Categories
Senior Tours

Star names announced for Farmfoods European Senior Masters 2021

The Farmfoods European Senior Masters 2021 has announced the first part of its star studded lineup with crowds set to return.

Running from 30th September to the 3rd October 2021, the esteemed golfing event will once again take centre stage at the Forest of Arden, Meriden, with none of other than Peter Baker, three-time European tour winner, as host. 

“I’m delighted to welcome back players and spectators to the European Senior Masters,” said Baker, who has hosted the contest every year to date.

“During the days of the pandemic, golf was one of the main sporting highlights for fans to enjoy from the comfort of their own sofas, but nothing beats being there in person.

“It’s therefore with great pleasure to say that not only do we have some of the best seniors in the game in action, but also, that fans will be able to experience it all first-hand, live and in person.”

Located at the stunning Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, the four-day ESM event will certainly be a spectacle for golfing enthusiasts. 

Ian Woosnam OBE, Paul Lawrie OBE and Jarmo Sandelin are just some of the players who will be aiming for the prize this year, with a €150,000 total prize fund and an impressive €50,000 for the winner.

Last time out, Thomas Levet took the 2019 title, one shot clear of Markus Brier in second, with Lawrie, Sandelin, and Woosnam sharing third place.

Luckily, spectators will finally be allowed to come and watch the action unfold, with tickets costing just £20 for all four days, or £10 per day. 

The event format is as follows: 

Day one (Thursday): Pro-Am team event. One pro player will join three amateurs to play one round of the course, and whichever team tops the leader board wins the day.  

Day two/three (Friday/Saturday): The Alliance. This is where the action steps up a notch. Over the course of two days, one pro is paired with one amateur, and both players will traverse the course together, playing one round on both days. The pro’s scores count on the main leader board and the amateurs play for an amateur prize. After the play has finished on Saturday, the winning amateur will receive their prizes before stepping aside for the last day. 

Day four (Sunday): Final day’s play. Only professionals will play on this day, which will consist of one more round of the course. Whoever tops the leader board at the end of the day wins the title and prize money.  

With just over a month to go, event organisers Champions UK plc spoke of the preparation in delivering the high-profile event:

“We’re all busy preparing the final touches for the tournament,” said John Hayes, CEO of leading brand agency Champions UK plc.

“It’s exciting to see so many of our sponsors return to the iconic Forest of Arden course. It’s certainly shaping up to be an event to remember.”

Sponsors of the event include Lord’s Taverners, a leading disability sports charity and Farmfoods.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact [email protected]

To join us at this year’s tournament, please head to the tickets page: https://europeanseniormasters.com/booking/event-ticket/forest-of-arden-2021.  

Categories
European Challenge Tour Live Satellite Tours

Tinning set for second Challenge of the Danish Swing

Nicolai Tinning is looking to take inspiration from his sporting family as he prepares to tee it up in the Sydbank Esbjerg Challenge this week.

The Dane competed in his first European Challenge Tour event of the 2021 Road to Mallorca International Schedule last week at the Made in Esbjerg Challenge – Presented by FREJA & TotalEnergies, finishing in a respectable tie for tenth place at Esbjerg Golfklubb, which also provides the setting for this week’s event.

Tinning is looking to rekindle the winning tradition that is prominent in his family after his father

His father, Steen Tinning, has two wins apiece on both the European Tour and the Legends Tour, while Tinning Snr’s cousin, Iben Tinning, also had a successful career recording six Ladies European Tour titles.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “I’ve been coming here since I was 12, I have quite a big golf family. My dad is the guy to speak to about everything, we have talked a lot about Tour life and how to get around, how to behave and how to play Pro-Ams. Some of it I have learnt from my dad and I’ve talked a lot with my Dad’s cousin Iben who also played a high level of golf and of course my coach Ben.

“I enjoyed last week a lot, there was a lot of people here the first week, it was amazing. I didn’t play that well on Saturday but I played really well on Friday so it was amazing to play here and there can’t be a better place for me to play a tournament.”

The 28-year-old competed in 19 European Challenge Tour events in 2019 with his best result coming at the Swiss Challenge Presented by Swiss Golf in which the Dane recorded a tie for 13th place but has admitted that it is excellent to be back playing after being very busy off the course.

“I’m just trying to enjoy it,” he said. “I played 19 events on the Challenge Tour and then Covid came. There have been a lot of things going on in my personal life, I’m going to be a dad in January, and I got married last year, so it’s just trying to enjoy it and play this amazing course. I just love being here.”

Tinning is joined in the field for the Sydbank Esbjerg Challenge by last week’s Made in Esbjerg – Presented by FREJA & TotalEnergies champion and five-time Challenge Tour winner Ricardo Gouveia, as well as three-time Challenge Tour winner Daan Huizing.

The action in the second event of the Danish Swing gets under way at 7:30am local time on Tuesday August 17, with Tinning teeing it up alongside fellow Dane Nicolai Kristensen and Robin Dawson of Ireland at 9:10am.

Press Release by the European Communication

Categories
Ladies European Tour Ladies Tours

LPGA Tour. Class recognizes class

Charley Hull (25), from England had just arrived from playing the 2021 LPGA Women’s Scottish Open at Dumbarnie Links, in Fife, Scotland. Hull could not have been more consistent as she played four rounds of -3 (69) in a row, to finish T5 with a total of -12, and $46,478 more to her career earnings. Charley began playing with her father at Kettering Golf Club. She left school aged 13 to be home schooled, and started playing in amateur tournaments. She had her rookie year in 2015, when she only missed one cut, and she plans on continuing to compete with the best in the world. She is currently T34 in the Rolex Ranking, after she moved up 4 positions last weekend.

During the Women’s Scottish Open, Hull was tied for the leader with a total of -9 after the third round. However, Ryann O’Toole, from USA, signed a crazy final round of -8 (64) to win the tournament. O’Toole is currently ranked T71 in the Rolex Ranking, after she improved in 40 positions in Scotland. Golf is unpredictable and every shot makes a difference. Today, Charley Hull shared the victory of her mate O’Toole, recognizing the great work of hers and looking forward to come back to the course next weekend, or “the office” as she likes to call it, to compete at the 2021 AIG Women’s Open Championship, in Carnoustie Golf Links, Scotland, from August 19-22.

Categories
Live

Official World Golf Ranking: Jon Rahm holds on to top spot

Keep up with our concise analysis, getting straight to the point on the developments in the last week and changes in the official world golf rankings.

Top 5 OWGR Leaderboard

# Name Nationality Points Total Points Gained Events
1 Jon Rahm ESP 462.76 248.11 47
2 Dustin Johnson USA 380.51 123.75 42
3 Collin Morikawa USA 449.5 312.25 52
4 Xander Schauffele USA 347.22 204.35 47
5 Justin Thomas USA 357.23 162.31 52
Jon Rahm leads in the official world golf ranking this week. The Spaniard’s points average is 9.846 at the time of publication. Rahm’s rank has not changed since last week. ​ Behind him on the official world golf ranking is Dustin Johnson, 37 years old, at rank 2. The American has, in comparison to last week, not gone up or down in the rankings. Third in the rankings this week is Collin Morikawa, 37, with a points average of 8.6442. Yoseop Seo has climbed the most places in the official world golf rankings this week. He has managed to jump 632 places in the world ranking list, and is now sitting at 490 rank. The South Korean jumped from position 1122, with a current point average of 0.273. The highest ranked Englishman in the official world golf rankings is currently Tyrrell Hatton, in place 13 and has remained unchanged since last week.
Categories
PGA Tour

Justin Rose is “gutted” over his PGA season being over

Despite his successful year, Rose failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup for the first time in his PGA career.

His current season highlights include finishing T8 at the PGA Championship, his second consecutive top-10 at the event and fifth in his career. Led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (2.932 per round). During the Masters, he shot a first-round 65 and took a four-stroke 18-hole lead before finishing solo-seventh.

The FedExCup is a season-long points competition which culminates with the FedExCup Playoffs, a series of three events to determine the FedExCup Champion. The top 125 players in the FedExCup standings are eligible for the FedExCup Playoffs with the three events featuring a progressive cut with fields of 125, 70 and 30. Justin Rose currently ranks at 126 which leaves him out of the running for this season’s championship. Despite missing out this year, Rose seems to be holding his head high for his fans.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Player’s Career Highlights from the official PGA website

Categories
Ladies European Tour Ladies Tours

Ryann O’Toole: “Words cannot describe what I am feeling right now”

Q. Here with the Trust Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open after 11 years on Tour, how does it feel it walk away an LPGA Tour champion?

RYANN O’TOOLE: Words cannot describe what I am feeling right now. I still can’t even — it didn’t seem real. It seems very surreal, and definitely a dream come true. I can’t believe it’s taken this long to win but it’s finally here.

THE MODERATOR: You talked a little bit out there about kind of the mindset going into today. Yesterday you said, “I’m going for the win.” You co-led after the third round for the first time in your career. What were you thinking as you stepped to the first tee this morning?

RYANN O’TOOLE: The first three rounds, I think even the last couple of round, I’ve felt very calm, patient. I could tell that my game was getting there. I feel like I’ve just had this different sense to me this year where the game feels good and I know where the ball is going and I know what my swing is doing and if it gets off a little bit, I know how to fix it.

But for the most part, I felt staying patient was key. Even the last few events, I’ve been putting myself up there and couldn’t get that final fourth round going. I just think patience. It was never a playing issue or anything like that. It’s just getting things to fall or things kind of go your way.

This week I felt like I really started off strong. I kind of told myself going into this week, let’s get a first round a little lower than I typically have. Like I typically have a slow start, maybe 1- or 2-under but it was nice to shoot 4-under the first day, even given the circumstances of the weather, and then back it up the next day with another solid round.

To go into the weekend and shoot what I did I think I just stayed completely in the moment because I didn’t even think about shooting 8-under today.

THE MODERATOR: I was going to say, did it feel memorable to you when you were out there? Did you black out for a moment or during the round?

RYANN O’TOOLE: I honestly feel it was one shot at a time. There was moments I go to the bathroom and I’m sitting there by myself and it’s quiet and I’m, okay, don’t think about anything else, just back to what is the tee shot coming up. Or I would draw on my yardage book just to distract myself back to the present and not get ahead of myself.

Because at the end of the day I didn’t know what anybody else was doing. I know obviously what the girls in my group were doing, but there was plenty of girls that were right there that could have had a great day and had no idea. I didn’t know what the girls in front of us were doing but even groups ahead of that. Trying to stick to my game plan and hope that my caddie put me in position accordingly and if we needed to press or we needed to keep chugging along, so I think that went really well.

Q. What does it mean to win the first one in Scotland?

RYANN O’TOOLE: Having Irish in my background, O’Toole, I think regardless, winning over here, I guess take it back to my first year, second year on Tour and playing my first British Open and learning what true links was. I felt like I got my butt kicked.

And after that I was like, wow, there’s so much to learn and change and grasp on this style of golf and after that, I fell in love with it, how to hit a really low tee shot, how to play the contours of the green and the course and I just feel like I love this style of golf and to have this be my first win, it seems fitting.

Q. Where was the butt kicking?

RYANN O’TOOLE: Royal Liverpool. It blew. One of the rounds got called for the day. I had never played in anything like that, and I remember hitting tee shots that just flung across, like those aren’t going to work here.

Q. What do you draw on your yardage book?

RYANN O’TOOLE: Waves. Flowers. Imaging my happy place, being at the beach surfing. I just try to random stuff that’s easy to draw that just occupies my mind. I was drawing the 18th hole at St Andrews, stuff like that.

Q. Presumably after 228 or 227 (tournaments), did doubts begin to form that you would make that breakthrough?

RYANN O’TOOLE: Yeah, it definitely was one of those like as a kid I dreamed of being No. 1 and dreaming of going out there and being this athletic golfer that just added a spice to the game and then, you know, life doesn’t go that direction.

Yeah, you start pressing and putting doubt, and wondering, is my time ever going to come; do I have the ability to, you know, make this happen; are the stars going to align, because that’s what I felt like. I think this year, after last year, COVID year was hard. I didn’t get to play the Scottish or the British. I had got COVID so I was stuck in the States. I was so happy to be able to come over here and play this year.

But I just think with that whiplash of last year and just the uncertainty and the offness, it kind of just brought this motivation for this year to have steadiness back to our normal schedule and things like that. Things are going well. I’m working well with my coach, Jorge Prado, I’ve had him since 2014. He’s done wonders for my game. I don’t see myself ever having a different golf coach.

My caddie that I had this year, he retired last week go, figure. So me and Mikey I think work really well together. That was a surprise and something that I thought, wow, I thought — I didn’t think I would be changing caddies in the middle of this year. Didn’t hurt me.

I love where my equipment is at. PXG has done wonderful. This is my fifth year with them. I think their product has come a long, long way. I strike their irons really well. Driver is phenomenal. No complaints.

Q. More champagne tonight?

RYANN O’TOOLE: More champagne, yeah. Maybe more in my belly than on me.

O’Toole discusses her caddie change

Q. The caddie change, was that expected?

RYANN O’TOOLE: No. To be honest so we finished Evian on Sunday and walked off the green and he started crying and said, “I have to talk to you about something.”

I was like, “Am I in trouble? Was I mean? What happened?”

He said out of the blew that he’s homesick and is ready to retire and wants to start a family. Loves competing, but the downtime in the hotel room and stuff was eating at him. He wanted to be back home. What are you supposed to do? Can’t get mad or upset.

I would have loved him to stick around for the British, but I guess this worked out in the end. It’s just the little bit of difference that Mikey provided me. He really painted a picture with every shot, start it here, finish it here, and it’s like, no problem, I can do that, and away went this week.

Q. His surname?

RYANN O’TOOLE: Curry. Michael Curry.

Who was your old caddie? Reed Martin. Great guy. He came from the PGA TOUR and he’s going to go back to Korn Ferry and was like, let’s give the women’s tour a chance. Literally between him crying and telling me it was nothing to do with me, I think truly he just wanted to be home.

Q. How many years was he with you?

RYANN O’TOOLE: Just this year starting. He was working with Mark had you been barred for three years prior to me. But I think he’s about to ask his — I can’t actually say that, that would give it away. He’ll hopefully be engaged soon and has a dog and just life’s at home.

Q. How did you know Mike?

RYANN O’TOOLE: Him and Sophia split right after Evian and so I know he was looking. To be honest I wanted him at the beginning of the year. So I reached out at the beginning of the year and he had already committed to Sophia Popov. So, well, here I am now.

She really enjoyed the Links Course

Q. My first question is: Do you think links golf brings out the best in you and fits your personality the best?

RYANN O’TOOLE: I don’t know how to take that question, fits my personality the best. A little sparky, is that what you’re saying?

I do. I think links, especially when it’s windy, challenges the ball-striker. I feel like my best part of my game is my iron play. I would think so. And then being able to have that really low tee driver helps in the wind, so if it’s any crosswind or anything like that, I really don’t sit on the tee box and fear where the heck the ball is going to go. I think the biggest challenge for me this week was getting the speeds down on the greens, whether we were into the wind or downwind. I just feel like having it being windy, the greens are not running what we’re used to. I just felt like what I always felt good on 5-footers or anything, just trying to get it to the hole. I never had an issue getting a putt to the hole and this week I left a lot in the jar, but I guess it still worked out.

Q. You’ve had a really consistent year. You said that things are just aligning. Is there one area or one decision that you made that you really feel has set you on this path to the winner’s circle this year?

RYANN O’TOOLE: You know, I think you get to a point in your life where you’re sitting here going, okay, I’m getting married in December, and okay, my clock’s ticking, I want to have kids. Like how much longer am I going to be out here. I thought maybe this year would be my last year or I don’t even know, I haven’t even really announced that. I’ve been kind of playing it by ear.

I think just kind of letting go of this, I’ve got to make something happen, I’ve got to do this; it’s just accepting there’s more to life. There’s a future of other things, and I think that just kind of eased up out here rather than the pressure of just making the pressure — I’m Ryann in a lot of different ways rather than just Ryann the golfer.

I feel like it’s been a long time coming as far as all the work and effort I’ve been putting towards getting to where I am today. It’s always a combination of where your swing is at, where your head is at, your team with your caddie, I think that makes a huge difference. It’s a partnership out there, and how you guys communicate and all that. It’s funny, this is the first week we worked together and I win. So, who knows? I’m excited to see what happens next week.

Q. So did what happened today just prolong your career for certain?

RYANN O’TOOLE: Don’t tell Gina. I don’t know. I’m trying to figure that out. I’ve never wanted to be a mom on Tour as far as having a kid and doing all that. It doesn’t sound fun to me. But at the same time, I don’t know if I could stop playing golf now.

THE MODERATOR: Speaking of Gina, there is a question on Zoom. We saw Gina on the green there watching you walk up 18 and you saw the emotion from her and the emotion from the two of you when she was able to pour champagne on you. What does it mean for to you have this win with her on the green and just the journey that you two have been on to get to this moment?

RYANN O’TOOLE: You know, I said earlier, winning, there’s plenty of weeks I’ve been out here by myself and my parents or Gina haven’t been out here. You think of whipping and you’re like who, will be out there to pure champagne on you or who is going to be there to greet you or who has been next to you on the off weeks or next to you when you cried because you were frustrated of missing cut or not playing well on the weekend or whatever.

She’s definitely been there for me. She’s always been on the other end, every time I go to play, I call her before I tee off, right when I get done, just talk about my round or to wish me luck. To see the emotion in her and to be there, she knows how hard I work and how much that this game has cut me open and how much this game has now given back to me.

It’s so nice to be able to share that, and to be myself out there and to have her greet me on the green and just live in a world today that I’m not scared to hide that.

THE MODERATOR: I love that — sorry.

RYANN O’TOOLE: Thanks.

THE MODERATOR: Carnoustie is ahead of us next week. What are your thoughts and obviously going in with a win, how much confidence are you feeling in your game after what you were able to do on the links?

RYANN O’TOOLE: I want to go in with the same game plan as this week. Obviously expectations are going to be different. I don’t see how they can’t be; I’d be lying to myself. But I just think proving that I can do it, if I take the game that I had this week, there’s no reason that I don’t have a shot next week. I always wanted to see what happens when I break the seal, what would happen to the future.

Q. So I hope it’s okay if I ask this, but if you were going to retire at the end of this year and you hadn’t won, how would that have eaten at you? How big of a hole was that?

RYANN O’TOOLE: Between you and I, it definitely would have ate at me. I definitely feel like it would have been unfinished business and something I never would have known what the feel is. Now that I’ve had a taste, I feel like that’s going to be a hard one to give up.

So I might have to like have a little chat and figure out what my next steps are. There was honestly no actual set plan to retire. It was just a question of, my clock’s ticking, and I know that as a female, and what do I want to do going forward.

But that mainly was the thought process. My sister just had a kid and she’s like, he needs cousins, let’s golf I’m just like, oh my gosh, okay. Hang on.

So I’m still trying to figure out like one step at a time, just one week at time a time.

THE MODERATOR: Where is the trophy going to go?

RYANN O’TOOLE: I think I need a trophy room. I do. I really think so. It’s going to go in my pillow between — next to me tonight maybe. But till then, maybe I can start making something in my gym at home.

Categories
Ladies European Tour

Charley Hull: “I think I played really aggressive”

Q. What a fantastic day out there, what a way to end the Women’s Scottish Open, how do you feel after the final round?

CHARLEY HULL: I actually haven’t played well at The Scottish Open before. Definitely nice to be able to kind of finish on a high. The wind was a lot calmer today, so made it a little bit more gettable.

I think I played really aggressive — well, I tried to stay pretty aggressive, and that’s been the mindset feeding off last week. So yeah, just kept it to that and definitely nice to cap this week on a high and hopefully good momentum going into next week.

Q. Reminded me of the final round at ANA where you came back there. How comfortable were you feeling and when did the momentum start kicking in for you?

CHARLEY HULL: I actually hit the ball really well on the first day and I couldn’t really hole anything, and today I holed a few good putts. Made a few good up-and-down. I had two really good looks for eagle and one I converted and one I didn’t. But all in all, you know, I played solid and I think all you can do is just trust your game and I feel like a lot of good things are there.

So you know, I was just trusting it all day like I thought on the last day of the Olympics, and what’s meant to be is going to be. So yeah, I think with that mindset, it definitely putts a lot less pressure on it and I’m just out there playing golf and not trying to do — like trying to get extra out of something that I can’t control.

Q. Last two rounds, bogey-free, that’s got to help your confidence heading into the major.

CHARLEY HULL: I think overall, having a good finish here, that gives me good momentum heading into next week. This was a great golf course leading up to Carnoustie. This is a true links and we know what Carnoustie is like. I’m super excited for next week and learn from this week and take the positives and work on the things that I feel like needs to be worked on and have fun out there and see what happens.

Interview transcript by asapsports.com

Categories
Ladies Tours

Charley Hull: “I’m not a fan of links, but I love this golf course”

Q. Charley, how satisfied are you with your first round here at the Scottish Open?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, it was good. A shame I bogeyed the last hole, but just come up a bit short. And, yeah, no, it’s good. I love the golf course. I’m not a fan of links, will but I love this golf course. I think it’s great.

Q. What is that you’re not a fan of?

CHARLEY HULL: I like links, but I just find it hard to play in a tournament. I just love tree line-type golf courses, where links I find is find very, very there in front of you. Can’t really visualize it very well, but I really like this golf course.

Q. What is it that you do like about it? Because it does seem very different, it’s modern but —

CHARLEY HULL: I don’t know, it’s just — I don’t know what it is, but I just like it.

Q. And how do you feel about your form then generally over this summer?

CHARLEY HULL: Yeah, feels good. I feel in good form at the minute. I think I’ve played — by the end of this, next week, I’ve played 10 weeks out of 12, so that’s a lot of golf. So I’m just getting tired. I’m turning up to events quite late. Didn’t get here till Tuesday night. So just playing. Quite like that attitude actually.

Q. It could work, could be just about feel rather than preparation?

CHARLEY HULL: 100 percent. I prepared well winter and all throughout the year. So I’m coming to the event prepared, just a bit late, turn my mind off on the Monday.

Q. And what about this field? This is a strong field. Is it good to test yourself against that?

CHARLEY HULL: Yes, a normal LPGA field. It’s good to have some of the girls here to join the Tour, so it’s good.

Q. Good luck tomorrow.

Interview transcript by asapsports.com

Post round interview with Charley Hull after round one fo the Women’s Scottish Open

Categories
Knowledge PGA Tour Team UK Top Tours

Justin Rose is named the 2021 recipient of the Payne Stewart Award

Justin Rose, the englishman golfer who is a 11-time PGA winner, as well as the 2013 U.S. Open winner and 2016 Olympic gold medalist in Rio, was named the 2021 recipient of the Payne Stewart Award, which is presented annually by the PGA Tour to the golfer who best exemplifies character, charity and sportsmanship.

Stewart, a three-time major champion, perished in a 1999 plane crash as the reigning U.S. Open champion. A year after that fatal date, the PGA created this award to honor his name and character.
Rose, turned professional in ’98, a year before Payne died, and was able to have a few brief interactions with Payne long before Rose held a trophy in his honor. The 2021 recipient definitely remembers the kind words that Steward had with him at The Open Championship in ’98, when Rose was just hitting balls on the range and Payne stopped by to compliment his swing: “Oh, that’s how it’s done.”

The Payne Stewart Award is specially meaninful because it goes beyond the golfing skills, but instead this prize recognizes the characteristics that define a great role model for the rest of the world, without any descriminations.
Some of the most recognizable players have won this Award in the past as well, such as Ernie Els (2015), Gary Player (2006), Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer both in (2000).
It is a chance for the recipient to bring the world matters back to the spotlight and to create awarness through their actions or foundations. Justin Rose and his wife founded The Kate & Justin Rose Foundation in Florida, which helps members of the community with lack of sources and money to fulfill their plates and to enrich their minds, raising more than $3 million and providing “500,000 hunger-free weekends” and 300,000 books.

“Justin Rose embodies everything the Payne Stewart Award represents,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said. “Like Payne, he has been one of the premier players of his generation while using his platform to better the lives of those around him.”

Categories
European Tour

Wiesberger and Perez eyeing Ryder Cup run at Cazoo Classic

Tournament Preview

Bernd Wiesberger and Victor Perez will tee it up in this week’s Cazoo Classic at London Golf Club, both harbouring hopes of staking a late claim to secure a place on Pádraig Harrington’s European Ryder Cup team.

Both players are well and truly in the mix as the race for qualification concludes at the end of next month’s BMW PGA Championship, before Team Europe journeys to Whistling Straits in Wisconsin two weeks later in an attempt to retain the famous trophy they lifted in Paris three years ago.

Austrian Wiesberger currently lies in seventh position on the European Points List, helped by an eighth European Tour victory earlier this year at Made in HimmerLand presented by FREJA, while Frenchman Perez sits just outside the cut-off mark on the World Points List behind Irishman Shane Lowry.

Wiesberger has enjoyed a three-week break since making the cut at The Open and returns to Kent feeling fresh and ready for the challenge. Perez, meanwhile, played last week’s WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis and is now targeting a return to the kind of form which earned him a fourth place finish in March’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

Andy Sullivan is a man who has already experienced the Ryder Cup, having played in 2016, and the Englishman’s most recent European Tour win came almost exactly a year ago on home soil, so he will be hoping to feed off the memories of his 2020 English Championship triumph this week.

Player Quotes

Bernd Wiesberger: “I have not played a massive amount of golf in my time off to be honest, that’s why I’m feeling nice and fresh and enjoy hitting a few balls. I played 18 holes today for the second time since Sunday at The Open.

“So they were short golfing days for me back at home, but I’ve been up to all sorts of things, tried three weeks off tournament golf, but it’s time to switch on again and get a few good weeks going this week at London Golf Club.

“I’m not the youngest anymore so I need to conserve my energy and I feel good. I had a lovely time yesterday with Titleist up at the new facility at Woburn and got everything nicely dialled in and played 18 practice holes because it’s my first time at London Golf Club.

“The course looks like, I feel like it’s really a golf course that suits my game and that’s always good, to come to a place that does that. I feel fresh, eager to get going again and I’m looking forward to the week.

“Well there’s really only one target for me over the next four events I’m playing, four of the next five. After that fourth week there is a big cut-off so that’s the big target and just try and enjoy these four weeks and free up for them, give everything in those events and try get the best outcome possible. We’ll see if we reach that goal.”

Victor Perez: “Obviously I didn’t have the best of weeks last week, I felt like some parts of the game worked for me and some parts of the games were poor and it’s just a case of putting it all together. There were some good stretches which has been the case for a long time in the last five or six months where it’s been good for a little bit, bad for little bit and not consistent enough.

“So it’s just a matter of putting it all together. The course looks great and I’m excited for the week. It’s part of the game where you look and think a 67 should be a 72 and it works both ways so you just have to be grateful for the times it works and be patient for the times when it doesn’t work.

“Sometimes you shoot 71 and you feel like you’re so close to a 68 and getting the rounds going and equally sometimes you shoot 67 and you get away withy a lot, so it’s a matter of perspective really.

“It’s a big puzzle and it’s just a matter of figuring it out, the right balance oif it all. Sometimes it works and you don’t know why and you keep risding that wave. Then something gets a little off and it’s just a matter of putting the pieces together where you’re comfortable enough to just play. It’s always so easy when it works and equally it can be very difficult.

“It can happen so quickly, you get off to a great week. You get a win and then all of a sudden you’re straight back into the conversation so with the double points and the way it’s turning out to be, it’s going to come all the way down to the final week at Wentworth – being a Rolex Series event with double points. I think at the end of the day it’s just all about playing well, giving yourself chances and hitting good shots.”

Andy Sullivan: “I feel like the game is good, I’ve been playing nicely without doing anything special, just not being getting up and down around the greens enough in honesty.

“I’ve been going along nicely, not getting up and down and you come back a couple of shots or a shot and it just completely zaps all momentum in the round so I’ve been doing a bit of work the last couple of weeks on that, trying to get that tighter, but the game feels in good shape.

“I’m loving the greens this week, the greens are really quick which is a lot more down my alley so without having too much form coming in here I’m actually feeling quite confident my game.

“We’re all out here to be competitive, aren’t we, and when you’re not it is frustrating and there’s no hiding that. I’m not going to stand here and say I’m really happy I finished 50th the last two weeks because I’m not. I’m fuming with it, it’s not nice, so in all honesty finishing 50th the last two weeks is massively frustrating and I want to be at the top end of the leaderboard. It’s not nice going into Sunday’s and not really got much to play for so try and rectify that this week and make sure the short game is tight.”

Press Release by the European Communication Team