golf european challenge tour 2023

Challenge Tour announces 2023 global schedule

The Challenge Tour announces its tournament schedule for the coming year. Even more tournaments and a record prize money are waiting for the players.

• Post author By Elena Reiter
• Post date December 14, 2022

The European Challenge Tour today announced its global 2023 Road to Mallorca schedule, featuring a record overall prize fund and a minimum of 29 tournaments, staged across three continents in 18 different countries.

Players will compete for total prize money of €8,200,000 on the 2023 Road to Mallorca, which will begin with the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open in February, the first of four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour in South Africa.

India returns as a host country for the first time since 2013 with two events in March, the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge followed by The Challenge presented by KGA.

The Challenge Tour also returns to the United Arab Emirates in April for the first time since 2018 with back-to-back events, including the Abu Dhabi Challenge, as part of the European Tour group’s long-term partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation.

The Challenge Tour will head to Spain in May for the Challenge de España, which will kick-start a run of 20 tournaments in 22 weeks and see the Road to Mallorca travel through 15 countries in Europe, including Italy for the Italian Challenge at Golf Nazionale, the venue which will then host the first two days of the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup in September.

The 2023 season will conclude with the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A, at Club de Golf Alcanada from November 2-5, as the top 45 players on the Rankings battle it out for one of the life changing 20 DP World Tour cards.

Those 20 players who benefit from this formal pathway to the DP World Tour will then be eligible for the DP World Tour’s Earnings Assurance Programme, guaranteeing them minimum earnings of $150,000 for the 2024 season if they play in 15 or more events.

The top five graduates will also benefit from the John Jacobs Bursary, similarly designed to provide security and a strong platform for their first season on the European Tour group’s top tier.

Jamie Hodges, Head of Challenge Tour, said: “Our expansive global schedule gives our members the opportunity to play for a record total prize fund and benefit from our formal pathway to the DP World Tour, as we continue to provide an incredible platform for the next generation of golf’s superstars.

“I would like to thank the integral support of our promoters, national federations, and tournament sponsors, who have helped make this possible. The fact that 20 of our current national federations and promoters have extended their support through to next year is testament to their commitment and the strength of our Tour heading into 2023.

“We are also very grateful for the commitment of Rolex, The R&A, and DP World through their title partnership of the DP World Tour, all of whom have helped us to provide this comprehensive global schedule for some of the brightest talents in world golf.”

In 2022, 25 former Challenge Tour players won on the DP World Tour – including 2021 graduates Ewen Ferguson and Yannik Paul, while five finished inside the top ten on the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex. Sean Crocker became the 200th former Challenge Tour player to win on the DP World Tour when he secured a wire-to-wire victory at the Hero Open, while the total number of wins by Challenge Tour alumni is now 544.

The full 2023 Road to Mallorca International Schedule can be viewed below or by clicking  here .

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Challenge Tour announces 29-event schedule for 2023

The European Challenge Tour has announced its schedule for 2023, with Europe’a second tier tour set to feature a record overall prize fund and a minimum of 29 tournaments staged across three continents in 18 different countries.

Players will compete for total prize money of €8.2m, which will begin with the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open in February, the first of four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour in South Africa.

India returns as a host country for the first time since 2013 with two events in March, the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge followed by The Challenge presented by KGA.

The Challenge Tour also returns to the UAE in April for the first time since 2018 with back-to-back events, including the Abu Dhabi Challenge, as part of the European Tour group’s long-term partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation.

It will then head to Spain in May for the Challenge de España, which will kick-start a run of 20 tournaments in 22 weeks and see the Road to Mallorca travel through 15 countries in Europe, including Italy for the Italian Challenge at Golf Nazionale, the venue which will then host the first two days of the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup in September.

The 2023 season will conclude with the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A, at Club de Golf Alcanada from November 2-5, as the top 45 players on the Rankings battle it out for one of the life changing 20 DP World Tour cards.

Those 20 players who benefit from this formal pathway to the DP World Tour will then be eligible for the DP World Tour’s Earnings Assurance Programme, guaranteeing them minimum earnings of $150,000 for the 2024 season if they play in 15 or more events. The top five graduates will also benefit from the John Jacobs Bursary, similarly designed to provide security and a strong platform for their first season on the European Tour group’s top tier.

T he full Challenge Tour schedule for 2023 can be viewed by clicking here .

2023 European Challenge Tour: 20 points leaders who earned DP World Tour cards

The 2023 European Challenge Tour season ended on Sunday with the season-ending Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final, which was played this season at Club de Golf Alcanada in Port d'Alcúdia, Mallorca, Spain.

At the end of the tournament, won by Marco Penge, the top 20 players on the 2023 points list earned DP World Tour cards for next season.

Penge earned his second win of the year in the 30-event docket, jumping up to the top spot in the Road to Mallorca, which is the season-long points race.

Casey Jarvis finished in second place on the points list after the 45-player tournament concluded.

Stuart Manley earned the 20th and final card from the points list, despite finishing in 21st place. He had that opportunity as Alex Fitzpatrick, who finished 11th in the final points list after not playing this week, had already earned a DP World Tour card through his status on the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai.

Manley was in last place coming into the final round, but his closing 71 on Sunday was good enough to move to T-41 and clear through into the final available spot.

The Challenge Tour graduates will be able to start their new journey on the DP World Tour in three weeks, after the 2022-2023 DP World Tour season ends at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in two weeks.

2023 European Challenge Tour: 20 points leaders who earned European Tour cards

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Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

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Challenge Tour unveils 2023 schedule with record-breaking prize fund and 29 events

11.26am 15th December 2022 - Sponsorship & Events

The European Challenge Tour has announced its schedule for 2023, with Europe’a second tier tour set to feature a record overall prize fund and a minimum of 29 tournaments staged across three continents in 18 different countries.

Players will compete for total prize money of €8.2m, which will begin with the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open in February, the first of four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour in South Africa.

India returns as a host country for the first time since 2013 with two events in March, the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge followed by The Challenge presented by KGA.

The Challenge Tour also returns to the UAE in April for the first time since 2018 with back-to-back events, including the Abu Dhabi Challenge, as part of the European Tour group’s long-term partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation.

It will then head to Spain in May for the Challenge de España, which will kick-start a run of 20 tournaments in 22 weeks and see the Road to Mallorca travel through 15 countries in Europe, including Italy for the Italian Challenge at Golf Nazionale, the venue which will then host the first two days of the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup in September.

The 2023 season will conclude with the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A, at Club de Golf Alcanada from November 2-5, as the top 45 players on the Rankings battle it out for one of the life changing 20 DP World Tour cards.

Those 20 players who benefit from this formal pathway to the DP World Tour will then be eligible for the DP World Tour’s Earnings Assurance Programme, guaranteeing them minimum earnings of $150,000 for the 2024 season if they play in 15 or more events. The top five graduates will also benefit from the John Jacobs Bursary, similarly designed to provide security and a strong platform for their first season on the European Tour group’s top tier.

T he full Challenge Tour schedule for 2023 can be viewed by clicking  here .

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UAE to host two Challenge Tour events in 2023

The UAE will play host to two events on the 2023 Challenge Tour schedule, which features a record overall prize fund and a minimum of 29 tournaments, staged across three continents in 18 different countries.

As part of the European Tour group’s long-term partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation, back-to-back events will be held in the country with April’s Abu Dhabi Challenge preceding another UAE event that is confirmed but yet to be announced.

It will be the first time the Challenge Tour has played in the UAE since the 2018 Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final, which was won by now DP World Tour star Adri Arnaus

Players will compete for total prize money of €8,200,000 on the 2023 Road to Mallorca, which will begin with the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open in February, the first of four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour in South Africa.

📍 29 tournaments 🌍 18 countries 💰 Record prize fund The European Challenge Tour today announced its global 2023 #RoadtoMallorca schedule. — Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) December 14, 2022

The 2023 season will conclude with the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A, at Club de Golf Alcanada from November 2-5, as the top 45 players on the Rankings battle it out for one of the life changing 20 DP World Tour cards.

Those 20 players who benefit from this formal pathway to the DP World Tour will then be eligible for the DP World Tour’s Earnings Assurance Programme, guaranteeing them minimum earnings of $150,000 for the 2024 season if they play in 15 or more events.

The top five graduates will also benefit from the John Jacobs Bursary, similarly designed to provide security and a strong platform for their first season on the European Tour group’s top tier.

Jamie Hodges, Head of Challenge Tour, said: “Our expansive global schedule gives our members the opportunity to play for a record total prize fund and benefit from our formal pathway to the DP World Tour, as we continue to provide an incredible platform for the next generation of golf’s superstars.

“I would like to thank the integral support of our promoters, national federations, and tournament sponsors, who have helped make this possible. The fact that 20 of our current national federations and promoters have extended their support through to next year is testament to their commitment and the strength of our Tour heading into 2023.

“We are also very grateful for the commitment of Rolex, The R&A, and DP World through their title partnership of the DP World Tour, all of whom have helped us to provide this comprehensive global schedule for some of the brightest talents in world golf.”

In 2022, 25 former Challenge Tour players won on the DP World Tour – including 2021 graduates Ewen Ferguson and Yannik Paul, while five finished inside the top ten on the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex. Sean Crocker became the 200th former Challenge Tour player to win on the DP World Tour when he secured a wire-to-wire victory at the Hero Open, while the total number of wins by Challenge Tour alumni is now 544.

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Former can't-miss-kid matteo manassero tastes victory on challenge tour 10 years after his biggest win, share this article.

What a long strange trip it has been for Matteo Manassero to return to the winner’s circle.

On the weekend of the 10-year anniversary of his BMW PGA Championship victory, the 30-year-old Italian claimed his maiden European Challenge Tour title at the Copenhagen Challenge.

Manassero, a four-time DP World Tour winner and the youngest player to win three times on the European circuit, shot a bogey-free final-round 66, which was good enough for a one-shot victory at 12 under par and his first title since winning the 2020 Toscana Open on the Alps Tour.

Born near Verona, he started playing golf at age three with a set of plastic clubs. At 16, he became the youngest winner of the British Amateur Championship in 2009 before taking the silver medal for low amateur in the 2009 British Open Championship. Manassero climbed as high as 25 th in the Official World Golf Ranking and seemed destined for greater things. But the short-hitting Italian chased distance gains and lost control of his swing and his game. He entered the week No. 575 in the world.

Manassero started the day six shots behind overnight leader Matias Honkala, but made a three-foot birdie putt on the 72 nd hole to secure his first DP World Tour-sanctioned victory since his heroics at Wentworth in 2013.

“There are a lot of emotions,” he said. “It has been 10 years now since I won on Tour so I guess May is a good time of the year for me.

“My wife never caddies for me but this week she was here, so it’s been the perfect week and as good as any other I’ve ever had.”

Manassero started strongly in the final round with back-to-back birdies from the second hole before tacking on another at the eighth. With Honkala dropping back and South African teenager Casey Jarvis also picking up shots, Manassero was in a three-way share of the lead. However, he rose to the top with birdies at the 14 th  and 15 th  before the clincher at 18 to be crowned champion at Royal Golf Club by one stroke ahead of Jarvis. Manassero enjoyed the moment after being lost in golf’s wilderness for a decade, a can’t-miss-kid who has been one of the biggest disappointments in the professional game.

“I’ve had a lot of down periods during those ten years but I’m still here and now I’m holding the trophy, which means I’ve done a lot of good things as well in that period of time,” he said. “In the past maybe I didn’t enjoy enough of the good times, but I definitely will now.

“I came into this week with doubts about my game and I wasn’t feeling great. This golf course isn’t a course that you can afford not to be feeling great but sometimes you grind, and it doesn’t happen and sometimes all of a sudden it clicks.

“Golf is strange and hard to understand at times, and probably we shouldn’t try too hard to understand it.”

Manassero improved to fifth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings up from 40 th  position, while Jarvis moves up to second from 15 th  place.

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BMW PGA Championship: Matt Baldwin ties Wentworth record through 36 holes with Rory McIlroy four back

England's Matt Baldwin equals Paul McGinley's tournament record of 13 under through 36 holes; Rory McIlroy in contention four strokes behind after closing birdie at 18 to card a second-round 68; watch the BMW PGA Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports Golf

By David Currie

Friday 20 September 2024 19:44, UK

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England's Matt Baldwin equalled Paul McGinley's tournament record of 13 under par through 36 holes as he set the clubhouse lead on a weather-affected second day of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Baldwin doubled his one-shot advantage overnight after adding a round of 66 to his opening 65 - albeit with the second round not yet fully concluded due to a 77-minute delay for a circling storm.

Rory McIlroy is four back in a tie for fourth with Italy's Matteo Mannasero, the Northern Irishman having signed off his round of 68 with a closing birdie at 18.

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Denmark's Niklas Norgaard, in-form following his British Masters win at The Belfry earlier this month, also birdied the 18th to card a 67 that sees him second on 11 under.

Antoine Rozner sits third on 10 under after posting the best round of the day, a seven-under 65. The Frenchman birdied six of his last seven holes, including the last five in succession.

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Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre are both in contention, six off the lead at seven under, while fellow Ryder Cup team-mate Shane Lowry is one further back, part of a sizeable contingent at six under which includes last week's Irish Open winner Rasmus Hojgaard after an impressive round of 66 from the Dane.

Defending champion Ryan Fox, in danger of missing the cut, ensured he made the weekend after a chip-in eagle at the par-four 16th took him to three under and above the projected cut line of one under par.

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Leader Baldwin recalls Amazon delivery days after nearly quitting golf

The 38-year-old Baldwin, ranked 363rd in the world, admitted he had considered quitting the game on several occasions as he battled to keep his tour card.

"I had three or four months working at Amazon driving a van just to see me through the winter before the Challenge Tour started in 2022," he said.

"I learned a lot from that. I learned that there are other things that I could do in life but I also learned that I really wanted to play golf."

65-66 ✍️ @mattbaldwin26 leads the way by three after his second round at Wentworth. #BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/0VVEdnPQzF — DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 20, 2024

Asked to recall a funny moment from his driving stint, Baldwin added: "There's plenty to be fair.

"I remember pulling up to a block of flats, jumped out the van, got in the back and all of a sudden I feel like I'm moving and I'm like 'oh no, I forgot to put the handbrake on'.

"So I've ran out the back, ran around the side, yanked the handbrake up, still wouldn't stop, yanked it more, it eventually stopped about this far short (inches) of a blue Fiesta.

"There was a woman I was delivering a parcel to who watched the whole thing and she said 'I couldn't get my phone out quick enough to film it'."

Growing up in Southport, Baldwin played a lot of junior golf with Fleetwood, the European Ryder Cup stars having previously served as his Lancashire foursomes partner.

"I don't think we ever lost," Baldwin added. "We played a lot of golf growing up, graduated the same year from Challenge Tour and obviously played a little bit out here.

"Our paths have gone slightly different but hopefully I can catch him up."

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Horschel wins again at Wentworth; Ko extends LPGA hot streak; Ripper wins LIV team title

Virginia Water, England — Billy Horschel became the first American to win the BMW PGA Championship twice when he holed an eagle to beat four-time major winner Rory McIlroy in a playoff on Sunday.

Horschel showed no sign of nerves when he sank a long putt from near the edge of the 18th green on the second playoff hole. Horschel and McIlroy each closed with a 5-under 67 and were joined at 20-under 268 by Thriston Lawrence, who had a 65.

Lawrence was eliminated on the first extra hole with a bogey on the par-5 18th.

Horschel won at Virginia Water three years ago. Arnold Palmer, in 1975, was the only other American winner of the flagship event on the European tour.

Matteo Manassero, who started the final round with a three-shot lead, closed with a 73 and tied for fourth. McIlroy was runner-up for the third time since winning at Wentworth in 2014. He also was runner-up last week in the Irish Open.

Maineville, Ohio — Lydia Ko turned a two-shot deficit into a five-shot victory Sunday with a 9-under 63 to win the Kroger Queen City Championship for her third LPGA Tour title of the season.

Ko won for the third time in her last four starts, which includes her Olympic gold medal that gave the 27-year-old from New Zealand enough points for the LPGA Hall of Fame. It also includes another major in the Women's British Open, this one at St. Andrews.

Jeeno Thitikul, who had a two-shot lead after eight holes, made birdie on the par-5 18th for a 70 to finish alone in second. Haeran Ryu (67) finished third.

Ko, who finished at 23-under 265, now has 22 career LPGA victories. It was the fifth time she has at least three wins in the same season on the LPGA, her biggest year coming with five wins when she was 18 and reached No. 1 in the world.

LIV Golf League

Carrolton, Texas — Cameron Smith and Lucas Herbert delivered clutch putts late in the round Sunday to lead Australia-based Ripper to its first team title in the LIV Golf League.

Herbert, who looked as though he might have cost his team with a double bogey and a bogey on two of the par 5s at Maridoe Golf Club, responded with four birdies over his last five holes, the final putt a 12-footer for birdie for a 69.

Smith hit a 60-yard pitch to 12 feet and holed the birdie putt on the 17th to give Ripper the lead for good, and then drilled his tee shot down the middle on the 18th that effectively sealed the win. He shot 68. Matt Jones birdied two of his last three holes following a double bogey. He had a 70, along with Marc Leishman.

Ripper finished at 11-under 277, three shots ahead of 4Aces and Iron Heads.

Ripper won $14 million, with each player getting $1.4 million and the rest going to the team management.

PGA Tour Champions

Pebble Beach, Calif. — Paul Broadhurst finished off his second PGA Tour Champions victory of the year with a few nervous moments Sunday, closing with an even-par 72 at Pebble Beach for a three-shot victory in the Pure Insurance Championship.

Broadhurst was staked to a five-shot lead going into the final round and expanded that to as many as six shots. But the lead shrunk to two shots when Alex Cejka shot a 64, and the Englishman held his nerve to the end.

Broadhurst, who finished at 14-under 202, got up-and-down for a tough par on the par-3 17th that kept his lead at two shots playing the final hole.

Broadhurst, a 59-year-old from England, has two senior majors among his seven career PGA Tour Champions titles. He moved up to No. 8 in the Charles Schwab Cup standings.

Korn Ferry Tour

Columbus, Ohio — Frankie Capan III closed with a 1-under 70 and won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship by two shots on Sunday for his first Korn Ferry Tour title.

Capan already is assured of finishing in the top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list to get a PGA Tour card for the 2025.

He won by two over Carter Jenkins (67), William Mouw (69) and Thomas Rosenmueller of Germany (70). All but Jenkins are assured of getting PGA Tour cards. Jenkins moved up to No. 37 in the points list with one tournament remaining.

The top 75 advance to the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship in two weeks.

Dan McCarthy had a closing 69 to tie for seventh, while Rick Lamb, Cole Hammer, Jacob Solomon and Davis Shore joined him in moving inside the top 75 to at least give themselves one last chance.

Other tours

Kensei Hirata closed with a 7-under 65 for a three-shot victory in the Panasonic Open for his fourth Japan Golf Tour title this year. At 23, he became the third-youngest player with four wins in a Japan Golf Tour season behind Ryo Ishikawa (18) and Hideki Matsuyama (21). ... Jenny Bae closed with a 1-over 73 and held on for a one-shot victory over Therese Warner and Lauren Stephenson in the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout on the Epson Tour. ... Helen Briem of Germany closed with a 6-under 66 for a two-shot victory over Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of France in La Sella Open on the Ladies European Tour. ... John Parry won the Italian Challenge Open with a 3-under 68 to win by one shot over Justin Walters. Parry won for the third time this year on the Challenge Tour and earned an instant promotion to the European tour. ... Yurav Premlall rallied from a four-shot deficit with a 6-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Martin Vorster in the Vodacom Origins of Golf-Sishen on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. ... Yuka Yasuda shot 2-under 34 for a three-shot victory in the Miyagi TV Cup Dunlop Ladies Open. The Japan LPGA event was shortened to nine holes in the final round and a 27-hole tournament because of rain. ... Jeongmin Moon closed with a 4-under 68 for a two-shot victory in the Daebo Haus D Open on the Korea LPGA. ... Van Phillips shot 4-under 68 and won a three-man playoff over Adilson da Silva and Phillip Archer to win his first Legends Tour event in the Winston Golf Senior Open in Germany.

Meet Phil Kenyon, the man behind Scottie Scheffler’s incredible putting turnaround 

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Scottie Scheffler was on his plane headed home to Dallas when he sent the text. 

Tired from a long season and disappointed with how it had finished, Scheffler was ready to get away, put the clubs down and unwind before the Ryder Cup later that month. Something gnawed at him, though. 

A few hours earlier, Scheffler had wrapped his 2022-23 PGA TOUR season on a low note at East Lake Golf Club, finishing a distant 11 shots behind FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland. Scheffler started the week 10-under, first on the Starting Strokes leaderboard, but finished at only 11-under, tied for sixth. He’d left too many tournaments with that feeling. He won twice, yes, but given that his ball-striking recalled peak Tiger Woods, it felt like Scheffler’s obvious weak spot – his putting – had kept him from having a historically great season. He needed reassurance that he was heading in the right direction, that he could get past this glaring inefficiency and to the victories that were on the other side. 

Phil Kenyon was as surprised as anyone to see the text come through. A renowned European putting coach, he is used to players reaching out to have him look at their putting, but Scheffler was never going to be one of them. For 27 years, the only coach he ever had was Randy Smith. Kenyon and Scheffler had only exchanged hellos a few times. They didn’t really know each other. But Scheffler knew Kenyon’s reputation, and he knew he had exhausted all his internal options. So Scheffler reached out, asking for help. 

Within three days, Kenyon was in Dallas working with Scheffler. By the time the Ryder Cup came around, Kenyon’s teachings were taking hold. A year later, the partnership between Scheffler and Kenyon looks like one of the most consequential in recent memory. Scheffler’s putting drastically improved under Kenyon’s tutelage. He went from one of the best players in the world to the unquestioned dominant force in golf, winning seven times in 2024, including THE PLAYERS Championship, the Masters and the Olympics. 

Kenyon is quick to deflect praise; the understated Englishman prefers to lurk in the background. His pupils feel differently, happy to see Kenyon’s spotlight grow, as it will at The Royal Montreal Golf Club this week. Four Kenyon clients – all Americans – are playing in the Presidents Cup. Along with Scheffler, Kenyon works with Max Homa, Keegan Bradley and Russell Henley. He has seven clients in the world’s top 40. 

Scottie Scheffler (right) smiles as he speaks to Byeong Hun An (left) and putting coach Phil Kenyon (middle) during practice for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort. (Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR)

“Phil’s brilliant,” said Homa, who made the U.S. team as a captain’s pick. “He's definitely the most knowledgeable person I've ever talked to about putting.”

“He’s a very unassuming character,” said Justin Rose, another Kenyon client. “He doesn’t look for the limelight, but I’m glad he’s got it.”

It was Scheffler’s year. Those that know the backstory, though, know it was also Kenyon’s. 

It’s Tuesday of the RBC Heritage, and Kenyon is the first man on the Harbour Town putting green. Less than 48 hours removed from Scheffler winning the Masters, the Texan isn’t in Hilton Head, South Carolina, yet. He won’t come until Wednesday, but Kenyon has plenty to do. 

Matt Fitzpatrick shows up shortly after 7 a.m. They have the putting green to themselves, working through issues that popped up on the weekend at the Masters, where Fitzpatrick shot 73-75 to finish T22. Kenyon watches as Fitzpatrick practices a series of 5-foot putts. Kenyon’s white Odyssey bucket hat obscures much of his face, and the effect of his white polo, white sunsleeves and white pants getup is to project Kenyon as a bit of a blank canvas. In a sense, that’s what he is.

After about 90 minutes of work, Fitzpatrick leaves for the range, Kenyon stays, and Rose arrives ready for a similar debrief. This repeats throughout the day, with one Kenyon client replacing another on the putting green. Each is scheduled for a specific time slot, which has become necessary as his client list has grown. Regularly on TOUR practice greens from sunup to sundown, he won’t leave Harbour Town till 6 p.m., when he wraps with Tommy Fleetwood. Plenty have met the criteria for the “busiest man in golf” title, and while Kenyon wouldn’t want the recognition, he’s certainly in contention for it. What’s drawn this long list of clients to him is a coaching style that defies categorization. 

There is no putting philosophy that Kenyon ascribes to. The game of golf is an art form, and putting is the most abstract of skills. There are three fundamentals – starting the ball on line, speed, and green reading – and there are many ways to master each. There is no "Phil Kenyon Putting Method" that could be taught in a textbook. Each player’s putting is a different puzzle Kenyon hopes to solve with different solutions; he believes coaching isn’t so much about what you know, but how you communicate it to others.

Scottie Scheffler on working on his golf game

“I've talked to people who say that when they have worked with Phil, it hasn't been technical at all,” Homa said. “I've talked to people that said maybe it was too technical, so he has a lot of range. I think that's important. And then once you as a player explain to him what you like, I feel like he has all of those, the capability to do any of it.”

How he works with Fitzpatrick is different than how he works with Fleetwood or Rose or Homa or Henley or Bradley or Scheffler. With Fitzpatrick, Kenyon is speaking in numbers. Fitzpatrick knows his statistical tendencies on every putt distance and break, and Kenyon helps craft drills to address the analytical Fitzpatrick’s deficiencies. At the same time, Fitzpatrick is not technical with the mechanics of his putting stroke. Once he knows the numbers, he’s using feels to prescribe an answer. Contrast that with Rose, whose technique is the bedrock of everything else he does on the greens. With Rose, Kenyon is hyper-focused on technique. By understanding the nuts and bolts, Rose can then narrow everything down to a simple playable feel. 

“Obviously you get guys who don’t know anything about putting, and they're just great putters because it can be an art form and it can be a science,” Rose said. “And I think that you can get lost in the middle where you are half creative, half science, and you don't quite know how to apply them together. And I feel like Phil's really helped me with that side of things.

“Sometimes the more you learn about putting, it doesn't necessarily make you a better putter. And with Phil’s help, I think I've begun to learn what really matters to me.”

Others, like Homa, utilize AimPoint as a central tenet to their putting philosophy. That’s in opposition to Scheffler, who has a very traditional green-reading style. 

When Kenyon and Scheffler linked up, the world No. 1 felt he was using his hands too much through the stroke, comparing it to a similar issue in college with his full swing, where his hands were too often underneath the club. It was manifesting in his putting stroke, causing too many heel strikes and pulls. Kenyon helped Scheffler clean up his technique, and with those feels engrained, pushed Scheffler to feel more athletic with his putting stroke. 

“I feel like I'm in a place with my putting where I can use my feel, my instincts to kind of turn off and just go there and try and hit putts and be OK with the result whether it goes in or doesn't,” Scheffler said last December at the Hero World Challenge.

Scheffler putted well that week, his first stroke-play event since connecting with Kenyon a few months earlier.  With a 20-under total, Scheffler won the tournament by three over Sepp Straka.

The result at the Hero was the first indication that Scheffler’s peers might have their hands full in 2024, and when he found the final puzzle piece – switching putters – it was the catalyst for one of the best seasons in the past quarter century. Scheffler tested “around a dozen” putters over a several-week stretch at the beginning of this year. Kenyon wanted to see what different alignment aids might help Scheffler’s setup. They ultimately landed on a TaylorMade Spider Tour X, a mallet-style putter, to replace his trusty blade. 

“He was using a line of the ball to help his alignment because of a certain bias that he would have,” Kenyon said. “When we tested that putter, he could aim it really, really well. The configuration of the club helped him and then getting rid of a line of ball helped even more. That was one of the things at the time that he needed to do. He’s so competitive sometimes he tries too hard and that change really helped him work on some aspects of his routine, which was more about freeing him up.”

Behind the scenes as putting coach Phil Kenyon (second from the left) speaks with PGATOUR.COM writer Paul Hodowanic (right) during the first round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club. (Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR)

Behind the scenes as putting coach Phil Kenyon (right) speaks with PGATOUR.COM writer Paul Hodowanic (front, second to the left) during the first round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club. (Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR)

Scheffler put the new putter in play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and won the event, along with three of his next four starts. Everything finally clicked; almost all of the close calls were turning into victories. Scheffler gained strokes on the greens this year, more than enough to compliment his elite ball-striking. His frustration has disappeared almost entirely; his lone deficiency has become an asset. 

“I think (Scottie’s) strength of mind is underestimated by many,” Kenyon said. “He's probably the most competitive person I've met.”

By the time Scheffler won the FedExCup in August with Kenyon firmly ensconced in his stable of coaches, the narrative of how the world No. 1 fixed his putting was clear.

Still, not many knew much about Kenyon himself.

Kenyon grew up in Southport, England, a seaside town north of Liverpool known for its golf. His home was minutes from the world-famous Royal Birkdale Golf Club, a staple in The Open Championship rota. In Southport, golf is part of everyday life, and it quickly became Kenyon’s obsession. Kenyon was mentored by Harold Swash, a friend of Kenyon’s father and a world-renowned putting coach known as “Britain’s Putting Doctor.” Swash worked with the likes of Nick Faldo, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood. 

“He helped me with my putting as soon as I could pick up a putter,” Kenyon said. 

Kenyon played at John Moore University in Liverpool, where he also received a master’s degree in sports science and psychology before turning pro in 2000. He spent five years on the European mini-tours, funding his career by coaching part-time with Swash. In 2005, Kenyon quit playing and joined Swash’s academy full-time. Nearly 20 years later, Kenyon runs the academy, which still bears his mentor’s namesake: Harold Swash Putting School of Excellence. Swash passed away in 2016 at age 83. 

In the early days of his coaching career, Kenyon was Swash’s “cameraman and dogsbody,” handling remedial tasks around the academy. Slowly, Kenyon took on some of Swash’s lesser-known clients, building up his own rapport and credibility. That’s when he began working with Fleetwood, who as a teenager had worked with Swash and became familiar with Kenyon as Swash’s assistant. Eventually, Swash would age out of full-time work, and more of his clients, like Fleetwood, would transition to Kenyon. 

“I've known Phil for so long, and because we’re so close sometimes you forget how world-renowned he is as a coach,” Fleetwood said. 

Kenyon’s big break came when Henrik Stenson brought him aboard. Stenson had already won THE PLAYERS Championship in 2009 when he took a chance on Kenyon a year later. He was a Swash client but was looking for someone more present on TOUR week-to-week as his putting and play fell off, Stenson dropping out of the top 200 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Within two years he was back in the winner’s circle and back in the top 10 of the OWGR. Kenyon was Stenson’s putting coach during his 2016 Open Championship victory. 

Kenyon’s never been more in demand than now. While he’s worked with the likes of Clarke, Westwood, Francesco Molinari and Rory McIlroy during their primes, his current clientele is as accomplished as it has been at any point in his career. Kenyon added Russell Henley as a client around the same time as Scheffler, with similar results. This year, Henley ranked 37th in Strokes Gained: Putting after four consecutive seasons outside the top 100. 

It is Scheffler’s incredible journey, though, that speaks loudest for the putting coach. 

Kenyon was with Scheffler in the run-up to the TOUR Championship at East Lake, but once Scheffler strode onto the first tee, Kenyon headed home to Europe. His work was done. 

Four days later, so was Scheffler’s. He stood on the 18th green Sunday night and received the Calamity Jane trophy, a replica of the famous Bobby Jones putter given to the winner of the TOUR Championship. Asked to hit a putt with Calamity Jane, Scheffler casually set up over a 30-footer and drained it. He smiled and walked off toward the parking lot.

Somewhere in England, a former cameraman and dogsbody was smiling.

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To Russia with Love: The story behind Russia’s first 18-hole course is stranger than fiction

Two decades in the making, Moscow Country Club, Russia’s first 18-hole golf course, debuted on the world stage 25 years ago this month. And the story of its creation — from Gorbachev and glasnost and swinging cops to grounded cosmonauts and mushrooms and vodka — is stranger than fiction.

The 1960s began with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev banging his shoe — definitely not a FootJoy — on a desk at the United Nations. A couple of years later came the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was as close to a nuclear holocaust as the world had come before or since. The Cold War continued in full freeze until the end of the decade, when U.S. President Richard Nixon, his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, and Khrushchev’s successor, Leonid Brezhnev, tried to thaw things out.

Détente between the Soviets and the U.S. took on many forms. Perhaps the most surprising was plans for an American-designed 18-hole golf course on the outskirts of Moscow, the first in all of the Soviet Union. By the time it was done, perestroika and glasnost had cleared the way for playing golf — and the Soviet Union had dissolved. Here, some of the key players on one of the unlikeliest golf course projects ever share their recollections.

1. The Tsars Align / Fall 1973

Robert Trent “Bobby” Jones Jr., celebrated course architect and son of legendary course designer Robert Trent Jones Sr.: [American business tycoon] Armand Hammer, who was chairman of Occidental Petroleum, had a longstanding relationship with the Soviet Union’s oligarchs. Having gone over there at the beginning of what was later called détente, with Secretary of State Kissinger’s delegation, Dr. Hammer made a statement that if the Soviets were going to open up their closed society to Western and Japanese business, they needed two things: a golf course and a Cadillac. I read that in the New York Times . So I called Occidental’s office and identified myself to a manager of some kind. I’m waiting on hold, and suddenly I heard, “Armand Hammer here.” I was actually speaking to the chairman!

I said, “Do you want to do a golf course, and can we help you?” He said, “Why should I take you?” I said, “Well, I’ve been to the Soviet Union. After I got out of Yale, I went on a tour.” He said, “That’s unique.” Then he said, “Shouldn’t we use Arnold Palmer?” I said, “My father’s much more famous about building golf courses. Arnold tends to play.” Dr. Hammer didn’t know much about golf. This was a Thursday. He said, “I can’t see you tomorrow — be here Monday morning.”

Meantime, he had a friend on the USGA Executive Committee named Bob Dwyer, who was a timber man. The Soviet Union had lots of timber, and he and Dr. Hammer were trying to harvest and sell Siberian timber together. Dwyer and my father met a few months later at a USGA meeting. He convinced my father, who was a little reluctant to go, that Dr. Hammer was very well connected in the USSR. The following June, we all flew in a private plane that Dr. Hammer had. Onboard was a Soviet in his military uniform, to make sure we didn’t deplane to do anything weird.

We met with the mayor of Moscow, Vladimir Promyslov, and the foreign minister in charge of properties, called UPDK, a man named Vladimir Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov had been posted as ambassador to Malaysia, where he learned to play golf and would play with the U.S. ambassador at the Royal Selangor Golf Club so they could have backchannels about the Vietnam War. He’d become hooked on golf. My dad and I went skinny-dipping in the Volga River after too much vodka. My dad didn’t drink much, and I drank too much that day. But over time we made friends with these people. We didn’t see it as a commercial opportunity. It was an adventure.

Over a five-year span, from 1974 to 1979, Jones Jr. and Sr. made several visits to Moscow to look at potential course sites.

Jones : Eventually, they chose the site, Nakhabino, about 45 minutes from Red Square, because it was in the woods and nobody would see what they were doing. They didn’t want anybody to know they were making a golf course. There was no golf in the Soviet Union. It was considered an English sport and symbolic of the enemy, meaning the English, who had invaded and held Murmansk during the revolution.

November 1979

Jones Jr. went with Kuznetsov to see the Olympic Stadium, where Moscow would be hosting the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Jones : I was walking with Mr. Kuznetsov, and it starts snowing. And because they had a SALT treaty that our Congress did not approve, I said, “How are things between our two countries?” He said, “They’re colder than these few snowflakes. And by December, they’ll be very cold.” I took that as a sort of metaphor. But what he was hinting at was the Soviets were about to enter Afghanistan.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, which led to a freeze in cultural and sports exchanges. The Moscow Country Club project was mothballed for another six years, during which time Jones Sr. left the project. Then Mikhail Gorbachev came to power.

Sam Nunn , U.S. Senator from Georgia : The first time I met Bobby was in the ’80s. I was a guest out at Cypress Point. A friend of mine from Rand Corporation introduced us. It rained about 14 inches that Saturday and Sunday, so we only managed to play maybe nine holes. But I got to know Bobby that weekend.

He travelled all over the world and was involved in a lot of countries where the East-West issues were front and center. That was what I spent a lot of time on, so we stayed in touch. He kept me informed on observations he’d make about various countries. The common denominator was golf, but he had a very keen interest in, and understanding of, many of the issues that we were dealing with politically in that era — the Soviet Union as well as with other countries, such as the Philippines when [President Ferdinand] Marcos’s leadership was coming under great assault by his own people.

There was a huge amount of tension — anything about the capitalist world was condemned in the Soviet Union, and golf would be right there at the top echelon of those types of symbolic issues. The chances of building a golf course in the land of the adversary, let alone the land where capitalism is damned, was very unlikely. Still, I took it seriously, because I felt the Soviet Union was going to have to change, if nothing else, for economic and investment purposes. And as I got to know Bobby, I came to realize that he doesn’t understand the word “impossible,” either in Russian or English.

Jones : George Shultz was a personal friend of mine, a member at San Francisco Golf Club, as I am. We played golf occasionally. When he became Secretary of State under Reagan, in 1982, he knew about the Moscow golf project and how it had been put on the back burner. In late 1986, he told me, “Bobby, get ready. That project may have some importance.”

January 1987

Jones is in Moscow, quietly negotiating terms of the golf course commission with the UPDK.

Jones : One night, I was walking by myself. There was no danger, walking the streets in Moscow, because crime was punished severely. But you couldn’t find good food.

Craig Copetas , a Moscow-based journalist : It was about 1:00 in the morning, and I had gone down to Old Arbat Street because I needed to look into the window of an antiques shop there for a story I was working on. No one was in Moscow at 1:00 a.m. in those days; it was completely vacant. There’s one of these Moscow mists in the air, kind of a frozen fog. And out of this mist, from around the corner, comes this guy wearing a baseball hat. He comes up to me and says, in English, “Do you know where I can get something to eat?” I said, “This is Moscow. Are you a tourist? Are you lost?” He says, “No, I’m here building a golf course.”

Now, old Moscow hand that I am, having heard every conceivable farfetched tale you could imagine, my jaw dropped. I looked at him and I said, “And I thought I was crazy.” I didn’t believe him. This made absolutely no sense. But I was intrigued. I said to him, “Well, I happen to know an illegal place down the street that stays open quite late where we can get some khachapuri — it’s like a Georgian pizza.” We went there and spent the whole morning talking, and he explained to me the project’s history. I was in complete awe.

June 1, 1988

A deal to create Moscow Country Club was announced at a summit meeting in Moscow, with a two-year contract between Jones’s firm and the Soviet foreign ministry (via a “techno-export company”).

Jones : Our plans had been approved by [Minister of Foreign Affairs Eduard] Shevardnadze, and George Shultz actually did the final [U.S.] approval of the project. Their contract was promptly agreed to, but ours was not. In the contract I submitted, I put a plan in it that had a legend: tee, fairways, greens and bunkers. The guy reviewing it in the Commerce Department was not a golfer. He said, “Oh, I had to send it to the Defense Department. You have a thing of known military significance — bunkers.” That held it up.

Blake Stafford , Jones’s business lawyer : We had to do some redesign of the irrigation system, because there was a computer control to regulate the irrigation heads. They also said, “What are these bunkers?” I said, “They’re depressions in the ground you create to catch errant golf balls.” They said, “It sounds like something from a battlement of some kind.” I said, “Nope, it’s not for fighting wars, it’s for fighting golfers.”

2. Coming to America / November 1988

Jones invited a small group of Russians — among them, Deputy Foreign Minister Ivan Ivanovich Sergeyev and assorted Soviet engineers and architects — for a two-week U.S. tour to learn more about golf. The itinerary included a visit to USGA headquarters in Far Hills, N.J., and course tours in and around Washington, D.C., Chicago and California’s Monterey Peninsula.

Jones : When the Russians had a party, they had a party . Once you broke the ice with them, they were very warm. In Moscow, they took my son Trent to the circus. They took my wife and me to the Bolshoi Ballet. We tried to return the same hospitality when they came to see us in the States.

Bill Pollak , a friend of Jones, and a lawyer and sports agent : The Russians came to Washington a week before Thanksgiving. I asked them how familiar they were with the traditions of Thanksgiving, and it was very little. They wouldn’t still be here for the holiday, so my wife and I did a complete Thanksgiving dinner for them a few days early. It was wonderfully colorful and joyful. They combined our Thanksgiving traditions with Russian traditions — singing and drinking and just thoroughly enjoying eating turkey and all the trimmings. I’ve never seen Thanksgiving with more drinking festivities.

Jones : All but one of them had never been out of the Soviet Union. They were amazed. When they went to Spanish Bay, which had just opened, they said, “My gosh, these rooms are so big. Shouldn’t we invite some homeless people?” And those little vodka bottles in the minibar, they were all consumed. I said, “Listen, don’t use those little ones. That’s expensive. I’ll get the big one.”

We went to a football game, Cal versus Stanford, big game. The Russians said, “Oh, we’re going to be for the [Cal] Bears, like the Moscow bear.” I said, “I’m a Stanford guy. You can’t be for the Bears.” “No, we’re going to be for the Bears.” Then one guy kept saying, “I don’t know anything about this game, but I really like those dancing girls” — the cheerleaders. It was a very big deal, in terms of détente, and cultural and sport exchange at the highest levels.

Stafford : There were a lot of really, really fun times, and the Russians we dealt with were completely enjoyable people with very similar senses of humor.

3. Breaking Ground / 1988-1993

The course building began in the winter of 1988; Jones invited Antti Peltoniemi, a Finnish golf course contractor he’d worked with previously, to join the project the following year, in part because he could import a needed bulldozer.

Antti Peltoniemi : When we first started construction, we had mainly Finnish and other experienced foreign workers building the log houses, the clubhouse and the golf course. There were 22 nationalities represented on the workforce, including somebody from Ecuador, who was the farthest away. I think it’s pretty much the same in every country where you haven’t had golf courses. The local workers or contractors think that they’re just moving dirt, then you seed it, and that’s the golf course. But throughout the years, we were able to train and teach those Russian nationals to build and eventually maintain the course. We started cooperating very well. They were willing to learn and are quite quick to learn if you explain what you are doing. By the end, we had only a couple of supervisors from Finland.

Copetas : I vividly remember one evening, long before the course was completed, we were in my car, along with two American golf-course shapers. For some reason, Bobby had all these golf clubs on the floor in the back seat, and there were more in the trunk. We’re driving, and two Russian cop cars stop us. What the shapers knew about Russia is from, like, hiding under desks. They’re scared to death. They think they’re going to prison. They’re cursing, they’re yelling, they want to go to the Embassy. I’m trying to calm them down. Bobby, in his inimitable way, gets out of the car and starts talking to four Russian police officers in English, thinking they’re going to understand him. They’re looking at him like, “Who is this guy in the baseball hat?” One of the cops shines his flashlight in the car, and he sees these golf clubs. Of course, he’s never seen a golf club before in his life. They take these things out, they’re looking at them, they don’t know what the hell they are. And Bobby proceeds to give one of the cops a lesson in how to swing a golf club, in the middle of the night in Moscow.

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Peltoniemi : Because Star Wars [the Strategic Defense Initiative program] kind of ended during the Reagan time, one of the superintendents on the golf course was a cosmonaut. He was a guy who was supposed to go to space, but then because the program fell away, he came to work on the golf course. We trained him in Finland, and Bobby trained him in the United States. So that was interesting.

Jones : When we were clearing the forest, we came upon, literally, a bunker that you could see had been shoveled out, and the trees had grown up around it. I asked, “What’s this feature?” They said, “Oh, that’s where we stopped the Nazis, right there,” as they were marching toward Moscow. We left it as a symbol of turning swords into plowshares.

Challenging weather and financial problems posed significant hurdles, but it was political unrest that nearly did the project in.

Jones : We had nine holes that were just grown in when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 — and then nobody came to work, nobody. Antti got his Finnish guys, and I got one of our guys, and we maintained the course for them for about a year for nothing, just to keep it alive. We always felt that if the course ever stopped, the new manager would let it go back to nature.

Copetas : Bobby saw it as his patriotic duty to bring Nakhabino to completion. And he had a lot of friends in Russia, too. Because of this, he showed a patience that very few others ever did when dealing with the Russians… When Bobby came to Moscow — and I saw him on just about every trip — the officials at UPDK, who were dyed-in-the-wool Soviet apparatchiks, treated Bobby with a courtesy and respect and curiosity that I can honestly say I never saw with any other American there doing business.

Peltoniemi : Before you start seeding, there are small rocks or stones on the ground. You have to pick them up, so that when you start mowing and are cutting the grass the blades won’t get ruined. At the end of finishing the course, our boss, the site manager, went to talk with the colonel at a military base close by. About 100 Russian soldiers came over and walked each hole in a line, picking up all the small stones.

4. Open For Business / September 1993

A nine-hole tournament takes place in 1993. It’s exclusively for Russians, to ensure that the first champion is a native.

Copetas : The one thing that the Russians demanded from day one was that once the club opened, they wanted a Russian golf pro, of which there were none. So the Russians did some kind of hunt through the sports academy to find anyone who had any knowledge of golf whatsoever, and they found this kid and made him the golf pro. I asked him, “How did you get involved in golf in Russia, where there’s no golf?” He said that prior to the club opening, he had been on an exchange program in Florida. One morning, he woke up very early and decided to take a walk. He wanders into this beautiful park area. All of a sudden, he hears voices screaming at him very loudly. And he doesn’t understand English that well. He looks up in the air and sees this white sphere coming at him that hits him in the head and knocks him out. He took that as a sign from God that he should learn about golf. And thus was born the first Russian golf pro.

The inaugural Russian Open championship, a 54-hole event, takes place in September 1994. It features a mix of accomplished players and not-so-accomplished players.

Jones : Speeches were made. The local mayor, who knows nothing, gave a long-winded speech. Then Michael Bonallack, who had come from the R&A to help open the course, was invited to speak. He got up and said, “On behalf of the Royal and Ancient Golf Society that was founded in St. Andrews in 1754, we welcome all of the people of Russia to our sport,” and sat down. That’s it. I thought that was perfect. Then Deputy Foreign Minister Sergeyev got up and said, “Comrades, I am the trained engineer responsible for the public health of our country. Because of perestroika and glasnost, I can now speak openly. Our entire country is an environmental cesspool. But here, at Nakhabino, there is one garden growing. There is hope,” and sat down. Best speeches I ever heard.

Peltoniemi : My brother Mikko, whose handicap at that time was 20, was playing in the third flight. He ended up making a hole-in-one on the 16th hole. Flew a 5-iron straight into the hole. There were three Russian TV stations there because it was the first Russian Open, and they were interviewing him because his hole-in-one was the most fascinating stroke of the tournament. They asked my brother, “Have you been playing on the American tour?” He said, “Yes, twice” — because he had been with me in Florida, where we played together two times. They asked, “How did you do?” He said, “I won once,” because he beat me one of the two times. They think he is a winner on the PGA Tour! It was a very young golfing culture at that time.

We had a huge celebration in the evening, and everybody wanted to toast vodka with Mikko. He was carried to the hotel because he got so drunk. The next day, he was playing in another early flight, because his 102 was not that good a score. When he came to the same hole, No. 16, there was one TV crew that came to see. And he hit it to about two inches from the hole! The TV crew said, “You did quite well there.” My brother, fooling around a bit, said, “Well, the wind was kind of circulating, so it was hard to shoot.”

At the end of the day, after the tournament, they had a summary about the tournament on TV. They said, “Best score was by the American Steve Schroeder…but clearly the most astonishing and the most remarkable player was Mikko Peltoniemi, because now, another day, he almost made hole-in-one again, and nobody else got even close to the hole.”

Steve Schroeder , chief business officer, Robert Trent Jones II Design (currently CEO of Poppy Hills) : I’d played in two U.S. Opens, but I hadn’t played any serious competitive golf since my last Open in 1990. At Nakhabino, I had a good second round, something in the 60s, and I want to say I won by 4 or 5. The night before the last round, we experienced a major rain and played the golf course in conditions that I would describe as being along the lines of the San Francisco City Golf Championship — which is, it doesn’t matter how hard it rains or how wet it gets, you’re going to play on. We played that last nine holes in this downpour, and I’ll never forget, there’s a picture of the R&A’s Mike Bonallack hitting a bunker shot with his bucket hat on and his tongue hanging out. You just see water and sand going everywhere.

Jones : On one of the holes, there was a group of people picking mushrooms in the rough. Bonallack had to make a local rule on the spot that if your ball gets picked up by one of the mushroom hunters, you can drop without penalty.

The European PGA Tour granted the Russian Open winner a spot in the Sarazen World Open field for two years.

Schroeder : That was a really cool acknowledgement of the magnitude of the event, which subsequently became part of the European Challenge Tour. It was the lift in the wings for Russia being acknowledged in international golf. For me, I actually made the cut my second year in the World Open and got to play in a twosome with Fuzzy Zoeller on Saturday.

Jones : We got a golf club that was given to us by a metallurgist who had worked in the Soviet missile program. He had taken the titanium from an ICBM and replicated a Big Bertha and gave it to me. I later gave it to President Clinton. He asked me, “Bob, are you sure it’s not radioactive?” And I said, “I have no idea.”

5. Postscript

Nunn : I did go to the club once. It wasn’t during the early stages, and Bobby wasn’t there. I just had a chance to put my feet on the ground for maybe a half-hour. My thoughts were that things really are changing, because in previous eras in the Soviet Union, anyone sponsoring such a project would be in jeopardy not just of their work, but of paying a long-term visit to Siberia.

Jones : Doing Moscow Country Club enriched my life enormously. Was it a challenge? It challenged every aspect of my essence as a human being. You had to call a lot of audibles. You knew what the goal was, but how you got there was completely new.

I’ve been back a few times. In 2008, they invited Antti and me to come back. They planted a tree in honor of my father, who’d passed on, for his memory, and one in my name, honoring the family together. And they gave me a medal from the charitable organization for humanitarian service and the foreign ministry. It’s beautiful, emblazoned with a starburst and what looks like diamonds on it. I said to my host, “Is this real gold and diamonds?” He said, “How can you ask? Of course, of course.” Of course, it isn’t.

Still, it’s a big deal to them and to me, too. It’s like, “You’re helping the Russian people in some fashion.” It’s like a trophy of friendship. It’s on my mantle, and it’s very special.

The Moscow CC Today

The semiprivate club currently has more than 400 members. More than 14,000 rounds were played on the course in ’18. The club hosts a nine-hole members’ winter tournament using red balls. The 2018 VTB Russian Open (Senior) Golf Championship on the Staysure Tour (formerly the European Senior Tour) was contested on the course. It was the only international pro tournament in Russia last year. Stay-and-play packages are available, starting at 12,000 Russian rubles per person, which includes accommodation at a 5-star hotel. Go to mccgolf.ru and mcc-hotel.ru for more information.

02 - 05 Oct 2024

D+D Real Czech Challenge

Royal Beroun Golf Club, Beroun, Czech Republic

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