Golf Asia - February 2018

42 GOLF ASIA

GOLFING

SCENE

In a month of new arrivals,

Englishman David

Skinns leaves in the

middle of the

Albertsons Boise

Open to be with his

wife for the birth of their

second child, despite

being potentially two

rounds from earning his

PGA Tour card for the

first time. No such

qualms for the European

Tour ’s Lee Slattery, who

misses the birth of his

second child because he had

to play while he was “on a run

of good form” – he tuned in via

Fac eT im e.

Following the fashion, Jason

Day ditches his long-time

caddie Colin Swatton, but

retains his services as coach

and mentor, sticks his mate on

the bag and finishes fourth.

Matt Fitzpatrick wins the

European Masters in a playoff,

Bernhard Langer wins for a

fifth time this season, this time

the PURE Insurance

Championship. Anna

Nordqvist secures her

second career major, this time

the Evian Championship. The

US cruise to a 19-7 victory

over GB &I in the Walker

Cup. And a Japan Golf

Tour event is

temporarily suspended

when Kim Jong Un

tests his nuclear

missiles in neigh-

bouring North Korea.

1.28

The time it

takes Wesley

Bryan to

complete his

final round at

the BMW

Championship

• and shoot a

69. OK, so
    he’s playing
    solo and out
    of contention,
    but look, it can
    be done!

S E P

“You get distracted on the wrong hole at the wrong time and it’s extremely

penal and it’s really f*cking annoying”

Fans allowed to use their phones at tournaments. Ian Poulter is clearly not a fan

WINNERS

& LOSERS

US cruise to a 19-7 victory

over GB &I in the Walker

Cup. And a Japan Golf

temporarily suspended

bouring North Korea.

Almost every year, an obscure golfer finds his way on to the leaderboard at a major, enjoys his 15

minutes of fame and is then never heard from again. In 2017, the world expects that obscure golfer to be

Xander Schauffele (pronounced Sho-flay). But instead of returning to the shadows after finishing 5th in

the US Open, Schauffele goes on to win this month’s Greenbrier Classic. This victory gets the 23-year-

old into the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Then, after playing the final six holes of the season’s penultimate event

in six-under par, he qualifies for the Tour Championship, where he becomes the first rookie to win the

PGA Tour’s grand finale. “It is just unreal,” beams the Californian after beating Justin Thomas into

second place. The victory earns Schauffele more than US$3.5 million, which sounds a lot until you

discover that Thomas’ runner-up finish helps him claim the US$10 million FedEx Cup winner’s bonus to

take his prize money for the season over the US$19 million mark. “I’m mad that I didn’t win the

tournament, but I realise what an honour winning something over the course of a season is,” says

Thomas, before having his press conference interrupted by a call from his grandfather.

REMEMBER THE NAME

(AND HOW TO PRONOUNCE IT)