Golf, by TourMiss

While many of Europe’s best golfers fight for a Euro 350,000 first prize cheque Volvo Champions officials remain anxious with an expected crowd of 70,000 to gather on Saturday in the close by Kings Park Stadium to celebrate the 101stanniversary of the Africa National Congress (ANC). A temporary tournament practice range has been set up for players on two football fields beside the home ground of the Super 15 Natal Sharks rugby team. Players, as can been seen in the photo below of Colin Montgomerie, ...

Triple Major winning Padraig Harrington has expressed ‘massive sympathy’ current World No. 1 Rory McIlroy should be facing the dilemma of what country he should represent in 2016 Olympic Games. McIlroy has hinted that given the continuing controversy on whether to represent Ireland or Team Great Britain of even stepping down from travelling to Rio de Janeiro when golf returns to the Olympics in three years time. Harrington along with LGPA stars Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie helped in the ...

Padraig Harrington has returned to Durban on the east South Africa coastline 17 years after making his wEuropean Tour debut. Harrington had been in Nairobi for a Challenge Tour event and got a start in his first European Tour event when three other players withdrew and decided not to travel to Durban for the FNB Players Championship staged on this week’s same Volvo Champions host venue at the Durban Country Club. Despite confessing to playing “terribly” from tee to green, the now three-time ...

Former double winning US Open champion, Retief Goosen has returned to competition after a long five-month absence following back surgery. Goosen has not teed-up anywhere since finishing well down in 48th place in last August’s PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. He then took the big step of going under the knife and then after three months recouperating, Goosen has spent the past two months building up for his comeback at this week’s Volvo Champions being staged on the familiar Durban ...

In what is one of the strangest prizes on offer but this week’s Volvo Champions competitors can win themselves either a Volvo V40 Series sedan, a Volvo Compact Excavator or a Volvo FH Series truck for hole-in-ones on the Durban Golf Club course. The prize of a Euro 30,000 Volvo V40 Series sedan is the prize for an ace at the par three, 12th hole while there is a Euro 40,000 Volvo Compact Excavator for the first ace at the par three 15th hole. And then at the short par four, 18th organisers ...

World No. 1 Rory McIlroy is back on the practice range but it’s the PGA Tour rather than cash-strapped Europe ready to milk McIlroy’s enormous sponsorship magnetism. McIlroy debuted his new Nike clubs for a first time yesterday (MON) at the Els Club in Dubai where he will spend the week working with coach, Michael Bannon and fellow Northern Ireland pro, Mark Parsons who is based at the UAE club. Then next Monday night in Abu Dhabi, McIlroy will step out onto what should be a glitter-lined stage ...

This week’s Volvo Champions event in Durban will be a sentimental occasion for triple Major winning Padraig Harrington. It was 17 years ago the Dubliner made his European Tour debut in the FNB Championship in February 1996 on this week’s Durban Country Club host venue. The then fresh-faced 24-year old Harrington finished T49th on one under par with fellow Irishman Des Smyth to earn the princely sum of Euro 2,612. Since then Harrington’s gone on to carve out one of the most successful ...