Qatar and the Humana Challenge

A fairly modest week in terms of strength in depth of the fields on the European and PGA Tours this week but it still made for some good television. 

In both Qatar and especially California it was a close fought contest virtually all the way through.  In Qatar, South African, Branden Grace edged ahead of a tight field, in which 4 players had held a share of the lead after 54 holes, with an eagle at the 16th.  This was good enough for a one shot victory over  Scotland's Marc Warren.  It was Grace's 5th victory on Tour and this followed respectable weeks in South Africa and Abu Dhabi.  This mini-revival in Grace's form seems to have stemmed from a new putting style which, although looks slightly awkward, appears to get the job done. 

The Humana Challenge boasted a stronger field with Kuchar leading much of the way with defending Champion Patrick Reed and Phil  Mickelson in the fray.  However they could not stop a late challenge from 2011 FedEx Cup winner, Bill Haas, whose 67 was good enough for a one shot lead over 5 players.  This tournament is played over 3 different courses and seems to yield a magnitude of birdies; 5 people reached 21 under par and still came one shot short.  It was almost certainly one of the most hotly contested tournaments I had witnessed in a while; 9 people were either tied for the lead or one back after 6 holes of the final round.   


While both events produced exciting and close finishes, the week felt like a sort of non-entity in the golfing calendar, neither event providing a very strong field ( a sign that the top players don't really care about the events themselves perhaps?).  However this next week should be the opposite.  The PGA Tour travels to Phoenix where we will see the firs glimpse of Tiger's swing under the tutelage of Chris Como. The European Tour continues the Middle East Swing with the Dubai Desert Classic which is always one of the biggest events in the calendar boasting one of the strongest fields of the year including McIlroy. 


On the other hand, while the golf itself was perhaps a little dull this was the first week of the year in which I can report some non-tournament related news, in fact three pieces.  Firstly, Tiger was in danger of starting his season without a full set of dentures as he lost a tooth to a stray camera whilst watching his professional skier girlfriend last week.  I can however follow up on this and confirm he has been sighted in Phoenix with a replacement (amazing what a couple of hundred million dollars in the bank can do!).  Secondly, while Tiger was getting a little (perhaps unwanted) limelight a rarer creature was spotted in the media.  Dustin Johnson has returned to the golfing world! perhaps not in a playing capacity but at the very least to clear his good name and clear up the nasty rumour that his recent lengthy absence was due to an addiction to cocaine.  He denies these allegations now despite the rumour starting almost immediately after his departure some months ago.  And finally Darren Clarke seemed to declare the Ryder Cup Captaincy a two horse race between himself and lovable Spaniard, Miguel Angel Jiminez.  While I don't doubt the claim these two great golfers have to the honour of captaincy I do wonder why Thomas Bjorn has been dropped from the running?  It is widely speculated that Darren will get the nod for 2016 at Hazeltine as he commands greater respect in the States and that Jiminez will don the mantle in France in 2018 but that still leaves the poor Dane without a place.  He is a bit younger than Jiminez but surely he deserves his chance!?

FF                

The HSBC in Abu Dhabi and the Sony Open

I'm going to start with the HSBC in Abu Dhabi because it certainly was the one that provided the most drama and an unexpected winner. 

After 54 holes, Kaymer, a twice major champion, held a 6 shot lead.  At this point it was not all over but his name was starting to get etched on the trophy.  In the chasing pack was the World Number 1 McIlroy as well as fellow Ryder Cup stars Donaldson and Dubuisson.  As I predicted in last weeks post, the leader-board wasn't all big names though.  The unheralded Belgian, Thomas Pieters. was Kaymer's closest challenger and Rookie Frenchman Gary Stal was also near the top. 

After 6 holes of day 4 I turned the TV off, Kaymer's lead had become 10 and I did  not expect a two time Major Champion to capitulate.  I turned it back on the off chance that McIlroy had gone mad with perhaps a 58, which is realistically what he would have needed to put the pressure on Kaymer.  I tuned in to the 16th to see Kaymer 1 shot back!  A double bogey and a triple bogey on the card had turned 23 under into 17 under and after a long curving putt from Stal, his lead was 2. 

Visibly nervous and with an unorthodox swing Stal performed admirably to close out the win with a par at 17 and 18.  McIlroy had had a great week tee to green but had brought his B game on the putting green but still managed an attempted hole out from the bunker which would have given him a play off; it wasn't to be and despite being noticeably below his best he settled for second.   

The HSBC provided all the drama and there were some good signs from lots of the top players.  So based on what I've seen on the European Tour this week, here are a few predictions for the future.  McIlroy will win another 2 majors this year and dominate as world number 1.  Whether he will win the Masters to complete the grand slam is hard to say but don't put it past him.  His performance on the greens was lacklustre this week and he still earned a second place.  The Ryder Cup in 2018, in France, will have at least 2 Frenchmen in it.  Dubuisson has already earned his first cap and there seems to be a growing number of French people on the tour doing well.  Stal's victory speaks for itself but Wattel, Bourdy, Jacquelin, Havret will all compete for a place.  It was good to see Schwartzel put his own capitulation behind him, when he threw away his home Open last week, with a top ten.  I expect him to win 2 more Majors minimum in his career.

So with that I turn my attention towards the Sony Open in Hawaii, which by comparison was a humble affair. Defending Champion Jimmy Walker was searching for his 4th title in a little over a season a half and, perhaps more importantly, put his playoff loss last week behind him.  He did so in style.  Going in to day 4 he held a relatively modest 2 shot lead over Mr Top Ten Matt Kuchar.  Like Kaymer in Abu Dhabi, Walker started well.  Unlike Kaymer, Walker continued to outplay the field and eventually shot 63 for a nine shot victory.  That's how you do it Kaymer!  Walker looks good for a Major soon; steady, sneaky long, and growing in confidence all the time.  As one of the in-form players of the last 2 seasons I expect he could challenge for a Major this season. 


This week the European Tour continues it's Middle East swing with the Qatar Open, boasting another star studded field.  On the PGA Tour, we head to the Humana Challenge which is equally filled to the brim with stars and Major Champions including the first appearance of 2015 for Phil Mickelson and defending champion Patrick Reed.

FF

South African Open and Tournament of Champions

Officially, the PGA Tour started a while back, but for me this is the first event of the season.  So too in Europe there was an event worth watching; the South African Open but one could be forgiven for thinking this was a minor event that only the journeymen would bother with.

In South Africa there were a few big names, mostly South Africans (obviously), but it was good television.  I barely watched the final day but really couldn't see past a Schwartzel victory when he went into Sunday with a 5 shot lead.  However,   The 2011 Masters Champion stumbled to a last round 74 that allowed first-timer Andy Sullivan to claim a maiden victory in a play-off.  This was a co-sanctioned event with the Sunshine Tour and there was very little in the way of big names except for Schwartzel and Els but in my opinion this was a great chance to see the up and comers and perhaps scope out some well-known names to see what sort of form they might bring to the 2015 season.  Matthew Fitzpatrick, perhaps the "next big thing" had a solid week although never really contested the title, but its important for him and others in his position to get some early momentum and confidence.  At the other end of the scale Ernie showed some good form, mixing two good rounds with two poor ones and exhibiting some promising stuff with the flat stick having returned to a short putter.  As I've already mentioned Schwartzel was favourite heading in to the final day but mysteriously crumbled.  It is true that South Africans treat this as their 5th Major but even that added pressure doesn't really give ample excuse for such a poor final day performance from a Major winner.  The jury is still out as to whether he can add to his Major cabinet this season. 


Across the Pond, was a much more exciting golfing spectacle.  The Hyundai Tournament of Champions, although a limited field, does show off some of the PGA Tour's biggest stars.  How could it not when all the field won an event in the 2013/2014 Season?
Patrick Reed eventually took his 4th title in just about 18 months with a playoff victory over Jimmy Walker.  Historically this event is prone to bad weather, being played in Hawaii, which is susceptible to strong winds and storms.  This was not to be the case this year where the average score on the first day was well into the 60's and the playoff being contested at -21.  While the likes of Kuchar and Watson were there, the competition seemed dominated by yet more up and comers and, like the SA Open, was completed by playoff.  In my eyes, the regularity of Play-Offs shows the strength in depth on both Tours and if you, like me, didn't really recognise all the competitors in Hawaii than it's fairly obvious to see that there is a new guard coming through. 

McIlroy was of course eligible for Hawaii but chose to focus on the up-coming Abu Dhabi Tournament this week.  But no Phil, no Tiger, no Furyk, and the inclusion of rookies like Matsuyama, Sang Bae Moon and Brendon Todd show a definite shift in the Tour.

So, with that in mind, I look forward to this week in Abu Dhabi.  Packed to the brim with big names I expect it to be a hotly contested Tournament.  I think McIlroy will contest and perhaps reassert his dominance with an early win but don't expect all the leaders to be household names.

FF