Little more than 4 days after our recent run in with Miguel Angel Jiminez, he is crowned the 2008 BMW PGA champion. The Bug was also right behind him on Five when a sweetly struck four-iron took only two bounces before diving into the hole for a hole-in-one! This feat took the Spaniard to an early lead at Wentworth this Sunday.

Coincidence you may say; the Bug thinks not!

The Bug’s good fortunes also rubbed off on Callaway player, Oliver Wilson. Oliver took to the 18th for the second time on Sunday to duel with Miguel one-on-one in a fierce sudden death playoff. Earlier in the week Oliver had met with the Bug for a short interview on the practise tee as well as having some swing-path footage filmed.

With the Celtic Manor Wales Open coming up in, Newport, Wales boasting a winner’s cheque of £1,800,000, Who will catch the Bug?!

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Peter Alliss made sports headlines after speaking out over what he described as “a poor effort to try and adapt to a tough golf course and its changing conditions”. Mr Alliss was referring to what he viewed as a lack of effort from the top players in the world to rise to a challenge and adapt their games  regardless of the conditions thrown at them this past weekend at the BMW PGA Championships, held at Wentworth Estate.

Many of the players described Peter Allis’ criticism as “harsh” and “unreasonable”. Nick Dougherty was so wound up by Alliss’s commentary, that he retorted by saying, “I thought it was very sad. In fact, I thought it was disgusting!”

“(Peter) Alliss was talking about us being bad putters. I don’t know whether it’s because he has been out of the game for so long, but I didn’t think it was right and he ought to show us more respect.”  Dougherty remarked late on Sunday night.

The press spat continued when Mr Alliss replied to these remarks while describing conditions that many golfing greats had to deal with during their less-than-‘High-tech’ careers. “I always say the golfers of 100 years ago were ten times more skilful than this lot, or me or my lot. They had hickory-shafted clubs, the bunkers were not raked, there were a few sheep on the course and a fellow cut the greens with a bloody scythe. And they went around St Andrew’s in 73 or 74!”

The very nature of golf is a game which has always taught patience, concentration and ultimate responsibility. Even if conditions are not ‘ideal’ (which, for today’s golfer, they seldom aren’t) they are not ‘ideal’ for every golfer out on the course. At the end of the day the Bug believes the silver lining in this debate is the simple notion that,  ”He who adapts best, wins!”

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Trevose Golf Course, situated in Cornwall, was stage to the annual Brabazon Trophy this weekend. The field was made up of 90 event exempt golfers as well as an astonishing 250 entrants who still needed to qualify for the final day which would be played over 36 holes.

The qualifying handicap cut-off was  scratch, with a reserve contingent of fourteen players all with a handicap of 1. The championship was first played in 1947 and overtime has become a launching platform for many of the world’s finest golfers amateur golfers into the world of professional golf. Sandy Lyle, won the amateur championships in Hollinwell in 1975 and at Royal Liverpool in1977, later  went on to establish an extremely successful professional career with wins at the Open Championship and a Green Jacket at the U.S. Masters at Augusta National in 1988.

This years event was played in the traditional format, which consisted of 36 holes played over three days at the end of last week. The leading 30 competitors and those tied for 30th place then qualified for the final 36 holes to be played on the final day.

Under the direction of head green-keeper Neil Taylor the practice facilities have been given a re-vamp and twelve of the courses tee boxes had been extended. The course is now a daunting 6962 yards with a par rating of 72! The golf course has been extensively re-modelled with the signature par 5 fourth hole which now boasts five brand new bunkers. This obviously had very little effect on Frenchman David Antonelli who fired a course record equalling first round of 64 which included two eagles and four birdies!

It was however one Steven Uzzell who took the title of Brabazon Trophy Campion for 2008. Uzzell shot final round scores of 64 and 67 for an aggregate of 197, 19 under par, to win by four strokes over Benjamin Hebert, who is the current European Amateur Champion.

The views of the Trevose Golf Course are in a word – Breathtaking. The Bug would highly recommend a short trip down to play this course, during which you would be easily forgiven for describing your round as playing in a golfing paradise!

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Sergio Garcia battled through winds, pressure and critics to lift the Players Championship title this Sunday. Sergio claimed the winner’s share of $1.6 million out of the total prize purse of $9.5 million! Perhaps more importantly, the young Spaniard has finally silenced recent criticism from the world press!

Sergio has come under fire over the last few years; this victory came 53 tournaments after his last Tour victory three years ago. Many people have criticized Sergio for his erratic, and sometimes amateurish, form with the putter. The relief of having this pressure lifted was evident at the press conference held after the prize ceremony. When asked what the best part about his playoff victory was, Garcia replied, “Not having to listen to you guys!” Go Sergio!

El Niño has been very defensive in the face of criticism of any aspect of his game. Unfortunately for Sergio, his 3rd round still accounted for 34 putts which left him three shots adrift going into the final day. This raised the possibility of another “C-word” (Choke!) ending for the Spaniard, which would have frustrated Sergio even more!

 However, Sergio was equal to the task and he played like a true Champion on Sunday. There was a slight wobble at the par-4 final hole, which was playing as the toughest of the day, where Sergio found a poor lie after his wayward tee shot drifted into the rough. He hacked his second shot to within 50 yards of the green after which a superb pitch to 7 feet set up a high pressure putt! Sergio confidently holed it to card a final-round 71 and force a playoff with Paul Goydos.

Goydos’s approach to the 17th’s treacherous island green fell short of the landing area and sank, along with his Championship dreams, to the bottom of the lake. Sergio’s tee shot found the heart of the green and a tap-in par putt saw El Nino crowned the Players Champion for 2008!

The Bug congratulates Garcia on a fine performance under immense pressure – Felicitaciones Sergio!

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Its not what you are thinking; the Bug has not given up golf to meditate with Tibetan monks in the Himalayas. In fact, he has just returned from a wondrous journey through some of the most spectacular golfing country in the world; the Ayrshire coast in the West of Scotland!

The home of golf is always regarded as St Andrews, but the original home of the Open Championship was, in actual fact, Prestwick. To visit this magnificent historical venue and follow in the footsteps of Old Tom Morris and Harry Vardon, is a golfing pilgrimige that is every bit as important and rewarding as any adventure a true lover of the game will ever make. The Bug was expecting a quirky, relatively short and somewhat dated course, but with the exception of the hugely enjoyable, but blind Par 3 5th, and Par 4 17th, as well as the tricky (but again immensely enjoyable) 1st hole, the course has stood the test of time exceptionally well. It is a tough Championship challenge with great variety! However, it is the atmosphere of the place, the Clubhouse, the friendliness of the people, that really set Prestwick apart. What a joy!

The Bug’s tour also included visits to Turnberry (the venue for the 2009 Open), Irvine Bogside, and Kilmarnock Barassie. Turnberry is quite simply outstanding in every way. Whilst not having the depth of history that Prestwick has, it more that makes up for in sheer beauty with the spectacular Ailsa Craig jutting majestically out of the sea apparently some 11 miles away. The Club has staged three Open championships, and each time it was won by the number one player in the world at the time, Watson, Norman and Price. The Watson victory was of course ‘the duel in the sun’, where Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus staged the most astonishing head to head shootout in Major history. Again, an absolute must!

Given that Irvine and Kilmarnock, are two more excellent venues which host Open qualifiers and are courses that you would never tire of playing made this trip very special. There was not the time to play other excellent tracks such as Troon, Western Gailles, and Dundonald, as well as a host of others, and the Bug left feeling that he should return again soon to experience that special Ayrshire magic!

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Hennie Otto, the 32 year old South African, recorded his debut European Tour win this weekend, claiming the Italian Open. This win moves the tally up to three wins for the South African contingent, following victories by Richard Sterne, who took the co-sanctioned Johannesburg Open on the European Tour in January, and Trevor Immelman, winner of the US Masters last month.

Hennie fired a closing round 69 (3-under) to clinch victory over Britain’s Oliver Wilson. Otto’s 25-under tally of 263 was enough to stay one stroke clear of Wilson, who carded a superb bogey-free final round of 64 on the Castello di Tolcinasco course.

Otto seemed to have fallen into an all-too-familiar position after losing his five shot lead, at the beginning of the final day, by the 12th hole. Wilson drew level on the 12th but, unlike his previously-dismal attempt at a fighting 4th round at Madeira in March, Otto managed to sink a crowd-pleasing 20-foot birdie putt on the 433-yard 13th. It was this ship-stabilizing putt that set up a tournament-winning par on the final hole!

Big congratulations to Hennie from the Bug – let’s hope that one brings two!

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Sergio is currently the leader by two shots after posting an opening round of 66 (6 under) during the first round of The Players Championship. A familiar position for the world’s favourite Spaniard, after the first day in many of the past ‘major’ tournaments. The Bug thinks back to The Open last year which saw Sergio drop shots rapidly to Padraig Harrington, who ultimately beat El Nino in a play-off.

Commonly referred to as the 5^th Major, The Players Championship is boasting a total prize purse of $9 million, with the Champion claiming a staggering $1.62 million this year. With high reward comes high risk and TPC Sawgrass is renowned for one fabulous hole which demonstrates this perfectly.

As you may have guessed, the Bug is referring to the signature island green penultimate hole! The 17^th is playing 146 yards this year and the watery “maker-or-breaker” saw no fewer than 50 balls find the water in last year’s opening round alone. Paul Goydos was the first unfortunate victim of this year’s tournament. Ernie Els also managed to find the water, after dropping his pitch shot 20 yards short of the front edge! “We should blow it up,” The Big Easy taunted, “After 4½ hours of hard work, you can lose it all in one shot!”

All-in-all, this year’s Players Tournament looks set to entertain and strain both supporters and players alike. The Bug wishes Sergio all the best; it would be a shame if the crown of “Best Player who hasn’t won a Major” was to continue to haunt his career.

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Stuburt Golf has released their latest addition to the ever popular Darren Clarke Collection - the classic welted golf shoe. The team at Stuburt felt that a more traditional, hand crafted, leather welted footwear would fit well with the traditions of the Stuburt brand.

Their recent aim has targeted the process of taking the product on to new heights of excellence whilst bringing an exciting evolution to a wider audience.”I didn’t want to just put my name to the shoes, I have been involved from day one, from signing off the designs through to choosing the colour combinations, materials and testing the product,” boasted a thrilled Darren Clarke.

This new shoe has so many features that the Bug was surprised that it didn’t do the walking and talking for you on the golf course! These incredible features include a premium full grain, hand-crafted leather, upper designed (made famous by Big-D himself).The outer layers have a Dri-back plus full bootie membrane system. The real leather lining is complemented with a suede inner heel grip which prevents heel slippage. A shock absorbing heel pad is mounted on the polished wood heel. You even get individual soft cloth bags for each shoe!

The new Classic Welt range made its most recent appearance in the lime-light at the Asian Open earlier last month. The Bug likes the look of it – what are your thoughts?

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You don’t have to be a member of a club to enjoy regular golf – quality pay-and-play centres with driving ranges and family-friendly facilities offer a great deal for golfers of all ages and abilities.

There was a time when to play golf you needed to be a member of a club. While that was fine for those who could afford the entrance fees and annual subscriptions, it was never going to make golf a sport for all.

Unfortunately, for those who did want to play, but couldn’t commit to a club membership, the alternatives weren’t great – scruffy public golf courses or dilapidated driving ranges were very much second-class golf.

But with the broadening appeal and growth of golf, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, a new breed of quality pay-and-play golf centre began to emerge, opening up the game to more people, including families and children.

Burhill Golf & Leisure, one of the UK’s largest and most successful golf course owners and operators, opened Hoebridge Golf Centre, Surrey, in 1982. Hoebridge’s quality 18-hole golf course, short course, driving range, welcoming clubhouse and health club has proved a winning combination, making it one of the most popular pay-and-play golf centres in the South East.

“We’ve invested heavily in ensuring that all our golf courses are maintained to the highest standards,” says Colin Mayes, Chief Executive of the Burhill Golf & Leisure Group, which now has a portfolio of 10 golf courses. “It used to be the case that pay-and-play golf courses were of an inferior standard to private members’ clubs, but our golf courses are generally admired for being the best maintained in their locality.

“We put a premium on high quality facilities and a friendly welcome, so it is satisfying to see golfers of all abilities and ages coming into our centres and enjoying the game.”

In April 2008, there were public open days at Burhill Golf & Leisure’s seven centres and three clubs, offering free lessons and fun activities to families and beginners.

So what’s the buzz at your local Burhill Golf & Leisure golf course?

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The 4th of May 2008 saw an end to a career long search for the illusive debut tour victory. Srixon Sports Europe are delighted to announce that Peter Lawrie the 34 year old Staff Player produced a fantastic victory this weekend in a dramatic play off at the 2008 Spanish Open at the Real Club de Golfe at Sevilla.

Peter’s closing round of 67 saw him tied after 72 holes with local favourite, Ignacio Garrido, on 15 under par. Fellow Srixon player Miguel Angel Jimenez was a further 2 strokes back. After sharing pars on the first hole, a spectacular fairway bunker shot with an 8 iron saw Lawrie find the heart of the green. Promise of a nail-biting finish was drowned when Garrido’s approach, which landed pin high, agonizingly spun back into the lake.

Like most of Srixon’s staff players, Lawrie uses the Srixon Z-URS ball and also their highly successful 701 Irons. This was Srixon’s 7th International victory this year. Peter a proud Irishmen from Dublin managed to shoot up the rankings by a staggering 76 places to 12th in the 2008 Order of Merit. His win also completed a hat-trick of victories in consecutive weeks for Irish Golfers on the European PGA Tour. Which makes the Bug think forward to the upcoming Irish Open and the possibility of having a second Irish winner in a row and only the second Irish victor in 24 years?

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