Past Open Champions Padraig Harrington (2007 Carnoustie, 2008 Royal Birkdale) and Ernie Els (2002 Muirfield) head a talented list of professionals who will be competing for the five million dollar purse. Other professionals in the strong international field will include past Dunhill Links Champions Lee Westwood and Colin Montgomerie along with rising star Rory Mcllroy and tour veterans Darren Clarke and Jose Maria Olazabal.

Along with the individual professional tournament, there is also a team competition in which the tour pros are paired with some of the world’s most celebrated amateurs. In 2001 and 2006 Padraig Harrington won both competitions! Celebrity amateurs entered into this year’s tournament include actors Samuel L Jackson and Hugh Grant, professional athletes Wladimir Klitschko and Marcus Allen, and musicians Huey Lewis and Tico Torres. With free entrance for the first three rounds, this rare combination of pro golfers and celebrities provides local fans with a unique opportunity to walk alongside and interact with their idols.

New York, N.Y. (Sept. 10) – Four of the best young golfers on the PGA Tour will travel half-way around the world in mid-November, chasing a winner’s check for a cool million dollars in the second annual Kiwi Challenge, a made-for-TV event sanctioned by the PGA Tour. More than that, the winner could also come home wearing the label of “best golfer under age 30.”

Defending champion Hunter Mahan and last year’s runner-up Anthony Kim will be joined by 20-somethings Sean O’Hair and Camilo Villegas for a 36-hole stroke play event Nov. 11-12 at picturesque Cape Kidnappers in beautiful Hawkes Bay, on New Zealand’s North Island. The event will be televised by NBC in vivid HDTV from 4-6 p.m. (EST) on Nov. 14-15.

Combined, the group already has eight PGA Tour wins, more than 80 top-10 finishes and nearly $40 million in career winnings. The Kiwi Challenge will offer a $2 million purse and a breathtaking setting that architect Tom Doak used to create a 7,119-yard masterpiece that is ranked 36th in the world by Golf Magazine. It is the fourth highest ranked course opened in the last 50 years!

“Last year’s Kiwi Challenge was a tremendous success and we are thrilled to be hosting it again,” said founder and owner Julian Robertson. “This year we probably have the best group of players under age 30 to ever to play in a tournament of this type. We are excited to welcome them and the NBC broadcast team to Cape Kidnappers in November.”

The five-year-old golf course is the centerpiece of the fabulous resort that is ranked one of the top-10 “Overseas Golf Resorts” by Luxury Travel and Style Magazine.

About Cape Kidnappers
Cape Kidnappers, located in beautiful Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, is ranked the 36th best golf course in the world by Golf Magazine. The course was built by architect Tom Doak and opened in January 2004, In addition to the scenic and challenging golf course; the property also includes The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, which offers 26 luxury suites overlooking the golf course, a working sheep farm, and the Pacific Ocean.
Cape Kidnappers, along with sister property Kauri Cliffs 350 miles to the north, was host to the inaugural Kiwi Challenge in 2008, won by Hunter Mahan. Kauri Cliffs, which was designed by architect David Harman and opened in 2001, is ranked the top International Golf Resort by Golf Magazine. The golf course at Kauri Cliffs is ranked No. 61 in the world.

Please contact us for more information on Kauri Cliffs, Cape Kidnappers, or the Kiwi Challenge.
Toll Free: 877.424.7320

]]> http://www.golf-ireland-scotland.com/?feed=rss2&p=86 4 http://www.golf-ireland-scotland.com/?p=83 http://www.golf-ireland-scotland.com/?p=83#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:29:47 +0000 Golfing Adventures http://www.adventures-in-golf.com/wordpress/?p=83 To most “experts” and casual fans alike, it was a foregone conclusion Tiger Woods would win his 15th major championship (5th PGA Championship) this past Sunday at the beautiful links of Hazeltine Country Club in Chaska Minnesota.

Why even watch? Tiger would surely hold on to his lead, and his competitors would surely wilt under the relentless pressure and mystique Tiger has cast upon the PGA Tour. Sure, Tiger may come up with some fantastic shots during the big pressure moments, but doesn’t this get a little boring? Certainly no need to remove yourself from your cherished mid-summer activities, just turn on ESPN or The Golf Channel before work on Monday morning and watch Tiger’s recent highlight reel. After all, Tiger was a perfect 14 for 14 when holding or sharing the lead going into the final round of a major championship.

Well, it is a good thing the engraver of the Wanamaker Trophy stuck around to see the results of the final round of the PGA Championship. And, if you were fortunate enough to trade your day at the beach for an afternoon of being a couch potato you may have witnessed one of the greatest upsets in recent sporting history, thanks to Y.E. Yang’s gutsy and ice cool performance. If only our good friend Tom Watson could have pulled off a similar and equally stunning upset, at Turnberry Ailsa last month during the 138th Open Championship in Scotland. However, we still expect another strong performance by Watson in 2010 at the Old Course, in St. Andrews.

Yang Yong-eun, known in the United States as Y. E. Yang, not only put an end to Tiger’s 14 for 14 streak. He also became the first Asian born player to win a major championship. Ironically, Y. E. Yang was able to turn the tables on Tiger by making “Tiger-like” shots with a “Tiger-like” demeanor. Chipping in for eagle on the short par 4 14th and ultimately ending the tournament with a heroic approach on the final hole. Equally impressive was the true sportsmanship and class displayed in defeat by the great champion Tiger Woods. Odds makers, analysts, experts and just about everyone gave no one a chance of passing Tiger in the final round, let alone the 110th ranked player in the world. But, that is “why they play the game”.

Spring 2002 Newsletter: Tom Watson won the British Open five times, he won the Masters twice and the US Open once. He was five times the Player of the Year on the US PGA tour and he was my opponent at Kingsbarns Golf Links just south of St. Andrews. Yes, Ken Hamill played golf with Tom Watson and his two friends – Stan Thirsk, Tom’s lifelong teacher and Bud Williamson, head professional at the Blue Hills CC in Kansas City, Missouri.

Tom and I have chatted on the phone on occasion over the years, usually in the course of our arranging links golf for him prior to his Open Championship visits. Trips to Ballybunion, Royal Dornoch and several other notable courses were planned in this way and we were debating the merits of Kingsbarns when Tom dropped the bombshell “why don’t you come over and make up a four? We’re planning to visit after the Open at Royal Lytham.” I thought it might be possible to rearrange my schedule – hell, if necessary I would have taken a substantial sabbatical to accept that invitation. But to say I was nervous would be an understatement.

Read the full article: Tom Watson at Kingsbarns Golf Links St. Andrews

Turnberry Ailsa - 11th Hole

The 138th Open has started today at the Turnberry Resort on Scotland’s west coast.  The build-up and ‘Phoney War’ of the past few days (during which more media attention seems to have concentrated on the tiff between former champion Sandy Lyle and Colin Montgomerie than the forthcoming championship) is now past and the ‘serious’ business has begun.

The fabulous Ailsa Course (Par 70, 7200 yards) is ready to test the world’s best players, and find out their weaknesses.  Arguably the most scenically-stunning layout of the Open rota, the course now has many more teeth – in the form of additional fairway and greenside bunkering as well as more length.  The 16th has undergone the most radical changes of all – a previously straight hole is now a left-to-right dogleg, making Wilson’s Burn in front of the green a greater lateral hazard than before.  Expect this hole to dish out a lot of punishment!

A warm, wet Spring and early Summer has also ensured that the rough is high and fierce.  Doug Sander’s comment during the 1966 Open at Muirfield:  “give me the hay concession and you can keep the prize-money” comes to mind.  If the wind blows at all there will be lost balls and tears before bedtime for a few players!

The Old Course (at #2) is the top course in Scotland according to the poll, finishing ahead of Muirfield in third position, the Ailsa Course at Turnberry (#5), Royal Dornoch (#6) and Carnoustie (#8). The often underrated New Course at St Andrews (opened in 1895) is listed as number 63 and the Jubilee Course (1897) has slipped in at 92nd. Entering only its second season in operation the new Castle Course has gone straight to number 65.

The poll was topped by Royal County Down in Northern Ireland. Overall, seventeen courses in Scotland populate the top 100, while the British Isles as a whole account for 42 places in the list.

Doonbeg Golf Club is located on the Atlantic coast of Ireland in Co Clare, only 45 minutes or so from Shannon Airport and 15 miles south of Lahinch.

A first-class golf and spa resort with a Greg Norman-designed course, Doonbeg can now offer very competitively-priced deluxe bedrooms as part of its accommodation inventory.  Each of the seven bedrooms has 6’6” Zip & Link beds and a large marble bathroom, plus other amenities comparable to adjacent suites.  Rates start from €140.00 (room-only) in April and October.

A driving range is also now part of the facilities, while on-site fly & sea fishing is available and complimentary shuttles to/from Doonbeg village are provided for guests.

“Imagine a coastal haven… remote, yet easily accessible, luxurious yet unpretentious…where every taste is catered to and every request considered.”  So says the resort’s website; perhaps you should find out for yourself?

Musselburgh Links in Edinburgh has been certified by Guinness World Records as the “Oldest Golf Course in the World”.  The official citation states: “Documentary evidence proves that golf was played on Musselburgh Links as early as 2 March 1672 although Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played here in 1567.”

The 9-hole course was one of the original Open Championship venues, hosting the competition on six occasions between 1874 and 1889.  Threatened in recent years by potential development of the surrounding racecourse, the course now appears to have secured not only its immediate future but also a place in history.  But, the strange sounds you might be hearing is the wailing and gnashing of teeth from the residents of St Andrews, who believe their little piece of heaven should really have the accolades!

Musselburgh was also home to a number of famous golfers including Willie Park – winner of the first Open in 1860 – and members of the Dunn family.  Willie Dunn, Jnr won the first professional golf tournament in the United States, at the Saint Andrew’s Golf Club in 1894.

2.    The British Pound has fallen 30% against the Dollar in the past year and the Euro approximately 15% in the same period.  So each US Dollar goes a lot further.

Trump’s spokesman’s on the project, George Sorial, advises that given the strong US Dollar (as compared to the Pound Sterling), now is the time to move ahead.  As stated by Sorial, “Contracts that were costing us a million dollars a year ago are now costing us $650,000. So we are taking advantage of the exchange rate and the availability of labour. For us it is full speed ahead.”

Adventures In Golf will be certain to update our readers on this project as more information is released.