In a summer packed with sporting drama, the European Tour’s Rolex Series has delivered its fair share of entertainment so far in 2018.
From epic comebacks and pulsating play-offs, to a (very) close shave with the European Tour’s first 59, the first five Rolex Series events of the season have been compelling viewing, serving up plenty of magical moments to keep our social media team busy.
After the inaugural year success of 2017, the Rolex Series returned with back-to-back events in May, as the BMW PGA Championship and the Italian Open also marked a new phase in the qualification campaign for The 2018 Ryder Cup, with points earned in events until Made in Denmark multiplied by 1.5 on both the European and World points list.
With the eight premium events that form the Rolex Series already boasting minimum prize funds of US$7million, the additional incentives have helped produced some sublime performances, with Italy’sFrancesco Molinarisetting the tone with a flawless final round of 68 at Wentworth Club to finish two shorts clear of four-time Major Champion Rory McIlroy.
It was Molinari’s first victory over the West Courseafter five top ten finishes in his previous six appearances, and the two-time Ryder Cup player came agonisingly close to becoming the first player to win back-to-back Rolex Series titles when he was denied a victory on home soil the following week.
Molinari birdied five of his final six holes at Gardagolf CC, but a bogey on the 17th ultimately cost him the chance of victory as Dtook the Italian Open titleThorbjørn Olesenenmark’swith a fine final round of 64 for his fifth European Tour title.
After a three-week break, the Rolex Series took centre stage once again with three events on the bounce, beginning with the HNA Open de France at Le Golf National, the venue which will host The 2018 Ryder Cup this September.
If the biennial contest between Europe and the United States produces drama like the final round of the third Rolex Series event of 2018, then fans are in for a real treat in two months’ time, as Le Golf National’s revered closing stretch bared its teeth on an enthralling final day.
Spaniard’s Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, Swede Marcus Kinhult, American Julian Suri and Englishman Chris Wood all threatened before falling away, leaving Sweden’sAlex Noren, who had started the day seven shots adrift, to stride serenely to the title with a final round of 67.
Noren became only the second player after Rahm to win multiple Rolex Series eventsand it was the second time he had made up seven shots in the final round, having previously clawed back the same deficit in the 2017 BMW PGA Championship, the event that launched the Rolex Series.
An even more dramatic finale was in store the next week, as the Rolex Series moved to the picturesque Ballyliffin Golf Club for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation.
In a battle made for the headline writers, Russell Knox and Ryan Fox ensured that Ballyliffin’s first Irish Open will live long in the memory, with Scotland’s Knox incredibly holing two birdie putts from outside 40ft on the 18th green – one in regulation play, the other on the first extra hole –to capture his second European Tour title, having finished joint runner-up in France seven days previously.
Those two performances earned Knox a cool €1,449,685 in just a fortnight on the Rolex Series, as well as spot in this week’s Open Championship at Carnoustie, and he was also in contention going into the final round of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at Gullane Golf Club last week.
Yet, not even the in-form Scot, nor a star-studded cast including Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed and Justin Rose, could match the brilliant final round fireworks of South AfricanBrandon Stone, who scorched through the field with eight birdies and an eagle in a closing round of 60.
The 25 year old almost became the first player in European Tour history to sign for a 59, but grazed the hole with his seven foot birdie putt on the last, and instead became only the 18th player to post a round of 60, and just the fourth player to do so on a Sunday en route to lifting the trophy,as he finished four shots clear of England’s Eddie Pepperell.
Quite a way, then, to round off the first five events on the 2018 Rolex Series. Of course, it doesn’t end there though, as the Rolex Series returns with the Turkish Airlines Open on November 1, followed in consecutive weeks by the Nedbank Golf Challenge Hosted by Gary Player and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, which concludes the 2018 Race to Dubai.
