Some whacky thoughts and golden moments from 2017
When Sergio Garcia was presented with his first Green Jacket in the butler’s cabin at the Masters in April, the goose bumps felt by millions of golf fans around the world were a good indication of the exceptional golf year that lay in store for us.
It was not only the happy and in love Spaniard, who went on to win three tournaments this season and finish fourth in the ‘Race to Dubai’ rankings, that thrilled us with his golf. A few new kids on the block stamped their mark on the Tours too. Indeed it was another Spaniard, 23-year old Jon Rahm who played some glorious golf in his first season to become ‘Rookie of the Year’ with two superb wins. Rahm was victorious in the Irish Open in July and then closed out with a tremendous win in the DP World Tour Championships in Dubai.
As the sound of fireworks exploding outside intensifies, it’s time to begin the countdown to midnight, but first let’s reflect on a few whacky thoughts and golden moments from 2017.
Spanish dreams
2017 was a year in which Spanish and English dreams came true. Sergio Garcia’s victory in the Masters at Augusta National (6-9 April) after a dramatic sudden-death play-off with Olympic Champion Justin Rose on the very day that the Spaniard’s late friend and hero, Seve Ballesteros would have celebrated his 60th birthday, is the sort of stuff that fairy tales are made of. And if all of that wasn’t special enough, he was able to share the momentous occasion with his beautiful bride-to-be, Angela.
In fact, it is true to say that the Spanish and English dominated in Europe this season and seriously impressed on the world stage. You only need to take a look at the ‘Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex’ to see that the seven players who topped the final list were all either Spanish or English, which is a pretty unique. The European Tour’s Order of Merit began back in 1971. It was an Englishman, Peter Oosterhuis who led the rankings in those early years until 1975.
Fleetwood number one in Europe
The ultimate honour of becoming Europe’s Number One golfer this year went to England’s Tommy Fleetwood. It was the crowning glory of a season that just kept getting better and better, both on and off the golf course. In claiming his first Race to Dubai title, Fleetwood beat compatriot Justin Rose into second place. Jon Rahm was third followed by Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton and Ross Fisher (England). Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello came seventh.
Two of these Englishmen, Hatton and Rose, owe their impressive end of year ranking to a purple patch in the Autumn when both enjoyed back-to-back victories. Tyrrell Hatton started the trend when he successfully defended his title in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championships (5-8 October). He followed his mind-blowing 24-under par winning tally in Scotland with a score of 21-under par for victory in the Italian Open a week later. A timely present for Hatton’s 26th birthday which he also celebrated in Italy on the 14th October.
Rose blooms again
Justin Rose had had a pretty lean season since being crowned the Olympic Golf Champion in 2016. Yet he blossomed in October with back-to-back wins in two of the Tour’s richly-rewarded end of season tournaments. His victory in the WGC-HSBC Champions by two shots at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China after a closing 67 was followed a week later by a scintillating score of 18-under par to snatch the Turkish Airlines Open title.
The Turkish Airlines Open is part of the European Tour’s lucrative Rolex Series which comprises eight special tournaments each with a prize fund of at least 7 million dollars. These two titles alone earned Rose a whopping 2,385,299 euros in prizemoney.
Not the Year of the Tiger
It was a golf season where prize money for the elite few became almost obscene. The top ten players on the final European money-list also shared a 5 million dollar bonus. It was a year in which former World Number One Tiger Woods made sensational headlines once again, but for all the wrong reasons. And it was a year in which Tiger Woods was rumoured yet again to be giving up golf due to his back injury only to make another comeback in the Bahamas in November. He celebrated his 42nd birthday yesterday, 30 December. Let’s hope for Tiger and his many loyal fans around the world that the year ahead will be one to cherish – both on and off the golf course.
That’s enough Tiger sentiment for now, let’s get back to our collection of whacky thoughts and golden moments from 2017.
Scores of 24-under par, the new norm?
Just when we were getting used to the idea of 23-under par becoming the amazing score for the pros to beat on Tour, one season later the likes of Tyrrell Hatton raised the stakes again. Will it be 25 under in 2018?
Actually, it’s highly likely. Just take a look at some of the players who are shooting rounds of 62 these days. Sweden’s Alex Noren, aged 35, clinched the BMW PGA Championship title by shooting a course record-equalling 62 in the final round at Wentworth. In July, Branden Grace from South Africa soared up the leaderboard in the Open at Royal Birkdale on the Saturday after his stunning 62.
Perhaps even more remarkable is the 63 produced by 53-year old Miguel Angel Jiménez in the Hong Kong Open in November. The flamboyant Spaniard certainly knows how to kick-off the European Tour’s new season in style. He showcased seven birdies in his final round of 63 to become the oldest player in the history of the European Tour to shoot a round of 63 or under.
It is only the third time that someone over the age of 50 has achieved that. Jimenez bettered his own record created in the 2014 Turkish Airlines Open. It was Bernhard Langer (Germany) who first set the pace in the Hong Kong Open of 2008.
When it comes to shooting low scores, it just goes to show that age is not a barrier. There is hope for us all in the New Golf Year!
Baby inspiration – what’s in a name?
Our name tip for golfing parents-to-be for the coming year: Jordan. Yes, the name of ‘Jordan’ could well be seeing a rise in popularity in 2018 for new-born babies. After some scintillating golf in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in July, the fascinating young American Jordan Spieth added a third Major to his collection just a few days before his 24th birthday. A week later, Jordan won again. However, this time the honour went to Jordan Smith. The 24-year old Englishman clinched his first European Tour title after an exciting sudden-death play-off in the Porsche European Open in Hamburg.
If you’re not convinced by the name Jordan, then consider a name that begins with the letter J. In 2017 there was a plethora of winners on the European Tour whose names begin with this lucky letter. In addition to Jordan Spieth and Jordan Smith, there was also Jeunghun Wang; Julian Suri; Jason Norris; Jon Rahm; as well as Justin Rose and Justin Thomas. What’s in a name? Inspiration to become the next great golfer perhaps.
IN MEMORIAM
John Jacobs and Tommy Horton
Ironically in a golf season where prize money in tournaments hit record levels, sadly the world said farewell to two of Europe’s golfing greats: John Jacobs (pictured left) who had been so influential in creating today’s lucrative European Tour, and Tommy Horton, a stalwart of the European Senior Tour.
John Jacobs OBE passed away in January, at the age of 91, and Tommy Horton MBE in December, at the age of 76. Their passing at the beginning and at the end of the season is poignant. It marks the end of an era. The two legendary players will be long-remembered and honoured. In my mind, they stand like a pair of glorious monumental bookends – denoting an important chapter in the history of European golf.
However, their legacy will live on far beyond 2017. Jacobs was responsible for injecting new life and new wealth into the professional circuit and became known as the ‘founding father of the European Tour’. Although an eight time winner on the main Tour, Horton enjoyed even more success on the European Senior Tour with a total of 23 victories. He won the John Jacobs Trophy a record of five times for finishing as Number One Senior Player at the end of the season. Indeed, his dominance was so great that he won six tournaments on the Senior Tour in 1997. READ MORE.
Spieth – a drop of genius
There was the usual cocktail of weird and wonderful moments which took place this season. Jordan Spieth’s drop in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale is one that springs to mind. The young American genius looked well on his way to collecting the Claret Jug. Indeed, the atmosphere was a little flat when, all of a sudden, from nowhere, he hit a wild tee-shot 60 yards wide of the fairway at the 13th hole.
Spieth’s ball hit a spectator on the head before disappearing into the dunes. Yet the young Texan did not fluster. He was on a mission. He simply spent the next 45 minutes pacing up and down the hill amongst the crowds weighing up all the options before dropping his ball onto the practice ground clear of the HGV’s to leave himself with a shot of some 260 yards to the green. A brilliant shot which just missed the green. A chip and a putt later, he had saved par. Mission accomplished!
Spieth was really pumped up after that. Indeed, the confidence boost saw him finish in a blaze of glory to seize the Open title three ahead of fellow American Matt Kuchar. How does a golf genius come down to earth after all that excitement? A fishing holiday with his father and brother, apparently.
Lexi stripped of title
Ladies golf suffered a bitter blow in 2017. With sponsorship deals becoming more and more difficult to seal, what a tragedy it was to see the winner of the women’s first Major of the year stripped of her title. American Lexi Thompson should have won the ANA Inspiration at Mission Hills CC in the US. However, apparently a television viewer noticed that she had replaced her ball incorrectly on the 17th green on Saturday. Spookily, it was the Saturday the first of April. But sadly for Thompson it was no joke. On Sunday, the American was penalised four penalty strokes for her ‘misdemeanor’. The shocked Thompson consequently ended-up in a play-off with So Yeon-ryu which the South Korean won. Ouch for Lexi! Whilst rules are rules, such publicity is not exactly an inspiration for attracting new golfers to the game.
On a happier note, a schoolgirl of 14 played her way into the history books in the summer when she won a tournament on the Ladies European Tour. Atthaya Thitikul from Thailand was just 14 years, 4 months and 19 days old when she won the Thailand Championship in July by two strokes to become the youngest winner ever on Tour. Brilliant – now that’s inspiring!
Ace golfers to the fore!
We’d like to shine the end-of-season spotlight on three particular ace golfers. There is a quirky tale behind each of their hole-in-one achievements.
Miko Ilonen (pictured), a 37-year old Tour professional from Finland, had the honour of making the 1,000th hole-in-one in the history of the European Tour when his tee-shot flew into the cup at the 14th hole at The Dutch GC during the KLM Open in September. Rain had delayed play during the opening day of the Dutch Open Championship which meant Ilonen did not start his first round until Friday. He holed his tee-shot at the 129-metre 14th with a 9-iron. What a way to start the tournament!
Ilonen was naturally delighted with his ace. But spare a thought for the amateur who had joined his group on that special hole. By holing his tee-shot, Ilonen, a five-time winner on the European Tour, in effect denied the golfer, the chance to ‘Beat the Pro’. You can’t beat an ace!
The entertaining pro challenge series, which was launched at the 2016 KLM Open, gives a number of lucky amateurs the chance of teeing-off alongside the pros at the par 3, 14th arena hole surrounded by grandstands and buzzing with golf fans, when the sun is shining. Anyone who scores better than the pro here goes home with two KLM airline tickets to a European destination of their choice.
Luck of the Irish
Dutch golfer Joost Luiten had two holes-in-one in 2017. His first ace was in the first round of the Irish Open at Portstewart GC in July and his second on the last day of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, North Carolina, US in August. Alas, for Holland’s sole player on the European Tour there was no luxury car prize on offer on either of the holes!
Luiten went one better in Spain. Playing in the Andalucia Valderrama Masters in October, he made a rare albatross on the 11th hole. He holed his second shot on the 509-meter par 5 hole on the second day to take the lead in the tournament for a while. Luiten went on to take second place, just one shot adrift of tournament host Sergio Garcia. It was a timely boost for the Dutch player which lifted him back into the top-100 of the world.
Yippee for Joop!
A hole-in-one is something every golfer dreams about – even amateurs. For Joop Heeck his dream has come true – not once, but twice! The Dutch amateur golfer has made two holes-in-one on the same hole at his club in Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel in the south of Holland. Both were in the month of October. And both were on the challenging par-three 9th (128 metres) over the water at Hitland GC. He celebrated his first ace on 10 October 2005 after hitting a 7-wood from the yellow tees. On 24 October 2017, he made his second hole-in-one at the 9th, this time playing from the red tees. What a way to finish the golf season! Well done, Joop, and roll on next October!
Pure inspiration from Gary Player
On the first day of November 2017, the great Gary Player celebrated his 82nd birthday. What an inspiration the South African golfer has been over the decades. And, indeed, still is today at his ripening age. Player has won 165 tournaments on six continents over six decades including nine Major victories on the regular tours. He is a true testament as to how fit the game of golf can keep you – both mentally and physically. Time and time again he proves that age is just a number.
Dressed in his signature black outfit for most of his illustrious career for which he became known as ‘The Black Knight’, long may the legendary gentleman of golf reign over this wonderful sport!
In April, we look forward to seeing Gary Player (pictured above) at the opening ceremony of the Masters once again, teeing-off at Augusta National with other legends of the game in the time-honoured tradition.
“Get happy. Play golf!” is our motto at Golfing Inspirations. Make it happen in 2018!
In the meantime, enjoy the fireworks tonight!
Wendy Hoad
Editor
MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: Sergio Garcia on his way to victory in the Andalucia Valderrama Masters. MINIS: Sergio Garcia, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, and Justin Rose. Tommy Fleetwood, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Sergio Garcia and Tyrrell Hatton. Alex Noren, Branden Grace, Bernhard Langer and Miguel Angel Jiménez. John Jacobs and Tommy Horton. Jordan Spieth on his way to Open victory. Miko Ilonen in action at the BMW Championships (Golfsupport). Final featured photograph: Gary Player.