It’s the final hole on the Earth Course in Dubai and its rapidly getting a reputation as a card wrecker. A good drive almost forces you to go for it in two, but if you miss, the consequences can be disastrous. The leaders of the Dubai World Championship will know they cannot afford a drop in concentration until this hole has been negotiated.
Eight times he has lead going into the final round and seven wins have resulted but Ian Poulter wont have it all his own way tomorrow at the 2010 Dubai World Championship. Its a star studded leaderboard with Francesco Molinari, Lee Westwood, Ross Fisher, Robert Karlsson (a resurgent 67) and even Rory McIlroy (66 today) well positioned for a shot at the title on Sunday.
Poults leads the way by two after a 69 but he will be joined by Francesco Molinari in the final group tomorrow after the Italian was the first to post 10 under in the clubhouse.
Graeme McDowell’s Race is run as he conceded defeat in the Race To Dubai. GMac played better today to finish on 3 under, while Champion elect Kaymer lies on 6 under after dropping four shots on the way home, including a disastrous double bogey on the last.
Ian Poulter tees off the 18th at the Dubai World Championship 2010 Third Round Highlights
Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher are tied for the halfway lead on 9 under at the Dubai World Championship 2010 and Martin Kaymer has all but sewn up The Race to Dubai.
The Germans only rival GMac struggled again on a course that, as he says himself, “frustrates the life out of me” to a 73 for 42nd place while Kaymer is tied fourth just two behind the leaders on 7 under.
Round of the day came from Fisher who shot a course record-equalling 64 to reach 9 under before being joined on that mark by Poulter late in the day.
Other notable movers upwards were Paul Casey and Francesco Molinari while Robert Karlsson and Sergio Garcia slipped back down the leaderboard today.
Here’s what’s in the bag of world number one Lee Westwood at the Dubai World Championship 2010. With thanks to our man on the Ping tour truck Dominic Griffiths.
There’s no pleasing some. It seems today that Ulster, the province that boasts US Open Champion and Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell and the best young player on the planet Rory McIlory, are turning their back on the duo in favour of Asian Order of Merit Winner Seung Yul Noh.
Golf fans representing the entire province of Ulster, including Donegal North, took the opportunity to proclaim the Korean as their new favourite on Tour , by unveiling an alternate version of the infamous provincial slogan “Ulster Says Noh” outside the clubhouse at the Dubai World Championships. The flag also pokes fun at the ill fated Ping “G8” driver that was never released.
Apparently the move has not gone too well in Noh’s homeland where the government has urged Ulster to give Noh back. A spokesman said earlier “We’re absolutely crappin’ ourselves already over this crazy guy Kim Jong Un taking over in North Korea. The last thing we want is to bring the wrath of Ian Paisley on our country. We'll even swap ye YE Yang and KJ Choi if you give us back Noh”. More as it emerges.
The moment when NORTH WEST Ireland wins the IAGTO European Golf Destination of the year 2011. Well done everybody!
It’s something of a blast from the past in Dubai with the likes of Robert Karlsson, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson at the summit of the leaderboard at the season finale in Dubai. With one notable exception. Martin Kaymer canned his second shot to the third on his way to five under, just two shots off the pace and more importantly five ahead of Graeme McDowell who struggled on the “grainy” and “shaggy” greens. Lee Westwood also celebrated his return to action with a solid three under par 69.
I
’ve just spotted this offer on mygolfsociety.ie for the brilliant Portmarnock Hotel & Links. It looks class and I’m definitely heading up. Bone dry course, no mud on your shoes and brilliant greens. Might even toddle off down the road to Gibney’s in Malahide for a pint after.
1 night B&B & 1 Round of golf for €55 pps or €80 single occupancy, subject to availability.
Contact the mygolfsociety.ie team to book Portmarnock Links on - 085-7134444 or 087-6644344. And here’s the link
http://mygolfsociety.ie/golf_courses.xhtml?page=golf_courses.details.145
Why cant golf be as glamorous as this all the time? Well it is if you are Barry Power. He had none other than top model Georgia Salpa in to his golf academy the other day for a lesson. Baz must have gotten wind she was coming though; he got the hairgel in and check out the shine on those shoes!
Pic: Barry takes up a risky position but it’s worth it for Georgia!
Barry gave Georgia a present for Christmas (steady on lads)– in the form of one of his expert golf lessons which are recorded onsite with his uber-Sony technology which allows the user to replay and relive the lesson over and over again. Featuring Ireland’s only on the spot take-home DVD of the golf lesson with voice-over analysis, the Barry Power Golf Academy system makes it impossible to forget the most important points of the lesson. I think Barry may have kept a sneaky copy
for himself too!
Lessons vouchers priced from just €45 can either be on an individual or group basis and can be purchased from the academy in person or online at the academy’s website.
With multiple appearances on Sky Sports and TV3’s Ireland AM, providing golf tips to Ireland's morning viewers, Barry has featured regularly in golf sections in newspapers such as the Irish Independent and the Irish Times. Appointed Ireland AM’s Ryder Cup 2008 analyst, Barry created the much enjoyed video file that analyzes Tiger Woods’ swing, which has been viewed a massive 478,704 times on YouTube. Check it out on www.bpg.ie.
Lee Westwood’s presence in the field at the Dubai World Championship this week means it’s likely that he will remain No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the fifth consecutive week.
There is however a possibility that No. 3 Martin Kaymer could leapfrog Westwood into the top spot. For that to happen Kaymer must win or finish solo second and Westwood must finish worse than a tie for second with one other player.
Kaymer will also take the top spot if he finishes second on his own with Westwood outside the top 27.
The most likely scenario for Kaymer however is his moving up to No. 2 and relegating Tiger Woods to No. 3. To do so, Kaymer must finish tied for fourth (with no more than two others) or better.
Bet hey Gary Wolstemholme can always say he kicked Tiger’s ass up and down the course in matchplay!
Here’s the “He Broke Burrita” golf viral video that everyone is talking about. I guess the two lads got what was coming to them!
Congrats to the good folks at North & West Coast Links Golf who had cause to clink their glasses of San Miguel together in Valencia, Spain last week as they accepted the award for “European Golf Destination of the Year 2011” from the International Golf Tour Operators. 350 international golf tour operators from 52 countries chose the North and West over competition from the world famous Old Course at St. Andrews aswell as Spanish and Portuguese venues.
North & West Coast Links Golf comprises the 12 golf courses :Connemara Championship Links, Carne Golf Links, Enniscrone Golf Club,Co. Sligo Golf Club, Donegal Golf Club, Narin & Portnoo Golf Club,Rosapenna Golf Links, Portsalon Golf Club, Ballyliffin Golf Club (pictured), Portstewart Golf Club, Royal Portrush Golf Club and Ardglass Golf Club.
The Irish Open will appear on the European Tour’s 2011 Race To Dubai schedule when it is unveiled this evening. The date pencilled in is July 28-31. In the venue column on the Tour’s website will appear TBA, but after the enormous success of the 2010 staging and the fact that the infrastructure is already in place, it seems highly likely that Killarney will again be the venue. The Kerry venue was unanimously judged by the players as being the best stop on this year’s Tour and adding in the fact that spectator numbers spiked in the region make it the obvious choice for a second staging. Watch this space.
Winner Alright: Last week we tipped Ian Poulter at 15/1. That’s two in a row. Can we make it three? Here are my betting tips for the 2010 Dubai World Championship, the European Tour finale.
Dubai World Championship presented by DP World
Jumeirah Golf Estates
Dubai, United Arab Emirates 25 Nov 2010 - 28 Nov 2010
I would love nothing more than to give you a long odds winner to make it three in a row to finish off the season, but there is just no way you can ignore Lee Westwood from 8/1. The Race To Dubai may be between major winners Kaymer and GMac this season, but Westwood lies third even having missed a chunk of the season with injury. He showed no ill effects from his injured calf at the recent HSBC Champions where he finished second for his ninth top-10 of the season. The man from Worksop “bullied the field” here last year and his final round 64 saw him win by six after a legendary putting display. A similar dose would decimate the field this time around.
Rors came into this event last year with a lot on his mind. The pressure from sponsors, and the weight of expectation to win The Race To Dubai (where he had four top fives in the build up to lead the rankings coming in) was too much to expect the young man to shoulder. The Earth course however suited McIlroy last year where he found the new putting surfaces very much to his liking; so much so that he canned his way to third. If you were to call anything a frailty with Rory, it’s his driving accuracy; his GIR stats belie the fact that he’s rarely inside the top-30 players off the tee. And tour rough makes it tough to get close to pins, even for the best. A good week with the Big Dog is the key to victory for McIlroy. The Holywood man comes into the event this year on the back of two decent finishes of sixth and fifth in Hong Kong and the WGC respectively.
Italian golf is on the up and up with brothers Francesco and Edoardo Molinari and now Matteo Manassero dominating the Tour. Francesco is my pick for this week as I think he possess all the attributes to contend. Okay he may have finished 30th here last year, but the Francesco who will tee it up this 
week is a vastly improved player than then. Straighter and longer off the tee (where he ceded the guts of 15 yards to Westwood last year), more accurate than ever with his irons, more confident on the greens with his new ghost putter and having shed that top weight of the winning monkey off his back at the WGC-HSBC recently it all makes for an irresistible concoction.
Pic: Francesco is’nt doin’ a line with Minister Mary Coughlan is he?
Even though Peter Hanson has had a cracking season and even top 10’d in Dubai last year, we’re plumping for Dane Anders Hansen to produce a podium finish this week. Hansen was impressive in Singapore two weeks back when he surged to finish second behind behind GMac and kept up his form in Hong Kong placing 11th. His form with the flat stick has been the difference of late and if he can bring his stroke to Dubai, where he lead the field in driving accuracy last year, a real sting at 130/1 is in prospect. A proven winter performer.
Four top-10’s this season say Gareth Maybin is steadily improving. Shares the same problem of getting over the line with the Irish rugby pack but it will happen. A tough final round of 76 cost him a win at Valderrama and that destructive tendency resurfaced in Singapore when a Saturday 79 spoiled the week. However Maybster got some good advice on the range last week and finished with a storming 61 in Hong Kong for a top-10 finish. The difference on Sunday? Straight off the tee. If he can keep it going this week, a podium finish is not beyond the realms of possibility.
Betting tips 2010 Dubai World Championship
With just this week’s Dubai gold encrusted World Championship left on the European Tour’s 2010 calender we enlisted the help of our office cardboard Carol Vorderman (pre facelift) cutout to help us deciphor just who the hell can win the Race To Dubai in the final event.
For Martin Kaymer To Win The Race he needs to:
Earn €291,000 more than GMac for the week. If he wins, he’s guaranteed the Race win. If he comes second to anybody but GMac, he wins.
For Graeme McDowell To Win The Race he needs to:
Basically, win the event. The 303 grand difference between first and second would be enough to overcome the 291 grand difference.Other than winning, it gets tougher for Graeme as the prize fund decreases rapidly from third down (it’s still sickly big but you get my drift).
For Lee Westwood to win The Race he needs to:
Wait until next year, play more events, mind his calf and win a bloody major!
Race To Dubai Rankings
from Jay Busbee at Devil Ball Golf.
Early Thursday morning, Tiger Woods joined ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike for about 17 minutes of conversation. Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch reported that Woods' camp placed several restrictions on the interview, including no callers and no references to certain touchy events. But we at Devil Ball have discovered* an email which seems to indicate that there were far more restrictions than that. Now, for the first time, we can reveal just how much Tiger Woods controlled this interview:
Ian Poulter won the Hong Kong Open today with a solid final round of 67 to win by one shot from a surging Matteo Mannasero and Simon Dyson. Poulter was without a nervy moment, taking only his second bogey of the week on the last hole, but in truth he was always in charge.
Another winner from our weekly tips. Make sure to check our Dubai tips next week.
