Breakfast Ball #3: Stick with Rory Season

A Rory comeback win in Dubai, Nick Dunlap producing incredible golf to win as an amateur on the PGA Tour, and LIV up to their usual shenanigans. Who said there can’t be golf news in January?

McIlroy wins his 4th Dubai Desert Classic, 2 Europeans in top 25 at The Amex

Rory McIlroy won the Dubai Desert Classic for the second year in a row, one shot ahead of Adrian Meronk. McIlroy was ten shots behind after Friday’s play, but a 63 on Saturday (highlighted by an eagle on the 18th) left him two strokes back from the leader Cameron Young heading into Sunday. McIlroy took advantage of a 3 over 74 from Young to take the title with a final round 70.

Meronk will be pleased with his overall performance, but a double bogey on the 7th and a bogey on the 16th ended his chances. There were other good results for Nicolai Højgaard (T7), Rasmus Højgaard (T11), and Tommy Fleetwood (T14). One player who will be disappointed is Tyrell Hatton, who finished T31 at 2 under, 12 shots behind McIlroy.

On the PGA Tour, Alexander Björk and Alex Noren were the only Europeans to break into the top 25 of The Amex. Björk had 3 consecutive rounds of 67 to follow a 64 on day one to finish T11, 6 shots off the winner. Noren was tied for the lead on Thursday evening but couldn’t keep that form into the weekend and finished T25. Only 5 of the 18 Europeans managed to make the 54-hole cut. Even some late heroics couldn’t save Shane Lowry.

College Golfer Nick Dunlap Wins the Amex; Which European College Players Can Make it at the Next Level?

Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event in 33 years yesterday at the American Express in California. It was an incredible display to win with a score of 29 under, highlighted by a 60 on Saturday. Dunlap is a 20-year-old Sophomore (2nd year) at the University of Alabama who also won the US Amateur last year.

Between Dunlap and Ludvig Åberg, the college scene has produced 2 PGA Tour winners in the last 3 months. Ludvig graduated from Texas Tech last May and got a tour card through PGA Tour University, which awards a card to the number one ranked Senior (4th year) collegiate player at the end of each year. The top 10 also get membership into the Korn Ferry Tour.

Who are the Europeans in college now who could challenge for that title and get professional tour membership? We will take a deeper look later this year, but here are 3 to keep an eye on for now:

Frederik Kjettrup, Florida State

Current PGA Tour U Rank: 8

Gustav Frimodt, TCU

Current PGA Tour U Ranking: 9

Herman Sekne, Purdue

Current PGA Tour U Ranking: 13

Hatton is Reportedly being Recruited by LIV Golf after Fleetwood and Højgaard Reject their Advances

The list of golfers rejecting offers from LIV Golf continues to grow. Tommy Fleetwood and Nicolai Højgaard have turned down “tens of millions” to join the league. Fleetwood: “I’ll always be doing what I think is best for my golf game and at the moment that is what I am doing”.

In its first year, LIV was successful recruiting European golfers who were progressing into the later stages of their career such as Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, and Ian Poulter. However, since Jon Rahm’s move, LIV has been aggressive in its pursuit of some of the game’s best young talent. Nicolai Højgaard and Ludvig Åberg, both rookies at the Ryder Cup last year, have publicly stated that they dismissed offers.

Now, The Telegraph is reporting that LIV has turned its attention to Tyrell Hatton. Hatton played alongside Rahm at last year’s Ryder Cup, and would be a natural teammate of the Spaniard. When asked about the rumors, Hatton said that he is remaining on the PGA Tour “as of right now”, but every golfer that has made the transition has uttered similar statements at some point. Losing Hatton, a 3-time Ryder Cup player who contributed 3.5 points to the team in Rome, would deal a significant blow to the European presence in the PGA Tour.

Coming up this week on tour:

• The DP World Tour moves to the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in the UAE

• 25 Europeans are in the field for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines