GolfbloggerUK

December 2010 - Posts

• The Garia Luxury Golf Cart, built at the same factory as Porsche Cars, goes street legal

  Built at the same factory as the Porsche Boxster and Cayman and with luxury features such as a super-car inspired steering wheel, a built-in refrigerator and hand-stitched seats, The Garia Golf Car is the ultimate machine in its class. Now, The Garia LSV*, a street legal version of The Garia, lets you drive directly from the golf course to the streets. Fitted with street legal safety equipment such as seatbelts, side mirrors and reflectors, The Garia LSV will take you straight from your home to the golf course, tennis club, grocery store or your favorite café. With a 25 mph top speed, The Garia LSV features a double wishbone front suspension, automotive style shocks and springs and a unique digital instrument cluster with all relevant driver information. Superb handling and stability, extra storage space and a comfortable car-like driving position simply makes The Garia LSV ideal for your short, daily commutes. The Garia LSV features a drive train built by an Italian company that also produces Ducati gearboxes, and its components are made by the same company that supplies Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Volvo. With automotive features unseen in the golf cart industry The Garia LSV has – as the first golf cart ever - entered the automotive league and earned its right to be called a car as opposed to a cart. Posted Dec 22 2010, 09:44 by GolfbloggerUK with 12 comment(s) Filed under: GolfbloggerUK, Golf Cart

• Iben Tinning wins Ladies European Tour Omega Dubai Ladies Masters

  DUBAI, U.A.E -- Iben Tinning enjoyed the perfect end to her career on Saturday when she won the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, her farewell event on the Ladies European Tour.    She earned a two stroke victory over Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, with Melissa Reid a stroke further back in third place. Tinning earned a first prize of €75,000 and was presented with her trophy by HRH Princess Haya, wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.   Tinning, who has a hip injury, signed off with a round of three-under par 69 for a total of 277, 11-under par. She now hopes to spend more time at home with her husband and four-and-a-half year old son, Mads. Tied for the lead with Melissa Reid overnight, she held her nerve under intense pressure to post just one bogey and four birdies on the final day, holing a 20-foot birdie putt on the last hole. “It is going through my head now but I still can't believe I won and it's just amazing.  I really tried to keep strong out there and it was tough sometimes but I cannot believe this,” said the 2005 European No.1 from Denmark, who had her husband Lasse on caddie duties. “I really didn't think I had it in the bag until I got to 18.  Obviously when I hit the third shot and it was close, I knew this is really good and that that would put some pressure on Mel, as well.” Reid broke away from the pack with two birdies in her first eight holes but dropped a shot at the ninth and was tied with Tinning at the turn. There was a two shot swing at the 10th which Tinning birdied and Reid bogeyed and then Tinning pulled two clear with another birdie on the par-three 11th. Reid birdied the 13th and Tinning bogeyed the 15th but the Dane was still a stroke ahead with a hole to play. Reid found trouble from the tee on 18 and could only lay up to the fairway short of the lake. Her third shot came to rest near a drain resulting in a bogey. Sweden’s Nordqvist, who had a clean card with two birdies, moved up to second place. Tinning, who now hopes to study for a diploma in psychotherapy, kept calm through breathing techniques and held her emotions in check until her English coach, James Petts, ran on to the green to congratulate her. “When my coach came in, he started crying and then I started crying and it was just unbearable.  You know, I was really happy that they took the time because I could breathe a little bit and try to calm myself,” she said. She had banned her coach from coming on the course. “I told my coach, you can't come out.  Because he came out yesterday on 8 and 9 and I made two bogeys, I told him: ‘You jinxed me.’  He said, ‘I've been here for ten years, I want to watch,’ and I said, ‘sorry, stay in there.’” Although the six-time tournament winner is retiring, she plans to return to competitive action to represent Denmark at the Comunitat Valenciana European Nations Cup in Spain, which is a team event, as a one-off. Lee-Anne Pace, who was leading the race for the LET’s Henderson Money List title coming into the event, held off England’s Laura Davies to become the first South African to be crowned European No.1 on the Ladies European Tour. South Korean In-Kyung Kim, the winner of last year’s Omega Dubai Ladies Masters missed out on a successful title defence but won the Ryder Cup Wales Rookie of the Year award as the leading first year member of the Ladies European Tour.  Final Scores: 277 - Iben Tinning (DEN) 70 69 69 69 279 - Anna Nordqvist (SWE) 70 68 71 70 280 - Melissa Reid (ENG) 70 70 68 72 282 - Florentyna Parker (ENG) 67 75 72 68, Christina Kim (USA) 73 68 72 69 283 - Michelle Wie (USA) 71 72 73 67, In Kyung Kim (KOR) 69 75 71 68 284 - Lydia Hall (WAL) 70 67 72 75 285 - Julieta Granada (PAR) 69 74 72 70 286 - Gwladys Nocera (FRA) 73 69 73 71, Marianne Skarpnord (NOR) 69 71 74 72, Stefanie Michl (AUT) 71 73 70 72, Louise Stahle (SWE) 73 72 68 73 287 - Caroline Masson (GER) 75 69 71 72 288 - Becky Morgan (WAL) 74 71 72 71, Georgina Simpson (ENG) 74 71 72 71, Maria Hernandez (ESP) 70 72 72 74, Rebecca Flood (AUS) 73 72 69 74 289 - Linda Wessberg (SWE) 74 72 74 69, Laura Davies (ENG) 75 73 71 70, Morgana Robbertze (SA) 69 72 75 73 290 - Carin Koch (SWE) 73 74 73 70, Alexi Thompson (USA) 73 74 72 71, Bo-Mi Suh (KOR) 69 73 76 72, Julie Greciet (FRA) 70 73 75 72, Carling Coffing (USA) 70 71 75 74, Emma Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 71 73 72 74, Felicity Johnson (ENG) 70 73 72 75 291 - Tania Elosegui (ESP) 71 75 73 72, Maria Verchenova (RUS) 68 72 78 73 292 - Carlota Ciganda (Am) (ESP) 73 71 78 70, Frances Bondad (AUS) 78 70 71 73, Cassandra Kirkland (FRA) 71 77 70 74, Kym Larratt (ENG) 70 72 75 75 293 - Julie Tvede (DEN) 75 70 77 71, Kristie Smith (AUS) 74 74 72 73, Tandi Cuningham (SA) 72 70 75 76 294 - Stacy Lee Bregman (SA) 72 74 74 74 295 - Caroline Rominger (SWI) 73 73 80 69, Lorie Kane (CAN) 72 73 76 74 296 - Marta Prieto (ESP) 76 73 74 73, Veronica Zorzi (ITA) 70 77 75 74, Anne-Lise Caudal (FRA) 70 76 75 75, Elena Giraud (FRA) 73 71 76 76 297 - Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (FRA) 74 75 77 71, Lynn Kenny (SCO) 76 73 75 73, Caroline Afonso (FRA) 70 76 77 74, Elizabeth Bennett (ENG) 74 75 74 74, Sophie Giquel-Bettan (FRA) 73 72 75 77 298 - Margherita Rigon (ITA) 74 75 75 74, Pamela Feggans (SCO) 71 74 77 76 299 - Rebecca Hudson (ENG) 71 78 78 72, Anja Monke (GER) 74 73 79 73, Diana Luna (ITA) 71 78 75 75, Sophie Walker (ENG) 75 71 76 77, Emelie Lind (SWE) 75 72 74 78, Lee-Anne Pace (SA) 73 72 74 80 301 - Jenni Kuosa (FIN) 73 75 77 76, Martina Gillen (IRE) 76 70 76 79 302 - Julie Maisongrosse (FRA) 77 72 79 74 310 - Karin Borjeskog (SWE) 76 73 80 81, Krystle Caithness (SCO) 75 74 77 84 Posted Dec 13 2010, 10:05 by GolfbloggerUK with 6 comment(s) Filed under: GolfbloggerUK, Ladies European Tour, Omega Dubai Ladies Masters

• Michelle Wie had her hands full ahead of Ladies European Tour Omega Dubai Ladies Masters

  Dubai, UAE -- Michelle Wie had her hands full ahead of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, the final Ladies European Tour event of the year.  On top of recovering from a back injury, she was sitting a politics exam on Tuesday. The 21-year-old American was taking a paper on presidential campaigns with another to follow on Thursday. Although she hopes to become a leader on the golf course, she has not ruled out a future career in politics yet. “I'm a communications major, so just something that was in that department and it looked really interesting,” said the Stanford University student. “Professor Iyengar is pretty famous out there so it was really neat to take a class from him.” Wie is one of the stars in the cast of 108 players teeing up on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club from 8-11 December. The World No.10, who claimed her second professional title at the CN Canadian Women's Open in August, has not played competitively since she withdrew from the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in mid November citing back problems. “I’ve just been rehabbing, recovering. I hit some balls last week so this week I’m just going to go out there and try to play pain free,” she said. “It's really important to finish strong, so I think it would make my vacation a lot more fun if I play really well this week, just go out there and ending with a bang would be great. Just going out there and have fun for the last time and I know what whatever I do this week, whether I play well or whether I play bad, I know I'm going to want to play better next season. “I did feel like I improved over the course of the season so that was good.  You know, obviously little glitches here and there held me back but hopefully for the next year I'll be a lot stronger mentally and physically.” She added that becoming World No.1 is one of her goals. “I really hope I haven’t reached my peak yet.  I do feel like I have a lot more.” Wie joins defending champion In-Kyung Kim of South Korea in the field. The 22-year-old, ranked seventh in the world, is also leading the battle for the LET’s Ryder Cup Wales Rookie of the Year.  Kim, who earned her exemption to the Ladies European Tour following her three shot victory over Wie at the 2009 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, leads the race with earnings of €176,904.69 from three events played in Europe this season. Spain’s Maria Hernandez trails that lead by €68,428 and is the only player who can overtake her, but with nothing less than a victory. The battle for the Henderson Money List — another major highlight of the tournament – is weighed in favour of South African Lee-Anne Pace, who has won five tournaments this season from 24 events played.  Only one player stands between Pace and the title: Laura Davies of England who has been crowned European No.1 seven times, firstly in 1985 and most recently in 2006. Providing the Arabian flavour to the event will be the presence of Naela El Attar of Egypt and Morocco’s rising star Maha Haddioui. Naela, the only woman professional in Egypt, is making her second appearance in the event while for Maha it will be her first experience to play competitive golf at this highest level. In line with their long-held tradition of encouraging and promoting emerging players, golf in DUBAi has extended a special invitation to Rhea Nair, a young prodigy who learned the basic rudiments of the game at Emirates Golf Federation’s Junior Development Programme before honing her competitive edge in the United States. The 21-year-old prodigy has just turned professional after graduating from the Alabama University where she was a key member of the women’s team. Coached by famed Gary Gilchrist among others, Rhea will be playing her first tournament as a professional. The 2008 champion Anja Monke of Germany will also be in action, as will US Solheim Cup star Christina Kim and teen star Alexis Thompson, 15, who tied for second at the Evian Masters in July. Posted Dec 09 2010, 11:01 by GolfbloggerUK with no comments Filed under: GolfbloggerUK, Michelle Wie

• World Golf number one Lee Westwood wins Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa

  Lee Westwood finished the Nedbank Golf Challenge the way a world number one should as he chipped in from 35 metres on the 18th to complete a dominating eight-shot victory in the $5-million tournament. Both he and his nearest pursuer, Tim Clark, overshot the green on the final hole of the 7,162-metre Gary Player Country Club, and Westwood calmly stepped up and sank his chip. “To chip in on the last when you’ve got a seven-shot lead,” said Westwood, “that’s the stuff that dreams are made of, I guess.” His four-under-par 68 was the best round of the day – a score shared by Retief Goosen, who climbed from ninth to a share of third with his final round. Clark carded a one-under 71, and that was the third of only four sub-par rounds on the final day, with Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez sinking a 15-footer for birdie with a matador flourish on the 18th to share third with Goosen. The 17th caused a wobble for Westwood, but nothing that was enough to stop his solitary march t0 victory. He hit his approach long and against the stand, and his chap after he was given relief rolled 10 feet past the hole. His putt was just weak and he ended up making bogey for the second time in two rounds – but his nearest opposition was coming from Clark, who hit his approach into the water and would also end up making bogey. “I was a bit disappointed by the bogey,” he said. “I really didn’t want to make a bogey today. The seven-iron into the green I thought was perfect and the wind just dropped on me. It was always going to be a tough up-and-down from there.” But perhaps the reality for Westwood was that his nearest actual opposition was playing thousands of kilometres away in the Chevron Challenge in California – and even victory there is not enough for Tiger Woods to regain the number one ranking. “It’s still something I’m trying to come to terms with,” said Westwood. “There’s expectation whenever you turn up at tournaments and you have to fulfil that. But since I’ve become number one, I’ve finished second, third and first. So I think I can cope with it.” Clark’s short game was sublime throughout the final round. “I was looking for bunkers because I was doing so well out of them,” he laughed. And his chip on 17 after he misread the yardage booklet and hit his four-iron 20 yards short was so nearly in for what would have been a miraculous par. “Just playing to my strength,” he said. Behind the leaders, the challenge by Ross Fisher faded with a stomach bug which weakened him for much of the final two rounds, and he slid to a final 75 and a share of fifth with Ernie Els. Westwood’s caddie Billy Foster also had the stomach bug, as did Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, whose performance of the final three rounds was substantially compromised and he brought up the rear of the 12-man field with his two-over-par 290 after his final 74. Golf Scores (RSA unless specified): 271 - Lee Westwood (ENG) 68 64 71 68 279 - Tim Clark 73 67 68 71 280 - Retief Goosen 72 70 70 68, Miguel Angel Jiménez (ESP) 69 69 71 71 283 - Ernie Els 71 68 71 73, Ross Fisher (ENG) 67 68 73 75 285 - Robert Allenby (AUS) 70 70 73 72, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 66 72 72 75 286 - Justin Rose (ENG) 70 72 72 72, Anders Hansen (DEN) 72 70 68 76 287 - Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 71 67 73 76 290 - Louis Oosthuizen 71 73 72 74 Posted Dec 06 2010, 10:19 by GolfbloggerUK with no comments Filed under: GolfbloggerUK, Lee Westwood, Nedbank Golf Challenge

• The 2010 Australian Open will tee off this week with Century 21 as Presenting Sponsor

  Wednesday, 1 December 2010 The Australian Open will tee off this week buoyed by being able to welcome Century 21 on board as Presenting Sponsor. In a wonderful development for the country’s national Open, Century 21 has committed to  sponsor the prestigious tournament which is being played at The Lakes in Sydney from December 2 to 5. The Australian Open presented by Century 21 promises to be an outstanding week of golf with defending champion Adam Scott competing along with Stuart Appleby, Geoff Ogilvy,  and five-time winner Greg Norman. American stars Fred Couples and John Daly are also competing. Boasting prize money of US$1.3 million the tournament is the penultimate leg on OneAsia for the second successive season and is co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia “We recently became aware an opportunity existed to sponsor the Australian Open and we quickly moved to become involved with what is one of golf’s most famous national Opens. Century 21 is pleased to be able to support Australian golf and believes the sponsorship will deliver strong value for our company and brand” said Charles Tarbey, Owner and Chairman of Century 21 Australia. Century 21 is one the largest real estate sales organizations in the world and one of the world’s most well known brands. They have become the fastest-growing real estate network in the Australasian region with hundreds of offices. Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt said he was very pleased to welcome Century 21 to Australia’s most prestigious championship. “We are naturally delighted that Century 21 has come on board as the presenting partner of this year’s Australian Open,” Pitt said. “Century 21 are a very strong global company that have built a formidable position in Australia so they are obviously an organizsation we are delighted to have a close relationship with.” “Equally I have no doubt Century 21 will enjoy the benefits of being associated with a championship of the Australian Open’s calibre.” World Sport Group, who became promoter of the Australian Open last year as part of a six-year agreement, also welcomed the news. “We are indebted to Century 21 for their support and we look forward to being able to reward them with global television coverage and all the benefits associated with sponsoring one of golf’s most revered tournaments,” said Mark Hardess, President, ASEAN & Australia, World Sport Group. The Australian Open was first played in 1904 and has been won by the biggest names in the game. South African Gary Player has lifted the Stonehaven Cup a record seven times while Jack Nicklaus from the United States triumphed on six occasions. The Australian Open will be showcased on OneAsia’s television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries. Full coverage of the event will be available domestically on Network Ten, as well as internationally on ESPN Star Sports, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 & America One in the USA, ViaSat & Bloomberg Television among others in Europe. The Australian Open is a flagship sporting event on the NSW Master Events Calendar developed by Events NSW on behalf of the NSW Government. Tickets for the Australian Open can be purchased through Ticketek by phoning 13 28 49 or www.ticketek.com.au. Posted Dec 01 2010, 05:03 PM by GolfbloggerUK with no comments Filed under: GolfbloggerUK, Australian Open