The DP World Tour Thread

James Sugrue to make his professional debut on the Challenge Tour next month, starting with two Swedish events from the middle of next month. He will also play in the Irish Challenge at Portmarmock at the end of May, the scene of his British amateur championship success two years ago.

Since March the 21st, at the Kenyan Open, there have been 4 different South African European tour winners. From Justin Harding, Danie Van Tonder both in Kenya, Garrick Higgo last week at the Gran Canarian Open and now Dean Burmester who shot a 9 under 62 to win by 5 shots at the Tenerife Open today. South Africa continue to produce some outstanding talents and have other quality young players like Jayden Schaper and Casey Jarvis who is a huge hitter and with massive potential.

From an Irish perspective, Jonathan Caldwell dropped away in the final round and finished well down the pack, despite being only 4 shots off the lead after 54 holes. Niall Kearney also finished well down the leaderboard. While Cormac Sharvin and Paul Dunne are struggling to find their best form and missed the cut.

Don't know about the rest of you, but I'm finding it very hard to get some enjoyment watching European tour golf these days. I would just love to see an Irish player get into contention for a tournament as you get such adrenaline and buzz cheering on a paddy when they are down the stretch contending for a championship. The fact that they are so few Irish players on the main European tour does dilute people's appetite to watching golf on the tv.

Finally enormous credit must go to Keith Pelley and all the authorities and organizers in bringing golf on the European tour in this difficult environment. Clearly the covid situation is very complex and evolving. Some tournaments have gone by the wayside eg Portugal Masters and French Open. They were suggestions that there could be a Florida swing as part of the contingency arrangements if tournaments got postponed or cancelled. But they have ensured a safe playing environment and experience for players, caddies and coaches and in fairness they have implemented a strict enforcement policy for players to comply with the covid regulations and secure bubbles.

The European tour is going through a rough patch at present with many of our top players playing in the US and trying to compete with the riches of the PGA Tour. But here's hoping that this recent arrangement/partnership with the PGA Tour will pay dividends for the European tour and hopefully we will se a revival in the fortunes of a tour, that has a proud history and will continue to play a major role in developing the stars of tomorrow and present that's for sure.