It was an early alarm for the final day of the Stena Line Media Masters 2019. As we stumbled down to another fine breakfast at the Druids Glen Hotel thoughts turned to the eight singles matches which were to take place at Powerscourt Golf Club. I had heard great reports of the courses at Powerscourt and so was looking forward to another great test of golf. I was not to be disappointed.
CT Pan became only the second players from Chinese Taipei, or Taiwan as it is better known, to win on the PGA Tour and the first since 1987 when TC Chen won the Genesis Open. The diminutive Pan held his nerve over the final few holes to take the crown and earn himself a $1.2 million pay day.
Following on from our recent rant concerning etiquette the writer took to the course this morning. It was a stableford competition (points system) a normally quicker format as a lost ball is not the end of the world and if you can’t score on a hole you pick up. It is those lovely medal events that often bring the course to a grinding halt with all competitors having to finish out every hole.
Following the storm delays of Friday, Shane Lowry completed his second round on Saturday morning, retaining his one shot lead over the field. His impressive run of bogey free golf continued with only one in his first 48 holes but he then dropped a shot at his next two holes. He did well at the 14th to only drop the one shot as his approach found the water and it required a fine long putt to rescue the situation.
Having found a new and relaxing way to reach the Emerald Isle, by ferry across the Irish Sea, Team GB headed out of Dublin on their way to their base for the Stena Line Media Masters. The 5 star Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort is set in 360 acres of countryside between the Wicklow Mountains and the Irish Sea and is only some thirty minutes from Dublin.
We are not sure whether all of these are real and its clear some are not legal but they brought a smile to our faces
Etiquette - “The customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular profession or group.” There were certain sporting maxims when we grew up. Football is a gentleman's game played by thugs, and rugby is a thug’s game played by gentlemen. Cricket and golf were games for protaganists who played with a significant side order of honour.
PUMA Golf, the leaders in innovation and style for apparel, accessories and footwear have signed a multi year deal with Ernie Els. As part of the deal Els will wear PUMA’s footwear at all professional events.
The call came through: “Can you play in the Masters?” Thoughts like ‘is the Pope Catholic?’ came to mind as they followed up with the “Media Masters – Stella is inviting you.” Panic sets in as I wonder if I know a Stella and what the wife might say. “No, the Stena Line Media Masters” and so began the adventure.
Seeing TaylorMade’ announcement (our coverage here) of its new mini driver got me thinking. What the hell is a mini driver? Surely, I need a Mahoosive big headed driver with a sweet spot the size of a tea plate which will launch the ball in to the stratosphere (Kaboom!). Did I not have a mini driver back in the 70s, it was made out of wood (persimmon if you were posh) and it had the propensity to fly all over the place.
You have to go back a long time to remember a Masters when so many players, at some point, were arguably in contention to grab that fabled Green Jacket. We know who ultimately prevailed but what happened to other runners who came up short when the chips were down? Here is GP's rundown of the how the main contenders finished.
TaylorMade has today announced the launch of the Original One Mini Driver, a new metalwood that pays homage to the brand’s history and utilises many of the most important product technologies in the company’s long lineage of industry-leading metalwood performance.
