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Justin Rose is worried he won’t be able to defend the Olympic Golf gold medal he won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The former US Open champion is aware of recent reports that the Games, scheduled to take place in Tokyo this summer, may not take place because of COVID-19.
He is also currently languishing outside the qualifying places and knows his form will have to improve if he is to earn his place in the field.
“I have concerns on both fronts,” Rose admitted to PA Sport. “It’s not a concern if you’re not in the team, but I think for the sake of golf, even if I’m not there, I’d love it to go ahead.
“I’ve heard conflicting reports on how things are over in Japan, and how they are preparing for it, but I’ve got bigger problems than that.
“I’ve got to focus on my own position. Clearly, a lot of the English lads are playing really well, so there’s going to be quite a few guys to get past, but my goal would be just to make sure I’m back in the top 15 in the world.
“Just because you did well last time there’s no defending champion gets his way in. Four years is a long time between tournaments, so you have to earn your way back and that is front and centre for me.”
The Oman Open has become the first event on this season’s European Tour schedule to be postponed as a result of the continuing COVID-19 crisis.
The event, which was due to be played at Al Mouj Golf in Muscat on 4-7 March, was postponed late last week. The decision was made following an announcement by Oman’s Supreme Committee that all gatherings, international functions and sporting events had to be stopped with immediate effect.
A statement from the tour said: “All parties are looking into the possibility of rescheduling the tournament at some later point in the year, but there are no definite plans at this stage.”
Another high-profile event to be affected by the virus is the Sage Valley Junior Invitational, originally scheduled for March and played at Sage Valley Golf Club, Georgia. It annually attracts a strong international field, and this year was to feature a girls’ event for the first time.
Announcing the cancellation of the event, Pete Davis, chairman of the SVJI Sports Foundation said: “While were disappointed to cancel the Junior Invitational, it is imperative we prioritise the health of all participants, families, golf course staff and others needed to stage a world-class event like this.
“This was going to be a historic year with the addition of the world’s top junior girl golfers, which makes this even more disappointing. … We look forward to a safe and strong return next March.”
The R&A has invited Modest! Golf to spearhead its new campaign to encourage more young people to take up golf.
The group, fronted by founder, musician and avid golfer Niall Horan, has been tasked with developing a series of grassroots programmes which will attract young people and kindle a long-term interest in the sport.
The programmes will be launched later this year and will provide fun, accessible formats in tune with how today’s young generation uses its leisure time.
Announcing the appointment, Phil Anderton, chief development officer of the R&A said: “Modest! Golf has a wealth of experience and insight from the entertainment industry that will be combined with our experience developing golf around the world to establish exciting new initiatives aimed at reaching new audiences and inspiring more young people into playing golf with their families and friends.”
Horan, a close friend to four-time major champion Rory McIlroy, added: “I’m so proud to work alongside the R&A in developing programmes to encourage and inspire more young people to play the game of golf.
“The R&A has a long legacy within the game and I look forward to helping to create new and modern initiatives to showcase to the younger generation just what a great sport it is.”
The European Challenge Tour will break new ground in 2021 with the announcement of a 25-tournament schedule visiting 15 countries.
Players will compete at many established venues, but Europe’s secondary circuit has also announced new tournaments in the United Kingdom and Germany. The events are confirmed for the first two weeks of September, but venues have yet to be named. The tour also returns to the Netherlands for the first time since 2009.
The season tees off with the Limpopo Championship, 22-25 April at Euphoria Golf Club in Modimolle, South Africa, the first of three co-sanctioned events with South Africa’s Sunshine Tour. It culminates 4-7 November with the Challenge Tour Grand Final in Mallorca, Spain. The top 20 players on the money list, the Road to Majorca, will earn cards for the 2022 European Tour.
“I am thrilled to be able to unveil our global schedule for 2021 which sees us return to the number of events we had prior to last season,” said Jamie Hodges, head of the Challenge Tour. “There were 20 wins by former Challenge Tour players on the European Tour in 2020, which shows how important our tour is in preparing the next generation of stars for the biggest stage.”
Shane Lowry has finally got his hands on the Association of Golf Writers’ Trophy.
The Irishman was named as winner of the 2020 award in recognition of his triumph at the 2019 Open Championship but, because of the cancellation of last year’s championship, and the subsequent further disruption caused by COVID-19, he was not able to be presented with the trophy until his appearance at last week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The long wait for the silverware clearly had not dampened his desire to repeat his success.
“It’s a lovely trophy and a great honour but, looking at the names of the guys who’ve won it before me, I see my fellow Irishmen Rory McIlroy on there three times and Pádraig Harrington twice.
“So, I’d better win at least once more to get some sort of parity – although three more would be better so I could have the Irish bragging rights.”
Brooks Koepka has split with long-time coach Claude Harmon III.
The pair had been working together since 2013 during which time Koepka won four major titles and rose to No 1 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
It is understood Koepka informed Harmon of his decision just after he finished tied-seventh at the Masters in November, but the news did not break until Harmon was asked about Koepka’s form in an interview he gave just after another of his clients, Si Woo Kim, won the recent American Express.
“I don’t know,” he said. “We are no longer working together.”
Seventeen-year-old Casey Jarvis is rightly making headlines in South African amateur golf but he is by no means the only youngster catching the eye in his own country.
Fifteen-year-old compatriot Christiaan Maas, from Pretoria, is also generating a few column inches of his own after a rich run of form which has seen him claim three victories in his past five starts.
Maas’ latest success came at the Gauteng North Open at Pretoria Country Club where he used local knowledge to return scores of 67, 69, 67 and 68 and claim a five-stroke victory ahead of Christiaan Burke on 17-under par 271. He moves 70 positions on the World Amateur Golf Ranking to a high of No 251 as a result.
Davis Love III will captain the 2022 U.S. Presidents Cup team at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, his birthplace.
The 21-time PGA Tour winner will lead a U.S. team for the third time in an international golf match. He was Ryder Cup captain in 2012 and 2016. The 56-year-old is also a three-time Presidents Cup vice-captain – in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
South Africa’s Trevor Immelman had previously been named as the International team captain for the ’22 match.
Colin Callander and Alistair Tait