Callaway Staff player Alex Noren has been in fantastic form of late and this week secured his third European Tour victory since the start of summer at the British Masters.

The Swede started the rain-delayed final day with a three-shot lead and made the perfect start with birdies at his opening two holes. At this stage things looked like a mere formality until a little wobble around the turn – bogeys at the 8th and 11th holes – saw Noren’s lead reduced to a solitary stroke. With just four holes to go, Noren showed his class with two birdies over the closing stretch to win by two from Bernd Wiesberger in second place.

The win propels Noren inside the top 20 of the world golf rankings for the first time in his career; not bad for someone who ended the 2014 season down at 653rd!

What equipment did Noren use?

• Driver – Callaway XR 16 (8.5 degrees)
• Fairway wood – Callaway XR (3-wood)
• Hybrid – Callaway Apex (18 degrees)
• Irons – Callaway Apex Pro 16 (4-9)
• Wedges – Callaway Mack Daddy 2 (47, 52, 56 & 60)
• Putter – Odyssey Works

Across the other side of the pond all eyes were fixed on the Safeway Open. Tiger Woods’ imminent return to the game was pencilled in for last week’s PGA Tour event, but a late withdrawal by the former world number one left many wondering if he will ever return to his formidable best.

Whilst reflecting, think back to last year’s Safeway Open when wire-to-wire leader Brendan Steele fell apart down the closing stretch. It’s not often that you get the chance to make up for what went before, but the American birdied his final three holes en-route to a seven-under-par 65 in California. This left Steele one clear of overnight leader Patton Kizzire and gave him his second PGA Tour victory of his career.

What equipment did Steele use?

• Driver – TaylorMade M2 (9.5 degrees)
• Fairway wood – TaylorMade M2 (15 & 21 degrees)
• Irons – Wilson FG Tour 100 (4-PW)
• Wedges – Wilson FG Tour (50 degrees); Titleist Vokey SM5 (58 & 60)
• Putter – Scotty Cameron Futura

The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is an event like no other. It’s a week where a little bit of fun is injected into the European Tour as each pro is partnered with a celebrity in a team event, which runs alongside the pros individual.

In the latter, it was a man who made a late charge for a wildcard spot in the European’s Ryder Cup team that stole the show. Englishman Tyrrell Hatton equalled the course record at St Andrews on Saturday (62) before closing with a 66 to finish four ahead of the chasing pack. Hatton’s 23-under-par matched the tournament record whilst propelling the 24-year-old into the world’s top 50 for the first time following his maiden victory on the European Tour.

In the team event, it was two men at the centre of much of the Ryder Cup controversy who came out on top. Danny Willett and ‘Smartie’ (Jonathan Smart – Willett’s full-time caddy) finished the four-day event on 38-under-par following their final-day 60, snatching the title by one shot from their closest competitors.

It didn't disappoint

Apart from the comfortable 17-11 score line in the Americans' favour, the 2016 Ryder Cup didn't disappoint. From the USA's Friday morning whitewash to McIlroy and Reed's enthralling ding-dong encounter on Sunday, we were treated throughout the three days.

"I've never seen golf of this quality before"

"We are watching golf you can only dream about"

These were just a couple of plaudits from the commentators during Sunday's play, one of which was from Ryder Cup veteran and 2014 Captain Paul McGinley. The level of golf really was that good. Take Garcia and Mickelson's titanic battle for example; they were a combined 14-under-par for their round - that's a scintillating 58.

Pressure? What pressure?

In what can only be described as a cauldron of emotions, the atmosphere was on the edge all week. Fist-pumps, heckling and shushing aside, the players' ability to produce their best golf in that situation was amazing and is something we can all learn from. Let’s look at Thomas Pieters for example. He was Darren Clarke’s final wildcard pick and really showed he is at home on the big stage, claiming four out of five points to be the highest points scorer across both teams.

It’s hard to argue that the Americans didn’t deserve this one, besides our dominance has got a little boring over the last eight events! With six ‘rookies’ in the European Team at Hazeltine, this transition can only bode well come two years’ time in Paris.

This week’s Ryder Cup is one of the most eagerly-anticipated match-ups of all time. Nine of the top 12 golfers in the Official World Golf Rankings descend upon Hazeltine National to do battle over three hotly-contested days.

We’ve known the DNA of the European Team for quite a few weeks now, as Captain Clarke opted for Westwood, Kaymer and Pieters as his wildcard selections. It’s certainly a combination of experience (McIlroy, Stenson, Garcia and Westwood) and youthful exuberance (Willett, Pieters, Sullivan and Fitzpatrick) as six players make their Ryder Cup debuts this time round. We’re not going to use the term ‘rookie’ here as players like Willett – who is one of those making his first bow – have tonnes of tour-level experience and in Willett’s case, is a Major champion!

On the other hand, the American Team contains only two newbies as Captain Davis Love III has assembled the ’best team ever’ in his own words – and that was before his fourth and final wildcard pick was announced! Love III had already chosen Kuchar, Holmes and Fowler as three of his four wildcard picks before last week’s FedEx Cup finale, with Ryan Moore’s play-off defeat to McIlroy enough to see him make the team over the likes of two-time Masters Champion Bubba Watson. Having not missed a cut since mid-May, can anyone really question Moore’s inclusion in the US Team?

So, the teams are in, but who will come out on top? USA will be keen to exact revenge on their European counterparts, having lost six of the last seven Ryder Cups and eight of the past 10. In all honesty, the United States’ line-up is superior. They have home advantage. More players based on the PGA Tour. They’ve been humiliated at Gleneagles and suffered the Miracle of Medinah last time the event was played in the States. Many people expect them to triumph.

However, given that Love III is claiming this is the best team ever assembled, the pressure will be heaped upon the Americans’ shoulders. And should they lose, well, the criticism they will face will be painful. The Europeans will be happy to be underdogs this time round, but it’s not going to be a one-sided demolition – that’s for certain.
Let the battle commence.

When the stakes are at their biggest and tension is high, it takes a special type of character to stay calm and produce their best golf. So when there’s a cool $10 million bonus up for grabs, this is the exact situation that many of the world’s best encountered this week at the TOUR Championship.

Home favourite Dustin Johnson was in the lead after 54 holes, with both the tournament and the FedEx Cup in his control. Europe’s best hope was Rory McIlroy and the equation for him to secure the jackpot was quite simple – win the tournament with Johnson finishing in T2 or worse.

So onto the final round and no-one saw what happened coming. Big-hitting Johnson had been a model of consistency in recent weeks so many thought it was a mere formality that the American would waltz to victory. However, a worst-of-the-day 73 saw him plummet down the leaderboard, blowing the TOUR Championship and FedEx Cup wide open again.

McIlroy, starting the final round just two shots off the lead, carded a magnificent six-under-par 64 to join Moore and Chappell in a three-way play-off. Being three behind the leaders with three holes left to play, things weren’t looking great for the Northern Irishman. Rory found himself on the left-hand side of the 16th fairway off the tee. 137 yards was the number, an eagle two was the result. A truly magnificent feat when it was needed the most. He then went on to follow this up with a birdie at the 72nd hole to join the two Americans at the top of the leaderboard.

An eagle lip-out at the first extra hole for McIlroy secured an easy birdie, but it wasn’t until the fourth extra hole when McIlroy rolled in a 15-footer to take golf’s biggest (monetary) prize. Perfect timing to find some form ahead of this week’s Ryder Cup.

What equipment did Rory use?

• Driver – Nike Vapor Fly Pro (9.5 degrees)
• Fairway woods – Nike Vapor Speed (15 & 19 degrees)
• Irons – Nike VR Pro Blade (4-9)
• Wedges – Nike Engage (47, 52, 56 & 59)
• Putter – Scotty Cameron

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

Few golfers have had a better 2016 than Dustin Johnson. The big-hitting American is finally realising his potential as he sits second in the world ranking and now - thanks to his victory in the BMW Championship last week - leads the way in the FedExCup standings.

The reigning US Open champion carded six birdies and a brilliant eagle in his final round to secure his third trophy of 2016 at Crooked Stick. The overnight leader didn’t have it all his own way though, as Englishman Paul Casey drew level after three holes thanks to back-to-back birdies. However this seemed to kick the America into gear with four more birdies before the turn – putting him in a position where he was never going to look back.

In the end it was a comfortable three-shot win, leaving ‘DJ’ at the top of the FedExCup rankings with just one event left to play. We know one thing for sure – We wouldn’t want to face him come the Ryder Cup at the end of the month.

What equipment did DJ use?

• Driver – TaylorMade M1 (11 degrees)
• Fairway wood – TaylorMade M1 (17 degrees); TaylorMade M1 (19 degrees)
• Irons – TaylorMade Tour Preferred (3-PW)
• Wedges – TaylorMade Tour Preferred EF (52 & 60)
• Putter – TaylorMade Spider

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

With just one month to go until this year's Ryder Cup, the team is now confirmed. European captain Darren Clarke named his three Ryder Cup picks on Tuesday afternoon:

Martin Kaymer

Lee Westwood

Thomas Pieters

I suppose we could have picked Lee Westwood based on his past experiences and his performance in the majors this year. A T2 finish at Augusta was followed by T32 in the U.S. Open and T22 in The Open – not bad for a guy in his twilight years on tour.

Could Clarke have done anything but pick Thomas Pieters after he requested to play with him in last week's Made in Denmark event; only for Pieters to shoot a first round 8-under-par before going on to win the tournament? This came on the back of his 4th place finish at the Rio Olympic Games. Talk about form.

Martin Kaymer's selection, however, could be seen as the debatable one. However if you recall, he did hole the winning putt in 2012 and has valuable experience to offer. One man that may feel slightly aggrieved at missing out is Scotland’s Russell Knox. The PGA Tour based golfer is sitting at 20th in the world rankings (only 5 of the European Team are ranked better) having had several top 10 finishes this season. With his win in this month’s Travelers Championship mixed with his knowledge of American golf courses, you can’t help but feel a little sorry for Knox.

In the end it’s a mix of youth and experience for the Europeans with six rookies on the European side. How will Love III go about choosing his four Captain’s Picks? He has a wealth of talent to choose from, with the likes of Watson, Fowler, Kuchar and Furyk currently sitting outside the automatic spots – not bad when you already have Dustin, Spieth and Mickelson in the team!

Regardless of who makes the final cut, let's hope we can look forward to some more great golf just as we saw at Medinah Country Club in 2012 when it was last in America.

PING need no introduction when it comes to golf equipment; they are at the top of the game. Having built up a strong reputation thanks to the performance of their clubs through the years, expectation is rife whenever they release a new product.
In this blog post, Foremost Golf looks at the different options within PING’s current iron range, from the GMax to the exciting new iBlade.

GMax - PING has pushed the boat out in terms of the technologies featured in its GMAX irons. They're longer, more forgiving and they offer greater control than any clubs PING has previously produced. They also look great and sit beautifully behind the ball. That's quite a package.

G – COR-Eye technology provides four times the amount of face flexing for consistently faster ball speeds across a hotter face. A gain in ball speed and shot height generates more carry distance and a steeper landing angle.

i – Better players will love the performance of PING’s i iron. Using 431 stainless steel for the first time, PING’s engineers were able to create a head design that deliver workability and trajectory control with the right amount of forgiveness.

iBlade - If you’re a confident ball striker, you should seriously consider the iBlade irons. They boast more distance, forgiveness and feel over the S55 irons they replace.

There really is a model for every level of golfer in PING’s iron range, no matter what you’re after.