-4, and now looks safely in for the weekend. BUT: A par-5 to come . . . . . . . .

Another poor week for DeChambeau. Off to the wtf's.

Good effort by Mac's favourite Fitz to birdie four of the last five holes to, hopefully, make the cut on the number.

Why does Mac have such a downer on Fitzpatrick. Surely not because of the old 2 gay irishmen joke?

I like Fitz, just ended up in the habit of joking about his bed wetting in college.


Would just like to see him recover some form as it would be tough on him if he slipped out of the top 50 and had to get back. As Manasero has shown us it isn't easy for a young guy to claw good form back.

Beef made it to the top of a mountain.

Beef on a Hilltop. :

Thomas Pieters withdraws