- Sep 1, 2004
- 6,542
- 4,976
Well he’s another up and coming teenage sensation that is blazing onto the European tour circuit. He narrowly missed out winning last week at Andulucia and he is now being touted as the next Faldo.
I am wondering if the current British crop of Casey, Donald, Rose are going to ever win a major. Maybe it's guys like Fisher and McIlroy that will bypass them as the next great home grown hope.
He is a close friend and rival of Rory McIlroy and pundits are already likening the pair to the Faldo / Lyle rivalry that existing in the 80s and 90s.
He was a winner of the Faldo Series in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and was quickly identified by Faldo as a star of the future. Has already written himself into golf’s history books by becoming, at the age of 16, the youngest player ever to play in the Walker Cup when he represented Great Britain and Ireland at the Chicago Golf Club in 2005.
Then he became the youngest Briton to win a place on The European Tour at the 2006 Qualifying School – Final Stage, where he played as an amateur before taking the fifth available card and promptly turning professional. A solid rookie season saw him finish 109th on the Order of Merit with one top ten in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. Coached by Chris Jenkins at Crowlands Heath in Essex.
Interesting quote from him last week, after he finished 2nd
“It was great to see Rory McIlroy there to support me at the end in Spain. We are good friends. That said, there is a lot of rivalry between us from our days in the junior ranks - I would win a tournament, he would win one - and we desperately want to beat each other when we are in the same field.
“Some people have compared our potential rivalry to the great rivalries of the past, the likes of Faldo against Sandy Lyle, for instance. It is true that to make the game really exciting it needs some guys to come out and fight each other on a regular basis, but it is far too early to compare us to such great players.
“If all goes well and we progress as we would like, hopefully that will happen. But neither of us is taking anything for granted. This game is too tough, and the other players far too good, to be getting ahead of ourselves. I have been on tour for less than 18 months and I know that there is room for improvement in every aspect of my game.”
I am wondering if the current British crop of Casey, Donald, Rose are going to ever win a major. Maybe it's guys like Fisher and McIlroy that will bypass them as the next great home grown hope.
He is a close friend and rival of Rory McIlroy and pundits are already likening the pair to the Faldo / Lyle rivalry that existing in the 80s and 90s.
He was a winner of the Faldo Series in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and was quickly identified by Faldo as a star of the future. Has already written himself into golf’s history books by becoming, at the age of 16, the youngest player ever to play in the Walker Cup when he represented Great Britain and Ireland at the Chicago Golf Club in 2005.
Then he became the youngest Briton to win a place on The European Tour at the 2006 Qualifying School – Final Stage, where he played as an amateur before taking the fifth available card and promptly turning professional. A solid rookie season saw him finish 109th on the Order of Merit with one top ten in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. Coached by Chris Jenkins at Crowlands Heath in Essex.
Interesting quote from him last week, after he finished 2nd
“It was great to see Rory McIlroy there to support me at the end in Spain. We are good friends. That said, there is a lot of rivalry between us from our days in the junior ranks - I would win a tournament, he would win one - and we desperately want to beat each other when we are in the same field.
“Some people have compared our potential rivalry to the great rivalries of the past, the likes of Faldo against Sandy Lyle, for instance. It is true that to make the game really exciting it needs some guys to come out and fight each other on a regular basis, but it is far too early to compare us to such great players.
“If all goes well and we progress as we would like, hopefully that will happen. But neither of us is taking anything for granted. This game is too tough, and the other players far too good, to be getting ahead of ourselves. I have been on tour for less than 18 months and I know that there is room for improvement in every aspect of my game.”