The delighted golfer posted a picture of the couple on Twitter with another of the sparkling ring on Wozniaki's finger
Tuesday 31 December 2013
McIlroy and Wozniacki to marry
Golfer Rory McIlroy and former world number one tennis player Caroline Wozniacki are to marry, the pair announce.
ARNOLD PALMER REMEMBERS GOOD FRIENDS WHO DIED IN 2013
FROM GOLFTALK CENTRAL WEBSITE
By the one and only ARNOLD PALMER
This is the season of nostalgia. As one year of memories gets packed away, another filled with opportunity beckons. Before we jump headlong into 2014, I’d like to take a few minutes and remember some of the good people we lost in 2013.
My formative experience with losing a loved one came in 1950. I was a senior at Wake Forest when my roommate, Bud Worsham, was killed in an automobile accident. Bud was my best friend; in fact, he was the reason I had attended Wake Forest in the first place.
What made his loss even harder to handle was the fact that I might very well have been in that car that night had I not opted to skip a Homecoming dance and instead attend a movie.
I bring that up because there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of Bud Worsham. There’s not a facet of my life that hasn’t been improved for knowing him, albeit so briefly.
I’ve lost many loved ones over the years: my father in 1976, my mother in 1979 and of course, my wife Winnie in 1999.
But Bud’s death taught me the lesson – wrenching as it was – that death is a part of life, and that the memories are worth the pain. I celebrate that lesson in remembering these departed friends.
Miller Barber: If all you knew about Miller
Barber was his golf swing, you’d say he had no shot. He had the ultimate chicken-wing right arm and held the club virtually perpendicular to the ground at the top of his backswing. But what people overlooked with Miller – as they do with most good players with unorthodox swings – was that he had a great release through the ball. And while he may not have been the most athletic looking player, Miller was very strong and very powerful.
He also enjoyed a pretty colorful nightlife, though one that was opaque to the rest of us. In those seemingly simpler days, groups of us would often get together and frequent the same bars or restaurants, but Miller never told us where he was going that night or where he’d been the night before. As a result, our PGA Tour colleague Jim Ferree dubbed Barber “The Mysterious Mr. X.” Over time the moniker was reduced simply to X. Up until the last time I saw him, I still called him X, not Miller. He had a great sense of humor and took to the nickname. But he also remained the man of mystery and a very close friend.
Bill Campbell: Bill was not only one of the great gentlemen of the game, he was one of the great gentlemen, period. Sandy Tatum, the high priest of American amateur golf, once said that “in the whole history of golf there have been just two ultimate quintessential golfers: Bill Campbell and Bobby Jones.”
Like Jones, even though he lived a full life off the course, Bill (pictured right)regularly competed against the best players in the world.
Although he and I were never paired together in a major championship, we did compete in 1965 when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and I took on three outstanding amateurs in Bill, Deane Beman and Dale Morey. I wasn’t playing my best, and as we were walking down the fairway I was trying to keep a positive outlook. I said to Bill, “My father always said to me, ‘He can who thinks he can.’ Bill, do you believe you can force yourself to do things?”
Bill said, “Well, Arnold, I can’t argue with that. You’re pretty strong evidence of it.”
Perhaps the story that best illustrates Bill’s exalted place in the game came from Jack Nicklaus. Years ago Jack had been debating the finer points of amateur status with Frank Hannigan, the former executive director of the USGA. Jack said to Frank, “Name one top amateur who doesn’t take anything from the manufacturers.’
“Bill Campbell,” replied Hannigan. Jack paused for a moment. “Okay. You can have Campbell,” he said. “Name another one.”
Frank Stranahan: Stranny, who passed away in June, is one of the most overlooked talents in the history of the game. This guy (pictured with his wife) was sensational. He pretty much won everything there was to win as an amateur, including three North and Souths, three Western Ams, two Canadian Ams and two British Ams. The only important amateur trophy that eluded him was the U.S. Amateur, in which he finished runner-up in 1950.
Given that he came from a wealthy family (his father founded Champion spark plugs), many of us expected Frank to remain a lifelong amateur, but he turned pro and won six times on the PGA Tour before leaving competitive golf in the mid-1960s to focus on business.
“Muss,” as we also called him because of his fastidious appearance, had the complete package: a terrific game, dazzling good looks and lots of money. People credit Gary Player with bringing fitness to the game, but Stranny, who used to travel with barbells in his suitcase, was a devoted fitness buff and health nut. He ran dozens of marathons, and competed in bodybuilding and weightlifting well into his 70s.
One last note about Frank. I am often given credit for “salvaging” the British Open in the early 1960s. We can argue whether the game’s most historic championship really was in danger of sinking, but it is safe to say that after World War II, many American competitors simply found it easy and more profitable to compete here in the United States. Frank never quit on the Open. He continued to compete there on a regular basis, and finished second in 1947 and 1953.
His devotion to the Open Championship is what inspired me to go over in 1960. I won the following year, and I’ve been credited ever since with “saving” the Open, but it was Frank who paved the way.
Pat Summerall: His football colleague John Madden put it best when he said of the millions of sports fans who embraced Pat Summerall’s mellow brand of broadcasting, “They invited a gentleman into their homes.”
Whether it was football or golf, Pat became as much a part of the fabric of American sports as the leather on the arms of our easy chairs. I thought it was a beautiful gesture when Augusta National Golf Club offered him membership upon his retirement from television. Though out of the spotlight, the final years of Pat’s life, when he reacquainted himself with the most important thing in anyone’s life, family, were some of the happiest he ever enjoyed.
Ken Venturi: Ken became well known to casual golf fans when he joined the television booth in the late 1960s, but he was a force in the game as early as the late 1940s. A student of Byron Nelson and frequent playing partner of Ben Hogan, Ken (pictured below) was a formidable talent whose career was both sparked and unravelled by physical ailments.
He first took up golf as a 13-year-old in response to his teacher’s diagnosis of Ken as a “an incurable stammerer.” He took up the loneliest sport he knew.
His ironman performance in winning the 1964 U.S. Open while battling severe dehydration remains the hallmark by which on-course toughness is measured. But ultimately it was another physical challenge, carpal tunnel syndrome, which forced his early retirement in the late 1960s and encouraged his transition to the broadcast booth.
Ken and I will likely forever be linked by a rules decision invoked while playing in the final round of the 1958 Masters.
On the 12th hole, I hit a 6-iron off the tee and my ball plugged into its own pitch mark on the back fringe of the green. The ground was wet and soft, and a local rule providing relief from an embedded ball was in effect all week. I was leading by a shot, and just to be safe I called over the rules official, the late Arthur Lacey. I proposed that I could lift, clean and drop my ball without penalty to a spot as close as possible to the original position and no nearer the hole (a stance with which Ken agreed), but Lacey disagreed, saying I had to play the embedded ball. I knew I was right, but I wasn't in much of a position to argue. Finally, I said, “I'm going to play two balls and appeal to the tournament committee.” I knew I had that option under Rule 3-3a.
Lacey objected, saying, “No sir, you cannot do that either.” I told him, “Well, that's exactly what I'm doing.” I played the original ball as it lay for a 5 and then announced that I was about to play a second ball. I dropped to a clean lie and made par. Ken objected, saying that I was required to announce to him that I was going to play two balls before I played the original. The officials on site at the Masters reviewed the case, agreed with me, and I won my first Masters by a shot.
That incident affected our relationship. We both wrote about it in subsequent books, each of us insisting that we were right. I think the whole episode says more about the confusion built into the Rules of Golf than it does about me or Ken. I regret that the incident affected our relationship. Ken was a remarkable human being, and a warm and true friend to thousands of people in and out of the game.
My formative experience with losing a loved one came in 1950. I was a senior at Wake Forest when my roommate, Bud Worsham, was killed in an automobile accident. Bud was my best friend; in fact, he was the reason I had attended Wake Forest in the first place.
What made his loss even harder to handle was the fact that I might very well have been in that car that night had I not opted to skip a Homecoming dance and instead attend a movie.
I bring that up because there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of Bud Worsham. There’s not a facet of my life that hasn’t been improved for knowing him, albeit so briefly.
I’ve lost many loved ones over the years: my father in 1976, my mother in 1979 and of course, my wife Winnie in 1999.
But Bud’s death taught me the lesson – wrenching as it was – that death is a part of life, and that the memories are worth the pain. I celebrate that lesson in remembering these departed friends.
Miller Barber: If all you knew about Miller
He also enjoyed a pretty colorful nightlife, though one that was opaque to the rest of us. In those seemingly simpler days, groups of us would often get together and frequent the same bars or restaurants, but Miller never told us where he was going that night or where he’d been the night before. As a result, our PGA Tour colleague Jim Ferree dubbed Barber “The Mysterious Mr. X.” Over time the moniker was reduced simply to X. Up until the last time I saw him, I still called him X, not Miller. He had a great sense of humor and took to the nickname. But he also remained the man of mystery and a very close friend.
Bill Campbell: Bill was not only one of the great gentlemen of the game, he was one of the great gentlemen, period. Sandy Tatum, the high priest of American amateur golf, once said that “in the whole history of golf there have been just two ultimate quintessential golfers: Bill Campbell and Bobby Jones.”
Like Jones, even though he lived a full life off the course, Bill (pictured right)regularly competed against the best players in the world.
Although he and I were never paired together in a major championship, we did compete in 1965 when Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and I took on three outstanding amateurs in Bill, Deane Beman and Dale Morey. I wasn’t playing my best, and as we were walking down the fairway I was trying to keep a positive outlook. I said to Bill, “My father always said to me, ‘He can who thinks he can.’ Bill, do you believe you can force yourself to do things?”
Bill said, “Well, Arnold, I can’t argue with that. You’re pretty strong evidence of it.”
Perhaps the story that best illustrates Bill’s exalted place in the game came from Jack Nicklaus. Years ago Jack had been debating the finer points of amateur status with Frank Hannigan, the former executive director of the USGA. Jack said to Frank, “Name one top amateur who doesn’t take anything from the manufacturers.’
“Bill Campbell,” replied Hannigan. Jack paused for a moment. “Okay. You can have Campbell,” he said. “Name another one.”
Given that he came from a wealthy family (his father founded Champion spark plugs), many of us expected Frank to remain a lifelong amateur, but he turned pro and won six times on the PGA Tour before leaving competitive golf in the mid-1960s to focus on business.
“Muss,” as we also called him because of his fastidious appearance, had the complete package: a terrific game, dazzling good looks and lots of money. People credit Gary Player with bringing fitness to the game, but Stranny, who used to travel with barbells in his suitcase, was a devoted fitness buff and health nut. He ran dozens of marathons, and competed in bodybuilding and weightlifting well into his 70s.
One last note about Frank. I am often given credit for “salvaging” the British Open in the early 1960s. We can argue whether the game’s most historic championship really was in danger of sinking, but it is safe to say that after World War II, many American competitors simply found it easy and more profitable to compete here in the United States. Frank never quit on the Open. He continued to compete there on a regular basis, and finished second in 1947 and 1953.
His devotion to the Open Championship is what inspired me to go over in 1960. I won the following year, and I’ve been credited ever since with “saving” the Open, but it was Frank who paved the way.
Pat Summerall: His football colleague John Madden put it best when he said of the millions of sports fans who embraced Pat Summerall’s mellow brand of broadcasting, “They invited a gentleman into their homes.”
Whether it was football or golf, Pat became as much a part of the fabric of American sports as the leather on the arms of our easy chairs. I thought it was a beautiful gesture when Augusta National Golf Club offered him membership upon his retirement from television. Though out of the spotlight, the final years of Pat’s life, when he reacquainted himself with the most important thing in anyone’s life, family, were some of the happiest he ever enjoyed.
Ken Venturi: Ken became well known to casual golf fans when he joined the television booth in the late 1960s, but he was a force in the game as early as the late 1940s. A student of Byron Nelson and frequent playing partner of Ben Hogan, Ken (pictured below) was a formidable talent whose career was both sparked and unravelled by physical ailments.
His ironman performance in winning the 1964 U.S. Open while battling severe dehydration remains the hallmark by which on-course toughness is measured. But ultimately it was another physical challenge, carpal tunnel syndrome, which forced his early retirement in the late 1960s and encouraged his transition to the broadcast booth.
Ken and I will likely forever be linked by a rules decision invoked while playing in the final round of the 1958 Masters.
On the 12th hole, I hit a 6-iron off the tee and my ball plugged into its own pitch mark on the back fringe of the green. The ground was wet and soft, and a local rule providing relief from an embedded ball was in effect all week. I was leading by a shot, and just to be safe I called over the rules official, the late Arthur Lacey. I proposed that I could lift, clean and drop my ball without penalty to a spot as close as possible to the original position and no nearer the hole (a stance with which Ken agreed), but Lacey disagreed, saying I had to play the embedded ball. I knew I was right, but I wasn't in much of a position to argue. Finally, I said, “I'm going to play two balls and appeal to the tournament committee.” I knew I had that option under Rule 3-3a.
Lacey objected, saying, “No sir, you cannot do that either.” I told him, “Well, that's exactly what I'm doing.” I played the original ball as it lay for a 5 and then announced that I was about to play a second ball. I dropped to a clean lie and made par. Ken objected, saying that I was required to announce to him that I was going to play two balls before I played the original. The officials on site at the Masters reviewed the case, agreed with me, and I won my first Masters by a shot.
That incident affected our relationship. We both wrote about it in subsequent books, each of us insisting that we were right. I think the whole episode says more about the confusion built into the Rules of Golf than it does about me or Ken. I regret that the incident affected our relationship. Ken was a remarkable human being, and a warm and true friend to thousands of people in and out of the game.
Published by scottishgolfview.com
Seve's family set O'Grady straight
George O'Grady says the late Seve Ballesteros would have been right behind the new EurAsia Cup - but his family disagrees.
Ram Raid at Camberley Heath Golf Club
Camberley Heath Golf Club experienced an attempted burglary on the night of 22nd December
Ransomes Jacobsen staff support Movember Charity
Seventeen members of staff at Ransomes Jacobsen took part in the recent ‘Movember’ appeal in support of research into prostate cancer
Full Swing Golf Simulators Drive World’s Longest Running Indoor Centre
Full Swing Golf Simulators is celebrating the 20th anniversary in business of Full Swing Golf of Eastern Canada and its Golf-O-Max franchise
Euan McLean: Paul Lawrie's place on poll of worst Major winners is an absolute disgrace
EUAN lambasts American CBS Sports for their feature listing the 10 Worst Major Champions of golf - in particular their choice of Scots star Paul Lawrie at number three.
Survey: Clubs hit by slow play
Slow play and declining memberships are the main causes of concern among golf clubs in the UK, according to a Sky Sports News survey.
SLOW PLAY AND FALLING MEMBERSHIPS ARE GOLF CLUBS' BIG WORRIES
FROM SKY SPORTS NEWS
Slow play and declining memberships are the main causes of concern among golf clubs in the UK, according to a Sky Sports News survey.
Over 250 British clubs took part in the poll, which revealed that slow play was the biggest talking point in the 19th hole.An overwhelming 94% of clubs admitted that the average round is taking too much time, while 91% insist the problem could be eased if golf's governing bodies took firmer action against professionals guilty of slow play.
Five-hour rounds are common on the European and US PGA Tours these days, and club golfers believe heavier and more frequent punishment for the pros would speed up the pace of play around club courses and local municipals.
After a year in which a ban on anchored putting was agreed by the RandA and the US PGA Tour, only 8% of clubs said this was a bigger cause of concern than slow play.
==================
"A lot of the juniors who are watching golf are picking up bad habits after seeing us taking our time. It's down to the intricacies of the rules or people not being ready when it's their turn ... it's a reasonably big problem in the game."
Luke Donald
Luke Donald
===============
Another worrying trend is the decline in club membership, with 70% of clubs reporting that income from subscriptions has decreased over the last five years.Only 1% said their dominant membership group was in the 31-40 years bracket, and youth membership has also taken an alarming dive despite 76% of clubs having a youth scheme in place.
Female membership has been hit even harder, with a 75% drop according to the survey.
Despite the declining numbers, 52% of clubs believe they are getting enough assistance from golf's ruling bodies, although non-major tournaments appear to have little impact on club business.
The Open Championship (21%) and the Masters (29%) are known to have a "significant" knock-on effect on revenue, but regular European Tour events staged in the UK rarely boost club coffers.
The other main cost to British golf clubs is, of course, the weather. Adverse conditions have cost 37% of clubs more the 31 days of business over the last three years, although 22% have lost less than a fortnight.
Sky Sports News golf survey - the key points
- 254 respondents
- 70% say membership down over past five years
- 81% say 51+ years is predominant membership age demographic
- Only 1% say 31-40 years is dominant membership age group
- 75% say female membership has dropped over past 5 years
- 60% have seen a drop in youth membership numbers over past 5 years
- 64% say success of British players on Tour makes no impact on their business
- 21% says Open Championship has significant impact on business
- 29% say The Masters has significant impact on business.
- 61% say another UK Tour event would have no impact on business
- 34% say another UK Tour event would have a small impact on business
- 2% say another UK Tour event would have a significant impact on business
- 52% say biggest selling club in pro shop is the driver
- 39% say most popular club brand is TaylorMade
- 20% say most popular club brand is Ping
- 82% say most popular ball brand is Titleist
- 94% say slow play is problem at club level
- 91% say problem would be eased if Tour dealt more effectively with slow play
- 92% says biggest talking point in club this year is slow play while only 8% says anchored putting
- 37% say they've lost more than 31 days of business due to bad weather in past three years
- 34% say they've lost 15-31 days of business due to bad weather in past three years
- 22% say they've lost 8-14 days of business due to bad weather in past three years.
Published by scottishgolfview.com
SSN: Clubs hit by slow play
Slow play and declining memberships are the main causes of concern among golf clubs in the UK, according to an extensive Sky Sports News survey.
Monday 30 December 2013
Seve Ballesteros would have 'despised' EurAsia Cup, say his family in spat with European Tour
Late golfer's family unhappy with European Tour's claim that they support the EurAsia Cup, which rivals the Royal Trophy.
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Donald: Speed up play
Luke Donald has warned slow play by professionals on the European Tour is having a negative impact on youngsters playing golf at club level.
Donald against slow play
Luke Donald has warned that slow play on the European Tour could have a negative impact on youngsters playing golf at club level.
Golf - the year in pictures: Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Kate Upton
From Justin Rose's US Open breakthrough to Phil Mickelson's sensational Scottish double, it's been a vintage year in golf. Relive the best storylines from last 12 months through these brilliant pictures.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIGER! HE'S 38 YEARS OLD TODAY
FROM GOLFTALK CENTRAL WEBSITE
By JASON SOBELL
By JASON SOBELL
As far as significant birthdays go, the Big 3-8 isn't exactly near the top of that list.
Well, here's a newsflash: Tiger Woods isn't like everyone else. And so his 38th birthday on December 30 holds plenty of significance when applied to his long-term goals.
No discussion about Woods is complete without a debate over whether he'll someday claim the all-time major championship record, and no discussion about this milestone is complete without examining how it affects his chase of this mark.
Woods, of course, owns 14 career major titles, placing him four behind Jack Nicklaus' record total of 18. Only two players in the game's history have won as many as that differential after their 38th birthdays.
Ben Hogan claimed five majors at 38 years and beyond; Nicklaus won four.
Both Nicklaus and Woods have stated that the latter has at least another decade of high-level golf, meaning 40 more majors. He'll need a career of Phil Mickelson to break the record or that of Ernie Els to tie.
It's something only Hogan and Nicklaus have accomplished after turning 38. A historian who knows the game's past, Woods undoubtedly understands these numbers.
It comes down to this: In order to break the most talked-about record in sports, he'll have to at least tie one for most majors after this milestone of a birthday.
Well, here's a newsflash: Tiger Woods isn't like everyone else. And so his 38th birthday on December 30 holds plenty of significance when applied to his long-term goals.
No discussion about Woods is complete without a debate over whether he'll someday claim the all-time major championship record, and no discussion about this milestone is complete without examining how it affects his chase of this mark.
Woods, of course, owns 14 career major titles, placing him four behind Jack Nicklaus' record total of 18. Only two players in the game's history have won as many as that differential after their 38th birthdays.
Ben Hogan claimed five majors at 38 years and beyond; Nicklaus won four.
Both Nicklaus and Woods have stated that the latter has at least another decade of high-level golf, meaning 40 more majors. He'll need a career of Phil Mickelson to break the record or that of Ernie Els to tie.
It's something only Hogan and Nicklaus have accomplished after turning 38. A historian who knows the game's past, Woods undoubtedly understands these numbers.
It comes down to this: In order to break the most talked-about record in sports, he'll have to at least tie one for most majors after this milestone of a birthday.
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Published by scottishgolfview.com
"PLODDER' McLEARY THINKS HE CAN SURVIVE ON EUROPEAN TOUR
Jamie McLeary: Promotion after seven years on the Challenge Tour
Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)
MEET THE 2014 ROOKIES: JAMIE McLEARY
Picture the scene: you need at worst a tie for second place in the final event of the Challenge Tour season to earn a maiden place on The Race to Dubai.
After seven years battling it out on European golf’s second tier, this could be a moment that defines Jamie McLeary’s career for good or bad.
Tense times indeed, but that was the scenario facing the Scot ahead of the season’s climax at the Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club.
However, he coped with aplomb, firing rounds of 68-70-69-69 in the desert pressure cooker to finish runner-up alongside José-Filipe Lima and realise his dream of European Tour golf in 2014.
Cue jubilant scenes after the maths was complete and the scores confirmed, and as a result, the Peterhead-born man from Edinburgh will be mixing it with the great and good of The European Tour this season.
Some rookies might be daunted by a maiden voyage aboard the good ship Race to Dubai - but McLeary has done his time, and believes that he has the kind of consistent game that could reap real rewards at golf’s top table having doubted at times whether he would ever make the leap.
“I’m going to treat it the same as the Challenge Tour,” said the 2009 Scottish Hydro Open winner - his only Challenge Tour triumph.
“I’m one of these guys that is very consistent, I make a lot of cuts and my scoring average is pretty good. I’ve still got a bit of work to do to tighten up a few areas if I am to survive next year, but I’m just happy to not have to go to Tour School again and to be getting amongst it and be part of the European
Tour for once.
“I never thought it would happen to be honest. I thought I might be one of those guys who is too consistent for their own good, posts a lot of 15th to 20th place finishes, but that doesn’t do any good as you need to finish top three on the Challenge Tour to get anywhere.
“If I go out on The European Tour and make 20 cuts and average €15,000 in prize money next season though, then that will comfortably keep my card, and I don’t think that will be too difficult to do.
"Having been out here for the last seven years on the Challenge Tour, I’ve seen it grow, and the talent pool has gotten so dense, and the guys are so good, that I don’t think the step up is that big anymore.”
When you put it like that, it doesn’t sound like too tough a task, but history has shown that the step up in class is not always as simple as that.
McLeary has seen a number of fellow Scots of his generation go through the Challenge Tour or the Qualifying School and survive at the top level though, namely the likes of Chris Doak (101st in The 2013 Race to Dubai), Scott Jamieson (31st) and Craig Lee (59th), which gives him the confidence that he can do the same.
“I think my consistency will be key, and while 15th place finishes don’t go too far on the Challenge Tour, on The European Tour that is a lot of money,” said the Scot.
“It is not like you need to win to stay out there, you just need to plod along, and to see people like Chris Doak and Craig Lee have solid finishes, the odd top ten, I just want to try and emulate them.
“It spurs you on to see that, and don’t get me wrong as they are great golfers, but Scott Jamieson is another one that I have watched, and I don’t look at them and think they are way better than I am. So I fancy myself to do well next year and I’d be surprised if I didn’t.
“I’ve got the game; I’m consistent, I hit it straight off the tee, my irons are good and I’m good round the greens. I might not be as flash as some people, making loads of birdies.
"I’m more of a plodder and I think that will work well on the main tour.”
It has been a tough school for McLeary during the past seven years on the Challenge Tour, learning his trade and biding his time, only to come up agonisingly short each year, but he’s not worried. He may have doubted in previous years whether it would ever happen for him, but the former top amateur now just can’t wait to get cracking and prove he can mix it with the greats of the game.
“I’m just so excited,” said McLeary who played four years on the US college circuit.
“I’ve got a friend who caddies on Tour who said he’d come caddie for me if I made it, so that will be good, and it will be nice to experience something different next year.
“You want to test yourself at the highest level, as there is nothing worse than feeling like you’re doing well but still being at the same level. It is hard seeing everyone going up each year, and thinking that you are as good as them, so I’m looking forward to my turn next season.”
Published by scottishgolfview.com
ENTRIES ROLL IN FOR ASIAN TOUR QUALIFYING SCHOOL
ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE
The 2014 Asian Tour Qualifying School Stage One in Hua Hin, Thailand has to date attracted 525 entries from all around the world.
All three courses – the Imperial Lakeview Golf Club, Springfield Royal Country Club and Royal Thai Army Sports Centre (Seapine) – for Week 2 of Stage One from February 5 to 8 have been filled.
Remaining slots are only available for Week 1 from January 29 to February 1 which will be held at Imperial Lakeview and Royal Thai Army Sports Centre.
The closing date for entries is January 8, 2014 and Tour officials expect Week 1 to also be filled up by then.
The all-important Final Stage will be held from February 12 to 15 at Springfield Royal and Imperial Lakeview. Approximately 150 players will be exempted into the Final Stage.
The Asian Tour Qualifying School is presented by the Sports Authority of Thailand and offers the top-40 finishers and ties at the Final Stage playing opportunities on the premier Asian Tour in 2014.
Additionally, all Qualifying School entrants are eligible to compete on the burgeoning Asian Development Tour, which is the secondary Tour in the region.
American Chan Kim won the Qualifying School in 2013.
Published by scottishgolfview.com
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