The Turkish Airlines Open was a mere formality with one round left to play as Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen opened up a seven-shot lead thanks to some sublime golf over the first three days.

However it was a slow start to Sunday for the 26-year-old: level-par through 11 holes saw his lead reduced to just the solitary shot as England’s David Horsey found himself six-under after 12 and hot on Olesen’s heels. It’s at times such as these when you find out what a person is made of; and three birdies in the following four holes all but secured the Turkish Airlines Open for the talented Dane – even allowing him to drop a shot on the closing straight.

Having made just three of his last 12 cuts, this triumph was a welcome relief for Thorbjørn Olesen and means it is his third consecutive season with victory on the European Tour.

What equipment did Olesen use?

Driver: TaylorMade M1, Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XT 70 TX

Fairway Woods: TaylorMade M2, Tour AD 8X Black

Irons: TaylorMade PSi Tour, Project X 6.5 shafts

Wedges: TaylorMade TP EF, Project X 6.5 shafts

What do the world’s top three golfers have in common?

Well apart from the obvious - that they're all professional golfers at the very top of the game - there’s a couple of things:

1. Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy are all immensely powerful golfers and hit it an absolute mile
2. They all have the TaylorMade M2 driver and metals in their bag

We’re sure you’re aware that Nike Golf will stop producing hardware and balls from 2017, focusing on apparel and footwear instead. Well this has left all of their contracted players with a tough choice - ‘which clubs do I play next?’

Arguably this biggest Nike Staffer is the mega-talented Northern Irishman (McIlroy) so it was always going to be interesting to see which direction he went in. It hasn't taken him long to decide as in this week’s WGC-HSBC Champions event in China - his first since the Ryder Cup - Rory has put the TaylorMade M2 driver and 3-wood straight into play at the top end of his bag.

Why did McIlroy choose the M2?

Well it probably isn't to do with the dual coloured crown on the head, although it does help significantly with alignment and it's also vitally important that you are confident over the club at address.

The M2 is such an easy club to hit with boosted forgiveness meaning that no matter where you hit the ball on the club face, you know you won't be too far from your Sunday best. This is equally as important for the world’s elite as it is to the average club golfer as even these guys - believe it or not - have bad days where their ball striking isn't 100%.

But the most important factor for many is distance and this will be one of the key reasons why McIlroy opted for TaylorMade’s most trusted. The thin club face is just within legal limits and, together with the redesigned Speed Pocket, produces faster ball speeds and more powerful shots than all previous models. Take a look at McIlroy’s stats this week, we can guarantee you that he won't be sacrificing in distance off the tee.

So back to the first point we made in this blog post about what Day, Johnson and Rory all have in common: they hit it a mile with the TaylorMade M2 range.

Coincidence? Probably not.

Click on this link and learn more about the TaylorMade M2 range - you won't be disappointed.

Click below to watch our overview: 

History was made on the European Tour last week as Francesco Molinari became the first home player to win the Italian Open on two occasions. The Italian fired a closing 65 to beat Ryder Cup star Danny Willett by one in a tense final-day battle.

Molinari – a former Ryder Cup player himself – couldn’t have asked for a better start; an eagle-3 on the first followed by a birdie at the second opened up a quick two-shot advantage over the Englishman. Standing on the 13th tee, Molinari was four ahead and looked destined for victory. We all know how quickly things can change in the game of golf, and it only took two holes for Willett to close the gap to one with four holes to play. Despite some nervy moments from both players over the closing stretch, they both parred the remaining four holes to see Molinari pick up his fourth European Tour victory.

It was a good week for some of Europe’s other Ryder Cup jewels too, as Cabrera-Bello finished T12, Fitzpatrick ended the week in T15, whilst Kaymer, Sullivan and Wood all finished in T20. Finding form at just the right time? Let’s hope so!

What equipment did Molinari use?

• Driver – Nike Vapor Fly (10.5 degrees)
• Fairway wood – Nike Vapor Fly (13 degrees)
• Hybrid – Nike Vapor Fly (17 degrees)
• Irons – Nike Vapor Pro Combo (4 iron); Nike Vapor Pro (5-PW)
• Wedges – Nike Engage (52, 56 & 60)
• Putter – Nike Method

In what was the first event on the European Tour since Darren Clarke finalised his Ryder Cup Team last week, spectators and media alike were wondering how Europe’s elite would fare at the Omega European Masters.

Top 12 finishes for Westwood, Fitzpatrick and Willett provided fans with some extra hope heading into next month’s biannual battle with the Americans – we’ll forget the slight blips (missed cuts) for Sullivan and captain Clarke on this occasion.

However it was Sweden’s Alex Noren and Australia’s Scott Hend who snatched the limelight come Sunday afternoon; an extra play-off hole needed to separate the two. Hend went into the final round with a one-shot lead but found himself two behind the Swede with four holes left to play. A birdie at 15 followed by a three-putt bogey for Noren on 17 forced a play-off at Crans-sue-Sierre.

A well-timed birdie for Noren at the first play-off hole secured his second impressive victory of the summer, following his triumph at the Scottish Open in July.

What equipment did Noren use?

• Driver – Callaway XR 16 (8.5 degrees)
• Fairway wood – Callaway XR (15 degrees)
• Hybrid – Callaway Apex hybrid (18 degrees)
• Irons – Callaway Apex Pro (4-9)
• Wedges – Callaway Mack Daddy 2 (47, 52, 56 & 60)
• Putter – Odyssey Works

The European Tour crossed borders last week as the Shenzhen International took place in China. For the second week in a row there was a newbie on the winner’s podium as TaylorMade Soomin Lee claimed his maiden European Tour title, propelling himself into the top 10 of the Race to Dubai standings. 22-year-old Lee has had a brilliant start to his golfing career to date with two top three finishes in his first five outings. Moving on to his sixth event, Lee was tied for the lead with five holes left to play in his final round before play was suspended for the day due to electrical storms. In his situation, given his final-straight meltdown earlier on in the season, Lee would have been forgiven for letting his nerves get the better of him yet again, however this was far from the case. Resuming on Monday morning after yet another weather delay, Lee followed a birdie on 16 with a magical eagle on 17 on his way to a two-shot, wire-to-wire victory.

What equipment did he use?

• Driver – TaylorMade M1 430 (9.5)
• 3-wood – TaylorMade M2 (15)
• Irons – Srixon Z 945

The PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open looked destined for a playoff this week as Patrick Reed birdied the 72nd hole, leaving playing partner Charley Hoffman a 9-foot putt for the win on the par-5 18th. This was far from straight-forward for Hoffman seeing as he had been within touching distance of numerous victories in previous months, only to trip up over the final hurdle on each occasion. However this was his time: a solid stroke and a pure connection saw the ball travel towards the hole, not leaving the centre of the cup the whole way. A Tiger Woods-esque fist pump followed as Hoffman held his nerve to win his fourth PGA Tour title, one ahead of American compatriot Patrick Reed.

What equipment did he use?

• Driver – Titleist 915D4 (9.5)
• 3-wood – Titleist 915F (13.5)
• Hybrid – Titleist 915Hd (17.5)
• Irons – Titleist 716 T-MB (3, 5-9)
• Wedges – Vokey SM5 wedges (46, 50, 56 & 58)
• Putter – Scotty Cameron GoLo 5 prototype
• Ball – Titleist Pro V1

To see the options we have available on our golf shop, head to https://www.foremostgolf.com/. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to give us a call on +44 (0) 800 500 3194.

Travelers Championship

Russell Knox boosted his credentials for a place in the European Ryder Cup team after securing his second win of the season at the Travelers Championship in America. Having started the day three back from the overnight leader, the Scot carded his fourth sub-70 round of the week - including a clutch par-save from the greenside bunker at 18 – to win by one from American Jerry Kelly.

It’s not often that the main talking point from a Sunday has nothing to do with the winner, but Jim Furyk’s final-round exploits rather overshadowed Knox’s success. Starting the final round at one-over-par, Furyk went on to make 10 birdies and an eagle for a sensational 12-under-par 58. The 46-year-old American is the first player to achieve such a feat on the PGA Tour.

With the Ryder Cup taking place on American soil next month, both Furyk and Knox are looking like they’ll be dependent upon a captain’s pick to make their respective teams. As far as the European team goes, Knox could prove pivotal to the team’s chances having been based on the PGA Tour in recent years and winning twice this season. Watch this space.

What equipment did Knox use?

• Driver – TaylorMade M2 (10.5 loft)
• Fairway wood – Callaway Big Bertha (16 loft); Cleveland Launcher (19 degrees)
• Hybrid – Cleveland Launcher (20.5); Cleveland Mashie (23)
• Irons – Srixon Z-545 (5-iron); Srixon Z-745 (6-9)
• Wedges – Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 (54 & 60)
• Putter – SeeMore

Aberdeen Asset Management Paul Lawrie Matchplay

To win one European Tour event is a dream to many, and the reality is that most golfers won’t even achieve that. But back in 2000 when Anthony Wall won his first event at the tender age of 24, many assumed he’d go on to win several more. Well, roll on 16 years and the Englishman has just clinched his second title at the 2016 Aberdeen Asset Management Paul Lawrie Matchplay event.

After driving into the trees at the first during the final, Wall subsequently found himself two down through the first two holes. But the 41-year-old battled hard to overcome the favourite, Noren, on the final green of this taxing tournament. On what must be a welcome break for many players, matchplay golf always throws up a few surprises and not many would have predicted Wall to get to the latter stages, let alone go on to win the event.

But the Wilson Staff ambassador mixed 29 birdies with two eagles over an enthralling week to capture his second European Tour victory.