Telfer's Thoughts

Three Kiwis lined up for the latest DP World Tour event, the Ras Al Khaimah Classic in Qatar. Now if you know your golf, the name of this tournament should ring a bell for you. Yes, this was the event three years ago that Ryan Fox won, his second DP World Tour win, but his first over the traditional 72-hole stroke play format. So Foxy was back in the desert looking to repeat his February 2023 win. Also playing last week were fellow Kiwis Daniel Hillier and Kazuma Kobori.

Unfortunately, the latter two missed the cut. Hillier, I guess, could be forgiven if his head was still a little in the clouds after that epic duel he had last week over the last round of the US$9million Desert Classic in Dubai where he duelled with Tyrell Hatton right down to the wire, eventually finishing runner-up. Kazuma, in his rookie year on this Tour, might well have made the cut but for two double bogeys on the back nine on Day One. That left Ryan Fox as the only one of the three to make the cut

and he made it, with just a shot to spare. Two good solid rounds, however, over the weekend, in particular on Sunday, saw him move up from around 60 th place to a final share of 27 th place. Sure, he would have loved to have repeated his showing here from three years ago, but this outing, coupled with his 10 th place at last week’s rich Hero Desert Classic in neighbouring Dubai, represents a very solid start to his playing schedule for 2025.

He opened up in Qatar with an even par round of 72, then went under par for his final three rounds, including a 4 under 68 on the final day. So, of the eight rounds Foxy played over the two tournaments up there in the Middle East, six of those eight were under par and the other two were even par 72’s. That will give the Kiwi plenty of confidence as he heads now to America to start his season on the rich but tough USPGA Tour.

His game will also benefit greatly this year, I’m hoping, from having to undertake far less travel. Ryan and his wife have established a residential base in the USA for this year, meaning he can spend much more time with his family and much less time sitting in aeroplanes. Meanwhile on the PGA Tour, Harris English picked up his 5 th career win, taking out the Farmers Insurance at the famous Torrey Pines course in San Diego.

A talking point that has emerged again from this Tour is the pace of play. English and his two playing partners in the final group took three hours to play the front nine on the final day. That equates to a six-hour round to play 18 holes. That’s just crazy. Dottie Pepper, the well-respected roving television commentator, said on air at Torrey Pines, “This has just got to change. What is needed is respect (from players, I’m presuming) for fellow players, fans, television viewers, for everybody”, to which fellow commentator, Frank Nobilo, totally agreed.

Personally, I think one of the big problems here is ‘caddy chat’, as I call it. Do a player and a caddie really need three to four minutes to discuss how to play their next shot? No I say, emphatically no. Might be time to start putting the clock on these chats. Anyway, to finish on a more positive note, this week’s upcoming event, the famous Pebble Beach Pro Am, includes in the field World Number One, Scottie Sheffler, and Rory McIlroy, who, I’m pleased to say, are two of the quickest players on tour.