The European tour finally hits the European mainland nearly five months after the season started at the HSBC Champions tournament in China on November 8th 2008 before winding its way through Australia, South Africa, South East Asia and Dubai.
2009 is a landmark year for the European tour with all roads leading to Dubai as players from around the world aim to get into the top sixty and a chance to play for golfs biggest prizefund – $10,000,000.00 in the seasons final tournament, The Dubai World Championship, beginning on November 19th, at The Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
Andalucian Open hosted by Miguel Angel Jimenez
The Andalucian Open is being hosted at Real Club de Golf de Sevilla by Miguel Angel Jimenez and defended by Frenchman Thomas Levet who beat Oliver Fisher in a play-off last season. However, it is another stalwart of the European Tour who is attracting much attention this week.
Colin Montgomerie is playing in his 500th tour event and joins a select few in reaching that landmark headed by Sam Torrance. Incredibly Monty has racked up 182 top ten finishes, 31 tournament victories and won the European Tour Order of Merit, the precursor to The Race To Dubai, eight times, including seven in a row between 1993 to 1999.
On day one Monty makes a five under par 67 but Jimenez disappointed his supporters by posting 74. In his post round interview Monty is all smiles and believes being made Ryder Cup captain has enabled him to relax on the golf course. Fellow Scot Chris Doak holds the lead after Round One at six under par after shooting 66.
Day two is not so good for Monty but he still seems relaxed. He scores Par today but is even calm when a photographer clicks too early. Jimenez gets right back into it and ensures some weekend crowds by blitzing the course for a round of 65.
The best score of the day comes from Alistair Forsyth with an eight under par 64. Hartlepool’s Graeme Storm posts a 66 to get to eight under but the clubhouse leader is Germany’s Marcel Siem who, with a 67 enters the weekend leading on nine under par.
On day three Marcel Siem shows temperament problems and is down on himself as he scores three over for the front nine. He improves as the round goes on but today belongs to the Dane, Soren Kjeldsen, From the seventh hole he birdies seven in a row and after gaining an eagle on the 16th he is nine under par for the last ten holes. He finishes with a round of 62, a new course record.
Monty joins the also-rans with 75 to slip to two under and Jimenez fails to match yesterdays heroics and goes round in a steady 73. The two Scots, Alistair Forsyth and David Drysdale are in the hunt though. Drysdale eagles the sixteenth and follows that with a birdie at seventeen and finishes the round only one shot behind Kjeldsen on 13 under par.
Kjeldsen holds off challenge
On the final day Kjeldsen holds off the challenge of Drysdale and Forsyth despite flying into the water on the sixteenth. He somehow scrambles a par five to win his third European tour title and finishes with a par round and 14 under par to win the title by three shots. The consolation for David Drysdale is that he will come close to attaining the prize money to secure his card to play next season as well as taking a hike up the season long Race To Dubai leaderboard.
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