Pablo Larrazabal secures Tour win
It seems like this weekend was Spain’s weekend. Spain claimed their first major Football title for 44 years after winning Euro 2008 with a deserved victory over Germany. And on the same day rookie golfer Pablo Larrazabal won his first PGA European Tour title as he clinched a shock victory at the French Open in Paris.
The French Open or Open de France was established in 1906 and is the oldest national golf open in Continental Europe and has been part of the European Tour’s schedule since the tour began in 1972.
Larrazabal sank seven birdies on his way to victory and will now compete in his first major, The Open in a few weeks time. Starting three strokes ahead of the rest of the field, Larrazabal extended his lead to five with three birdies in the first five holes. However, Larrazabal, the world number 481, hit a double bogey on the ninth to allow Montgomerie to within two shots of his lead. But the Spaniard held his nerve to sink birdies on the challenging 15th and 18th holes at Le Golf National and putted for par at the final two holes to win the £527,800 prize.
The New Rules of Golf
Watching tournament golf on the TV.
1 - The remote control is yours
In case you’ve forgotten, you’re the man of the house and, if it wasn’t for you, your beloved wouldn’t have a 56″ wall-mounted TV on which to watch Big Brother. Remind her of this next time the BMW PGA Championship clashes with Springwatch.
2 - Don’t get dressed up
What gives you the impression that getting changed into your golfing clothes is good practice for watching a tournament on your sofa? Would you dress up in a dinner suit to watch James Bond? No? Then get a grip.
3 - Chanting’s for football
“You’re not swinging anymore”? If you want to behave like your at a booze-fuelled work kareoke night, then go to a booze-fuelled work kareoke night.
4 - Leave your mates alone
mobile phones are brilliant inventions. Brilliant, but terrible. Because of them, the temptation to text your mates will always be hard to resist. For example, “Did U C Woods putt @ 12? LOL!” Nobody cares that much.
5 - Hide your credit card
Yes, the course looks nice and you might be in need of a holiday, but that’s no excuse for picking up the phone and paying for a luxury family holiday to the tournament resort so that you can follow in the footsteps of the guys on TV.
US Women’s Open
So, we’re 1 day away from finding out the winner of the US Women’s Open in Minnesota and it’s not looking too good for the British ladies, Catriona Matthew, Laura Davies, Karen Stupples and Janice Moodie. Catriona Matthew is going to have to work hard over the next few days if she plans on beating her current highest position in the US Women’s Open. She is currently Tied for 7th and her best finish was Tied for 4th. However, she is doing better in this Major than she has in the previous two so far this year, missing out on the halfway cut at both the Kraft Nabisco Championship and LPGA Championship.
Even Annika Sorenstam is behind on her position last year. She may have finished in Tied for 2nd and tied for 3rd at the Ladies Majors so far this year, but she’s currently Tied for 50th, so she’s quite a way to go.
If you think you can do better than this lot, why not check out our fantastic range of ladies golf equipment at Golfbuyitonline and prove it on the course!
Hill Billy Terrain Electric Golf Trolley
We all like tools to make jobs that little bit easier. In yesterday’s entry I told you about the GolfLogix GPS system which gives you all the information you need to plan your next move, well today I’m going to tell you about a new electric golf trolley from Hill Billy.
Hill Billy developed their first electric golf trolley in 1993 and since then have led the field, providing amateur golfers and seasoned tour pros alike with lightweight and durable electric golf trolleys. These make playing golf easier because the energy saved from pulling your golf trolley around can be more usefully used in actually playing golf.
Hill Billy’s engineers and designers work to refine and improve their products so that Hill Billy golf trolleys will cope with the toughest of course conditions and never let you down. Every piece, part and mechanism is put through rigorous testing, ensuring that reliability is at the heart of Hill Billy golf trolleys.
The Hill Billy Terrain Electric Trolley is now available from Golfbuyitonline and showcases the very latest in electric golf trolley technology. This powerful piece of technology can carry a full bag of clubs and has enough battery power for a full 18 holes of golf. Once you’ve finished your 18 holes you can fold it away and will fit happily in the boot of your car.
GolfLogix GPS
Information is power. These days we have access to so much information and sometimes it can be somewhat overwhelming which is why there are numerous devices out there to assist with making information easier to digest. On the golf course it helps to have as much information as possible so that you can plan your next move wisely. This is where GolfLogix comes in. With their golf course GPS system you have all the information about the course that you could need.
Since launching in 1999, GolfLogix has become one of the undisputed leaders in golf GPS. This GPS system gives you the precise accuracy and rugged durability that you need for a high-quality outdoor electronic device. In 2007 the USGA and R&A both sanctioned the use of satellite-based yardage measuring devices during competition. Now thousands of golfers worldwide are buying GolfLogix GPS devices. You’ll be able to find this exciting piece of kit at Golfbuyitonline at an unbeatable price!
GolfLogix is one of the most precise, durable, and user-friendly golf GPS devices on the market today. Wherever you are on the course, GolfLogix displays the key distances to hazards and the green in big bold numbers all on a sleek black palm-sized device. The screen advances automatically to all of the targets on the golf course so there are no buttons to push or lasers to point during your round. GolfLogix even recognises what course you are playing and can display the distance of your last shot! All you need to do is check your distance, choose your club, and enjoy your game. It couldn’t be easier.
The GolfLogix GPS can hold up to 20 courses at any one time, identifying 6 hazards per hole including front, centre & back of green, hazards, bunkers, water, lay-ups and carries.
Why not take advantage of Golfbuyitonline’s super fast delivery and competitive prices and give your game the right information to make your next move count!
Tiger Who?
There seems to be a lot of talk at the moment about Tiger Woods winning the US Open and also missing the rest of the golfing season. What I would like to say is does it really matter? Surely this takes the edge off the British golfers and Irish golfers knowing that Woods won’t be taking part. Isn’t it time that we got behind our own golfers and stopped worrying about Tiger Woods and his knee?
There are similar trends in other sports, like football for example. There are a large number, if not more Manchester United supporters that either do not live in or come from Manchester. Whatever happened to supporting your local team or local sports players? You can look at this in two different ways. Firstly, it is always easier to support the winning team or player and this can usually be applied to people who don’t really have any genuine interest in the sport. Secondly, it would appear that celebrity has crept into the sports we follow and therefore become engaged with their lives due to the number of column inches and news minutes they receive.
So yes, Tiger somebody or other is out for the rest of the golfing season, but let’s not forget, there are a fair few British golfers and Irish golfers in the top 100 all hoping to better their position and give us all a good round of golf to watch. These British golfers and Irish golfers are Justin Rose (9th), Padraig Harrington (13th), Lee Westwood (17th), Luke Donald (18th), Ian Poulter (39th), Paul Casey (43rd), Oliver Wilson (46th), Nick Dougherty (58th), Steve Webster (85th), Alastair Forsyth (91st), Bradley Dredge (97th) and Darren Clarke (100th).
When The Open begins in 3 weeks time remember, golf’s not just about Tiger Woods.
*Positions correct as of June 23rd 2008.
Tiger Woods might be out, but he’s still Number One
As we all know, Tiger Woods is out for the rest of the golfing season but his display at Torrey Pines was nothing short of spectacular. Even though it was clear his knee was causing him grief he managed to show the world just why he’s golf’s Number One.
With a 7,643-yard layout to contend with the emphasis was on both length and accuracy so Tiger Woods had to choose his golf clubs very carefully. Unlike Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods rarely makes changes to his golf clubs. When courses are running fast and the rough is not especially wet or deep, he normally takes out his 19° 5-wood and puts in a 2-iron. Tiger Woods used the 2-iron off the tee on many occasions at Royal Liverpool when he won The Open in 2006.
Here’s what Tiger Woods put in his golf bag at Torrey Pines:
Driver: Nike SasQuatch Tour (7.5°)
Fairway woods: Nike SasQuatch Sumo (15°, 19°)
Irons: Nike Forged Blades (3-PW)
Wedges: Nike Forged (56°, 60°)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2
23 Days Until the 2008 Open
Vijay Singh may have 3 major wins under his belt, but The Big Fijian is without a major win this year and with only 2 more major events to go this year he’ll have to work harder than he is already doing, which apparently, is harder than British golfers. Singh is no stranger to opening his mouth and causing a stir. In 2003 he was quoted as saying, “I hope she misses the cut … because she doesn’t belong out here” regarding Annika Sörenstam. Due to this Singh became known as “pro golf’s bad guy” as well as a “sexist oaf”, a “big, whiny, whimpering baby” and “Vijay the Villain”.
Singh uses a Cleveland 900 Tour Action Gun Metal Wedge. The unique finish on the gun metal version reduces glare and helps frame the ball at address. The treatment to create this finish is a proprietary process that retains the softness of the inner core while strengthening its exterior. Two solid years of research on the PGA Tours helped Cleveland develop the 900 series wedges with the consistency of Form Forged Irons and a new shape, size sole design. The 900 Form Forged Wedges feature a loft and bounce selection system that allows all golfers a simple way to select wedges for their own short games.
24 Days Until the 2008 Open
Phil Mickelson was paired with Tiger Woods at the recent US Open at Torrey Pines, struggled mightily even though he was seen as one of the top favourites to win; unfortunately he even notched a quadruple bogey. Finishing tied for 18th place he will be looking to improve on this if he is to beat his highest win at The Open which was 3rd place in 2004.
Mickelson’s putter is the White Hot XG putter by Odyssey which is the latest generation of White Hot Technology that uses a multi-layer insert and takes feel, feedback and distance control to the next level. The White Hot XG is Odyssey’s latest putter that uses a insert made up of multi-layers which results in excellent performance on the putting green. It combines two materials with different properties to take the level of feedback, feel and distance control to an all-new, extreme level.
25 Days Until the 2008 Open
Justin Rose may not have made the halfway cut at last weekend’s US Open, but he feels positive that his performance will improve for both the Traveller’s Championship and The Open. His result at the US Open is more disappointing that his result at this year’s Masters where he finished tied for 36th.
Rose hit some nice iron shots at Torrey Pines thanks to both his ability and also his TaylorMade rac TP Forged irons. TaylorMade engineers worked closely with Tour professionals to create the rac TP Forged irons, which sets a new industry standard in tour-performance irons. Improved rac technology makes this TaylorMade’s best-feeling forged iron ever. Thin top-line, progressive offset and great shape instantly increases confidence at address. Tour-cambered sole and leading edge limit turf-resistance for improved power and accuracy.
