Rory McIlroy made an impressive comeback in the fourth and final round to win the Hong Kong Open today and with it keeps the pressure on Englishman Luke Donald for the coveted European Tour’s Race to Dubai championship.

Rory McIlroy won with a final round of 65 by two strokes with a 5 under score.  The 22 year old from Northern Ireland was delighted to seal the victory and told reporters:

“It is very special to win this. No matter how prestigious tournaments are, this is one of my favourites and I’m really happy to win it,” he said. “To be able to win a golf tournament when you are not at your best is something. Tiger Woods did this all the time. This is a great win, to come from behind and to be able to draw level and then close it out.”

There has been much pressure on the young Irishman’s shoulders since he turned professional in 2007 and eventually won his first major – the US Open – earlier this year.

McIlroy beat off challenges from France’s Gregory Havret who finished second, two strokes behind, and Sweden’s Peter Hanson on 9 under. Ian Poulter was looking to retain the title he won in 2010 and shot a good final round to finish joint fourth on 8 under with Scotland’s Richie Ramsay and Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul.

After failing to win the Hong Kong Open, Ian Poulter told reporters:

“It’s disappointing obviously. I came to defend and I’ve come up shy. I thought I had a chance when I got to 9 under, but I just flushed it on the 15th. It was a costly bogey at the wrong time,”

Last week Lee Westwood announced that he would be joining the US PGA Tour next year which I assume is to give him a better chance to win either the US Open or The Masters.  By doing so Westwood may forfeit the chance to win the Race to Dubai, based on the highest prize money on the European Tour in a given season, but the US is where the big money is.

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Three British golfers head up the official world rankings as Germany’s former no.1, Martin Kaymer drops to fourth after failing to finish in the top eight in the BMW International Open in Munich yesterday.

Following his U.S Open victory Rory McIlroy moves up to a career best third place behind Luke Donald (first) and Lee Westwood.

This is great news ahead of the 140th British Open Championship which this year is being held at the Royal St. George’s Golf Course in Sandwich in Kent, the Garden of England on the south-east coast, in two weeks time.

Rory McIlroy will go into the British Open as one of the favourites, and it will be good to see how he copes with the pressure post that fantastic display of golf at The U.S Open when he led from round 1 and never once showed a loss of concentrate or bottle as he had on the final round of the U.S Masters in April at Augusta.

The U.S Open was Rory McIlroy’s first major win after several near misses and five years of dealing with the heavy burden of expectancy and praise from many of his contemporaries and commentators alike.  Unfortunately, I think if anything the pressure is going to be greater as everyone looks to see if Rory McIlroy can begin to pull away from the rest of the field and dominate the next few years of golf in the same way as Tiger Woods had before him.

If anymore incentive was required, it has been announced that the winner’s cheque for the British Open is now £900,000 as prize-fund money increases to £5m.

Some high profile PGA players will be missing the AT&T National in the U.S to play The Scottish Open at Castle Stuart Golf Links in Inverness as a warming up for the Open Championship.  Those PGA players making the trip across the pond include Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker, who join English golfers Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose.

The Barclays Scottish Open starts on Thursday 7th July with Round 1 of The Open commencing on Thursday on 14th July.

I am really looking forward to this year’s British Open and hope the heat wave continues so the top golfers in the world can do battle with each other, rather than the conditions.

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Luke Donald World Ranked #1

English golfer Luke Donald tops the world ranking after winning the BMW PGA Championship last weekend at Wentworth.

The thirty-three year old from Hemel Hempstead plays most of his golf these days in the United States but is also a member of the European Tour.  He turned professional in 2001 and first entered the world ranking Top 20 in 2005 and Top 10 in 2006.

He first played in the European Ryder Cup team in 2004 and in the same year won the WGC-World Cup for England with his partner Paul Casey.

Last month he became the second English golfer to be ranked number one player in the world by replacing Lee Westwood. His victory at Wentworth followed his biggest win to date in February 2011 when he beat Martin Kaymer to win the WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championship 3&2 in the final.

Watching golf over the past few years I saw Luke Donald as a very reliable, safe and consistent player but am surprised he has become ranked world number one.

Furthermore, previous to his much publicised meltdown, no one would have thought that in 2011 the name of Tiger Woods would not be at the top of the list, let alone falling out of the Top 10!

Official World Golf Ranking Top 20

1  Luke Donald,  England
2  Lee Westwood,  England
3  Martin Kaymer,  Germany
4  Phil Mickelson,  USA
5  Graeme McDowell,  N. Ireland
6  Rory McIlroy,  N. Ireland
7  Matt Kuchar,  USA
8   Steve Stricker,  USA
9   Paul Casey,  England
10 Charl Schwartzel,  South Africa
11 Bubba Watson,  USA
12 Ian Poulter,  England
13 Tiger Woods,  USA
14 Dustin Johnson,  USA
15 Nick Watney,  USA
16 K.J. Choi,  South Korea
17 Jim Furyk,  USA
18 Hunter Mahan,  USA
19 Jason Day,  Australia
20 Francesco Molinari,  Italy

For more information visit the Official World Golf Ranking website.

Poulter came from behind in several matches and put his victory down to finding form with his putting.  His victory tasted sweeter as it came on his son Luke’s seventh birthday.

After lifting the trophy, Poulter told reporters:

“I thought it would be pretty special to win this today. I finally started holing some putts. I’ve been frustrated for a few months and you have to hole putts to win.”

Luke Donald, who beat German Martin Kaymer in the semi-final, could have replaced Lee Westwood as World Ranked #1 if he had beaten Poulter.

A disappointed Luke Donald told reporters afterwards.

“I ran out of steam a bit and didn’t take the opportunities I had.”

Ian Poulter pocketed a cheque for €800,000; while Luke Donald received €420,000.  Not bad for a few days golf in the sun!

Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood and other members of the successful 2010 European Ryder Cup team go head-to-head later this week at Wentworth in the BMW Championship.

Martin Kaymer

Germany’s Martin Kaymer claimed the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and in the process has leap-frogged Tiger Woods in the world rankings. World No. 2, Martin Kaymer,won the Middle East tournament for a record third time in four years.

Kaymer, the current USPGA champion and winner of last season’s European Tour Race to Dubai, now has a week of practice before the Qatar Masters on February 3, 2011, after which he will join a star-studded field, including Tiger Woods and World No. 1 Lee Westwood, at the Dubai Desert Classic on February 7, 2011.

The reputation of Yas Links Abu Dhabi has been further reinforced after it played host to new World No. 2, Martin Kaymer, the day after he won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship for a record third time in four years.

The 26-year-old German spent the day at the Middle East’s ‘best golf course’ – the region’s only links course and designed by renowned American architect, Kyle Phillips – to play centre-stage in a new Hugo Boss clothing photo shoot.

For Chris White, General Manager of Aldar Golf, developers of Yas Links, hosting the new World No. 2 is testament to the pedigree of the course.

He said: “Since the opening of Yas Links, we have hosted some of the world’s top players, including World No. 1 Lee Westwood, reigning US Open Champion, Graeme McDowell, two-time World Golf Championship winner, Darren Clarke, and of course the new World No. 2 Martin Kaymer, to name a few.

“The interest and attraction of Yas Links and what it has to offer is forever growing, with more and more people – from golf fans, avid players and professionals to international athletes and celebrities – wanting to visit the Middle East’s first links course.”

Yas Links Golf Course in Abu Dhabi

Links Abu Dhabi, the new Kyle Phillips designed golf course is the “best course in the Middle East” according to the latest issue of Golf Course Architecture magazine.

The world-class development on Yas Island, home to the Yas Marina Formula 1 Circuit, venue of the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and the spectacular Ferrari World, the world’s largest indoor theme park, has received widespread critical acclaim.

It is the first Middle East design for leading course architect Kyle Phillips, creator of World Top 100 Course Kingsbarns, Scotland, as well as the highly rated Verdura Golf & Spa Resort (Sicily), Dundonald (Scotland), and The Grove (London), who has created an extraordinary links overlooking the Arabian Gulf that rides rolling sand hills along three kilometers of coastline, and features nine seashore greens.

This championship course is located on the west shores of Yas Island and includes a 5750 m2 (57000 ft2) luxurious clubhouse and world-class, floodlit practice ranges and academy of golf.

In a unique twist, Phillips was able to design not only the golf course, but the coastline along which the course runs. That’s because the channel along the western edge of Yas Island had to be dredged to produce the 1.8 million m3 (cubic metres) of fill used to construct the golf course. The result is a coastline that lends itself perfectly to exciting golf holes, and one that is also benefiting from an approved environmental programme that has introduced 130,000 mangrove plants.

Yas Links General Manager, Chris White, said: “Kyle has created a breathtaking golf experience at Yas Links and one that is unique in the Middle East. It is a rolling, heaving golf course, weaving through sand hills and wending its way along the shoreline with views of the Arabian Gulf on all 18 holes.

The course opened in March 2010 as a semi private golf club offering both golf and social membership as well welcoming guest play; and in January 2011 some of the world’s top golfers will experience Yas Links for themselves in 2011 when the world’s most prestigious one-day Pro-Am tournament moves to Abu Dhabi.

The Invitational on January 17, 2011, hosted by Abdullah Al Naboodah, will see some of the world’s best players join forces with 50 invited amateurs for a day of great competitive golf. World No.1 Lee Westwood, reigning US Open Champion Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia and Ross Fisher plus more to confirm.

For more information visit www.yaslinks.com.

Westwood is unlikely to play for a month because of injury and this move was set to see him move ahead of Tiger Woods at the top of the rankings. However, Kaymer has won his last three events and could threaten the Englishman’s position.

After winning the Dunhill Links Championship, Martin Kaymer sits in fourth position currently. He is set to compete in the Andalucia Valderrama Masters in Spain though and success in this tournament could see him overtake both Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood.

This would be a more conventional way of going to the top of the rankings, winning tournaments rather than sitting out through injury, but that is the way the ranking system works.

It is calculated over a two-year period and because neither Tiger Woods nor Lee Westwood plan to play before 4th November, Westwood – who has had a better time of it than the American in recent months – would overtake him on the 31st October.

Nobody took into account the form of Martin Kaymer though. He has been in inspirational form and even if he doesn’t quite get to the top of the rankings this time, there can be no doubt that he is playing some of the best golf of the year right now.

European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie has been having his say on the situation, backing Westwood to be No.1 by the end of the month, despite Kaymer’s surge.

Montgomerie said: “”I think Lee will be number one even if he doesn’t play. If Tiger does not change his schedule he will lose his number one spot, it is just the way the world rankings work.”

The main point Montgomerie was keen to stress though was how healthy this is for European golf. Two players battling it out at the top of the World rankings can only be a good thing.
“We have had a fantastic year in Europe, said Monty.  “There is a dominance and there is a changing of the guard over to Europe.”

This is certainly the case, with the Ryder Cup victory coinciding with major wins for Kaymer and Graeme McDowell as well as six Europeans in the top ten of the World rankings.

Who will be top come 31st October though?

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Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter were mobbed as Hunter Mahan conceded the 17^th hole, giving Graeme McDowell the victory needed to bring the Ryder Cup back to Europe. All the Team Europe players gathered around Captain Colin Montgomerie as champagne and tears began to flow.

Colin Montgomerie told Sky Sports “It’s a proud, proud moment for me.”

Europe needed five points from today’s Singles and got the points they needed with wins from Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Miguel Angel Jiminez & Graeme McDowell; and Rory McIlroy and Edorado Molinari.

Team Europe won four Singles matches today:

Luke Donald beat Jim Furyk (1up)
Ian Poulter beat Matt Kuchar (5&4)
Miguel Angel Jiminez beat Bubba Watson (4&3)
Graeme McDowell beat Hunter Mahan (3&1)

The United States also won six Singles matches today:

Dustin Johnson beat Martin Kaymer
Jeff Overton beat Ross Fisher (4&3)
Tiger Woods beat Francesco Molinari (4&3)
Phil Mickelson beat Peter Hanson (4&2)
Zach Johnson beat Padraig Harrington (3&2)
Steve Stricker beat Lee Westwood (2&1)

Rory McIlroy v Stewart Cink – halved
Edorado Molinari v Rickie Fowler – halved

The golf betting entities still have Tiger Woods standing as the favourite even after Woods’ poor performances, which is the reason the overall ranking between Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Lee Westwood has been reduced.

Woods accumulated 9.47 points, while Mickelson and Westwood have 9.24 and 9.04, respectively.

On his part, Phil Mickelson is one of the most recognized figures in the sport and will return to Northern Ohio to participate for the 18th consecutive year in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, taking into account that the American golfer has participated in this event since 1992.

In addition, the professional golfer has won four major championships, the last of which was won in April, when Phil Mickelson won the 2010 Masters Tournament.

However, since the Bridgestone Invitational became a World Golf Championship event in 1999, Mickelson has failed in his attempts to win it.

On the other hand, after missing five months and despite the dramatic return, Woods has arrived as a big favourite to this year’s tournaments.

For the 2010 Bridgestone Invitational, Tiger Woods will try to get his first win since he was involved in his infidelity scandals of last November.

However, we can’t expect that much, considering Woods has failed in his attempt to achieve a victory in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and at the British Open this year. But despite all this, he remains ranked as number one in the overall standings.

Finally, this will be a tournament that promises a lot of action, in which Woods will attempt to recover his good level of golf, but in which he will have a major contender that could remove him from the top of the table, Phil Mickelson.

Graeme McDowell will have a boost of confidence after his amazing victory at last month’s US Open at Pebble Beach; and Tiger Woods will be looking to win his third British Open Golf Championship title and become the first golfer to win three British Opens at St Andrews, following his victories in 2000 and 2005.

As with most tournaments he enters, Tiger Woods is favourite to win but it’s a surprise to see Graeme McDowell isn’t heading the European list of contenders.  That goes to Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy, closely followed by Padraig Harrington, along with South African Ernie Els and American left-hander Phil Mickeslon.

Lee Westwood will go to St. Andrews boosted by his own recent victory on the US golf circuit at the St Jude Classic in Memphis Tennessee after a three-way play-off with American Robert Garrigus and Sweden’s Robert Karlsson.

As for Rory McIlroy, he is still looking for his first major title after being touted as a serious contender for the past few years now.  It may be the pressure of such high expectations, but McIlroy has not been able to stay with the leaders over the course of four days, and as a rule fades in the latter part of the big occasions.  But as always I will be hoping the young golfer from Northern Ireland will be lucky this time around.

Due to his low stature in the world rankings these days, Ryder Cup captain, Colin Montgomerie had to qualify for the 2010 Open at St Andrews.  But like Tiger Woods, St. Andrews is a special place for Monty, who has never missed an Open Championship since making his debut in 1990 at St Andrews.

The 139th British Open Golf 2010 will take place at St. Andrews, Scotland between Thursday 15th and Sunday 18th July.

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