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KORDA PICKS UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz,
an exceptional golfer who quali¿ ed
for the 2018 U.S. Senior Open,
captured the celebrity portion of
the Diamond Resorts Tournament
of Champions. Despite struggling
with three bogeys and a double-
bogey on his inward nine, the
Fox TV analyst ¿ nished at +149
and took a three-point win over
fellow All-Star pitcher Mark
Mulder (+146). Two-time celebrity
champion Mardy Fish ¿ nished
third with 140 points.
“The conditions today were brutal
and hard, and you had to grind, and
I learned a lot from just my past
year of qualifying for the Senior
Open,” said Smoltz, who won his
¿ rst major competitive tournament.
“That, to me, has prepared me to
kind of grind out a game. I’m not
even close to where I want to be,
but I’m getting closer.”
The celebrity competition was
played with a Modi¿ ed Stableford
scoring system. A double eagle
earns 10 points, an ace earns eight
points, an eagle earns ¿ ve points,
a birdie earns three points, a par
earns two points, a bogey earns
one points and a double bogey or
higher earns zero points.
Specially commissioned tartan celebrated The 2019
Solheim Cup’s return to Scotland
Solheim Cup stars Danielle Kang and Madelene Sagstrom have
unveiled a specially commissioned tartan design to celebrate The 2019
Solheim Cup returning to Scotland in September 2019. The Of¿ cial
Solheim Cup Tartan has been commissioned by VisitScotland and
created by Lochcarron of Scotland, the world’s leading manufacturer
of tartan, and comprises a blue, red, yellow and white design to mirror
the colours on the À ags of Scotland, Europe and the USA.
The unveiling of the tartan comes as both Team Europe and Team
USA announce Abacus Sportswear and Jo¿ t respectively as of¿ cial
team apparel suppliers for the 2019 match. The new tartan will be
made available to both brands should they want to incorporate it into
their designs, as well as featuring in a host of accessories as part of the
of¿ cial merchandise programme. Alan Grant, Senior Golf Manager
with VisitScotland, said: “Two things that are known around the world
as being uniquely Scottish are tartan and golf so it made absolute sense
to join the two together in celebration of The 2019 Solheim Cup being
played in Scotland. “Gleneagles and Scotland stand ready to welcome
the European and US teams in September and while we know the
matches will be hotly contested, they will also be conducted in the
spirit of integrity and togetherness, which is signi¿ ed by the team
colours being included jointly in The Of¿ cial Solheim Cup Tartan.”
Madelene and Danielle, who both made their Solheim Cup debut’s in
Des Moines in 2017, were presented with tartan scarves to mark the
unveiling of The Of¿ cial Solheim Cup Tartan.
Nelly Korda at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando on January 20, 2019
Charley Hull Wins Let Season
Opener In Abu Dhabi
England’s Charley Hull made the best possible start to 2019 when she
claimed a wire-to-wire victory in the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies
Open to earn her second Ladies European Tour trophy. Hull ¿ red
rounds of 67, 72 and 69 in warm and windy conditions for a total of
eight-under-par 208 at the spectacular Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in
Abu Dhabi, ending one stroke ahead of Marianne Skarpnord.
The Norwegian set the clubhouse target at seven-under-par and
Hull needed a par on the last hole to seal the victory, which she delivered
in style, getting up and down from a bunker behind the 18th green,
with her new ¿ ancé, Ozzie Smith, watching on. Smith proposed with
a diamond ring at Christmas and now the pair
have another reason to celebrate, with the
prospect of another season of stunning
success ahead, including a potential
fourth Solheim Cup appearance
in Scotland in September. “I’ve
practised really, really hard
over the winter and it feels
great to win back on the
LET, especially since I had
my ¿ rst pro win in Morocco
¿ ve years ago,” said Hull,
the Rookie of the Year in
2013, who went on to win the
Order of Merit in 2014.
“Hopefully I can get a few
more wins this year and I’ve
been practising really hard so it
shows that my hard work is paying
off.” Hull received the iconic gazelle
trophy from the golf course designer, Gary
Player, whom she said she said she had looked up to
her entire career and whom she thanked for designing “such a great
course.” Skarpnord, who last won on the LET in 2013, said that her 68
for solo second was “a big step in the right direction.” But the round
of the day belonged to the 2017 champion, Aditi Ashok, who signed
off with a 66 to ¿ nish in tied eighth position with Jenny Haglund and
Nanna Koerstz Madsen on two-under.
GolfPlus
FEBRUARY
2019
51