European Tour 2017 DP World Tour Championship

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Not at all sure why Shinkwin didn't play that chip in regulation. I know hindsight's a wonderful thing but if he was really worried about skulling it into the water he can't trust his chipping very much.

This is where they say it was a great learning experience for Shinkwin; he had some decent results last year, so hopefully he'll move forward from here. Played in the 2013 Walker Cup against blokes like Justin Thomas & Patrick Rodgers.

But Rafa was terrific today.

Shankwin?

Or Shinkwini?

GPB wrote:who is called Wiffy?

Wiffy Cox. Only an American would call someone as stupid as that.

Wilfred Cox, you are using a guy born in the 1890s who used a nickname sinilar to his actual name. Thats scrapping the barrel.

It's what he was known as.

The point is that it was claimed that American names are as a result of Mother's maiden names, then I showed that the majority of the stupid ones are not that at all, yet they insist on being called it.

It was also pointed out they are not comparable with actual nicknames like G-Mac and Rors, which of course are never used in an official capacity.

You must really hate the Brazilians and Javier Hernandez the ex Man Utd and current Leverkusen player.

Anyway, names aside, what about yesterday's finish?? Brain fart? unassertive caddy? or a cleverly crafted closing hole designed for drama? Or a combination of the above??

Already assuming Mac will say choke :-p

Pressure does funny things to people, especially at 24 and no wins. Should have played it safe maybe with a lay up and then wedge on, but no guarantee he would have played it perfectly. Even if he did choke, theres no harm, as long as he learns from it. Its not like teh winenr is a proven regular winner, he has also had his moments over the years.

2 nine irons, 2 putts and he's won. Easy to say it like that but as Beninho said under the pressure people do funny things.

Even when assesing his third his caddie seemed to be advising him to chip well right to the front of the green and attempt to two putt from there.

However in saying that he still had a chance with his par putt and and chance to extend the play-off with another but both were timid.

beninho wrote:Pressure does funny things to people, especially at 24 and no wins. Should have played it safe maybe with a lay up and then wedge on, but no guarantee he would have played it perfectly.  Even if he did choke, theres no harm, as long as he learns from it. Its not like teh winenr is a proven regular winner, he has also had his moments over the years.

Yep agree but it was probably a tougher call in his head because he had made eagle, birdie, par 1st 3 days (presumably going for it in 2?). Would laying up plant seeds of negativity (in his head) or should he stick to the game plan that served him well the first 3 days, who knows. It would have been a no brainer for me as I'm mince at long approaches especially holes with lurking trouble but that's just me, I appreciate that in a confident pro's head, the thinking will be quite a bit different.

I guess if you are a pro golfer, 275 yards out in the middle of a fairway you back yourself to at worse get a par. So I can see why he went with it. The thing is its so easy to look back and say it was the wrong choice, but sometimes you have to just play percentages.

I may have mentioned im playing it in a few weeks (cough cough) I'll see how I do having a wack from 275 out!

You'll love it Beninho and yeah let us know what your thoughts were standing over your 2nd on 18. To be honest visually the layup doesn't look straightforward from what I remember although you look back from the green and think...why did I find the 2shot awkward :-/

Did i read your from that way, JAS? Playing Troon aswell that weekend what do you think is the better course?

The only true test for Shinkwin will be what he does next time he's in a similar position - Rafa played a sensational shot into the 18th in the play-off (before wussying the eagle putt), so easy to forget the huuuuge slice of luck he enjoyed on his 72nd hole when his ball stayed out of the ditch.

It's not playing the percentages going for the green in two when a par would win it for you. Two bad 9-irons will never be as bad as a bad 3-wood and a chip from a difficult lie.

Got to agree, if he KNEW that par would have won it, then he used very bad course management.

However, a lot depends how high the tariff of going for the green in two actually was. Was his shot 1/10 in being successful?

If I needed a par on a par 5 I probably would have played something like 3 wood, 6 iron, Wedge, and I have one hole where that's always what I do, very rare I'm worse than a par and probably get more birdies than when going for the green in 2.

JAS wrote:

kwinigolfer wrote:Is Dundonald as good as it looks?

In a word...yep!!! What I never really understood is with all the land available as you drive in, why a Marriott or De Vere type chain (or even dare I say DT)  hasn't moved in. The club house still resembles a glorified big portakabin from the outside. Obviously it was temporary but it's still there.
 

I understand the course is still owned by Loch Lomond. They had plans to build a grand clubhouse (they used to be on view in the portacabin) but obviously when the financial crisis came along in 2008 they put that on hold. Since then LL has had its financial struggles, which is why they opened up Dundonald to visitors (when I played the course it was only open to LL members and guests), but they've focused all investment on maintaining a top notch course, which in my mind is much more important than nice locker rooms.

If LL continues to struggle financially then maybe they will sell Dundonald and we'll see Marriott etc move in. It's been on the edge and needed refinancing a couple of times. If the good times return for the bankers and hedge fund owners who make up the LL membership then maybe they'll build a luxurious clubhouse and close the place to visitors. I hope the outcome is somewhere in between.

JAS wrote:Anyway, names aside, what about yesterday's finish?? Brain fart? unassertive caddy? or a cleverly crafted closing hole designed for drama? Or a combination of the above??

Already assuming Mac will say choke :-p

I recorded Sunday's play and have been watching a little bit every evening, so I've now seen what happened on 18.

With the danger of the burn around the green, Shinkwin made a very poor choice. It might have helped him if he'd hit a poor drive in the rough - it would have removed the decision making and forced him to lay up. You could argue his caddie should have been more forceful, but ultimately the player has to take responsibility.

On the one hand: he was playing well, birdied 15 with a sweet long iron, almost birdied 16 and 17, hit a cracking drive up 18, had 248 to the flag which was 3 iron for him, and had gone for the green previous days.
On the other hand: he knew he had a 1 shot lead, he knew he could play wedge wedge and make par for the win.

When I played Dundonald.... I belted a drive up 18, the green was in range for my second shot with a fairway wood, but I resisted the temptation the more I looked at the burn snaking around the front and right hand side of the green. So I hit a 5 iron up the left hand side, which gave me a little pitch and run looking up the length of the green instead of coming across it. I then knocked it to 6 feet and rolled in the putt for birdie. How much would Shinkwin pay me for that!!!

Apart from 18, I was very impressed with Shinkwin, he looked calm and collected as a front runner. At the start of the week, runner up would have been a huge result for him. Hopefully, he will view it that way and not see it as a massive failure. He needs to get straight back on the horse and I hope this will give him a confidence boost to kick on.

Unintended consequences of EuroTour policy to let Top 50 players become members.

Pat Perez joins the Euro Tour.

Is there some bad sauerkraut and wiener schnitzel in Germany?

6 DQ's and 3 WDs at the Porsche European Open.

GPB wrote:Is there some bad sauerkraut and wiener schnitzel in Germany?

6 DQ's and 3 WDs at the Porsche European Open.

Looks like it's mostly players who had no chance of making the cut getting on the autobahn early following the lengthy weather delay.

Patrick Reed bags an eagle to go with yesterday's albatross. Oh Well!! He's a Man of the World, and never mind about his Black Magic Woman.

Not sure if I have ever seen this before in a tournament.

Every hole in the Porsche European Open has been eagled at least once this week. 17 of the 18 holes have been eagled at least twice. #10 is the only hole with one eagle.

Has there been hole in ones on all the par 3's? Are you sure this is correct?

super_realist wrote:Has there been hole in ones on all the par 3's? Are you sure this is correct?

Well I am depending on the accuracy of the European Tour Website...so no, I am not sure it is correct

According to the leaderboard, Hole averages link there has been 23 holes in one, including 8 on the par 3 8th hole and 7 on the par 3 17th hole.

https://www.europeantour.com/en/europeantour/tournaments/2017/porsche-european-open/#leaderboard

Sorry People, it looks like the European Website leaderboard is FUBAR once again.

It could well be true, just not in one year.

I saw a little clip from the broadcast. Marcel Siem did get a hole in one where a Porsche Panamera was up for grabs. He was presented with a symbolic large key for the car, and asking questions about it's performance to the Porsche representative. Then I saw Marcels' shirt. Mercedes Benz logo! Do you think he feels a bit embarrassed?

I'm never wrong wrote:I saw a little clip from the broadcast. Marcel Siem did get a hole in one where a Porsche Panamera was up for grabs. He was presented with a symbolic large key for the car, and asking questions about it's performance to the Porsche representative. Then I saw Marcels' shirt. Mercedes Benz logo! Do you think he feels a bit embarrassed?

A little like Westwood accepting the winner's trophy for the Memphis FedEx event with UPS plastered all over his chest!

GPB wrote:Not sure if I have ever seen this before in a tournament.

Every hole in the Porsche European Open has been eagled at least once this week.  17 of the 18 holes have been eagled at least twice.  #10 is the only hole with one eagle.

Well, it's the Green Eagle Golf Course, isn't it?

kwinigolfer wrote:

I'm never wrong wrote:I saw a little clip from the broadcast. Marcel Siem did get a hole in one where a Porsche Panamera was up for grabs. He was presented with a symbolic large key for the car, and asking questions about it's performance to the Porsche representative. Then I saw Marcels' shirt. Mercedes Benz logo! Do you think he feels a bit embarrassed?

A little like Westwood accepting the winner's trophy for the Memphis FedEx event with UPS plastered all over his chest!

Or a catholic priest preaching the bible..

Hope Levy wins this; no-one does winning as well as he does! Does anyone have more fun playing good golf than Monsieur Alex?

Jeez this is drama!!

Unfortunately our coverage begins tomorrow morning!

But that finish assures Smith a trip to Quail Hollow (Levy too of course), West Country golf faring rather well these days.

kwinigolfer wrote:Unfortunately our coverage begins tomorrow morning!

But that finish assures Smith a trip to Quail Hollow (Levy too of course), West Country golf faring rather well these days.

Delighted for Smith, what a steady rise through the ranks he's had, seems like no time since he was helping Wiltshire win the County Champs as a promising amateur.

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/lpga-european-tour-joining-forces-help-let

Not quite sure what this all means, but hope the LET gains some strength from somewhere.

kwinigolfer wrote:http://www.golfchannel.com/news/golf-central-blog/lpga-european-tour-joining-forces-help-let

Not quite sure what this all means, but hope the LET gains some strength from somewhere.

Hear, Hear!

They've gone back to the old European Tour site!!

sirbenson wrote:They've gone back to the old European Tour site!!

With a mea culpa letter from Keith Pelley.

Its just incredible that they went with a massive change without testing and vetting the "new and improved" site.

Greg Norman looks like Greg Norman again.

Reminder from the ET web-site that the Top Ten in R2D are currently:
Fleetwood, Garcia, Rahm, Rafa, Noren, Franny, Rose, Fish, Rory, Wiesberger.
Add in a dash of Stenson and spoonful of Pieters and there's the recipe for a pretty good RC Team - a year too late though.

Maybe a risky shout but does anyone feel like Dunne has more potential than Shane Lowry?

Risky shout?
Dunno.
But perhaps Dunne might achieve more than Lowry, but Lowry is one of the most naturally gifted golfers I've seen - jury out as to whether he'll turn his talent into the career it warrants though.
Perhaps a disciplined schedule for 17/18 might do the trick.


Meanwhile, the very credibility of the European Tour is at stake in Denmark as J.Daly surges towards the lead. Talking about undisciplined . . . . . . .

kwinigolfer wrote:Risky shout?
Dunno.
But perhaps Dunne might achieve more than Lowry, but Lowry is one of the most naturally gifted golfers I've seen - jury out as to whether he'll turn his talent into the career it warrants though.
Perhaps a disciplined schedule for 17/18 might do the trick.


Meanwhile, the very credibility of the European Tour is at stake in Denmark as J.Daly surges towards the lead. Talking about undisciplined . . . . . . .

I think he's left it too late Kwini. If he ever wanted to be up there with Spieth, Thomas, Johnson, Rahm,  McIlroy etc then I can't see how he could ever catch up given how atrocious his physique is compared to them. It would appear he's content with being a journeyman and making a half decent career, which is fair enough if he's that lazy, but it's a terrible waste.

Lowry would have been a top golfer in the 1980's, but the game has moved on since the days of fat knackers and you can't survive on talent alone now. I don't think golfers are athletes by any means, but Lowry is like someone you'd see on Embarassing Bodies.

Speaking of I hope that other tatty muncher McGregor gets battered tonight, I'm no fan of Mayweather, but McGregor is a grade a C***

First of many worldwide wins for Suri - looks a suri thing, up to about #115 in the owgr's.

Pity Horsey made a horsey's arse of the 18th though.

I really like Dunne's effortless swing.

News from a PD tweet

7 wins from the USA on the EuroTour this year. More than any other country.

6 different players. (DJx2,Spieth, Thomas, HV-III, Koepka, Suri)

Did any of you notice Suri's bag in Denmark? His caddie was carrying a lightweight stand bag instead of a huge tour bag filled with tonnes of clutter. Minor thing, but I liked it.

Caddying must be the only 'job' in the civilized world where you're allowed to carry that much weight around.

Slattery will get you anywhere. -7 after 11 holes.
Four shots better than the next best, of only a handful or so under par. Don't see that very often.

I guess this must be true as I got it as a link from Lee Westwood Tweet. Do you fancy THIS Super? I am sure Mac will pay for it as long as he's your caddie.