TheEuropean Tour Shot of the Monthcompetition is back and once again it is up to you, the fans, to cast your vote and decide the pick of the bunch.
Each month we will put forward a selection of the most skilful, most imaginative, most significant shots executed by the world-class members of the European Tour on events featured on The European Tour International Schedule. Then it’s down to you to vote for the shot most deserving of the monthly award, and all of you who vote for the winning shot will be entered into a prize draw.
Throughout the season we will be offering some fantastic prizes, building towards the European Tour Shot of the Year award, won last year by Rory McIlroy for his brilliant tee shot on the tenth hole in the final round of the US Open. Thousands of you voted and one lucky fan won himself a fantastic golf break to The London Club and Le Golf National, two of our European Tour Destinations.
The 2012 Shot of the Month competition starts this week with six fantastic shots from January to choose from, with a prize pack chocked full of fabulous European Tour merchandise up for grabs, so it is over to you to cast your vote.
This month we have shots from all three events in South Africa – the Africa Open, Joburg Open and Volvo Golf Champions – as well as the first part of The Desert Swing from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
First up is Louis Oosthuizen’s glorious approach shot to the last during the third round at East London GC, firing in a fizzing short iron down the slope to the exposed green, and handling the ample cross winds with the kind of aplomb you would expect from an Open Champion. It would put the finishing touches on a round of 67 that tied him for the lead heading into Sunday at the Africa Open, a position he would not relinquish, as he went on to retain the trophy.
Our second offering comes from another South African, and by the end of the month two-time European Tour champion, Branden Grace. This particular piece of short game wizardry came during the second round of the Volvo Golf Champions as he mastered both the sloping fairways and gentle gradients of Fancourt’s greens with the craft and guile of a seasoned winner. Firing the ball in low from just short of the sixth, the ball zipped up the mound in front of the green before digging its heels in having reached the putting surface, rolling down adjacent to the flag.
Also coming from the Volvo Golf Champions, and not having won for over a year, Ernie Els reminded everyone just why he is a three-time Major champion with the deftest of chips across the vast 18thgreen at Fancourt. An exceptional shot at any time, but needing a birdie to post a potentially tournament winning score, The Big Easy hit the perfect shot assuring him a place in the play-off that Grace would eventually go on to win.
Moving to the desert, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship threw up a couple of stunning holes in one at the short twelfth, the first of which coming from the resurgent Sergio Garcia during the second round. Playing 186 yards, the Spaniard dispatched a perfect seven iron straight at his target to record the first hole-in-one of his European Tour career.
With the pin now positioned at the front of the green on the same short hole at the Abu Dhabi GC, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell took dead aim on the final day, once again pitching the ball some five or six feet short of the pin, only to watch it roll dead weight into the centre of the hole. It would be just the boost he needed heading into the back nine on Sunday, eventually seeing him finish in a tie for third.
Our final contender comes from Robert Rock as he fought to hold off the World Number Two Rory McIlroy and 14-time Major Champion Tiger Woods coming down the stretch of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. The shot in question was the culmination of what must have been many hours spent back at the ‘Swingers’ driving range in the West Midlands, as he took up the challenge posed by the fairway bunker to the left of the 14thwith the perfect technique and produced ideal result. Picking the ball crisply off the top of the sand, Rock dispatched the ball to a dozen feet or so. He would roll in the putt for birdie and walk to the next tee with a two stroke cushion that would eventually prove enough for him to take the title.
A sensational six to get 2012 kick started, and having watched each of them, all you have to do is pick your favourite and you could be in with a chance of winning this month’s stunning prize.
Just watch the video montage,log into My European Tourandregister your voteand you could win.
