If there was one moment which symbolised the tremendous impact European Tour Members have had on the global golfing scene in 2008, it came in Bermuda in October when Padraig Harrington was honoured with The PGA Player of the Year award.
The Irishman followed England’s Nick Faldo in 1990 as the only European golfer in history to earn the prestigious accolade which was first presented by The PGA of America 60 years ago in 1948 and which is given to the top PGA TOUR player based on a mathematical formula that weighs tournament wins, official money and scoring averages.
Harrington came out on top due to his superb victories in both The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and the US PGA Championship at Oakland Hills and would dearly have loved to have rounded the season off in style in Bermuda with victory in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf at the Mid Ocean Course.
However, despite a closing 68 to match Jim Furyk, Harrington had to concede defeat at the first play-off hole when the American rolled in a ten foot putt for a winning eagle three. Although disappointed, it was another fine week for the Irishman and The European Tour in general, with the field being completed by Members Retief Goosen in third and Masters Tournament Champion Trevor Immelman in fourth.
Staying in America is appropriate for it was across ‘The Pond’ that European Tour Members gained some of the most significant victories of 2008 – and none more so than Sergio Garcia who claimed the flagship event on the US PGA Tour; The Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass course, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in May.
After tying with American professional Paul Goydos on five under par 283 at the end of regulation play, the Spaniard took the title on the first play-off hole – the intimidating par three 17th – with a three after Goydos found trouble.
“The goal is to keep getting better and the only thing this victory tells me is to keep working hard and to believe in myself because when I do that, I don’t think there are a lot of guys out there who can beat me,” said Garcia. “So it is just a matter of doing that and knowing the capability that I have within myself.”
Indeed, Garcia demonstrated his talent again in both the US PGA Championship and the US Tour Champioship in which he was runner-up each time.
Outwith the flagship event, the biggest occasion in the US PGA Tour calendar was the end-of-season FedEx Cup Series which was also claimed by a European Tour Member – Honorary Member Vijay Singh, thanks largely to successive victories in the first two of the four tournament series in August; The Barclays at the Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus, New Jersey, and the Deutsche Bank Championship at the TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts.
In the former tournament the 45 year old Fijian – a 12 time winner on The European Tour International Schedule – took the title for the fourth time at the second hole of a play-off which also featured Garcia and former WGC – Accenture Match Play champion Kevin Sutherland; while the latter tournament was claimed in more orthodox fashion when a fine closing 63 gave him a 22 under par total of 262 and a five shot victory over Canada’s Mike Weir.
If Singh ended the US PGA Tour year in style – capturing the Money List with earnings of $6,601,094 – then Daniel Chopra started it in exactly the same fashion with victory in the curtain-raising Mercedes-Benz Championship in January at The Plantation Course, Kapalua Resort, Hawaii.
The 34 year old Swede ended the 72 holes level with American veteran Steve Stricker on 18 under par 274 but claimed the title and a US$100,000 Mercedes-Benz CL550 at the fourth play-off hole.
Ironically, Chopra’s place in the field was earned when he won the 2007 Ginn Sur Mer Classic at Tesoro which, aside from The Plantation Course, is the only par 73 layout used on the regular US PGA Tour. “How about that?” proclaimed the Swede when told of the coincidence. “But, in truth, there’s not a golf course out there which suits me more than this one – I loved it from the moment I saw it.”
Chopra was not the only Swede to enjoy success Stateside in 2008, the Scandinavian country also providing the winner of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina in August, namely Carl Pettersson.
The victory – garnered via a 21 under par total of 259 to finish two shots clear of American Scott McCarron – had extra significance for Pettersson for it came in his adopted home town of Greensboro, having decided to stay there after having attended North Carolina State University.
The win was Pettersson’s third on the US PGA Tour, but 2008 also saw the return to the winners’ circle in America of a European Tour Member who has enjoyed more than five times that success rate, one Ernie Els.
The 38 year old South African had not triumphed in America for over three years but ended that drought in emphatic style at the beginning of March when a final round 67 saw him come from three shots behind at the start of the day to pip England’s Luke Donald and win The Honda Classic at the PGA National Resort and Spa Champion Course at Palm Beach Gardens in Florida by a shot – six under par 274 to Donald’s 275.
“We play out here to win,” said Els, who also won the King Hassan II Trophy in Morocco in November. “I guess we get addicted to that feeling and, when you don’t get your rush, so to speak, you miss it. I definitely missed winning.”
From one multiple winner, three weeks later the US PGA Tour through up a European Tour Member enjoying his first taste of silverware in the United States, Andres Romero of Argentina.
The 27 year old from Tucuman cemented his reputation as one of the most exciting stars of world golf when he captured the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at the TPC Louisiana course in Avondale, Louisiana.
Romero carded weekend rounds of 65-68 for a 13 under par total of 275 to win by a shot from Australia’s Peter Lonard and continue a remarkable statistic for the tournament which has now seen six of the last seven winners being first time champions on the US PGA Tour, the only man to break that sequence being Vijay Singh in 2004.
Completing the Roll of Honour on the main tour in the United States in 2008 were American Zach Johnson and Adam Scott of Australia.
Johnson, the former Masters Tournament Champion won the Valero Texas Open at La Cantera Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas in October by two shots from Charlie Wi with a 19 under par total of 261; while Scott took the plaudits in the EDS Byron Nelson Classic in April in dramatic fashion in a play-off with American Ryan Moore after both players finished on seven under par 273.
That he did just that was impressive, as the six time winner on The European Tour International Schedule had to hole a nine foot birdie putt on the final green to make the play-off before bringing the curtain down on proceedings with a 50 footer for birdie on the same green at the third time of asking. “I got away with one today,” admitted the Australian. “I was a bit lucky.”
While that may have been the case, there was certainly nothing fortuitous about the form of the 2004 European Ryder Cup Captain Bernhard Langer on the US Champions Tour. Quite simply the 50 year old German was sensational as he won three times and stormed to victory on both the Money List with $2,035,073 and in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup, a points programme designed to recognise the Tour’s best player and for which Langer received the additional bonus of $1 million.
First victory of the year, and his second on the over-50’s circuit in the United States came in the Toshiba Classic at the Newport Beach Country Club in Newport Beach, California at the beginning of March, and paid testament to Langer’s legendary fitness as well as his golfing prowess as he beat American Jay Haas at the seventh extra hole of a play-off after both players had ended on 14 under par 199.
Two weeks later at the end of March, Langer was back in the winners’ circle in vastly different circumstances at the Ocean Course in Palm Coast, Florida, when a battling final round 71 in treacherously windy conditions saw him finish on 12 under par 204 and wrap up an eight shot victory over Americans Lonnie Nielsen and Tim Simpson in the Ginn Championship Hammock Beach Resort.
His third win in October saw him successfully defend the first US Champions Tour title he won in 2007, the Administaff Small Business Classic at The Woodlands Country Club in Texas where he carded a final round 69 for a 12 under par total of 204 to win by two shots from American Lonnie Nielsen.
The achievements proved to the 42 time winner on The European Tour International Schedule that he had unquestionably recovered from a bout of the Epstein-Barr virus he contracted mid-season, one which saw him lose energy, run fevers and endure an elevated heart rate for a spell.
Like Langer, Argentine Eduardo Romero – his old sparring partner from many European Tour events over the years – also won three times on the US Champions Tour in 2008.
The highlight of the three unquestionably came in August when, a week after missing out by a shot on a play-off for The Senior Open Championship, presented by MasterCard, at Royal Troon, the 54 year old Argentine captured the US Senior Open at The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Romero carded a one over par final round 73 for a six under par total of 274, but was never seriously challenged by runner-up, American Fred Funk, who ended the day four shots adrift with Ireland’s Mark McNulty third and Greg Norman of Australia fourth, the only players in the field to match or better par over the four rounds.
Straddling that memorable success were two other victories for the man affectionately known as “El Gato” and Romero was certainly smiling like the cat who got the cream when he won the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open at the En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott, New York in July; and the SAS Championship at the Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, North Carolina in September.
In Endicott, a final round 69 for a 17 under par total of 199 was good enough for a one shot victory over American Gary Koch, while in Cary, 1992 US Open Champion Tom Kite was Romero’s nearest challenger but could not get within three shots as progressively improving rounds of 68-67-66 gave the Argentine victory on 15 under par 201.
Completing a highly successful year in the United States was India’s Arjun Atwal who won the Nationwide Tour’s Chattanooga Classic at the Black Creek Club in Tennessee, a birdie at the first play-off hole good enough to see off the challenge of America’s Webb Simpson after both players ended the tournament on 24 under par 264.
Of course, as with The European Tour International Schedule itself, the performances of Tour Members stretches worldwide and, once again, it was not simply in the United States that they excelled. As in previous years, South Africa in particular, proved a fertile hunting ground for trophies throughout the year.
Proving that point conclusively was South African James Kamte who enjoyed his first success in January in the Dimension Data Pro-Am at the Gary Player Country Club, winning by three shots from James Kingston with an 11 under par total of 277; and his second success in October when stunning final rounds of 63-64 saw him come from behind to win the Metmar Highveld Classic at the Witbank Golf Club, finishing on 20 under par 196, five shots clear of the trio of Desvonde Botes, Doug McGuigan and Brandon Pieters. It was also two weeks before Thomas Aiken claimed the Platinum Classic at the Mooinooi Golf Club, finishing five shots clear of the field after a fine showing which brought him a 19 under par winning total of 197.
Kamte’s storming finish in the Metmar Highveld Classic put paid to hopes of a back-to-back triumph for his compatriot McGuigan, who, the week previously, had triumphed in the BMG Classic at the Ebotse Golf and Country Estate, a closing 68 giving him a ten under par total of 206 and a one shot victory over his fellow countryman Jaco Van Zyl.
Although the majority of success in South Africa was enjoyed by home country players, it was not exclusively thus, and bucking the trend at the beginning of February was Zimbabwe’s Marc Cayeux whose ultra consistent rounds of 66-67-67-68 for a 12 under par total of 268 was good enough for a two shot victory over South African Bradford Vaughan in the Nashua Masters at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club.
However, the rest of the month revered to type with victories for host country players James Kingston in the Vodacom Championship at the Pretoria Country Club; and Louis Oosthuizen in the Telkom PGA Championship at the Country Club Johannesburg.
A storming finish, which included birdies at the final three holes saw Kingston end with a 65 for a 17 under par total of 271 and a two shot triumph over Brazil’s Adilson da Silva; while, a week later, Oosthuizen gave new meaning to the phrase ‘runaway winner’ when he captured the Telkom PGA Championship by a whopping 14 shot margin with a sensational 28 under par total of 260 – the biggest 72 hole winning margin since the Sunshine Tour came into existence in 1967.
The same day – Sunday February 24 – Oosthuizen was cruising to victory in South Africa, another European Tour Member, New Zealand’s Mark Brown was triumphing on the Asian Tour, winning the Sail Open presented by Jaypee Greens in Noida, India.
A final round 69 gave the 33 year old from Auckland a 14 under par total of 274 and a comfortable four shot victory. It also laid the foundations for his sensational victory in the Johnnie Walker Classic on The European Tour the following week, a 14 day spell which deservedly saw him win The European Tour Golfer of the Month award for February.
Continuing the success in Asia was Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant, who claimed the Bangkok Airways Open at the Santiburi Samui Country Club in his home country in June; China’s Liang Wen-chong who enjoyed a wire-to-wire win in the Hero Honda Indian Open at the Delhi Golf Club in October; while South Africa’s Retief Goosen won the Iskandar Johor Open at Royal Johor International Golf Club in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, in November.
Thai players did not, however, reserve success solely for their own country, Prayad Marksaeng proving that point conclusively with two victories in consecutive tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour; firstly in the Mitsubishi Diamond Cup at the Higashi Hirono Golf Club in Hyogo at the end of May before following that with another triumph in the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open Yomiuri Classic at the Yomiuri Country Club in Hyogo in mid June – winning on both occasions by a shot with respective totals of ten under par 274 and 15 under par 269.
Completing the roll of honour in Japan was India’s Jeev Milkha Singh who followed up his two victories in the country in 2006 with another in July 2008 when his 13 under par total of 275 was good enough for a two shot victory in the Nagashima Shigeo Invitational Sega Sammy Cup at The North Country Golf Club in Hokkaido. Having already won on The European Tour in Austria, he finished the year off with further victories in the Barclays Singapore Open, holding off the two-pronged attack from Major Champions Els and Harrington, and the Nippon Golf Series Cup in Japan on his way to topping the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Indeed, as the dust settled on 2008, seven Order of Merit titles were in the hands of European Tour Members. Leading the way on home soil was Robert Karlsson, who became the first Swedish golfer to win The Harry Vardon Trophy. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US PGA Tour Money List was won by Honorary Member Singh for the third time, the Fijian being joined by Langer who crowned his first full season on the US Champions Tour by topping the Money List before being named Rookie of the Year.
India’s Singh became the first player to break through the US$1 million mark on his way to winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit for the second time while first time successes were garnered by New Zealand's Brown on the PGA Tour of Australasia and Richard Sterne of South Africa who smashed the earnings record on the Sunshine Tour.
Completing the Roll of Honour was Challenge Tour graduate Estanislao Goya, the Argentine matching Langer by not only winning the Tour de las Americas Order of Merit, but also Rookie of the Year honours.
While it is unquestionably joyous to win anywhere in the world, there is nothing like the feeling of winning in your own back yard and two other players to enjoy that special moment in 2008 were Felipe Aguilar and Padraig Harrington.
Although not quite matching the achievement of Louis Oosthuizen in Johannesburg, Aguilar nevertheless enjoyed a fairly comfortable ride on Sunday April 20 when he cruised to an 11 shot victory in Chile’s national open on the Tour de las Americas – the 82nd Abierto de Chile VISA.
The man who, two months earlier had claimed his maiden European Tour title in the Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open, carded a final round 68 to record an overall score of 23 under par 265 at the Club de Golf Hacienda de Chicureo to finish comfortably ahead of runner up, Sebastian Saavedra of Argentina.
Having started this 2008 global odyssey with Padraig Harrington, it seems only fitting that it ends with the Irishman too who, for the second year running, warmed up for his Open Championship triumph at home by winning the Ladbrokes Irish PGA Championship.
This time he did it at The European Club, the majestic Pat Ruddy designed links between the coastal towns of Wicklow and Arklow about 30 miles south of Dublin, winning by four shots from Philip Walton, despite carding a final round one over par 72.
What price a hat-trick in 2009 – both in the Irish PGA Championship and in The Open Championship on the Ailsa Course at Turnberry? It would take a brave man to bet against him.
Scott Crockett
Reproduced by kind permission of The European Tour Yearbook 2009, available now in theEuropean Tour Shop
