AS Royal Liverpool prepares to host the 47th Walker Cup  between Great Britain and Ireland and the USA – as part of its celebration of 150 years of golf at Hoylake – ANDREW GRIFFIN spoke to the last Hampshire player to win a major domestic honour at the Merseyside course, where Tiger Woods and Rory McIlory claimed the Open Championship in 2006 and 2014 respectively.

Rowlands Castle’s Darren Wright who thinks the Americans may try and attack the Hoylake links in this weekend’s Walker Cup clash with Great Britain and Ireland.
Picture by ANDREW GRIFFIN / AMG PICTURES

DARREN Wright will always rate Hoylake as one one of his favourite courses.

It is after all where the former England international won the Brabazon Trophy in 2010 – beating Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and a very young John Rahm in the process.

The Rowlands Castle player became just the ninth player to complete the double by winning the Carris at the English Boys’ Amateur Championship, to go with the English Men’s Amateur Strokeplay title he won at Royal Liverpool.

A year later, Wright was in the provisional Walker Cup squad but missed out having not been selected for England’s European Amateur Team Championships side two months before GB&I beat the USA at Royal Aberdeen with a team containing Andy Sullivan and Callum Shinkwin.

While Wright won at Burhill on the EuroPro Tour in 2015 on his way to earning a European Challenge Tour card after graduating via the PGA feeder tour, he never quite bridged the gap from the amateur game, and finally gave up professional golf at the start of 2017.

And although strokeplay is not the order of the day when the USA arrive on Merseyside this month, Wright is sure the course that he conquered so brilliantly nine years ago will present a unique challenge in the matchplay format with four foursomes and eight singles on the first day, and fours foursomes and 10 singles on Sunday.

Darren said: “It’s a challenge course with plenty of cross-winds as well as holes where it will help but also increase how long it plays.

Rowlands Castle’s Darren Wright won the Brabazon Trophy at the English Amateur Strokeplay four years after he won the Carris at the English Boys’ Amateur Championship.

“In 2010, it was very warm and the course was playing hard and fast, conditions like it was when Tiger won the Open in 2006 and used his two-iron so well – but left himself with a lot longer approaches into the greens.

“The Walker Cup teams might not experience similar conditions but Hoylake is a great track that will be perfect for the event all the top amateurs in the UK dream of playing in.

“Even since I won the Brab, technology has made great strides to help players hit it longer and more consistently.

“But there were holes in 2010 where the bunkers were perfectly placed to make you stand there on the tee and think about whether you wanted to take them on, or lay up short and leave yourself with a longer second shot.

“The drives on the first and the 16th by the practice ground are really dangerous if you are not hitting it straight with out of bounds in your face.

“So the start and closing stretch is very tough. But there is also a stretch around the turn where – especially if you get some help from the wind – you can attack the greens and get an eagle putt, which at worst will mean a birdie on the par five eighth.

“I played with Tyrrell Hatton for a couple of the rounds and was one in front of him after the third round.

“When I woke up on the last day I felt super confident. I just knew it was going to be my day.

“I raced to four or five-under by the turn and someone got word to me that I was eight shots clear at one point.

“But then the back nine got the better of me and I gave those shots back. Luckily, I knew my playing partners were behind me, and I got to 18 with a four-shot lead.

“Even though I was very nervous, I just concentrated on hitting the fairway and had a 35-foot for birdie, so I just rolled it up to the hole to a couple of feet.

“It’s a round – or a week – I am never going to forget. Tommy Fleetwood was the favourite and got off to a good start.

“Everyone said he was going to win but he had a nightmare second round while I shot four-under, and then added a couple of level-pars.

“But there is plenty of danger and it will be interesting to see how the Americans approach Hoylake.

“If they try what the USA did in the Ryder Cup at Le Paris National and just try and out-drive us, the course can catch them out as it did in France.

“I think it will come down to which team plays smartest. The par three holes are tough even if not that long.

“The 13th by the sea with a big bank has bunkers all around the green is only 161 yards.

“With any wind, which can affect your club selection or catch you out just as you hit the shot, if you get sucked into going for the pins and find yourself in the traps, you can fritter away a few holes.

“Middle of the green is going to be a good tactic, especially if you hit first and can put your opponents under pressure.”

While Darren, who now has his own property maintenance company, has come to terms with how his professional career panned out, it is clear that missing out on a Walker Cup is probably his biggest disappointment.

He loved representing England over two summers, having also been a junior international alongside Hampshire team-mate Sam Hutsby.

But his most recent discovery has boosted his Brabazon feelgood factor even more, nearly a decade on.

Darren said: “I only just realised that John Rahm was playing that year… he must have been a very young teenager.

“He finished 61st, Tommy Fleetwood was 21st and I beat Tyrrell who was sixth – all three played in the last Ryder Cup. Spain’s Adrian Otaegui was fifth and he has won twice on Tour too.”

That hopefully will be one to tell the children and grandchildren about one day…

•For live scoring from the first day’s play of the Walker Cup at Hoylake, click here.

The post Darren’s Wright way to go about tackling Hoylake and USA in the 43rd Walker Cup appeared first on Golf North.

BROOKS Koepka sealed his first World Golf Championships title as he cruised to a three-shot victory at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

The World No. 1 carded an impressive bogey-free round of 65 at TPC Southwind to get to 16-under par and add a WGC to his four Major Championship victories.

Fellow American Webb Simpson proved to be his closest challenger, finishing at 13-under after a sparkling final round of 64.

Koepka started the day a shot behind overnight leader and playing partner Rory McIlroy, but looked in total control from the moment he made the first of five birdies at the third hole.

Koepka said: “It’s incredible. I’ve always loved this place, so to play well here, it’s incredible.

“It’s a golf course that I feel like I know better than any other golf course on Tour. To finally get the win here, it’s special, especially now with it being a World Golf Championship.

“These last few years have been unbelievable. It’s been an incredible run, been playing some good golf and I’m excited for what the future holds.

“When I went to that hospital (St Jude) I believe it was two years ago, maybe three, it changed my life.

“I appreciate the little things because you see these kids and they’re struggling for their lives.

“And everything their families have to sacrifice and what they’re going through on a daily basis is nothing compared to what any trouble any of us will ever have.”

The 29-year-old now has six European Tour victories, having claimed his first at the Turkish Airlines Open in 2014, to go with his four European Challenge Tour wins, before going on to Major glory.

Runner-up Simpson said: “I knew I needed a quick start. Chasing a guy like Brooks Koepka or Rory McIlroy is a tough thing, so I knew it was going to take a low round.

“But I also know that this golf course, if you’re a little off, you can get some penalty shots quickly. So, I had hope starting the day.

“Everything through the bag was doing what it needs to be doing. I made some putts, made a few par saves when I needed to.

“Getting off to a great start, eagle at three, birdie at six, that was the start I was hoping for and the start I needed. Very satisfied.”

Australian Marc Leishman finished in third place at 12-under, one clear of McIlroy and English duo Matthew Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood.

“It was a really solid day,” said Fleetwood, who has a runner-up finish in the 2017 WGC-Mexico Championship to his name.

“You’re always going to look at it and think a couple more putts could have gone, because I think I gave myself three or four good chances from 10, 12 feet,” Tommy added.

“Hole a couple of those and you’re right up there. Overall, just another really good week, another solid week of golf. Just consistent results.

“You never know what’s going to happen and there’s still a chance out there on Sundays. We know Sundays in contention are difficult even for the best players in the world.”

Fleetwood said: “You’ve still got to go out there and finish it off. So, go out and do your best, which I did. I would have liked a couple more, but overall, you can’t be too disappointed.”

Spain’s Jon Rahm was then in seventh place at 10-under and finished the week by donating $23,000 – $1,000 for every birdie he made – to the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which has benefitted from tournaments played at TPC Southwind since 1989.

Rahm, a recent winner of the Irish Open at Lahinch, said: “I played good enough to make a run, I just couldn’t make anything.

“Besides that first hole, from two to nine I don’t think I was over 20 feet for eagle really more than once.

“They all had a chance, I just couldn’t make them. Had I been able to make a couple more than what I did and get myself closer to the lead, would have had a chance on the back nin.

“Any of the problems I’ll ever have on a golf course are nothing, absolutely nothing compared to what some of those kids go through,” Rahm reflected.

“To see their smile at least for five seconds taking care of the flag and people cheering for them, it’s heartwarming, it’s fun.

“We’re playing for a lot more than just ourselves this week. I always think it’s important to give back.”

Children who have been treated at the hospital also joined the final groups on the 18^th green on Sunday to place the pin flags.

England’s Ian Poulter finished at nine-under, with American pair Billy Horschel and Bubba Watson one shot further back and rounding out the top 10 at eight-under.

For full scores click here.

The post Koepka cool about first WGC win at FedEx St Jude. . . and reflects on helping sick kids appeared first on Golf North.

South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout who was seriously ill as a child after drining rat poison has battled adversity throughout his career… but victory at Valderrama earns him a spot in The Open at Royal Portrush in two weeks’. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

CHRISTIAAN Bezuidenhout won his first European Tour title in emphatic style with a six-shot victory at the Estrella Damm NA Andalucía Masters.

The South African came into the final day at Real Club Valderrama with a five-shot lead and while he saw that trimmed to three at one point, a closing 71 saw him finish at 10-under par, to become only the third different player to lift the trophy after Graeme McDowell (2010), and tournament host Sergio Garcia (2011, 2017, 2018).

The victory also secures Bezuidenhout a Major championship debut at The Open in two weeks’, alongside Frenchman Mike Lorenzo-Vera and local favourite Adri Arnaus.

Bezuidenhout said: “I was relieved, it was a long day. I went through a struggle in the middle of the round, three bogeys in a row. I thought, I can’t let it slip.

“My caddie kept me in the moment nicely and the par save on the eighth hole was crucial. It just got the momentum going that I had lost a bit.

“To bounce back with three birdies in a row after that was nice and it settled the nerves a bit. To come out with a win today is special.

“My family have kept me humble throughout my career, they’ve supported me and thanks to them. I’m here because of them, it’s so special.

“It’s been a dream since I started playing golf to play in a Major championship, and to play The Open, which is my favourite Major, just makes it even more special.”

Bezuidenhout’s victory completes a remarkable rise for a player who has had to overcome adversity since a young age. At the age of two he mistakenly drank rat poison, an incident that led to him developing a stammer that caused him to suffer anxiety.

The beta blockers he took to combat his stammer led to him failing a doping test at the 2014 Amateur Championship and while his two-year ban was reduced to nine months after officials adjudged he had not been seeking to gain a competitive advantage, he missed out on representing his country at the Eisenhower Trophy.

Now five years on from those dark days, he is a European Tour winner in his 57th appearance and moves into the top 10 of the Race to Dubai rankings after two other top three finishes this season.

Spaniards Eduardo de la Riva, Alvaro Quiros and Jon Rahm finished alongside Arnaus and Lorenzo-Vera at four-under in a five-way tie for second place.

Arnaus said” “It was an honour to play two days in a row with Sergio in such as iconic place as Valderrama. Yesterday I started a bit nervous, but I calmed down after four holes and I started to enjoy it, and we got along so well.

“Today was more like being on my own, and I was able to do it on that back nine, so I’m really pleased.

“I was trying to put a score out there as low as I could, but I saw that he’s playing so well it would be tough to put a little pressure on him, so I just tried to focus on me.

“All week the place in The Open is what I came here for.  It’s just an incredible feeling to come out here on home soil, play well, and get one of those spots.”

Lorenzo Vera said: “I knew that If I wanted to give myself a chance to play in The Open I needed to make par on the last, but I hooked that three-wood. I hit a good wedge, but the green was an absolute rock. I had to make that putt, I gave it a chance and I made it

“My objective at the beginning of the season was to play two Majors. I played the US PGA Championship and I absolutely needed this one, so that could be great for my mind.”

Runner-up Rahm would love to have added his name to the trophy, but admitted the pressure of playing in front of Spanish fans brought its own distractions to the job in hand of winning.

Rahm, who won the Spanish Open two years ago, revealed: “As wonderful as it is, it’s always difficult to play on home soil. It’s hard to keep my own expectations in check.

“It’s all about Christiaan today – he played a wonderful round of golf. He played an amazing tournament. Ten-under par this week in Valderrama is no joke.

“Playing in front of a home crowd increases my wanting to win the tournament. You’ve got to focus in yourself and keep it to yourself, but every time I went from the green to the tee the support was unbelievable and at the end it’s really hard to not let that through.”

Garcia finished at three-under, with Europe’s 2018 Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn, Belgian Thomas Detry, Gavin Green of Malaysia, German Bernd Ritthammer and Japan’s Hideto Tanihara one shot further backG

Garcia, whose foundation hosted the event again, said: “It was a very solid week. You’ve got to be realistic, I feel like I played probably the best I played all year, but I made two putts all week which didn’t help.

“Taking that into account, finishing sixth shows how well I hit the ball. That’s very positive, and that’s what I’m taking.

“It’s been a great tournament for my foundation, and it’s been fun. Every year we seem to be coming up with things to raise more money and that’s nice. Just to be able to help some people is very fulfilling and a great feeling to have.”

The post Bezuidenhout: From drugs ban after 2014 Amateur to victory at Valderrama . . . appeared first on Golf North.

Bryson DeChambeau matched the fireworks of last year’s US Open and PGA Champion Brooks Koepka by firing a superb 66 to lead the Masters at Augusta after the first round . Picture by GETTY IMAGES.

BRYSON DeChambeau produced an incredible finish, posting four closing birdies to share the lead with Brooks Koepka at six-under par the end of day one at the Masters.

A remarkable run of scoring in the late groups stretched the field at Augusta National Golf Club, with DeChambeau amongst a host of European Tour players in the mix going into Friday at the first Major Championship of the year.

South African debutant Justin Harding was one of the players who had set the target at three-under early in the day.

And for a long time it looked like there would be a highly congested leaderboard as a nine-way tie for the lead developed.

But four birdies in a row from the 12th hole from Koepka moved the three-time Major champion to six-under and into a two-shot lead.

DeChambeau’s incredible finish saw him catch his fellow American, thanks in part to a wonderful second shot on the 18^th where he was only denied an eagle by the pin flag.

The player, known as “The Mad Scientist” for his quirky mathematical approach to golf, signed for a 66  – his best round at Augusta National.

Meanwhile Koepka, playing behind his rival who has won five times since last June, parred his way home to record the only bogey-free round of the day and share top spot.

The winner of the Dubai Desert Classic – the same route to the Green Jacket taken by Sergio Garcia in 2017 and Danny Willett in 2016 – said “It’s my best round out here, a 66.

“I was just looking to shoot something in the 60s this week because I haven’t done that yet in my couple times playing here.

“What a magical back nine.  Wind started to pick up, right around Amen Corner, and it was tough.  It was not easy one bit.” Bryson added.

“But we just stuck to what we knew we should have done, and we did, and was able to execute a beautiful nine-iron on 12 that kind of jump started my back nine, hitting it to five feet, making that putt got me rolling.

“I should have pulled the flagstick out (on the 18^th). But no, it was a great shot, and I was excited just to tap‑in to finish off a great round.”

Three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson birdied five of his last seven holes to sit one shot off the lead at five-under, a shot clear of fellow American Dustin Johnson and Woburn’s Ian Poulter.

The honorary member at Leighton Buzzard Golf Club where he started life in the pro shop, said: “I’m very happy with today’s work. It’s a great start to a long week.

“The weather is going to be interesting over the next three days with the thunderstorms coming in,” said Poulter.

“The course dried out nicely today.  A couple of greens may have been a touch slower than what we’ve previously had in the past on a Thursday.

“But I’m happy with that and feel pretty good about it. My whole game was together, from the first hole to the 18th hole.

“I mean I only missed two greens in regulation, I think.  One of them was nine.  I made bogey there.

“And the other green I missed I was kind of 12 feet from the pin and just on the fringe.  So really my putting all around today was extremely solid. I need to do that over the next few days.”

Harding – who has won five times worldwide in the last year, including his maiden European Tour title at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters – is joined at three-under par by Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Kevin Kisner of the United States, Australian Adam Scott and Spain’s Jon Rahm.

South African Harding, who played a practice round with 2011 Green Jacket winner Charl Schwartzel earlier in the week, said: “I was happy with it, I handled my emotions pretty well, a bit annoying on the last making bogey.  But at the end of the day I’ll take it.

“Golf is purely momentum based.  If you take enough confidence into the rounds then you’re bound to play well.

“You just pretty much need to get out of your own way. I’ll take it and run if I can – we’re not allowed to run here at Augusta – but I’m pleased.

“It’s one of those where I gave myself a couple chances, I didn’t feel like I took great advantage of the par fives.

“I managed to hit a wedge close in on 16 but other than that it was one of those where you just kind of sneak in a birdie here or there where you can.

“I managed to hit a couple of fairways.  I’m still learning and this golf course is difficult.”

Rahm, who finished fourth last year and has since made his debut for Europe in the Ryder Cup thrashing handed out to the Americans in Paris last year, has made a great start to 2019 with five top 10s in eight starts.

The Spaniard said: “I think that the most important thing is I never lost patience.

“I was one over par on the par fives going to the back nine where it’s easy to get a little frustrated and I didn’t.

“I kept my cool and I was able to make a great birdie on nine and get where I’m going.

“It’s tough out there, they made a few changes to the golf course, they put some tough pins early in the day already, the greens started getting progressively firmer, so just being able to make a couple good putts and shoot under par is a good round.”

Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard, who is also making his debut at Augusta – having reached the last four of the WGC World Match Play in Texas two weeks ago – and The Open champion Francesco Molinari are among a group of 10 players at two-under.

The post The ‘Mad Scientist’ Bryson DeChambeau leads Masters appeared first on Golf North.