James looking to end year with a bang at Patriot All-America

University of South Florida golfer Richard James is looking to finish a progressive year with victory in the Patriot All-America. Contested over the Gold Course at Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield Park, Arizona, James currently finds himself three shots off the lead with a 36-hole total of 138 (-2).

The invitational event — entry is primarily based on individuals having earned Ping All-American honours the previous season in NCAA Divisions I, II, III colleges as well as the NAIA and NJCAA Divisions I and II — is currently led by Cody Proveaux, the Clemson freshman’s second round 64 (-6) giving him a two stroke lead on five-under.

But with the anything-can-happen nature of a closing 18 holes, Proveaux will have one eye over his shoulder; a tightly-bunched leaderboard means anyone can jump from the pack, and, after a second round 67 (-3), Aberystwyth man James has the confidence to be the main threat.

Should the Welshman be able to tame the 14th and 17th holes — on which he is a cumulative four-over par for the first two rounds — then expect his scoring over the remainder of the course to make him a factor.

In a share of third place with six other players, James will have to leave the blocks quickly if he is to challenge.

Richy Werenski lies in between Proveaux and the chasing pack, Werenski’s second round 66 (-4) having elevated him to solo second.

Scoring updates available here.

McGinley has the tools for successful Ryder Cup captaincy

Paul McGinley sank the winning putt in the 2002 Ryder Cup. Photo via mikekingphoto.

Rory McIlroy is right. Paul McGinley should be the European captain at the 2014 Ryder Cup.

When the PGA of America recently announced that Tom Watson is to lead Team U.S.A. in the Ryder Cup matches at Glenagles in two years’ time, the response was mostly one of shock. The body that makes the decision in America broke its usual criteria for selecting a skipper (major champion, still relevant on the PGA Tour, in mid-to-late forties) one sensed out of slight desperation, but there is no doubt Watson is a shrewd choice.

The appointment of the European captain should cause no such surprise, but Watson’s selection has caused many on this side of the Atlantic to think again. They should not.

Watson is an icon in the game. An eight-time major winner, in Scotland he is loved more than their own because four of his five Open Championships came in the country where golf began. He is universally respected and admired, but not without a killer edge.

The calls for the European captain to have, in the words of Darren Clarke, a ‘huge presence,’ are an exercise in futility against Watson. What the selection committee must not do is be drawn into a meaningless fight to choose a ‘Hollywood’ name to battle Watson. They will only lose.

That is why Paul McGinley should be given the nod. He is a traditionalist in the vein of Watson, one not prone to hyperbole and extravagance, a working man’s golfer. His curriculum vitae pales in comparison to Darren Clarke’s — his main challenger for captaincy — but what he lacks in tournament wins, McGinley certainly makes up for in team leadership experience.

The diminutive Irishman was vice-captain in the 2010 and 2012 Ryder Cups and led Great Britain and Ireland to victory in the Vivendi Seve Trophy in 2009 and 2011.

He would be a captain in the vein of Jose Maria Olazabal: quiet, dilligent, a perfectionist. These are exactly the qualities that should be present in the man selected by the European committee in little over a month’s time. These are qualities which are the countermeasure to the blockbuster Watson. The European David to the American Goliath.

Support for McGinley has come from none other than Rory McIlroy. The world’s best golfer tweeted that he would ‘love to see Paul McGinley go up against him [Watson] as European Captain at Gleneagles.’ Like McIlroy I also agree that Darren Clarke would be a better choice for 2016, when the matches return to America. Clarke is revered in the States as much as he is here; his love of fast cars and a fine cigar appeal to the American psyche.

Also, his knowledge of how the game is played in America, his familiarity with resort-style golf, will be a huge asset. While it can easily be said that Gleneagles is a parkland blotch on the links landscape of Scotland, McGinley’s commitment to the European Tour means he is a popular face here and he should be rewarded for his support of the tour with the home captaincy.

Quite who the selection committee decide to chose is still up in the air. Watson’s reappointment — he was the last American captain to win in Europe back in 1993 — has led to a surge of support for 2010 European captain Colin Montgomerie. There is no doubt Monty has the credentials, but as an attempt to match Watson in the profile stakes, it would be a failure.

The best move would be for a joint-selection, whereby McGinley will assume responsibility for the 2014 matches and Clarke for two years later. Whether the powers that be see the situation so clearly remains to be seen.

Enoch excels at Alps Tour Q School

Winter is most certainly the season of the qualifying school, and after disappointment at the European Tour Q School in Spain, Rhys Enoch bounced back with aplomb at the recent qualifying tournament for the Alps Tour, the 24 year-old finishing tied-2nd with a three round score of 204 (-12).

After opening with a one under-par 71, it was a second round 64 (-8) over the America course at La Cala Resort in Malaga, Spain, that boosted Enoch to the top of the leaderboard.

A blistering front nine 30 (-7) which included five birdies on the bounce from holes five to nine set him up perfectly for the inward half, although bogeys were to follow birdies on the 13th and 15th.

However, he was to find one more red figure at the last, signing for a 64 and joint low honours on the day with Spain’s Carlos Pigem and a share of the lead entering the final round.

With the top 38 players gaining full playing rights on the 2013 Alps Tour, Enoch’s job ahead of the last round was simple: avoid disaster.

Danger loomed when he found himself three over after seven but an eagle at the par-5 9th put him straight and set the stage for a four under-par back nine, ensuring a closing 69 (-3).

His 204 total left him in a share of second with England’s Alexander Christie, who fired three consecutive rounds of 68. Both were one shot shy of winner Carlos Pigem, the Spanish amateur who caught fire after an opening 72 (E) with rounds of 64 and 67 to finish on -13.

Enoch indicated that the Alps Tour circuit is likely to play a back-up for when he can not play the Challenge Tour, on which he is assured a number of starts next season.

GUW Chief Executive Dixon praises ‘dramatic wins’

Golf Union of Wales Chief Executive Richard Dixon announced recently that 2012 has been a successful year for Welsh golf, with a number of standout performances from male and female golfers.

‘It has to be a good year when a country of Wales’ diminutive stature achieves four such dramatic wins as those of [Jamie] Donaldson, [Lydia] Hall, [Rhys] Pugh and [Amy] Boulden,’ said Dixon.

Jamie Donaldson captured his maiden European Tour title at the Irish Open in July and had a tied-7th finish in the season’s final major, the U.S. PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

Four other top-10s meant the 32 year-old reached his highest ever position in the Race to Dubai, ultimately coming 19th in the season-long points race and amassing over €1.1 million.

Given his win and stature in the game, Dixon believes that Donaldson ‘now has the opportunity to lead the way over the next few years.’

Lydia Hall was victorious in the ISPS Handa Ladies British Masters after rounds of 66, 71, and 72 ensured a one stroke margin of victory of Beth Allen of the United States. The event, played at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club, attracted one of the stronger fields of the year and marked a significant first win for the Bridgend local.

East Tennessee State University golfer Rhys Pugh claimed the biggest prize of his career in the European Amateur Championship in August, a final round 66 in blustery conditions good enough to see-off fellow countryman James Frazer by one shot. The win guarantees his spot in next year’s Open Championship.

Pugh’s excellent performance in the Walker Cup twelve months prior was mirrored in the female equivalent by Amy Boulden. Her singles victory over Emily Tubert on the final day of the Curtis Cup helped ensure that for the first time in sixteen years the trophy was the property of Great Britain and Ireland.

Proving herself as a links specialist — she plays her golf at Conwy — Boulden was also triumphant in the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open Amateur Strokeplay in April, played over the fabled turf of Troon.

Dixon hopes that this group of emerging young talent will go on to ‘challenge for major honours,’ and added that he believes ‘players such as Rhys Davies, Bradley Dredge and Becky Brewerton are far too good not to return to winning ways, which will boost the game in Wales enormously.’

New generation of Welsh golfers aim to turn the tide

To many, Welsh golf peaked in April 1991 when a short, stocky man from Oswestry, more often called ‘Woosie’ than ‘Ian,’ donned the famous green jacket reserved only for winners of the Masters. The farmer’s son, all 5’ 4½” of him, had reached the pinnacle of world golf, emerging from the ‘big five’ as an individual in his own right.

That appears a fair assessment. Ian Woosnam is still the greatest golfer the country has ever produced. Others such as Bradley Dredge and Stephen Dodd carried the mantle but both now find themselves without full playing privileges on the European Tour next season. Only Phil Price and Jamie Donaldson will bear the Welsh flag next to their names in the biggest tournaments of 2013.

To the casual observer this validates the claim that Welsh golf is in merciless decline. But below the rigours of the elite professional game, the country’s golfers are enjoying a resurgence.

At the head of this group of ambitious youngsters is Rhys Pugh. The nineteen year-old captured the biggest win of his trophy-laden career in August when he triumphed in the European Amateur Championship in Ireland. The win put the exclamation point on a brilliant twelve month period for the boy from Pontypridd, who the previous September went unbeaten in the Walker Cup.

In capturing the European Championship — arguably the biggest tournament in amateur golf — Pugh not only put his name next to Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia as previous winners, but also assured his place in next year’s Open Championship, something Pugh declared has ‘always been my dream.’

Showing signs of maturity, Pugh opted not to rush into the professional ranks, where often the brightest flames are extinguished once the game becomes ‘work.’ Instead, he accepted a golf scholarship at East Tennessee State University in 2011, where he is currently a sophomore and benefitting from a program that in the past aided the development of European Tour winner Rhys Davies, as well as Pugh’s contemporary, Rhys Enoch.

Enoch has made the transition from amateur to professional appear seamless. Following a standout career as a junior golfer and all-American, he turned professional in June this year and promptly won his first start on the Jamega Tour. This was followed soon after with a runner-up finish in the San Roque event on the Gecko Tour and the 36-hole lead in the Beko Classic — a tournament not shy of quality with Darren Clarke and Andrew Coltart in the field. The 24 year-old from Truro eventually finished fourth but his talent is not in doubt: a fact made obvious by his inclusion in the International Sports Management stable, run by Chubby Chandler, who professed to being ‘very impressed by his talent.’

But, given the hope and expectation vested in him, does Enoch feel pressure to carry through the next wave of Welsh golfers? Quite the opposite. He explains he is ‘proud and excited to be in that position. I feel no pressure from a Welsh representative front, it [the expectation] is just another benefit of playing well.’

Enoch has found the professional game to his liking. Photo via facebook.com/rhys.enoch

It is clear he thrives on the opportunity in front of him: ‘I want to be the next big thing from Welsh golf and I feel I have a game more to suited to the professional game, so I am excited to get going in my career.’

For all the starry-eyed optimism that accompanies many young professionals, it is reassuring to hear Enoch stay grounded. He admits that the change from playing as an amateur to trying to make a living as a professional is a ‘big step,’ but that it is vital to ‘remember that we are still playing the same game and that I must continue to do the things that got me to this point.

‘Playing for money brings a slightly different feeling to things because it highlights mistakes faster and hastens learning.’ That Enoch has ‘loved the challenge’ bodes well for his future and indicates that, as he says, the changes ingrained by coach Neil Matthews will only serve to enhance his talent.

Also turning pro this year was James Frazer. It was Frazer who looked the most likely of the four Welshman to win the European Amateur Championship when his third round 62 — a course record at Carton House — propelled him to within touching distance of the 54-hole lead. However it was not to be for the Pennard local, who was beaten into second by Pugh. Still, the resultant Welsh one-two provided cause for celebration on this side of the Severn Bridge, with Golf Union of Wales Director of Performance Ben Waterhouse calling it ‘one of the best ever results for Welsh amateur golf.’

Aside from the obvious delight at such a finish, what really offers encouragement is the fact it was no anomaly. Frazer finished in a share of fourth place in the South of England Championship in July and concluded a successful amateur career by being the top British player in the Eisenhower Trophy.

The 25 year-old has settled as a professional, but along with leading Welsh players Dredge and Davies, failed to gain full playing privileges for the 2013 European Tour. Frazer did not advance out of the second stage of qualifying school, missing the cut-off mark by two shots, but he remains optimistic for what the future holds.

‘It was disappointing not to get through to final stage,’ he said.

‘Especially after playing so well in the months leading up to it. I played very well that week but struggled with the putter. Missing it [the cut for advancing to final stage] by a couple shots was tough to take.

‘I will hopefully get playing rights on the Euro Pro Tour which won’t start until April. I may be out in Turkey or Morocco in February playing on the European Professional Development Tour. I will also be playing a couple of Jamega Tour events too. Hopefully I can get around five invites for the Challenge Tour which will make my schedule look interesting. So yes, looking forward to getting going again.’

Frazer is one of a crop of promising Welsh golfers. Photo courtesy of James Frazer.

In the same way Enoch embraces but plays down the expectations placed on him, so Frazer understands that his amateur pedigree does not entitle him to overnight success in the big leagues: ‘As I said before I’m now starting my golf career again almost and I’m very much looking forward to the challenge. There are people that expect certain things of you but I don’t see that as pressure, more of a confidence booster. They only expect it because they know the level I’m capable of.’

Hoping to follow Frazer and Enoch into the professional game is David Boote. One of the generation of youngsters who crossed the Atlantic in search of a better golf game — and a college degree on the way — Boote has just finished his first semester at Stanford University – Tiger Woods’ alma mater.

The first European student in over ten years to be awarded a scholarship, Boote has more than justified his case for selection. With the second-best scoring average on the team and three top-10 finishes in four events, Boote recently found himself in prime position to be selected for the prestigious Palmer Cup event, held next June. Should he continue to impress and make the team then he can count himself as one of the top-eight European players in the American collegiate system; a significant achievement for a first-year.

This should come as no surprise. In 2011 Boote won the Faldo Series Championship and captained Great Britain and Ireland boys in the Jacques Leglise Trophy, helping his team to victory over Europe. Such confidence gained from junior success no doubt eased the transition into collegiate play, and he was rewarded with an ‘honourable mention’ in Golf Digest’s recent mid-season awards for top freshman.

The chances are that the light to guide Welsh golf out of the wilderness will come from one of these players. But behind them lie another group determined to prove their worth. For example, Henry James reached the final of the British Boys Championship in August. And success is not limited to males: Amy Boulden added the Scottish Ladies Championship to her curriculum vitae in April, was part of the victorious Curtis Cup team, and stands a chance of gaining her Ladies European Tour card this month.

The cynical will point out these are merely hopefuls, not yet assured of a place in the game’s upper echelons, and products of a governing body that lacks the proven track record of, say, the England Golf Union. To them it must be reiterated that there are no shortcuts in golf. It is all too easy to compare the successes of promising youngsters with the likes of superstars, such as the untouchable Rory McIlroy, the precocious Matteo Manessero, and come away feeling short-changed, let-down. The achievements of McIlroy and Manassero deserve isolation for they are the talents of a generation. It would be unfair to expect the same rapid ascension from others. Instead, we should encourage them to be the best they can be, because, ultimately, the biggest challenge in golf is against one’s self.

Welsh golf may be on the wane but there is a group with the desire, and just maybe the talent, to put it somewhere near the position it was in 1991, when Ian Woosnam ruled the world.

Boote on track for Palmer Cup place

Stanford freshman David Boote is on course to represent Team Europe in the Palmer Cup, it was revealed Wednesday. The annual match — named after Arnold Palmer — pits American college golfers against European college golfers in a Ryder Cup-style format.

The fall ranking — from which the top six golfers from both the United States and Europe shall be among the 10 individuals selected to compete in the 2013 Palmer Cup at Wilmington Country Club — placed the Welshman in fourth spot, with a .9817 percentile.

Boote’s ranking is just rewards for a standout first semester. Three top-10 finishes in four tournaments, including a tied-third in the Pac-12 Preview, have helped Boote to a 71.25 scoring average, the second-best on the Stanford team behind Sophomore Patrick Rodgers.

Rodgers and Boote are the only Stanford players to make the top-25 fall ranking, which uses Golfstat’s NCAA Player Ranking as a base and awards more points for wins and high finishes but applies a negative bonus for poor finishes.

With Christmas approaching and term soon ending, Boote will have the holiday period to rest and prepare for next semester, where Stanford’s first tournament will be the Ameri Ari Invitational in Hawaii, held over 6-8 February.

If Boote can continue his excellent play then he will be set to follow in the footsteps of East Tennessee State graduate Rhys Enoch, the last Welshman to compete in the Palmer Cup in 2010. Selection for the team will be finalised after the NCAA Regionals, which will be held next May.

A bitter, hopeless Saturday

Something was different.

The city was the same, Cardiff typically buzzing a few hours before kick off. Restaurants were full, awash with red shirts old and new. Pubs were rammed, Tom Jones’ ‘Delilah’ giving supporters the perfect opportunity to warm-up their vocals ahead of the intermittent choruses of ‘Bread of Heaven’ and ‘Hymns and Arias’ that flood the Millennium Stadium, without fail, during every international.

Crowds filtered through the various gates that serve as entrances, the biting cold not enough to prevent the steadfast from removing their coats to proudly display the Welsh jersey.

I walked up the stairs — along with my girlfriend, who was going to her first rugby game — as if they weren’t there, to level six, to our seats behind the posts. Not the best position for me but a perfect vantage point for those more knowledgeable of the game’s tactics.

The usual fare of fireworks and pyrotechnics and male voice choirs accompanied the players as they ran onto the pitch. It all seemed normal, well-rehearsed, exciting.

Then nothing. Flatline. Dead.

The pedantic refereeing of Wayne Barnes, while probably correct, drew mostly groans from the 58,000 who occupied the ground. As it was against New Zealand, team physios spent as much time on the pitch as the players.

There were moments from Alex Cuthbert and Leigh Halfpenny, the former charging up the right before faltering and collapsing into touch, the latter, who increasingly seems to carry the entire nation’s hopes on his shoulders, slicing Australia through the middle and providing a kick to the goal line that Sam Warburton missed by a fingertip to Australia’s Wycliff Palu.

Both instances caused seats to flip shut but once Australia averted danger the familiar roars and bellows of the collective were replaced with the odd cries of ‘Come on, Wales,’ and ‘Waaaaaayuls,’ which sounded more lost and weary than empowered.

The home team recovered in the second half to lead, and lasted 79 minutes and 35 seconds before succumbing to an Australian break that ensured this year’s Six Nations’ winners have now lost their last seven matches, and all four of this Autumn’s test series.

It seems perverse for me to suggest it but the most emotion and energy I felt that afternoon was when Kurtley Beale dealt the fatal blow to Welsh hopes. I sensed that everyone’s shoulders slumped, chins turned into chests, hands supported heavy heads laden with disappointment and tired with hope.

It took a disaster to garner the sort of energy that, for Welsh rugby fans lately, has come in large amounts, thanks to success on the pitch.

The build-up to Beale’s match-winning try had only reinforced what I felt that entire afternoon. The game had dipped to such a low that the group of men in the row behind resorted to discussing sick-leave pay at work. Tedious, dull, cold.

This is not to criticise the effort and level of play of those on the pitch. It was a shame that the only try of the game came in the dying embers and that it went against Wales, but Australia did not rise to third in the IRB world rankings by accident. They are an opposition that deserve respect and they were tenacious throughout.

By the time Nathan Sharpe, the departing Australian captain, went to kick the conversion, most of the crowd had left. A few moments before Leigh Halfpenny had lay motionless on the pitch, the result of an attempt to stop the inevitable Australian try that sealed the game. Fans are a fickle bunch and I sensed that Welsh hopes were as much in need of being stretchered off as Halfpenny: The nation’s expectations for the upcoming Six Nations hanging by a thread, fragile and stunned.

This is why I look at Welsh hopes to acquire a home fixture in the 2015 World Cup in the same way Keegan Bradley lines up a putt. Home advantage, while obviously an advantage, should not be a priority. It may help, it may not — it certainly did not in the recent internationals.

Something was different last Saturday and it was the dearth of energy, of spirit, that has plagued Wales’ most recent performances. The last three games against Australia have been lost by a cumulative five points, which shows all is not lost — and it would be a knee-jerk decision to state that it is — but rugby games are 80 minutes and Wales seem to have forgotten this most obvious of facts recently.

Something was different. Springs in steps and heads held high were replaced by trudging footsteps and familiar sighs. For the defence of the Six Nations title in two months’ time Wales — players and supporters — must perpetuate the energy and optimism of one year ago.

The Scorecard

Graeme McDowell produced a fine win at a course he clearly loves. Picture via Keith Allison.

Birdie – Graeme McDowell

Critics of the World Challenge presented by Northwestern Mutual i.e. Tiger’s tournament say that victory at Sherwood should have an asterisk next to it because, really, it’s a chummy shootout between only 18 players. But watching those in contention last night it’s clear that they treat the World Challenge very much the same as any PGA Tour event, despite it not being officially recognised as such. And try telling Graeme McDowell that his victory was ‘unofficial.’ In what in America constitutes brutal playing conditions (a bit of rain and damp fairways), he held steady for the entirety of the final round, producing only his third bogey of the week on the 13th hole and bouncing back with birdies at 16 and the beautifully crafted par-4 18th for a 17 under-par total, three better than runner-up Keegan Bradley.

But for all the praise Gmac rightly gets for this triumph, I can’t help but feel… uneasy about it. It’s worth remembering that a week before, at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, McDowell said that the Earth course “hasn’t fit my eye ever.” Consequently, he finished four from bottom in the 56-man field, 22 shots behind winner Rory McIlroy. Sherwood obviously has the opposite effect on McDowell, his second win in three years confirming that the Nicklaus-designed track suits his game.

It’s a joy to watch McDowell play well and you can tell he’s a pretty grounded guy (see his reaction to the goon who shouted in this clip). But I hope in forthcoming events he doesn’t shoot himself in the foot before play has started by approaching the course with negative vibes. This week made obvious that when he likes a course, he is the man to beat around it. Can he pull it off at places he isn’t in love with?

Birdie – Martin Kaymer

Another birdie that I hand out with trepidation. Kaymer’s win at the Nedbank was a delight to see, but anyone who watched it witnessed how shaky Kaymer was in parts. He made a perfect eagle on his second hole in the final round but then doubled the next. On the 14th, a par-5, he hit a quick pull off the tee that looked for all the world to be dead, but he finished in an open spot among the trees and bushes, hit out, and got up-and-down for a birdie. Two holes before he hit a near shank off the tee on the par-3, but relied on his short game to save him. I think the main thing Kaymer will take from his win in South Africa is how his putter bailed him out time and again. The winning putt he holed in Medinah was great, but golfers are a selfish bunch and you never regain full confidence in something until you do it purely for yourself. With Charl Schwartzel pressing, Kaymer rolled in a vital par-saver from around 15 feet on the 16th and glided in to record his first victory of the year.

Double bogey – Zach Johnson

Johnson has shown in the past that Sherwood CC is a good match for his precise, if short, game: He was runner-up to Woods in 2011. But the two-time winner on tour this year endured a torrid time on Sherwood’s closing five holes this week. In round one he played them in three over, and repeated the feat in round two. The third round offered some respite when he negotiated them in level par, but on Sunday a bogey on 14 preceded doubles at 15 and 18, the only positive being a birdie on the par-5 16th. Johnson was +10 for those holes that week.

Par – Peter Dawson

The chief executive of the Royal and Ancient has come under fire recently for announcing that changes are going to be made to the Old Course at St. Andrews. People bemoaned the fact the road hole bunker was to be changed, along with the 11th green, thus desecrating ‘sacred ground.’ Of course, those same people were probably unaware that St. Andrews has undergone many changes over the years, all of which have been necessary to preserve what Dawson calls the ‘essential strategy’ of the course. I agree with him and think that even the oldest, greatest, course of them all needs a bit of botox now and again if it is to keep up with technology and fitter, younger players.

Bogey – Charl Schwartzel

The 2011 Masters champion played the best golf of anyone in the leading pack in the final round at the Nedbank. While Kaymer looked edgy, Oosthuizen flailed shot after shot right, and Westwood made putting look more excruciating than tooth extraction, Schwartzel hit fairway after fairway and green after green. But to no avail. In the end he signed for a 69 (-3) which ensured a second-place finish, but how different it could have been had he not taken 33 putts. In the putts per GIR stat, he ranked 10th out of 12 players for the week. If it wasn’t the pace that was lacking, it was his inability to correctly determine the line. All very annoying for a man who, surprisingly, has failed to win this year.