The Denmark team who won the 2018 Eisenhower Trophy at the World Amateur Team Championship, held at Carton House, in Ireland. Picture by GOLFKIDS

THE Eisenhower and Espirito Santo Trophies will not be awarded in 2020 after the World Amateur Team Championships for men and women were cancelled.

The International Golf Federation has scrapped both biennial events in October because of the the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision follows the IGF switching the events from Hong Kong to Singapore back in February – because of the civil unrest in the former British colony.

Repeated demonstrations also caused the cancellation of December’s European Tour’s Hong Kong Open.

And because of the disruption to scheduling of other top amateur events moving the event back by 12 months was ruled out by the IGF, so the event will not take place at all.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the IGF has been working with the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) to host both competitions at Tanah Merah Country Club and Sentosa Golf Club on the same dates as planned.

The women’s Espirito Santo Trophy was scheduled from October 14-17, while the Eisenhower Trophy was due to be played from October 21-24.

IGF executive director Antony Scanlon said: “This unprecedented decision was due to the global COVID-19 pandemic – and the uncertainty that this has caused to ensuring that the 2020 World Amateur Team Championship could be staged successfully.

“But most importantly, it was made to safeguard the health and safety of all athletes, officials and volunteers at the 2020 WATC, to which there was no certainty that this risk could be mitigated to an acceptable level.”

“I would also note that we gave thoughtful consideration to postponing the Championships to 2021,” Scanlon added.

“However, this would have created considerable scheduling and logistical issues that were insurmountable, plus we still could not say with absolute certainty that we could hold it without risk next year.

“Therefore, the IGF look forward to focusing on and delivering a wonderful 2022 event in France.”

Le Golf National – which hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup – on the outskirts of Paris, will stage the championship in two years’ time.

Nicklaus heads past participants

SOME of the world’s top players have emerged from the WATC to reach the very top in the professional game – including Jack Nicklaus, who starred in the second Eisenhower in 1960.

Dating back to 1958, the World Amateur Team Championships include up to 72 countries competing in 72 holes of strokeplay competition.

Denmark – who included the Hjøgaard twins Rasmus and Nicolai – were the last winners of the Eisenhower, at Ireland’s Careton House, in 2018.

The England team of Scott Gregory, from Hampshire, Kent’s Alfie Plant, and Yorkshire’s Jamie Bower, were silver medallists in Mexico, in 2016.

Bryson DeChambeau led the US team to victory in 2014, playing with Beau Hossler – the 15th victory for the Americans.

England have yet to win the event since the Home Nations stopped sending a Great Britain and Ireland team after the 2000 event in Germany.

Future Ryder Cup players Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Jamie Donaldson finish second in Berlin, behind the USA, who fielded Ben Curtis.

Three years later the World Amateur No. 1 would go on to land The Open at Royal St George’s.

GB&I’s total of four wins – in 1964, 1976, 1988 and 1998 – has only been matched the Australians, the winners four years ago.

As well as Nicklaus, Jerry Pate, Hal Sutton, Mathias Grönberg, Ryan Moore, Marcus Fraser, Rickie Fowler and Jon Rahm have all won the individual medal in the Eisenhower’s 62-year history.

American dominance restored

America’s Espirtio Santo Trophy win at Ireland’s Carton House in 2018 was the USA’s first win in 20 years. Picture by STEVE GIBBONS / USPGA

IN the Espirito Santo, the USA have also dominated with 14 wins and three runners-up finishes. Korea, rather unsurprisingly, is the second most successful nation in the event’s 56-year history, having started in 1964.

Sweden produced two winning teams in the first decade of the 21st Century, featuring future Solheim Cup players Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall.

Great Britain and Ireland only finished second twice up until 2000 – the Home Nations have also entered separately, like the men, since, although England entered the very first in 1964, finishing third.

That is still their best performance to date.

American amateur legend Carol Semple-Thompson was on the winning team a remarkable four times between 1974 and 1994.

The likes of Juli Inkster – on the winning team in 1980 and 1982 – Nancy Lopez, Patty Hurst all have winners’ medals.

In recent years Paula Creamer, Jessica Korda and Danielle Kang have gone on to appear in the Solheim Cup against Europe, having won on the LPGA Tour.

Each country fields two or three players in both competitions, with the two lowest scores counting per round.

England has never hosted the World Amateur Team Championship, and since 1970 both events have been held at the same venue.

The England team at the inaugural Espirito Santo Trophy in 1964 – left to right Marley Spearman, hostess Michelle Hervieu, Bridget Jackson and Ruth Porter

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Last year’s Major Champions Invitational winners with Sir Nick Faldo, who has amassed 16 legends from the game to act as captain’s at next week’s 2020 championship in Arizona

SEVENTY-TWO junior golfers from around the world will compete at in next week’s third edition of the Major Champions Invitational, at Arizona’s Lookout Mountain Golf Club.

The players will be split into teams of four – each captained and mentored by one of 18 Major champions.

England’s North East stars Jess Baker (Gosford Park Ladies) and Whitley Bay’s Rosie Belsham have the dream pairing, working with Dorset’s Solheim Cup winner Georgia Hall, while Leo Goosen – son of two time US Open Champion Retief – is in Team Stewart.

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The Goosens lost out in a three-way play-off against Bernhard Langer and Tom Lehman, in the PNC Father and Son competition, at Orlando’s Ritz-Carlton GC, in December.

But this time Goosen junior, who plays for Orlando’s Lake Highland Preparatory School, and plays on the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, will be partnered with Argentina’s Tiago Barni, Venezuela’s Gabriel Restepo and China’s Ariel Yu.

With some of golf’s best players, past and present, as team captains, including 18-time Major champion Jack Nicklaus and current World No. 1 Brooks Koepka, the event is set to be the biggest in its short history.

Other Major champions involved include current PGA Tour stars such as 2016 US Open Champion Dustin Johnson and 2017 PGA Champion Justin Thomas, 10-time women’s Major champion Annika Sorenstam, 2018 Women’s British Open Champion Georgia Hall and 2016 Open Champion Henrik Stenson.

The tournament was conceived by World Golf Hall of Famer and six-time Major Champion Sir Nick Faldo as part of his desire to provide more opportunities to young golfers, in addition to his already well-established Faldo Series events.

The Major Champions Invitational has an actioned-packed schedule.

The juniors taking part will experiencing tournament conditions usually afforded to the best players in the world.

Sir Nick Faldo said: “It is great to be back for another year of the Major Champions Invitational.

“Thanks to some very generous Major champions, as well as our sponsors Golf Saudi, we have been able to take the event to a whole new level.

“We also have a few special treats up our sleeves for the players, which should add to the whole experience,” added Sir Nick, who won three Claret Jugs at The Open, and three Green Jackets at the Augusta Masters between 1987 and 1996.

“Ultimately, it’s about inspiring the next generation by building a connection between them and some of their heroes,” said Faldo.

“With the success of last year’s individual Champions on the amateur circuit in 2019, we’re hopeful the event concept is really starting to reap rewards.”

The participants will play four rounds of golf, including three in competition, get front-row seats to Sir Nick’s clinic, as well as the chance to meet with a selection of their golfing heroes.

The on-course action will unfold at Phoenix’s Lookout Mountain Golf Club – located between picturesque Sonoran Desert and Phoenix North Mountains.

The course, built in 1989, is a nine-time recipient of Golf Digest’s Four-Star Award and has been ranked in the Top 10 golf courses in Arizona.

•To see the full field click here.

Conor Gough and Annabell Fuller were crowned 2019 Major Invitational champions

The 2019 Major Champions Invitational individual awards were won by Stoke Park’s Conor Gough and Roehampton’s Annabell Fuller, as part of Team Hall.

Gough went on to become second-ever youngest English Amateur Champion at just 16 – Hampshire’s Harry Ellis who broke Sir Nick Faldo’s record set at 18 in 1975 was just four days younger than Gough.

The B.B.&O. England international has since represented Great Britain and Ireland at the Walker Cup, while Fuller played for Europe at the Junior Solheim Cup.

Other British players in this year’s field, looking to succeed Gough and Fuller, are Scottish quartet Gregor Graham, Carmen Griffiths, Evanna Hynd and Ruben Lindsay, who are in Team Watson.

Surrey’s Rhys Williams, a member at Foxhills Golf & Country Club, is in Team Ballesteros, while Dorset’s Louise Burke, is in Team Faldo.

The 2019 team competition was won by Team Annika, led by Annika Sorenstam.

The full list of team captains at the 2020 Major Champions Invitational is:–

• Sir Nick Faldo
• Jordan Spieth
• Tom Watson
• Dustin Johnson
• Justin Thomas
• Brooks Koepka
• Seve Ballesteros
• Payne Stewart
• Adam Scott
• Henrik Stenson
• Jack Nicklaus
• Se Ri Pak
• Ariya Jutanugarn
• Nancy Lopez
• Georgia Hall
• Danielle Kang
• Annika Sorenstam
• Michelle Wie
  

  Last year’s winning team with Annika Sorenstam (right) and Sir Nick Faldo (left)

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Annika Sorenstam will make her debut in the PNC Father Son Challenge at Orlando’s Grande Rapids in December, playing with her dad Tom

SWEDEN’S Annika Sorenstam is set to become the first female professional to compete in this year’s PNC Father Son Challenge at Orlando’s Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Grande Lakes.

The “greatest woman golfer of the modern era” will play alongside her father Tom, and fellow major champions, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson, in Florida, from December 5-8.

Annika, who is widely regarded as one of the best female golfers in history, is a 10-time major champion, 90-time winner worldwide and eight-time Solheim Cup player. She has also captained Europe in the biennial contest.

It is not the first time that Annika has broken new ground.

Back in 2001, the hall of famer made history by becoming the first female to shoot 59 in competition, a feat that has not since been matched.

And in 2003, she became the first woman since 1945 to tee it up alongside her male counterparts on the PGA Tour.

Earlier this month, Sorenstam announced she would co-host a mixed strokeplay tournament with Henrik Stenson featuring stars from the European and Ladies European Tours, playing for the some prize and money.

Annika said: “I can’t wait to play with my dad at the PNC Father Son Challenge.

“He introduced my sister and me to the game and has been there providing support to us ever since.

“To tee it up with him in such a special televised event with so many of golf’s global icons really means a lot. We will have fun.”

Sorenstam and Stenson back mixed event in Sweden

Annika is the latest star name to confirm a place in the tournament, which has seen as many as 25 World Golf Hall of Fame Members participate over the 21-year history for the total purse of $1,085,000.

The winning team of the two-day, 36-hole scramble will also receive the Willie Park Trophy, in memory of the father and son British Open champions Willie Park Senior and Willie Park Junior.

Alastair Johnston, executive chairman of the PNC Father/Son Challenge, said: “Annika is a real trailblazer of the game of golf and we are excited to welcome her to make history at this year’s event.

“The tournament regularly hosts some of the most iconic male champions and it is fitting that we add perhaps the most successful female golfer of all time to our field.

“We look forward to welcoming her and Tom in December.”

Jon Miller, president of programming, NBC Sports Group, said: “Annika is one of the greatest golfers of all-time and a true ambassador to the sport.

“Our viewers will cherish watching Annika revive her competitive juices inside the ropes alongside her father against many other of the game’s legendary players and their families.”

To qualify for the PNC Father Son Challenge, players must have won a major championship or The Players Championship. Their partner must not hold a PGA Tour card.

The PNC Financial Services Group has been the title sponsor of the tournament since 2012.

You can follow the event on Facebook.

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BERNHARD Langer continued his historic dominance of over-50s golf by winning The Senior Open for a record fourth time.

The German set a new benchmark for Senior Major Championship victories – with 10 – when he last won The Senior Open in 2017 at Royal Porthcawl,

And with his win at Royal Lytham & St Annes he became the oldest Senior Open champion as he collected his 11th Senior Major – and his 41st professional title since turning 50.

A delighted Langer, who also led Europe to victory in the 2004 Ryder Cup, said: “It’s always special to walk down 18 in a Major, but especially over here.

“The people are so knowledgeable about golf, and it’s tremendous how they even came out in these conditions and cheered us on in the rain.

“It feels very special, whether it’s The Open or The Senior Open, to walk down 18 is always a wonderful feeling.

“Now having won 11 Senior Majors, it means a great deal. Nobody has won more than nine if I’m correct – not even the great Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player or Tom Watson, who retired from this championship today.

“There’s a lot of great players who have played this game and have played Majors, and I’ve been blessed to have won more than any of them.”

Despite heavy rainfall, which suspended play for over five-and-a-half-hours on the final day – and then returned for the final nine holes of the championship – Langer remained unphased.

He put on a masterclass as he took control of the tournament with back-to-back birdies on the inward nine, ultimately carding a four-under par 66 to turn a three-shot deficit into a two-shot victory from 2016 champion Paul Broadhurst, who is attached to Northamptonshire County.

The final round of The Senior Open will also be remembered as Tom Watson’s farewell to competitive links golf.

The five-time Champion Golfer of the Year and three-time Senior Open winner announced after his third round that he would be bowing out at the conclusion of his 18^th Senior Open appearance.

The American never missed a cut in The Senior Open and remains one of only three men—along with Gary Player and Bob Charles—to win both The Open and The Senior Open.

Watson bows out being considered by many to be the greatest links golfer of all time.

Watson, whose five Open wins all came in Scotland, said: “The crowds on 18 were very warm and appreciative. The crowd that ended at the ninth hole, which was the farthest point on the golf course, that went all the way out there to watch my final hole, that was very, very special.

“There will be other people who will take the reins and they will do what I did. Life is full of passages, and I’ve passed through my career here, starting in 1975 to here in 2019. It’s amazing.

“I’ll always respect the way the game is played over here. The game of golf is played here with a passion, unequalled, and it’s part of the fabric of life that people have when they play golf here in the UK

“That’s what I’ve always appreciated,” added an emotional Watson who famously beat Nicklaus in the Duel in the Sun at Turnberry, in 1977, and almost won a sixth Claret Jug in 2009, aged 59 – but lost to Stewart Cink in a play-off, also over Ayrshire’s Ailsa course.

Europe’s only Senior Major will head to Sunningdale Golf Club, on the Berkshire-Surrey border, when The Senior Open returns in 2020.

For full results in the 2019 Senior Open click here

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Tiger Woods holds the Masters Trophy after claiming his fifth Green Jacket at Augusta National. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

TIGER Woods completed one of the most incredible comebacks in sporting history to win an emotional 15th Major Championship by one shot at the Masters Tournament.

The American’s last Major title came at the U.S. Open 11 years ago and since then he has undergone numerous back surgeries, falling to 1,199th in the Official World Golf Ranking just 17 months ago.

Tiger, who finished on 13-under with a bogey five at the last, said: “It’s just unreal. The whole tournament has meant so much to me over the years.

“Coming here in ’95 for the first time and being able to play as an amateur, winning in ’97, and then coming full circle, 22 years later, to be able to do it again, and just the way it all transpired today.

“There were so many different scenarios that could have transpired on that back nine.  There were so many guys that had a chance to win.

“The leaderboard was absolutely packed and everyone was playing well.  You couldn’t have had more drama than we all had out there, and now I know why I’m balding.  This stuff is hard.

“Just to come back here and play as well as I did.  This has meant so much to me and my family, this tournament, and to have everyone here, it’s something I’ll never, ever forget.”

A return to fitness and form in 2018 hinted at what was to come, and a closing 70 at Augusta National Golf Club secured a fifth Green Jacket at the scene where he burst onto the world stage in 1997.

Woods’ record 12-shot victory 22 years ago set in motion a remarkable run of dominance at the top of the game, and the 43-year-old will now once again have his sights set on Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Major Championships,

He has followed Nicklaus to become just the second player to win the Masters in three different decades, and to win Major Championships 20 or more years apart.

Woods had been two shots clear standing on the 18^th tee, but despite a bogey on the last, wild celebrations followed his final putt, which took him to 13-under and one ahead of countrymen Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele, who was making just his second appearance at The Masters.

Schauffle, who won the 2017 Tour Championship at East Lake, in Georgia, as a rookie and then claimed the HSBC World Championship in Shanghai last  year, said: “It was an awesome experience, first off.

“What I witnessed – I know it’s what everyone is going to talk about. It’s hard to really feel bad about how I played, because I just witnessed history.

“It was really cool coming down the stretch, all the historic holes, Amen Corner, 15, 16, Tiger making the roars.

“I was trying to push myself, but I feel like I got a very full Masters experience here in my second year. I’m not one bit sad. I told my caddie on the last hole that we just proved to ourselves that we can win on this property.”

Overnight leader Francesco Molinari had been right in the mix before finding water twice on the back nine, and the Race to Dubai Champion finished at 11-under alongside Australian Jason Day and Americans Tony Finau and Webb Simpson.

Italy’s European No. 1 put the disappointment around Amen Corner down to the challenging swirling wind which the par three 12th is renowned for, and where he put the ball in the water, before finding the aqua again on the par five 15th.

Molinari said: “It was just a bad execution. We picked the right shot and just didn’t hit it hard enough, simple as that. It was tough today with the wind gusting.

“I managed to scramble well on the front nine. Just had a couple of mental lapses on the back nine, which were costly.

“It’s great to see Tiger doing well. The way he was playing last year, I think we all knew it was coming sooner or later.

“Maybe next time would have been better for me, but it was nice to be out with him, he played well, hit the right shots at the right time and he deserved to win.

“It doesn’t change what I do, I don’t change the way I prepare for Majors. I believe the way I prepare for tournaments is the best way. I’ll just keep doing the same and hopefully I get a bit more luck next time.”

Spain’s Jon Rahm was a shot further back in a tie for ninth place alongside Americans Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson.

The next Majors are both at venue’s where Woods has already claimed a Major – May sees the USPGA switch from its August date and will head to New York’s Bethpage Park’s Black course, the scene of his 2002 US Open victory.

And in June, Tiger will head back to Pebble Beach, where he famously was the only player under par when winning the US Open by a record 15 shots in 2000 the first leg of his famous Tiger Slam where he won four Majors in a row, culminating at the 2001 Augusta Masters.

Earlier this year Tiger was a 25/1 shot to win two Majors in 2019.

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