Happy 50th to "The big Easy"

We all have a list of our favourites when it comes to golf and for a variety of reasons.

Today "The big Easy" Ernie Els turns 50 and I think it's fair to say he's one guy who is on most of them.

With my Scottish ancestry I was born with golf in my blood and I remember spending hours as a 6 year old on holiday at my grandpa's home made putting green with his hickory shafted putter as my lifetime love of the game began.

TV brought us Arnie Palmer (or vice versa ) in the early 60's and like so many boomers he became our hero with his go for broke style and his humble nature.

Lee Trevino the ultimate entertainer followed as did Gary Player and several others back in the day.

Somewhere in around the early 1990's another South African with the most beautiful, fluid swing and a relaxed laid back personality to match won over our hearts.

He hit it a mile without trying making it look effortless or easy.."The big Easy" had arrived. A true gentle giant he had the misfortune of being in his prime when Tiger Woods was in his or he would have won more majors than he did.

Like Gary Player before him, Ernie has logged millions of air miles from his home in South Africa and although he also has residences in London and the Bahamas his appeal is truly worldwide as a result.

I once asked him at our Canadian Open why he continues to travel the world as much and he summed it up perfectly.." I'm so fortunate to have so many of you as fans and friends where ever I go why wouldn't I "

There must be a few guys on the Champions Tour who aren't as happy for Ernie as we are today but to be honest playing as well as he is I'm not sure he's going to play that much on their circuit....yet.

Happy birthday Ernie..thanks for all the joy you've brought to our lives over the years..and I look forward to many more.

Bryan Angus

Stenson and Sorenstam team up for an innovative Swedish mixed tournament

Keeping in line with the European Tour commitment to lead the way in terms of innovative formats they have announced that in conjunction with the Ladies European Tour and hosted by major champions Henrik Stenson and Annika Sörenstam, they have launched a brand new mixed event in Sweden next year with men and women going head-to-head for the first time on the same course competing for one prize fund and one trophy.

Format:

As part of the European Tour’s commitment to inclusivity in golf, the inaugural Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik & Annika will feature 78 men and 78 women at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club in Stockholm from June 11-14, 2020.

Henrik and Annika have committed to the next three years and with a prize fund of €1,500,000 for the entire field, the tournament will offer Official World Ranking points for both Tours, plus Race to Dubai and Ryder Cup points for European Tour members, and Order of Merit points for the Ladies European Tour.

Stenson will play in the event and ten-time Major winner Sörenstam, who retired from competitive golf in 2008, will play in the tournament pro-ams. Swedish golf fans will be able to watch a host of the world’s top male and female golfers in Stockholm next year before the tournament rotates venues in 2021 and 2022.

The future:

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive Officer of the European Tour, said: “Inclusivity and innovation are two of our key pillars and we are delighted to have global stars in Henrik and Annika leading the way as hosts of the Scandinavian Mixed in their home country of Sweden as we continue to drive golf further.

We have been in close collaboration with the women’s game in recent years, not only on the European Tour, but also across the European Challenge Tour and Staysure Tour with events held in Northern Ireland and Jordan. This tournament is the next step for male and female golfers to compete together on one course, for one prize fund, and one trophy.”

One of the major successes on the European Tour has been the continuation of women professionals in the format for GolfSixes and the concept of men and women competing together remains prominent as they will play together at the Trophée Hassan II tournament in Morocco in June, as well as at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in Australia in February.

Bryan Angus
(europeantour.com)

Graham DeLaet " never been so happy" to make the cut at Houston Open

PGA Tour Houston Open leaderboard https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html

Flipping through my twitter account in the wee hours this morning before watching Japan's thrilling win 28-21 over Scotland in the Rugby World Championship, I came across this from Graham DeLaet (@GrahamDeLaet)

" Never been so happy to make the cut on the number. At times I never thought I'd tee it up on the PGA Tour again. Lot's of ups and downs. Lots of hard work. Here's to everyone who's ever made the decision to persevere."

Last week in Las Vegas he returned to the game after a two year hiatus and missed the cut (75,72). This week he shot 73,71 +1 to make that cut at the Houston Open and has just wrapped up his weekend 77, 70 to finish at +3.

He will end up well down the field but that won't matter. Getting in 4 full rounds is the first step on his return to a career that has seen him flirt with his first win, and has played so well he was picked for the Presidents Cup team in 2013 and to represent Canada at the 2016 Olympics.

Now 37, you'll remember he received a series of stem-cell treatments in 2017, which were deemed unsuccessful, and he opted to have a second microdiscectomy surgery that put him out of action for the full 2018-19 season.

He needs 267 FedEx Cup points to get off his medical exemption, then needs to get within the top 125 to keep his card for next season. He joins his countrymen, Adam Hadwin, David Hearn, Mac Hughes, Nick Taylor, Roger Sloan, Micheal Gligic, Adam Svensson on an ever growing line up of Canadian pros on tour.

DeLaet, who at one time was inside the world's top 35 knows what lies ahead, but for now he's just happy to make that first cut on his road back.

Bryan Angus

Suzann Pettersen's honest letter to son reveals world of "Me,myself and I"

Recently Suzann Pettersen tweeted a lengthy letter to her new son Herman which I have posted for you here.

From a sporting point of view I have always been a fan of Suzann, and of course she just retired in fairy tale style having sunk the winning putt for Europe in the Solheim Cup, in the home of golf no less, with little Herman in her arms..

Judge for yourself, I found the letter revealed the little world of "Me myself and I" that she has lived in for 20 years, everything revolving around herself and her golf, totally selfish, in fact she believes that is necessary to compete in golf at that level.

She is not alone of course, the world is full of people at the top of their game/ profession who have been consumed by their quest, and it does give you an idea of how out of touch they are with what we mortals consider "real life"..

I would go further to opine that her new focus of being a great wife and mother to little Herman ( and others?) is admirable, but hardly normal, with homes around the world, millions in the bank, a full time nanny, doting parents, she's never going to join you on the #43 bus to work at 7.15am on a Monday morning having just dropped your kids at day care after battling to get them ready. Suzann calls it financial stability.

Here is her letter, I have edited it down but not by much. The response on twitter I have read seem mostly from women, many of whom say they are moved to tears.

The fairy tale ending at the Solheim Cup is one of sports great moments without doubt, her move into the world of motherhood will seem overly dramatic and spoiled to many, however that is the world she lived in for 20 years as a pro golfer. It's open and honest.

Dear Herman,

My precious gift, you were far too young to know what was happening or why but you were there with your father and me during the final week of my full-time career as a professional golfer. We were all in Scotland, September 2019, at a place called Gleneagles for the Solheim Cup.

The record:

I’ll get to the details in a minute. But first you should know that before I became the person who folds your clothes and makes dinner for all of us, I played on the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour for 20 years. In that time, I won 15 LPGA Tour events, seven LET events and two major championships. For half-a-dozen years I was consistently ranked as one of the top-10 women golfers in the world, reaching as high as No. 2 on several occasions.

The bubble:

But that performance came at a cost. I didn’t realize it at the time, but tour life became so intertwined with my personal life that I sometimes could not tell them apart. My identity was linked to my job. How I played, how my practice sessions went on a particular day, how many putts I made or missed,  all of that affected my moods, my priorities, my relationships and most of my decisions. I was, to some degree, selfish, which I considered a prerequisite for success. I had no trouble saying “No” and I did it quite a bit when I felt that someone or something was intruding on my time. That was part of the job. And my job, being one of the best golfers in the world, was my focus.

I’m very proud of the success I had in golf. Not only did my wins validate my belief that dedication, perseverance, sacrifice, passion and hard work will lead you to greatness in whatever you chose to do, but my performance as an athlete also led to financial stability and opened more avenues to me than I would have ever dreamed possible.

The pregnancy:

Even before you drew your first breath, you taught me an invaluable lesson about the things in life that really matter; about patience and perspective; about the extraordinary work ethic and monumental balancing act women around the world display; and about the sacrifices and selfless choices working mothers make every day

It began a few days before Christmas 2017. That’s when your father and I learned that we were four-weeks pregnant. It hadn’t been easy. We wanted you so desperately that I underwent in vitro fertilization treatment, receiving a series of injections that prepared my body for pregnancy

Then, the week before I was scheduled to fly to Thailand for the LPGA’s early-year Asia swing, I started having complications. I knew this was not normal. So, I did what any rational, methodical professional would do: I completely freaked out. I drove franticly to the emergency room at the Arnold Palmer Hospital. Doctors checked me out and ran a battery of tests. Even though they said you were fine, I felt as though my world was falling apart. I had this idyllic notion of what my pregnancy was going to be like. Spending three days in the hospital was not it.

When I was released, I flew home to Oslo and went to my doctor. I was terrified, in part because I loved you so much, but also because I knew that whatever was happening was out of my control. I couldn’t work harder, practice longer, or exercise my way out of this. The nurse took an ultrasound and my doctor said that you were fine. But he also said that, given the complications I’d had in Florida, I could no longer fly.

My brain didn’t process that. I said, “I’m supposed to leave for Thailand tomorrow". He said, “Are you not hearing me? You can’t fly. Not to Thailand, not to Arizona, not to England: you’re grounded"

I was stranded in Oslo, which, in hindsight, was the greatest thing that could have happened to me. I was surrounded by family and friends, all there to support me, even though the first month I was a complete basket case, worrying every moment that something was going wrong. But doctors always calmed me down and assured us that everything was fine. By the time I was four months along, it was too late to rejoin the LPGA Tour – even if I had been cleared to travel.

Being forced to slow down, to stay put, set my mind at ease. Once it became obvious that I was going to take at least a full year off, it was like a weight had been lifted off my chest.

That’s when I realized what an insular bubble I’d been living in for 20 years. Golf, my job, had consumed me. Once I turned off the golf switch, that was it. I didn’t play golf, didn’t watch golf and didn’t think about golf for the first time in my adult life. Even during the few times when I was injured, my brain was always churning, working, planning my comeback. But this was different. This was a total break. And I was very comfortable. For the first time, my brain switched to normal.

The moment you drew your first breath, I was a different person. Your father was there and as we held you, I asked myself, “Is there really any reason to go back to that other life? Is there anything left for me to accomplish in golf that would make it worth leaving you? Would winning another major make that much of a difference to my life or to yours? Would being part of another Solheim Cup make a difference?”

I had played competitively for so long and had been living in this ego bubble – a small, compact world where everything was centered around me and my game. Once that bubble burst, I wasn’t sure I wanted to inflate it again. I had no desire to test my heart, my patience, my love for you and your father to try it.

People who hear that a child changes you always ask, “How? What changes?” There are practical answers. Traveling becomes complicated. Your schedules are not your own. Another human’s life is dependent upon you. But just as important and real as those things are, they are secondary to the root change, the change the matters. The truth is: Once you become a parent, your personal ego goes away.

The return:

I was committed to play the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in mid-July 2019, so I had to prepare for that. Dow is one of my longtime sponsors. I didn’t want to embarrass myself.

Once I started preparing, I got into a routine. Your grandparents and father helped care for you. We are blessed to be able to afford a good nanny who was a lifesaver at times. I knew you were in good hands. I never once felt as though you were uncomfortable or unhappy.

But it was still hard in the beginning. I worried about being away from you. And the amount of time I committed to preparation was not even close to the same as before. My preparation was more focused and intense. I wasn’t working as long, but my work had 10 times the quality. A two-hour practice session accomplished as much as I once did in an entire day.

Suddenly I felt good about golf again. For the first time in my career, I really enjoyed playing golf because my expectations weren’t crazy high and I was not over-the-top hard on myself. After I finished the first round at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, a team event that I played with my dear friend Catriona “Beanie” Matthew, I thought, “That was really a lot of fun.” And then it dawned on me that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt that way about golf.

That week, though, Beanie, along with Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall, they all said to me, “You have to keep playing to get ready for the Solheim Cup.” I told them they were crazy but Anna said, “We can make everything work if you just keep practicing and playing.”.

Beanie was serious, so I shuffled my schedule for the summer. I told your dad, “If I’m going to play, I need some competitive reps. I can either play Canada or Portland.”
He said, “You have to play both. If you’re in Canada, you just go over to Portland.”
I said, “I’m not going to be away from Herman for two weeks. It’s not worth it.”

But I knew he was right. It was heartbreaking to leave you, although once I got on site at the Cambia Portland Classic, my routine fell into place. Still, I didn’t feel right. I was staying in this wonderful hotel in downtown Portland and all I could think was, “What are you doing? All by yourself? Really? This means nothing if you can’t share it with them.”

The Fairy Tale:

The week of Solheim, you and your dad came to Scotland. So even with all the activities there, I could always see you. I could come to the room for a few minutes and play with you. I could hold you, rock you and feed you. You could hear the sound of my voice and I could feel the warmth of your cheeks.

That’s when another realization hit me: I don’t think most people realize the sacrifices moms make. I don’t know how they do it. There are millions of working moms with kids at home. I don’t think they get enough credit for how they manage their lives.

I guess I was a controversial captain’s pick for that Solheim Cup. Having not played much in two years, I understood the sentiment. But I also knew that match play in a team environment was much different than 72 holes of stroke play where you never saw most of the other competitors up close.

On Saturday, my golf game came to me. I started feeling more comfortable. Then, on Sunday in the singles competition, I really found my game. My match was with Marina Alex, a wonderful, funny Tour veteran who was playing in her first Solheim Cup.

We went back and forth for 17 holes and were all tied with one hole to play. We both hit great wedge shots into the final green. But my ball had backspin and ended up below the hole, while Marina’s rolled forward and was above the hole, giving her a difficult downhill putt. At the time, I did not know that our match would decide the outcome of the entire three-day competition. Bronte Law, who was playing behind me, had won her match mere moments before Marina and I putted.

Marina hit a good putt that slid just right of the hole. So, I had about a 6-footer to win.
The tagline of the Solheim Cup, the one used in all the marketing materials that had been painted on all the grandstands, was: “It all leads to this moment.” I hit a perfect putt but in golf you never know what will happen until the last second. When I saw the ball disappear and the tens of thousands of fans surrounding the green roared, I realized, immediately, that the line I’d seen all week was a perfect summation of my career. It all led to that moment. My family was all there. You won’t remember it, but I’m sure you will see it in replay for years to come. It was a fairytale ending, one I couldn’t have imagined.

The crowd and my teammates rushed the 18th green, jubilant and celebrating. It took a minute for me to find you and your dad in the melee. But when I did, when I looked at you in your father’s arms, I said, “This is it. Nothing is ever going to top this.”

 I’d had it all – a great team, a great captain, a great competition and an unbelievable outcome – a historic week for women’s golf. I’m thrilled you were there. Even though you won’t remember it, having you present is something I will cherish forever. Combining the responsibilities of being a mom and a golfer … it was all I needed.

The first time it hit me was Sunday night. We got back to the team room, had a celebration dinner and a big party. At about 11 p.m., I went back to the room to check on you. I sat in one of those comfy chairs in the dark room of the Gleneagles Hotel listening to you breathe. I looked at my phone and it had blown up with thank-you messages from people around the world. LPGA players, staff, Europeans, Americans – it didn’t matter. Messages were ticking in one after another.

I had become a lot more emotional as a mom. But this was overwhelming. I wept like I hadn’t in many years. For the first time as a golfer, I was completely, totally satisfied, content and at peace.

The ending:

I hope this story helps you understand our family. I hope it helps you appreciate the discipline and determination it takes to reach goals. Work over time will always pay off. Sometimes you have to make hard decisions. I hope you find the passion in whatever you do that I found in golf – a love that dwelled deep in my heart. And I hope you see in this story, in my one incredible week at the Solheim Cup, that there is a time for everything in life.

That Sunday was the time for me to step away from golf and be a wife and mother. I hope you can find the peace in your decisions that I have found in mine.

Jon Rahm defends his Spanish Open title on new revamped European Tour

Before I went away, I wrote about Canadian Keith Pelley , now the CEO of the European Tour, announcing the rebranding of the tour.

This weekend Spain's Jon Rahm successfully defended his Spanish Open title by 5 shots. Here are all the details on the new look europeantour.com.

https://www.europeantour.com/european-tour/.

It has a lot of features, is less cluttered, and has easier access for you to things fans want like season stats leaders, Race to Dubai leaders and bio's, video interviews.

Bryan Angus

Henderson, Sharp lead the Canadian contingent into next years LPGA

The Volunteers of America final scoreboard https://www.lpga.com/tournaments/volunteers-of-america-classic/results

The LPGA will make it's annual season ending tour through Asia, but the final event on the US mainland wrapped up down in Texas at the Volunteers of America and the top 100 on the money list was settled.

Alena Sharp had a strong week, finishing with a pair of 72's T14 -7. Brooke Henderson fired a final round -2 69 T16 -5.

The emotional winner, playing at home was young American, Cheyenne Knight 66,67,67,66 -18 for her first tour win, and a 2 year exemption, plus all the other perks that go with it, including at #49 in the Race to CME Globe standings, she is virtually assured of getting to the Tour Championship next month.

Here is the list of the top 100 who have secured their LPGA cards for 2020 https://www.lpga.com/statistics/money/official-money.

Brooke Henderson 5th $1,373,027, Alena Sharp 56th $305,401, are the only pair to have full status.

Catherine Anne Tanguay, 130th $60,178,  Jaclyn Lee 145th $27,376, Brittany Marchand 166th, $9,908 all spent parts of this year on tour but will have to go through Q school.

None of the Canadians on the Symetra Tour graduated, here is the list of the top 10 who did https://www.lpga.com/news/2019-meet-the-symetra-tour-graduates

Bryan Angus

Hadwin makes his bid for Presidents Cup

Hi all, it's great to be back after two weeks away, and this weekend was another biggie, with the final 100 on the LPGA money list getting settled, and captains picks for the Presidents Cup team, including our own Adam Hadwin making their final bids.

2019 Presidents Cup teams/ standings https://www.presidentscup.com/standings.html
On November 4, 2019 captain Ernie Els will add 4 wild card picks to his International squad who will take on another stacked USA squad, December 9-15 at the Royal Melbourne GC in Australia.

Canadian Adam Hadwin has made it impossible for Els not to give him serious consideration. On Sunday at the Shriners Hospital for Children Open he fired the low round of the day -8 63 to finish T4, his second straight T5 finish. Combining terrific ball striking (missed just one fairway and hit 15/18 greens) and a hot putter he had this to say.

" Some of the best I've hit it in years now, two good weeks back to back, I basically hit almost every line off the tee and into the green"

That play has moved him into the top 50 at #45 and qualifies him for the next WGC in China and he will make another start before that in Japan at the end of October, which means he has two more events to impress.

Regarding the 4 spots available, Aussie Jason Day will be picked, and to help spread the game globally, young Chilean star Joaquin Niemann who won his first pro event recently at the Greenbrier is thought to be another.

So there is a month of golf to go, all around the world for Els to peruse, don't forget Corey Connors may play into consideration with a strong finish.

One way or another Adam Hadwin is in a good spot.

Bryan Angus