European Tour Reports

Find out about the hottest golf events taking place on a green near you! With reports on some of the most important events from the European and PGA Tours

Who deals the first real blow of the European Tour season?

Volvo Golf Champions at Fancourt, January 19-22

It is considered the first great tournament of the 2012 European Tour schedule: the Volvo Golf Champions tournament, held in South Africa from January 19 till 22, will be a hard fight for a top position in the Race to Dubai. The € 2 million tournament is also a serious test on tough terrain: The Links at Fancourt, situated across 613 hectares of lush countryside in George, on South Africa’s renowned Garden Route.

The Volvo Golf Champions is an exclusive, limited field event with no cut, open only to European Tour players who have won an event on the previous year’s European Tour International Schedule, the only exception being current Tour Members with more than ten European Tour victories.

The venue of the Volvo Golf Champions, the world-acclaimed Links at Fancourt, is a great stage for the first real clash of the 2012 season. Fancourt is the place to deal the first blow to the competition, Colin Montgomerie agrees. With 32 European Tour titles on his ‘palmares’, he is aiming high at the Volvo Golf Champions this year. “At Fancourt I hope to set the tone for the rest of the year.”

Strong opponents

Montgomerie will have some strong opponents in Matteo Manassero, Spanish star Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Tom Lewis and Thomas Björn, three-time winner on the 2011 European Tour. With Paul Lawrie, Alexander Norén, Nicolas Colsaerts they are the latest stars to confirm their entry into the European Tour’s first true ‘tournament of champions’ event.

They join defending Champion Paul Casey, 2011 Masters Tournament Champion Charl Schwartzel, two-time Major winner Retief Goosen and Louis Oosthuizen, winner of the 2010 Open Championship, who joins the strong home challenge.

Number one in South Africa

The Links at Fancourt was recently voted the number one course of South Africa. This is Fancourt newest championship course, added in 2000 to the magnificent Montagu and Outeniqua courses at Fancourt. The beautifully designed and constructed course bears the distinct signature of the legendary player and designer Gary Player, who has described this course as “perhaps my greatest achievement as a golf course designer.” The course is not only considered to be a thorough test for every golfer, but would also rank among the most beautiful courses in the world; by location, but also by design and construction.

Player’s design team drew its inspiration from the classic links courses of Scotland and Ireland to recreate an area that was once an airfield into a golfer’s dream. The Links was the host venue for the 2003 Presidents Cup, which ended in an historic tie after a dramatic play-off between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. In early 2005, it was the host venue for the Women’s World Cup of Golf. In December 2005 The Links hosted the South African Open, the world’s second-oldest national Open Championship.