PGA: The Tour so Far...

The European Tour is well and truly coming towards the final leg of the season, but to think that since it’s commencement last November it’s delivered so much drama and excitement, it’s almost hard to believe how quickly the time has flown by.

Moments such as Shane Lowry’s emphatic victories in Abu Dhabi and the Open, and John Rahm’s continued dominance in such a short space of time, the European Tour has once more failed to disappoint.

So, with the flagship BMW PGA Championship just over the horizon, let’s remind ourselves of the journey leading up to this very moment in time.

November – December: The Tour Tests the Waters

The 2019 European Tour kicked off with the Honma Hong Kong Open, which saw Aaron Rai secure the opening tournament of the season. The Englishmen hit a nine under par 61 in his second round, claiming both the course record and his first ever European Tour title.

The Australian PGA Championship was the second stop of the tour, with Cameron Smith defending the title on his home turf following his victory on the gold coast last year. The same weekend saw American Kurt Kitayama secure his first tour title at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

DID YOU KNOW? Aaron Rai’s first pro victory at the 2017 Kenya Open had a special significance as his Kenya-born mother saw him triumph in her first visit to her home country for 47 years – which also happened to be on Mothering Sunday in the UK.

South Africa would then play host to two tournaments in succession, the first being the South African open. 2010 Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizan would cruise to a six-stroke victory in his home country, securing his first tour win since 2016.

The next weekend saw David Lipsky snatch victory at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Despite scoring the most bogeys in the tournament (6), Lipsky fended off Scotland’s David Drysdale in the final competition before the inaugural Rolex Series event.

DID YOU KNOW? David Lipsky’s victory meant he was the first American to win on South African soil on the European Tour.

January – February: The Rolex Series Kicks Off

Despite beginning in November, the European Tour really started to get going in January with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship – the first event of the Rolex Series. With seven thousand points up for grabs and all eyes on the final tournament in Dubai, Abu Dhabi would set the tone for the rest of the tour.

A remarkable start from Shane Lowry saw the Irishman hit 62 in his first round, having only found the fairway four times. Despite his course-record-tying round, Lowry trailed South African Richard Sterne going into the last day.

The final round proved to be an epic, with Sterne leading Lowry by four shots with only seven holes remaining. Thanks to his impressive chip and putt play, Lowry cut the gap and on the final hole, produced an emphatic birdy that secured victory by just one shot.

DID YOU KNOW? Lowry’s father, Brendan Lowry, was a former Gaelic Footballer for Offaly, and was a member of the team that last won the Sam Maguire Cup for the county.

Dubai would next play host to the Desert Classic, where Bryson DeChambeau surged towards a six-shot victory. The event would not only be remembered for his 24-under-par tournament record, but also for Sergio Garcia’s miraculous escape from a bunker, despite being hampered by one of Dubai’s iconic palm trees.

The inaugural Saudi International started February, with high-flying Dustin Johnson taking the title. It was China’s Li Haotong however who impressed, clinching the runner-up spot by just two shots and edging up the rankings in the Race to the Dubai World Championship.

DID YOU KNOW? Throughout an illustrious career of twenty years that includes 34 professional victories, winning the 2017 US Open and being the most successful player in Ryder Cup history, Sergio Garcia has never topped the world rankings. The closest he’s come was second back in November 2008.

The tour would then progress from the Middle-Eastern deserts to the Australian coast. The ISPS Handa Vic Open was taken by Scotsman David Law, whilst Kiwi Ryan Fox claimed the ISPS Handa World Super 6 in Perth – the respective titles were the first victories for both competitors.

The WGC-Mexico Championship followed, attracting golf’s biggest names such Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and eventual winner Dustin Johnson. It was European Tour member Paul Casey however who perhaps produced the most impressive performance, recovering from one over par after two rounds to finish joint third with back-to-back 65s.

February was brought to a close as Kurt Kitayama claimed his second title of the tour at the Oman Open, narrowly outscoring four competitors by just one shot. The victory marked the sixth win by an American on the European tour so far.

March – April: The Majors Approach

A busy March kicked off with Justin Harding striding towards a two-shot victory at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. The South African nearly claimed back to back titles but narrowly missed out by a shot as Italian Guido Magliozzi held on to take the Magical Kenya Open.

Malaysia next played host to the Maybank Championship, bringing with it a nail-biting finish. Leader Scott Hend was forced into a playoff hole after Spain’s Nacho Elviro sunk a stunning 30-yard putt on the final hole of the weather affected tournament.

Despite hitting two trees on the sudden-death hole, Australian Hend rode his luck to bag a birdie and subsequently win his third European tour title.

DID YOU KNOW? All of Hend’s European Tour victories have come from Asian courses (Hong Kong 2014, Thailand 2016 and Malaysia 2019).

The final weekend of March saw Kevin Kisner win his maiden World Golf Championship at the Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas. However, there ain’t no rest for the wicked as on the same weekend Stephen Gallacher was busy claiming his fourth European Tour title, the Hero Indian Open, at the grand age of 44.

With April rolled in one of the most exciting periods of the sporting year – Majors season, starting with the Masters. It wasn’t a spectacular showing from European Tour members, with the majority of the top 10 finishers either American or PGA Tour members.

Despite this, the real story of the competition was the remarkable comeback of seemingly disgraced superstar Tiger Woods. Once considered unbeatable, the now 15-time Major champion had overcome a plethora of issues both on and off the course, including a potential career ending injury, to ignite a resurgence that would result in triumphantly reclaiming the precious Green Jacket at Augusta National.

“Just was able to be lucky enough and fortunate enough to be able to do this again,” said Woods after his victory.

“It’s ironic that I’m given a chance to play golf again and, lo and behold, I won a tournament coming from behind, which I had not done for the first 14. So it’s just amazing.”

DID YOU KNOW? The 14 years in-between Tiger Woods’ last two Masters wins, 2005 and 2019, is the longest wait between Masters victories. Not only that, but Tiger is also the second player, only behind legend Jack Nicklaus, to win the Masters in three different decades.

May – June: Squeaky Bum Time for the Race to Dubai

As April was closed out by Jorge Campillo’s win at the Trophee Hassan II tournament in Morocco, the Volvo China Open saw Finland’s Mikko Korhonen defeat Frenchman Benjamin Herbert in a tense affair in which only a playoff hole could separate the two.

Scandinavian success followed on to the next week as Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult held off three other competitors to claim his first European Tour title, the Betfred British Masters, at just 23. The weekend was capped off by former footballing hero Alan Shearer revealing the return of the British Master to the North East for next year’s season.

Another month, another Major as this time it was the PGA Championship lined up in the wings. Another strong performance from PGA members and Americans alike saw world number one Brooks Koepka surge into a seven-shot lead going into the final day.

World number two Dustin Johnson instigated an inspired comeback to cut the lead to just two shots, but it wasn’t to be as despite a late wobble Koepka fended off the late challenge to successfully defend his PGA Championship and add a fourth Major to his illustrious catalogue.

DID YOU KNOW? Brooks Koepka was the first golfer to win the ‘double’ (US Open and PGA Championship) in the same year, in 2018, since Tiger Woods did it back in 2000.

Bernd Wiesberger followed the Major weekend with a solid victory at the Made in Denmark championship, whilst Guido Migliozzi claimed his second Tour victory of the season at the Belgian Knockout in Antwerp.

Blink and you’ll miss it because in no time at all, another Major was once more upon us. The US Open at Pebble Beach, California saw significant performances from John Rahm and Louis Oosthuizen who finished tied third and tied seventh respectively.

Despite Brooks Koepka’s best efforts to win consecutive Major, it was fellow American Gary Woodland who secured his maiden Major triumph, winning the tournament by a comfortable three shots.

DID YOU KNOW? Woodland’s victory means the US Open has produced a home champion for the fifth consecutive season in a row.

The European Tour returned to Europe to close out the month, as Italian Andrea Pavan secured the BMW International Open via a playoff hole against England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick, whilst South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout cruised to a six-shot victory at the Andalucía Masters in Spain the following weekend.

July – August: The True Action Kicks In

The Irish Open played host to the second Rolex Series event and didn’t fail to entertain. With the lead position constantly jumping from competitor to competitor, it was Robert Rock who went into the final day with just a one-shot lead.

That lead would be short lived as playing partner Rafa Cabrera Bello capitalised off a Rock mistake to surge into a three-shot lead. Spain’s John Rahm meanwhile started the day five shots behind the leader but was charging up the field, with an immense eagle on the 12th hole propelling him into a tied lead.

The three players would play leapfrog over the next few holes, battling out with each other until mistakes from both Rock and Bello handed the lead to Rahm, who secured top spot to become the first player to win three Rolex Series titles.

DID YOU KNOW? John Rahm has won four European tour titles in as little as two years, three of which have taken place in Ireland.

Just a week later, the Scottish Open, the third event in the Rolex Series, was off to a flyer. This year’s edition in particular would prove ground-breaking, with the Renaissance Club playing host to the inaugural EDGA Scottish Open, the first ever European Tour event for disabled golfers.

The main event itself, much like the last week’s Rolex Series meeting in Ireland, failed to disappoint. Once more the final day was a gripping contest, with overnight leader Bernd Weisberger hoping to hold off the high-flying Benjamin Hebert.

An inspiring 62 from Herbert put the Frenchman ahead at the end of his round but Weisberger regained the lead by a shot with two holes to play. This was undone however when the Austrian hit a bogey on the 17th, subsequently finishing his final round joint-leader with Herbert and forcing a playoff between the two.

The sudden-death style playoff took three holes to complete, with Herbert missing several opportunities to snatch victory away from Weisberger. On the third and final attempt, the Frenchman missed a vital put which allowed Weisberger to make par, thus handing the Austrian the victory and propelling to the top of the Race to Dubai rankings.

The thrilling play-off wasn’t the only story of the competition, as England’s Andrew Johnston hit a career-best 62 in his final round to finish tied for fourth and qualify for the Open. This achievement came at a crucial point in Johnston’s career, who had been suffering from mental health issues as a result of his rapid rise to fame.

"I guess it's been a hard year, so, yeah, I'm happy,” Johnston remarked. “I've tried so hard in the last year and to come out and shoot a score like that is just such a nice feeling.”

DID YOU KNOW? Andrew Johnston’s nickname, ‘Beef’, has stuck since he was 12 when his friend called him ‘beef head’ due to his thick, curly hair. In fact, Johnston has the nickname tattooed on his shoulder, which he describes as a “drunkenly mistake”, and at some competitions such as at the US Open in 2016, officials use it on scoreboards.

The excitement wouldn’t end there as the next tournament to follow was the final Major of the year – the Open Championship. The 148th edition of the competition was already a special affair as it would take place at the Royal Portrush Golf course, the first time since 1951 Northern Ireland would play host to the Open.

A lot of pressure was surmounted upon the shoulders of in-form Rory McIlroy, who broke the old course record with a round of 61 at the meagre age of just 16. That pressure seemed to get the better of the former champion, who hit a dismal eight over par on the opening day, turning his Open dreams into a nightmare.

McIlroy would produce an emphatic 65 on the second day to keep his hopes alive, but despite his best efforts the former world number one missed out by just one shot.

“Part of me is very disappointed not to be here for the weekend,” said McIlroy. “This has been a week that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time and I didn’t play my part. But everyone in Northern Ireland who came out to watch me, they definitely played theirs.”

Whilst some competitors faltered, others prevailed including the likes of Open Championship debutant Robert MacIntyre. The 23-year-old Scot left quite the mark on his first ever Major, hitting an impressive 68 on his first round and finishing joint-fourth overall.

Nothing however could be taken away from the biggest story of them all: Shane Lowry. The champion of the first Rolex Series event of the year held a four-shot lead going into the final day, a lead he extended to six as he romped his way home to victory.

Englishman Tommy Fleetwood deserves an honourable mention as he finished runner up. It was the second time the world number 13 had finished second in a Major open and the third time he had finished in the top 10.

It was Shane Lowry, however, who brought home the gold in devastating fashion, overcoming his US Open near miss three years ago and sealing his first ever Major, quite conveniently on his father’s 60th birthday.

DID YOU KNOW? Robert MacIntyre was an accomplished ‘Shinty’ player as a teenager, a sport native to the Scottish Highlands which is a combination of field hockey, hurling and Welsh sport bando.

Brooks Koepka would star in the WGC FedEx St Jude International a week later, whilst Belgian competitor Thomas Pieters would emerge the victor of the D+D Real Czech masters, his second win in Czechia and fourth overall European Tour title.

If the BMW PGA Championship lives up to the same standard produced from the European Tour so far, then it’s safe to say that the Wentworth Golf Club promises to deliver a weekend full of passion, tension and pure drama. It will surely be an unmissable event.