Home Guard Trophy

Is 63 your lucky number? It was for some over the last few days, but not for others. Ian Humphries is probably thinking its his lucky number after winning the Home Guard Trophy on Saturday with a nett 63 played over the West course. An excellent birdie down 15 and three solid pars to finish with saw him take the trophy on countback and reduce his playing handicap by two to 10.

However 63 might not feel lucky for Darren Dunnett, whose bogey at 16 cost him top spot, ultimately losing on countback. Since having a fitting a couple of weeks ago Darren's game has been transformed, with strong showings in recent club competitions. His playing partners have certainly seen a difference with the nickname 'bomber' being used by them. If you want to see if you you can better your current equipment as Darren has to great effect please book a fitting stuart2104@gmail.com.

David Blair took third place with a nett 66 with Gary Bowers fourth on countback with a nett 67.


 

Volvo China Open

A strong field has assembled in Beijing this week to contest the Volvo China Open. Last week's winner Bernd Wiesberger will tee it up together with Englishmen Ross Fisher and Chris Wood, Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen and defending champion Li Haotong.

The tournament returns to Topwin Golf & CC for a second year. It's an undulating layout that was designed by 1991 Masters champion Ian Woosnam. An interesting feature on the course is the fact the Great Wall of China can be seen from almost every hole. The water hazards will play a big part in the strategy as there are only three holes where water isn't a factor.

Since this event was first contested on the European Tour schedule in 2005, there have been some great editions of the competition. In 2006 Paul Casey beat fellow Englishman Oliver Wilson in a playoff, in 2010 Y.E. Yang was an impressive winner before Nicolas Colsaerts put on a display of power hitting to triumph the following year. Branden Grace was the winner in 2012 and Brett Rumford took the title in 2013. Frenchman Alex Levy outpaced Tommy Fleetwood in 2014 and home players have won in each of the last two seasons. Ashun Wu claimed victory in 2015 and young Li Haotong won last year, finishing three clear of Chile's Felipe Aguilar.

Player watch:

Ross Fisher - The Englishman three putted the last at the Shenzhen International to miss out on the playoff by a shot. He's on great form though after finishing tied third in Mexico and tied fifth in the Match Play - It's time for him to get a victory. 

Fabrizio Zanotti - Another player on great form - he won in Malaysia, was tied 12th in the WGC-Mexico Championship and was tied fifth last week in the Shenzhen. 

Thorbjorn Olesen - The talented Dane showed signs of form last week in Shenzhen with a tied eighth place finish. He closed with a round of 67.

Click here to keep an eye on this week's leaderboard.


 

It’s worth a try  

The new TP5 ball from TaylorMade has been achieving some impressive results on tour so far this year - and it’s now available in your local pro shop. We’re so confident that you’ll benefit from the TP5 that when you purchase a dozen, we will give you a 2-ball pack for FREE. If you don’t get on with it, then you can return your unused dozen for a full refund.  

Watch our video on TP5 here.