Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

World Challenge Special

So'long to Sherwood

The Tiger Woods Foundation World Challenge began its life at Greyhawk Golf Club in Arizona in 1999, it was the last tournament of 1999 and the first of 2000 as it was played from Wednesday 29 December to Sunday 2 January. The event featured 18 of the world's best golfers competing for a then massive sum of $3.5million and $1million first prize. Uniquely the event featured a pro-am after the second round, played on New Year's Eve. Tom Lehman came out on top and the tournament was off and running as one of the leading off-season events in the United States. It is believed the event was conceived by Tiger Woods and his team when he played in the 1997 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge at Sun City in South Africa. In 2000 the event moved to Sherwood Country Club as part of the Tiger Woods Foundation plan to launch a Tiger Woods Learning Center outside of Los Angeles, near where Woods was born and raised.

Sherwood Country Club was established as a private community in 1984 and the Jack Nicklaus designed golf course was opened in 1989. It hosted one of the modern incarnations of made-for-television golf, 'The Showdown at Sherwood' between Tiger and David Duval took place in August 1999 and was a match between the world number one and two. 'Monday Night Golf' then moved to the desert and the country club was available to be used by the Tiger Woods Foundation. 

The tournament moved then from its New Year slot to the first week of December, closer to the end of the PGA Tour season and allowing more off-time before the start of the new season for those who were invited to compete. The field was 12 players and the title was lifted by Davis Love III.

Tiger's Tourney at Sherwood has become somewhat of a pre-Christmas golfing tradition and with the allocation of official world golf ranking points over the last five years it has established itself as a big end of year event, potentially critical to exemptions to majors and world golf championships. One such example is in 2009 when Tiger withdrew from the tournament due to his personal issues, meaning Graeme McDowell got into the event, his performance saw him sneak into the world's top fifty and from there he went on to qualify for and win the 2010 US Open.

It was announced a short time ago by the Tiger Woods Foundation that the tournament will be moving to Isleworth Country Club in Orlando, Florida in 2014 so this year will be the last edition played at Sherwood. I for one will miss the end of year event being played there because the course is more old style and presents challenges not seen on many other courses used on tour. It makes a change to see the best players in the world having to create shots and play into smaller greens, Isleworth is vastly different from Sherwood and the level of entertainment will surely not be as great.

Let's hope the stellar field assembled this weekend in SoCal can give Sherwood the send-off it deserves.

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Nedbank Golf Challenge special

Coming up on HooperstarGolfer this week a special blog covering the Nedbank Golf Challenge. The invitational event is celebrating the start of a new era being co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Sunshine Tour and this blog will bring you in-depth features and news ahead, during and after the 2013 tournament.

Check back Tuesday night for more.

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"American Johnny Miller subdued Seve Ballesteros of Spain with a routine par on the ninth hole of a sudden-death playoff Sunday and won the biggest prize ever offered in the history of golf in one of the game's great showdowns."

In 1981 the prizes for winning The Masters ($60,000), US Open ($55,000), Open Championship ($50,000) and PGA Championship ($60,000) was a combined $225,000 so the excitement that the Sun City Million Dollar Challenge raised by providing $500,000 was huge. It was easy to see why 5 of the world's greatest players made the long trip south to Sun City in the winter of 1981. The event continued to evolve with an expanded 10-man field from 1982 and in 1987 the entire purse of $1million was made available to the winner in a winner-takes-all edition of the championship. In 2000 the winner's share was increased to $2million and official world golf ranking points were awarded as the tournament sought to increase its significance with the introduction of the $5million World Golf Championship events.

And now, in 2013, the tournament has evolved again to retain its relevance and place among the world's great tournaments by co-sanctioning with the European Tour and expanding to a 30-man field. $6.5million is on offer this week and $1,250,000 will be won by the champion. In a world of golf which is dominated by tournaments with prize funds of $5million and higher it is difficult for the tournament to keep its place as the richest in golf, especially in a country which has struggled to attract the sufficient funds to host a World Golf Championship.

12 months ago the International Federation of PGA Tours announced the Tournament of Hope was to be sanctioned by all the tours, initially it was believed it would be a World Golf Championship with the richest ever prize fund of $10million. But WGC status never came and in the end the tournament never came to fruition. This left a void and created an opportunity for the Nedbank Golf Challenge to raise its status by becoming an official event on the European Tour rather than an end of season money grab.

Of course there are still problems in recruiting the best possible field for this week's tournament, with Tiger Woods' Northwestern Mutual World Challenge taking place in California at the same time. But it will be interesting to see how the tournament evolves in its new era and whether the likes of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott can be lured back to Sun City over the next few years.

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Sun disappears on day one at the Nedbank

Luke Donald leads after 11 holes of the 2013 Nedbank Golf Challenge on a day when play was suspended twice due to the threat of lightning in South Africa. The first stoppage came at 12.12pm local time and play was suspended for nearly three hours, prior to and following the suspension Luke Donald played nicely to reach -5 through 11 holes, but his progress was halted once again when play was called for the day at 4.18pm local time.

Defending champion Martin Kaymer sits at -2 with former champion and 2013 Race to Dubai winner Henrik Stenson a shot further back on 1-under-par. Ernie Els and Justin Rose have made disappointing starts and are 8 and 9 shots back of Donald respectively.

Play will resume at 7.30am local time on Friday.

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Emirates Australian Open special

Being the favourite in sport is one of the most difficult pressures to cope with, you have the obvious internal pressure to succeed but often when the expectation of the public and the media is that you succeed, it is extremely difficult to reach the expected standards. Adam Scott returned to Australia three weeks ago with a whole nation expecting him to sweep all before him as the first Australian to win The Masters and wear that famous green jacket.

At Royal Pines in Queensland he won the Australian PGA Championship by 4 strokes, he moved on to Royal Melbourne for a double-header. The Talisker Australian Masters and the ISPS Handa World Cup - he won the former by holding on to the lead in the face of a charging Matt Kuchar and finished 3rd in the latter to help his country to World Cup glory. So in three weeks back in his homeland he has won the Australian PGA, Australian Masters and the World Cup of Golf. He came to Royal Sydney with 2 legs of the Triple Crown in the bag and the pressure ratcheted up to its maximum as the eyes of the entire nation fix on The Masters champion in the Emirates Australian Open.

Far from showing signs of pressure Scott dismantled the Rose Bay layout recording a course record of 62, 10-under-par. He began with a truly amazing six consecutive birdies and ended with four in a row. It was an exhibition of sustained excellence and is the perfect platform to attack a second Australian Open title and clinch the Triple Crown.

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Before Scott teed off on Friday his lead had disappeared as the resurgent Rory McIlroy posted a 65 to tie the Aussie hero on -10. Scott got off to a difficult start but regrouped and recorded a 2-under-par 70 to take a 2 stroke lead over the former World Number One.

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Saturday promised to be a classic afternoon with the Masters champion Adam Scott and 2-time Major champion Rory McIlroy playing alongside one another in the third round of the Emirates Australian Open. McIlroy and Scott got off to the perfect start with birdies at the first hole, the stage was set for a classic encounter. The Ulsterman then stumbled with a bogey at the fourth and a double-bogey at the fifth, falling four shots behind the winner of the Australian PGA and Australian Masters. Scott further extended his advantage with birdies at 7, 8 and 9 to take a 6 stroke lead over McIlroy into the back nine.

A bogey for Scott and a birdie for McIlroy at the 10th saw the gap cut to 4, a gap which McIlroy reduced further with birdies at 13 and 14 but Scott countered with birdies at 14 and 18 to end the third round four clear and edge closer to an historic second Australian Open title and clinch the Triple Crown.

With Scott on -16 and McIlroy on -12, and the next best player -8 it is truly a clash of the titans for the Stonehaven Cup at Royal Sydney Golf Club this Sunday. With the golfing year winding down for Christmas this will be one of the last great battles of the year between two of the great golfers of a generation. It promises to be an Australian Open to remember.

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The Duel in the Sun may have a new rival for the greatest head-to-head battles in golf after the Emirates Australian Open concluded today. The Shoot-out in Sydney also took place over two days and saw two of the world's greatest talents thrill the large galleries with pure ball-striking and awesome driving, with history on the line and one of golf's great trophies up for grabs.

Starting with a four-stroke lead the home favourite Adam Scott was clearly set to win a second Australian Open and conclude the calendar year Australian Triple Crown, but a resurgent Rory McIlroy was never going to lay down and make it easy for The Masters champion. Scott made bogey at the first hole to reduce his advantage but immediately regained the 4-shot lead with a birdie at the par five second, it would remain the same until McIlroy caught fire on the par four fifth hole. A birdie there was followed by a typical McIlroy moment at the 7th, the kind of shot which emphasises his unique ability, a high floated long iron straight at the pin which landed softly on the down-slope and ran some 8 feet past the hole giving him an eagle chance.

A slight right to left break was navigated with ease as his ball found the centre of the cup and the deficit was down to 1 stroke. The former world number one would then draw level with the 33-year-old former champion with a birdie at the 8th and the atmosphere was ramped up. Scott then pulled ahead once more with a birdie at the 9th hole and the dream of a second Australian Open title was still alive. The pair then matched each other on the back nine, with pars at every hole aside from the par five 13th and despite missing several chances to extend his lead Scott took a 1 stroke advantage to the 72nd hole.

Playing a pair of 2-irons off the tee both Scott and McIlroy split the fairway and the Australian had the advantage of playing into the green before the Northern Irishman, an advantage he would not take. His wedge flew too far and took a hard bounce, the ball rolled off the back edge and down into a hollow some 20 yards from the hole. In contrast McIlroy played his ball to 15 feet short of the pin on the correct level, giving himself a last chance for birdie. A play-off loomed large.

Scott's dream began to turn into a nightmare with a poor pitch which flew too far and rolled to the front edge of the green on the lower level. 2 putts later The Australian PGA and Masters winner posted a bogey and a round of 71, a four-round total of 271 17-under-par.

This was McIlroy's moment.

A moment to end a 12-month winless drought which has seen him fall from number 1 to 6 on the world rankings.

"I just made my normal stroke, I didn't think about winning or anything" said the 2-time Major champion. The ball rolled into the middle of the hole and he lifted his arms in exaltation and sighed a huge sigh of relief, the toughest year of his stellar career was over, and so was Adam Scott's Triple Crown dream.


Adam Scott

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Total
Par	4	5	3	4	4	3	5	4	4	4	4	4	5	3	4	5	3	4	72
Rnd 4	5	4	3	4	4	3	5	4	3	4	4	4	4	3	4	5	3	5	71
Status	1	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	-1	-1	-1	-1	-2	-2	-2	-2	-2	-1	-1

Ace/Albatross

Eagle

Birdie

Par

Bogey

2+ Bogey

Rory McIlroy

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Total
Par	4	5	3	4	4	3	5	4	4	4	4	4	5	3	4	5	3	4	72
Rnd 4	4	5	3	4	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	5	3	3	66
Status	E	E	E	E	-1	-1	-3	-4	-4	-4	-4	-4	-5	-5	-5	-5	-5	-6	-6

Ace/Albatross

Eagle

Birdie

Par

Bogey

2+ Bogey

The commentators on Channel 7 could hardly hide their disappointment, despite the praise they gave McIlroy and Scott admitted that he was "gutted". Rory's victory has echoes of Lee Westwood's defeat of Greg Norman in 1997 at the Metropolitan Golf Club, Norman was bidding for a sixth title to tie Jack Nicklaus. McIlroy is the second European golfer of all-time, after Westwood, to win the Australian Open.

Earlier in the year at the Irish Open McIlroy admitted to feeling "lost" but the lost boy was found again on Sunday afternoon at Royal Sydney. The swagger, the strut and the ridiculous ball-striking was back and he was holing putts again. Something which has never changed in McIlroy is the humility, the class and dignity, even in defeat. He had this to say about the home favourite he had so dramatically defeated. “He's had a phenomenal year. Masters champion, he won one of the FedEx Cup play off events. He came down here to Australia, won the Aussie PGA and then the Aussie Masters. Then World Cup last week and here,” he said.

“He's a true gentleman and he's a credit to the game but he's also a credit to this country. I was just lucky to be able to come out on top today.”

This will go down as one of the most memorable Aussie Opens in recent times and maybe all-time, it was a classic featuring two of the star acts in golf today. It might not yet be back to where it was in the 1970's but the Australian Open is back as a significant tournament in the world game.

The Day of destiny

In a few short hours Jason Day will tee-off at Royal Melbourne in the final round of the 56th World Cup of Golf, holding a 1 stroke lead in the individual tournament. He and his countryman Adam Scott also hold a 1 stroke lead in the race to be champions of the world. In a year when Scott has become the first Australian to wear the green jacket and in the week following Day's tragic loss of 8 family members to Typhoon Haiyan, Sunday 24 November truly is a day of destiny.

This script can only be written by the golfing gods.

Ben Crenshaw winning the 1995 Masters just days after his mentor Harvey Penick passed away.

Tiger Woods winning the 2006 Open Championship following the death of his father.

Darren Clarke producing an inspired performance at the 2006 Ryder Cup following the loss of his wife Heather to cancer.

Jason Day and his family thought they could have lost as many as 30 family members last week during the horrific natural disaster in the Philippines, the 8 that did perish will undoubtedly not be far from his mind as he goes about his business today.

For Scott the chance of etching himself into Australian golfing history will probably come a close second to supporting his friend and compatriot to claim the International Trophy, and one of the most emotional victories in recent golfing times.

Of course, the Australians will not have it all their own way. The United States team of Kevin Streelman and Matt Kuchar sit one off the hosts, with Kuchar three back of Day in the individual tournament. Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and Italy's Francesco Molinari are also in the thick of contention as the final day dawns in this biennial contest.

Live coverage in the UK begins at 0100 on Sky Sports 4.