European – Golfing Agency

Ladies European Tour announces record prize fund for 2023

detlef32 — Sat, 24 Dec 2022 12:29:58 +0000

The Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) will feature its strongest-ever field at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, including 60 LET players and 50 players from within the top 300 of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, after the tournament announced its commitment to women’s golf by elevating the prize fund to $5million.

Charley Hull, Georgia Hall and Bronte Law were among the stars on show at this year’s Aramco Team Series event at Centurion Club, which returns to the Hertfordshire venue in July 2023

South Africa will host two events in March, the Joburg Ladies Open at Modderfontein Golf Club and the Investec South African Women’s Open at Steenberg Golf Club in Cape Town.

The first of five $1 million Aramco Team Series events will then take place in Singapore, followed by two more events in Asia. The LET will return to Europe in May for the Jabra Ladies Open at the world-famous Evian Resort Golf Club in France, followed by the second Aramco Team Series event at Trump International, West Palm Beach, in Florida.

After a successful launch in 2022, the Mithra Belgian Ladies Open will be played again at Naxhelet Golf Club. Then, in June, the Helsingborg Open will return to the schedule for the first time since 2015 and will be played at Allerum Golf Club. Remaining in Sweden, the LET will move on to Ullna Golf Club for the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed, where the players will attempt to follow in the footsteps of Linn Grant, who earlier this year became the first woman to win a DP World Tour event with a nine-shot victory over a mixed gender field in the co-sanctioned tournament.

From there, the LET will move on to Berlin for the Amundi German Masters at Seddiner See Golf Club, followed by the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open at Beroun Golf Club and then the Ladies Open by Pickala, at Pickala Golf in Helsinki, Finland.

In mid-July, the third Aramco Team Series event will be played once again at Centurion Club near London. In the third week of July, the €1 million La Sella Open will debut on the calendar at La Sella Golf in Alicante, Spain.

The AIG Women’s Open will be held at Walton Heath in August

In July and August, the Tour will play in four co-sanctioned tournaments with the LPGA, opening in France with the $6.5 million Amundi Evian Championship, the first Major on the LET schedule, followed by the $2 million Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, the $7.3 million AIG Women’s Open, the second Major Championship in Europe, to be played at Walton Heath in England and finally the $1.5 million ISPS Handa World Invitational presented by AVIV Clinics, in Northern Ireland, before returning to Dromoland Castle in Ireland for the second KPMG Women’s Irish Open.

Early September will see Hilversumsche Golf Club in the Netherlands host the Big Green Egg Open and then the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open will be played once again at the picturesque Golfpark Holzhausern.

On September 22-24, the Solheim Cup, featuring the 12 best players from the United States versus the 12 best European players, will be held at the stunning Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain, where Team Europe is going for the hat-trick. Golf fans are readying themselves for what will be a truly unmissable event.

The Lacoste Ladies Open de France will then return to Golf Barriere in Deauville, ahead of the fourth Aramco Team Series event in Asia in October.

The Hero Women’s Indian Open at DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon will precede the fifth Aramco Team Series event, in Riyadh, at the beginning of November.

Finally, the 2023 season will culminate with the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de Españaat Real Club de Golf Las Brisas, Marbella, where the winner of the Race to Costa del Sol will be crowned.

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Stephen Gallacher to captain European Junior Ryder Cup team

detlef32 — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 16:09:47 +0000

Stephen Gallacher is been selected to captain Europe at the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup, while Ryder Cup Europe and the European Golf Association have also confirmed the selection process for the European junior team.

The Scot, a four-time DP World Tour winner, was part of the European team that retained the Ryder Cup in 2014, winning 16.5-11.5 at Gleneagles.

Six boys and six girls will take on the USA in Rome from September 26-28, 2023, with the first two days of the Junior Ryder Cup being played at Golf Nazionale before the singles matches are held at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, the Ryder Cup venue, on the eve of the 44th edition of the biennial contest between Europe and the United States.

Three boys and three girls will earn a place on the European Junior Ryder Cup team through a season-long ranking system, which has been organised by the European Golf Association, while the remaining six players will be selected by Gallacher, the European Junior Ryder Cup Captain.

Gallacher set up his own foundation to help and encourage junior golfers in Scotland and he will now lead the European junior team in Rome as he continues to inspire the next generation of golfers.

“I am absolutely delighted to be named Junior European Ryder Cup Captain for 2023,” said Gallacher. “It’s a privilege to be able to lead a team of the best juniors in Europe against America in Rome. “Playing the final day at Marco Simone will be a fantastic experience for our players who get the opportunity to compete in front of Ryder Cup crowds on the Ryder Cup course for the first time.”

He added: “I’m really looking forward to getting to some events during the year and working with the most exciting future talent in Europe.”

Players will earn points for the Rankings based on their finishing position in selected elite amateur events in 2023 and these points will be allocated using the World Amateur Golf Ranking system. The qualification process will end following The R&A Girls’ and Boys’ Amateur Championships on August 20, 2023.

Boys and girls who are citizens of a European country as defined by the International Golf Federation’s Nationality Policy, under 18 years of age on January 1, 2023, and who are not enrolled to play college golf in USA during 2023 are eligible to participate in the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup.

The 2021 Junior Ryder Cup was postponed due to the pandemic, although the US team that had been selected played an exhibition match at Whistling Straits.

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Rahm leads by two in Dubai as McIlroy remains in hunt for European No.1 title

detlef32 — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 14:42:49 +0000

Jon Rahm will take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai as he seeks to win the DP World Tour’s season-ending event for a third time.

The Spaniard started the third round four strokes off the pace, but carded a bogey-free, seven-under 65 to move to the top of the leaderboard, one stroke ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick, two ahead of two-time Alex Noren, and three ahead of world no.1 Rory McIlroy, who is projected to finish the season at the top of the DP World Tour rankings as he moved to a share of fourth place alongside Tyrrell Hatton on 12 under par. Hatton, who lead the field by two midway through the third round, dropped back after chalking up four bogeys on the back nine on Saturday to post a level-par 72.

Fitzpatrick could still end the year as European no.1 but would need to win the tournament tomorrow and for McIlroy to finish worse than second. A runner-up finish could also see the reigning US Open champion lift the Harry Vardon Trophy on Sunday night, but he would need McIlroy to finish worse than seventh.

Speaking after his excellent third round, Rahm said: “I don’t think I could have shot any lower today. I really got the most out the round. I wasn’t at my best off the tee, but I was still able to get some birdies out of some not so good situations. I didn’t hit any of the fairways on the par fives and still played them three under par, so I’ve got to be happy with that. I’m hoping I can be a little better off the tee tomorrow, and maintain my good play in the other parts of my game and have a smooth round like I did yesterday.”

McIlroy, who also fired a 65, said: I didn’t get off to a great start with a bogey at the first, but I hit two quality shots into two and was able to make eagle and bounced back from that.Overall, I just hit it in the fairway a bit more today, which made a big difference. I was able to get control of my approach shots and hit them close and make some easy birdies. So yeah, obviously I just need to do more of the same tomorrow and see where it takes me.

He added: “I’ve never won the FedExCup and and the European rankings in the same year, so it would be really nice to get that done. It’s been a wonderful year. I’ve played some really consistent golf. If I’m able to go out there tomorrow and shoot a good score and get the job done, it would be a really nice way to end what’s been a great year.”

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Rory McIlroy makes it clear that he doesn’t think LIV golfers should be on European Ryder Cup team

detlef32 — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 10:11:13 +0000

As the LIV Golf League does its best to integrate with other top leagues and golf organizations globally, it continues to receive pushback from the most powerful people in golf. The PGA Tour has banned all LIV Golf players and is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with a handful of them (including the league itself) to allow them back into the Tour. On the European side, the DP World Tour has allowed golfers to play, though it is unclear what the long-term solution will be there.

That brought up some bitterness last week at the BMW PGA Championship from players like Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy, who did not all believe that LIV Golf players should be taking the spots of regular DP World Tour players. McIlroy reiterated his stance on LIV golfers when he was asked about whether they should be on the Ryder Cup next year in Rome at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, where he is playing the Italian Open this week.

“I have said it once I’ve said it a hundred times, I don’t think any of those guys should be on the Ryder Cup Team,” McIlroy said.

The DP World Tour is in a difficult position. It was legally forced to allow LIV golfers into its events this summer, but given its depleted state and the fact that it is not nearly as strong as the PGA Tour, some big-name LIV golfers playing might actually be enticing for the tour to draw interest and attendance (even if it’s based around a bit of drama).

Then there is the matter of the Ryder Cup, which McIlroy has mentioned multiple times over the last few weeks. At a player-commissioner meeting at the BMW PGA Championship last week, Sergio Garcia, a LIV defector, asked DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley whether he and others would be allowed to play in the 2023 Ryder Cup. Here’s how it went down, according to Golf Digest.

“Pelley’s response was that they can certainly earn points starting this week, but we don’t know what will happen in the next 12 months. Any more questions? You could hear a pin drop. I was laughing at that point. I had expected this to last at least 90 minutes and maybe get a little hostile. But no. Just about nothing came of it all.”

Golfers are only able to earn Ryder Cup points at OWGR-sanctioned events, which at the moment does not include the LIV Golf League. Of course, all of this may be a non-starter anyway since most of the former Ryder Cuppers who are concerned about their future with the event are not playing good enough golf to make it anyway. It’s doubtful that Lee Westwood or Ian Poulter would have qualified, and though Garcia or Paul Casey may have gotten a captain’s pick, the former is not playing all that well and the latter has been injured quite often.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve got much of a relationship with [the Europeans who moved over to LIV Golf] at the minute,” McIlroy said. “But again, if you’re just talking about Ryder Cup, that’s not the future of the Ryder Cup team. They have played in probably a combined 25 Ryder Cups, 30 Ryder Cups, whatever it is. But the future of the Ryder Cup is the Hojgaards [Nicolai and Rasmus], Bobby Mac [Robert MacIntyre] and whoever else is coming up. They are what we should be thinking about and talking about.”

It’s a great point and one that makes most of this moot. The Euros have a new core of McIlroy, Rahm, Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton, and they’re not looking to lean on their old lions any longer.

“I think the European Team has a core of six or seven guys that I think we all know are pretty much going to be on that team, and then it’s up to some of the younger guys to maybe step up,” added McIlroy. … But I think we were in need of a rebuild, anyway. We did well with the same guys for a very long time but again as I just said, everything comes to an end at some point. I think Whistling Straits is a good sort of demarcation, I guess.

“That’s all behind us. We have got a core group of guys but let’s build on that again, and instead of filling those three or four spots with older veterans, let’s blood some rookies and let’s get them in and build towards the future. I think that’s important.”

A hearing is set for the beginning of 2023 on whether LIV golfers can play the DP World Tour. It will be significant if they’re allowed to as it relates to players getting OWGR points so that they can qualify for majors, but as for any of them making it onto the Rome Ryder Cup team? Whether they’re granted the ability to play the DP World Tour full-time or not, it’s doubtful that it will even matter.

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DP World Tour launches new European team match play event

detlef32 — Sun, 11 Sep 2022 15:03:34 +0000

Abu Dhabi Golf Club will host the first Hero Trophy in January next year

The DP World Tour has announced the creation of a new team match play event aimed at giving European players experience in the format ahead of potential future Ryder Cup appearances.

Two 10-man teams comprising players from Great Britain & Ireland and Continental Europe will be selected by European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, with the event taking place at Abu Dhabi Golf Club from January 13-15, 2023.

Donald will work with both teams in Abu Dhabi and will keep a close eye on the action inside the ropes across the three days, with the two team captains to be announced in due course.

The match, which closely resembles the Seve Trophy, which was held eight times from 2000 to 2013, will consist of one session of foursomes, one session of fourballs and one session of singles matches, with all 20 players taking part in each session.

The two teams will be confirmed following the conclusion of November’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, with performance on the DP World Tour rankings considered in the player selection process.

“One of the first things I was keen to do when I was appointed as Ryder Cup Captain was to reinstate a team match play contest to give playing and leadership experience to future Ryder Cup players, vice-captains and captains,” Donald said. “I spoke to a number of former Ryder Cup Captains who were strong advocates of how similar events in the past have benefitted players who were pushing to make Ryder Cup teams, as well as their own captaincy journey.”

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