Golf, by TourMiss

Nearly two years after going within a stroke of making the British Open play-off at Turnberry and England’s Chris Wood is again on the verge of victory after moving three shots clear of the field on day two of the Iberdrola Open in Majorca. Wood, 23 grabbed six birdies in a five-under par 65 to move to eight under par on the demanding Pula course. He leads Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke and Manchester rookie Matthew Nixon with both shooting level par 70s. In his first event of the 2011 ...

Contrary to calls from the Ballesteros family, potential 2018 Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke expects the European Tour will not play the Seve Ballesteros sympathy card when the winning host nation is announced next Tuesday. France, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Spain are vying for the rights to stage the biennial competition between Europe and the USA. Portugal seemed favourites before their financial problems, but many golf fans feel that France, with their superb National course outside ...

Gregory Bourdy boosted interest in France winning the 2018 Ryder Cup bid next week in setting a new course record on the opening day of the Iberdrola Open in Majorca. Bourdy had just 24 putts in his round of a seven-under par 63 in superb conditions on the Jose Maria Olazabal redesigned Pula course. The 29-year old Bordeaux-born Bourdy won his first Tour event in Majorca in 2007 and again showed his fondness for the Mediterranean holiday island with a round that included nine birdies and two bogeys. Boudy’s ...

Flags all about the Pula Golf Club were flown at half-mast, black ribbons were attached to the flagsticks and Iberdrola Open players honoured Seve Ballesteros with a minute’s silence. And as was the scenario following last week’s minute’s silence at the Spanish Open, players, caddies and officials present in Majorca then broke out in applause for the five-time Majors winner. Many then paused to watch live TV coverage of the memorial service in Pedrena was beamed across Spain. Later today at ...

Former and fellow Open Champion Paul Lawrie is leading calls to honour the memory of Seve Ballesteros by changing the European Tour icon – the Vardon Race to Dubai logo. The Tour went to enormous lengths and cost some years ago to source a new logo to coincide with a new tournament schedule direction. And it’s understood it was an American organisation and not European that submitted the winning logo. But many believed at the time the now famed image of Ballesteros taken on the final green ...

Organisers of this week’s Iberdrola Open will on Wednesday honour the memory of Seve Ballesteros in a very special way. Black ribbons will be attached to all 18 flags on the Pula Golf Club course for the duration of the Pro-Am. Also a church service will be held at 8pm local time in the unique chapel located just paces from the entrance to the clubhouse. One thing is certain the chapel, that would accommodate no more than 50 people, will be over-flowing with those wishing to pay their respects ...

Jose Maria Olazabal yesterday (MON) cut a lonely figure as he practiced on the Pula Golf Club course in readiness for this week’s Iberdrola Open in Majorca. The double Masters winning designed the course and was out without a caddy and having to pull his clubs on a pull trolley.  The only person accompanying Olazabal over the 18 holes was Italy’s Emanuele Canonica who has previously caddied for the Spaniard. And Olazabal revealed he and Miguel Angel Jimenez will leave Palma early on Wednesday ...