When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Els Unravels Over Wentworth Criticism
/"What made it all the more remarkable is Karlsson’s preparation for his epic round."
/"Come to think of it, the 'TPC at Virginia Water' works pretty well, too."
/And just one more bit of Wentworth piling on from John Huggan:
Actually, in view of the often radical and deeply controversial work that bears the signature of three-time major champion Ernie Els, it is time for Wentworth to break out a new nickname. Long gone is Harry Colt's design, to be replaced by what in places is so pseudo-American it might as well be called 'I-95' or, on days when the sun shines, 'Route 66'. Come to think of it, the 'TPC at Virginia Water' works pretty well, too. Only the absence of a completely inappropriate fountain in the pond short of the 18th green revealed that we were not actually in Florida.
"I was a bit more theatrical than he was but Ernie was right, I was wrong."
/"In a way I feel sorry for the viewing public."
/"Wentworth's new 18th hole is a nasty piece of Americana."
/Ernie Els Braces For Awkward, Disingenuous Locker Room Compliments About The New-Look Wentworth
/Monty Doesn't Like It When They Play That Funky Music
/"That was 100 years ago, and I think we’ve got to move on.”
/"There were rave reviews for the changes made to the famous West Course by the Ernie Els design team ahead of the BMW PGA Championship 2010"
/A good time was apparently had by all at Wentworth when European TV's finest showed up to play the Ernie Els redesigned West Course.
Love the write up:
A team of broadcasters from the BBC and Sky Sports enjoyed their first sight of the modernised West Course at Wentworth Club when they faced a line-up from BMW, The European Tour and the host club.Former Ryder Cup Captain, Sam Torrance, was joined by fellow BBC commentators Alan Hansen, Tim Henman and Sir Matthew Pinsent alongside Di Stewart, Robert Lee and Steve Beddow from Sky Sports as the team of broadcasters registered a hefty 7-2 victory.
Paul Davies of the BBC and Sky Sports’ Jason Wesley jointly accepted the plaudits from George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour after defending their trophy.
There were rave reviews for the changes made to the famous West Course by the Ernie Els design team ahead of the BMW PGA Championship 2010, with the visually stunning eighth and 18th attracting special attention.
Even better, look how well dressed they get for a shindig. Take note, writers.
Sweden Folds 2018 Ryder Cup Hand, Declares Action Too Hot To Handle
/The search for the best package deal and undoubtedly the worst possible golf course to contest golf's most thrilling biennial event includes one less country now because of this:
The Swedish Golf Federation said it was impossible to find sponsors to host European events at Senior Tour, Main Tour and Challenge Tour levels in the years leading up to 2018.
"A signature on a scorecard is an endorsement of integrity, not just a scrawl on the end of a piece of paper."
/Colin Byrne details an incident at the Open de Andalucia that led to two DQ's. Not often you hear about this kind of thing...
Borja Etchart from Spain was disqualified from the first round of the Open de Andalucia for failing to add two penalty strokes for playing a ball from a wrong place on two of the last three holes of his round. Which, reading between the lines, would suggest that he was replacing his ball on the greens in a “careless” manner on previous occasions too.
If you see a playing partner doing something inappropriate on the course you have a duty to take action. The trouble is that, as a competitor, accusing a fellow player of incorrect actions will probably lead to some discussion and maybe a little bad feeling. As we all know, the game is difficult enough without any such contretemps. The right thing to do is take action. The easiest and wrong thing to do is ignore an action by a fellow competitor that you know is wrong. You are protecting yourself, your fellow competitors and the integrity of the game.
Etchart’s playing partners were Andrew Coltart and Erik Tage Johansen. The Norwegian, Johansen, was marking the accused’s card. Coltart and Johansen reported to the tournament committee after the scorecards had been returned that they had seen Borja incorrectly replace his ball on the 16th and 18th greens.