When I was 14 years old I spent my Sundays kicking a football around the park and doing last-minute homework for school on Monday morning (admittedly far more of the prior than the latter). My parents always said I should be doing something more productive with my time, but what can a 14-year-old kid really do that's so productive? Well... apparently they can win professional golf tournaments!

Attaya Thitikul was just 14 years, 4 months and 19 days old when she won the Ladies European Thailand Championship in her homeland. The amateur Thai teenager became the youngest ever winner of a professional golf tournament yesterday (9th July 2017) when she claimed a two-shot victory over Mexico's Ana Menendez. Thitikul's score of -5 raised plenty of eyebrows as she arrived, through her own admission, with the intention of learning from the best rather than targeting the top prize. The Thai teen claimed she "didn't expect to win" and only competed to "learn techniques from the pro players".

Whilst you would forgive the young golfer for getting a little carried away, her grounded nature shone through as she discussed her plans to delay turning professional in order to gain more experience before taking the leap.

Due to her amateur status, Thitikul was not eligible for the 45,000 euros prize money (which went to runner-up Ana Menenez instead), although I'm sure she won't struggle to attract sponsors by the time she does decide to turn professional

It's easy to slap labels like 'promising', 'up-and-coming' or 'future star' on a young golfer showing signs of great potential, but a 14-year-old winning a professional European golf tournament exceeds any praising platitude or banal superlative we can throw her way.

Flash in the pan or future superstar? Who knows? Who cares? This is a historic moment for golf and one that Atthaya Thitikul can treasure for the rest of her life.

Congratulations, Atthaya Thitikul!

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

In case you missed it, Jordan Spieth produced one of the most incredible winning shots that you will ever see in a golf tournament at the 2017 Travelers Championship in Connecticut. The TPC River Highlands golf course witnessed history- something we have come to expect from Jordan Spieth- as he chipped in from the bunker on the 19th in a shot that can only be compared to... well, Jordan Spieth. A score of 12-under took the young American into a playoff with Daniel Berger, where he would scalp a wire-to-wire victory in the most astonishing fashion. Conjuring up memories of his famous bunker shot that forced a playoff in the 2013 John Deere Classic, Spieth outclassed his fellow American in this year's Travelers Championship playoff. His masterful shot at the John Deere Classic propelled him to the world stage as he went on to become the first teenager in over 80 years to win a PGA Tour event. Spieth became only the second golfer ever to claim 10 PGA Tour victories before the age of 24 with this win; drawing comparisons to the great Tiger Woods, who achieved this feat only four months younger than Spieth (currently 23 years and 10 months), that we had previously believed unthinkable.

If you thought that this would be a fairly routine golf tournament, you were seriously mistaken (there will be a lot of 'seriously mistaken' golf fans following Sunday's finale). A strong field featured the likes of Americans Daniel Berger and Charley Hoffman, who finished 2 and T3 respectively, high-flying Englishman Paul Casey and TaylorMade's new superstar, Rory McIlroy. Despite the impressive finishes of the aforementioned Americans, it was Rory McIlroy that made headlines as usual. The Rory McIlroy-TaylorMade putters saga continued as the Northern Irishman made a mid-tournament putter change, sacrificing his TaylorMade Spider Tour putter for TaylorMade TP Mullen putter. The change appeared to work as his putting improved, although it wasn't enough to haul himself any higher than T17 on the leaderboard.

With The Open Championship less than a month away, this victory gives Jordan Spieth a huge confidence boost to help improve his form in 2017 majors. Oh, and a cool $1.2 million in his pocket.

Jordan Spieth- What's in the Bag?

Driver: Titleist 915 D2

Fairway Wood: Titleist 915F

Hybrid: Titleist 816 H2

Irons: Titleist 716 T-MB

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM6

Putter: Scotty Cameron 009 Prototype (with SuperStroke grip)

Golf ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

It's the most exciting electric golf trolley ever. It's revolutionising the golf trolley market. It's available at Foremost Golf before anywhere else!

Golf Monthly have labelled it Motocaddy's 'most technologically advanced electric trolley ever', whilst GolfALot have praised the 'innovative' technology and 'exclusive', 'super-fast' engineering. It's the Motocaddy S5 CONNECT Electric Golf Trolley. 

The Motocaddy S5 CONNECT is the first ever golf trolley to combine an intelligent GPS system with a smartphone app. From distance to the next green to Facebook notifications, Motocaddy have got it all in one place. The electric golf trolley uses Bluetooth to sync with Motocaddy's smartphone app and transform the electric golf trolley's digital display into an accurate GPS system featuring front, middle and back green distances, overhead maps for 36,000 courses, par for each hole, a clock and a timer. However, Motocaddy didn't stop there. Taking it to uncharted territory, Motocaddy have also included alerts for phone calls, texts, emails and various applications including Facebook and Whatsapp. But don't worry, the cutting-edge electric golf trolley also features a USB charging port so you can stay connected from the first tee to the last green.

Whilst Motocaddy have appropriately called this the 'next generation of electric trolleys', the golf trolley pioneers have maintained the most loved features of previous electric golf trolley models. This includes the EASILOCK and QUIKFOLD engineering for added convenience, a soft-touch ergonomic handle for comfort and adjustable speed settings with nine different speeds to choose from. If the speed control wasn't enough on its own, you can now also control the distance up to 45 metres. This allows you to release the electric trolley on its route and let it stop exactly where you would like.

Clearly user control is a prominent feature on Motocaddy's S5 CONNECT electric golf trolley design, and that control extends to the notifications and alerts. Motocaddy understand that you don't always want to be disturbed during your round of golf, so they allow you to change and adjust these features as you please.

The revolution starts here at Foremost Golf. We have stock before any other retailer, so you can benefit from our exclusive early release date.

PRE-ORDER THE MOTOCADDY S5 CONNECT NOW AT FOREMOST GOLF FOR EXCLUSIVE EARLY RELEASE!

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

Consistency has eluded some of the world's best golfers throughout history, but few would believe the current run of consistent inconsistency in major tournaments. Jason Day started a truly brilliant run of seven consecutive maiden major winners when he won the 2015 PGA Championship. Following this, all four majors of 2016 were won by first-timers; Danny Willett in The Masters, Dustin Johnson in the U.S. Open, Henrik Stenson in The Open Championship and Jimmy Walker in the PGA Championship. Sergio Garcia finally managed to claim a well-deserved major title at this year's Masters tournament. Continuing the streak in style, Brooks Koepka claimed a record-equalling 16 under to top the field at the U.S. Open on Sunday.

Wisconsin's Erin Hills hosted its first U.S. Open, and Brooks Koepka took the opportunity to win his first major championship. It was a truly mesmerising week of golf, featuring a world top three who all missed the cut, a record-breaking round of 63 from Justin Thomas and a surprise English contender. Only two of the world's top 10 offered challenges at the top of the field (Hideki Matsuyama at T2 and Rickie Fowler at T5). Matsuyama showed his class, posting a Friday 65 and a Sunday 66, although a poor showing of 74 on the opening day left him too much ground to make up. Rickie Fowler did almost the complete opposite, racing into a lead with a first round lead at -7, hitting an opening round record in relation to par at 65, but stumbling when the pressure mounted.

Justin Thomas deserves an honourable mention for conquering a long-standing record (9 under 63) and for some quite frankly phenomenal shots, including an innovative putt which he directed 90 degrees in the wrong direction from the cup... and holed!

Another honourable mention goes to Tommy Fleetwood, who hit -11 for a fourth-place finish. A promising result for the 26-year-old with a bright future.

Brooks Koepka- What's in the Bag?

Driver: TaylorMade M2

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M2 Tour

Irons: Mizuno JPX 900 Tour

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM5

Putter: Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2

Congratulations, Brooks Koepka!

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com

In 1895, Englishman Horace Rawlins topped a 10-man field at Rhode Island's Newport Country Club, winning $150 in prize money. Thus, the U.S. Open began.

In 2017, more than 150 players will battle it out for the chance to leave with a whopping $2,160,000 at Wisconsin's Erin Hills golf course.

That inaugural U.S. Open consisted of three Englishmen, six Scotsmen and one amateur Canadian. It was hardly a surprise, then, when a European came out on top of the leaderboard. However, with one European in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) top five, you would be excused for doubting a repeat in this year's tournament. Nevertheless, a European winner may be far more likely than you would expect at Erin Hills. Here's why.

Swedes Henrik Stenson and Alex Noren will be relishing what we anticipate will be testing weather conditions- something we are all too familiar with on this side of the pond. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson grew up in South Carolina, so will be used to low winds and sunshine. Stenson and Noren will be licking their lips at the prospect of scattered thunderstorms and strong winds as they take their Callaway drivers to the first tee box on Thursday.

Another European prospect is Sergio Garcia. The Spaniard has every chance of completing back-to-back major victories following his Masters success. Garcia will undoubtedly take advantage of the wide fairways at Erin Hills with his famously consistent driving using the TaylorMade M2 driver. Many have also cited the Augusta-esque greens (which handed him his first major back in April), and the fact that he plays with the same putter- TaylorMade Spider Tour Red- that Jason Day turned so many heads with at the AT&T Byron Nelson, as reasons to put your money on Sergio Garcia.

Of course, World No. 1 Dustin Johnson is the deserved favourite heading into the 117th U.S. Open. Spaniard Jon Rahm is also a strong contender, whilst Jason Day is looking more like returning to the winners' circle with every tournament. It may also be worth keeping an eye out for the World No. 174 Stephan Jaeger, who we are expecting to surprise a few people by getting in the mix for the top 20.

Will golf's greatest player win on home soil? Will Sweden or Spain have stateside success? Or could we see another British champion? Only time will tell.

We saw some truly brilliant golf throughout this tournament, including shots that Byron Nelson himself would have been proud of. The best of these shots came from on and around the green, including masterclasses from Jason Day and Billy Horschel. After Jason Kokrak fluffed his lines to throw away a 5-shot lead at the top of the field, it became a threeway battle between James Hahn, Jason Day and Billy Horschel for top spot. Hahn's lead slipped when he hit three consecutive bogeys between the 12th and 14th. Whilst all three golfers hit bogeys on the tricky 12th hole, Horschel and Day sandwiched their bogeys between birdies to steal the upper hand (or upper Hahnd, if you will).

Pythagoras himself would've lost count of the amount of times we heard the commentator claim to have seen the 'shot of the day'. It will come as no great surprise that the majority of these shots came from the two leaders. Day recovered a miraculous birdie when he chipped in to finish a rollercoaster at the 15th and Horschel emulated his nearest rival's 60-foot putt on the Saturday; draining one himself at the 14th on Sunday.

This tooth-and-nail style produced a playoff between Horschel and Day. However, if you dared to go and make yourself a cup of tea following the 18th hole then you risked missing it all. It took just a single hole for American Billy Horschel to scalp a victory when his Australian competitor lost his cool in the most surprising fashion; missing a 4-foot putt.

Both golfers deserve great credit for their sportsmanlike behaviour. We have come to expect this from the ever-humble Jason Day, but Billy Horschel telling the Aussie 'That's not how I wanted to win it' will silence the critics of his club-throwing antics at The Players.

Billy Horschel- What's in the Bag?

Driver: PXG 0811X (9 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Atmos Tour Spec Black 6X

3 Wood: PXG 0341X (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS 75 grams 6.5-Flex

5 Wood: PXG 0341 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS 75 grams 6.5X-Flex

Irons: PXG 0311T (3, 5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: PXG 0311T Milled (52-10, 56-10, 60-07)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter:  PXG Bat Attack

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Surprisingly, James Hahn also uses PXG clubs; giving the brand that was formed as recently as 2014 something to shout about.

It's also worth mentioning the success that Jason Day had with his TaylorMade clubs at Four Seasons, including the TaylorMade Milled Grind Wedge, TaylorMade PSi Golf Irons and Taylormade Spider Tour Red Putter.

As the final day of golf at Irving approaches, let's take a look back at what's happened so far and what we can look forward to in the final round.

It may not be the most famous tournament on the PGA Tour, but with the list of past winner featuring the likes of Jason Day and Sergio Garcia, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised to see some truly world class golf being played. James Hahn leads the field with a strong -12, although Billy Horschel's -11 score keeps Hahn's lead to a minimum. Meanwhile, 2010 champion Jason Day sits at T3 with Jason Kokrak at -10. Day will feel encouraged after a monstrous climb of the leader board; entering the weekend 10 strokes off the pace before storming his way into contention. If the Australian can play off the momentum in the final round then he has every chance of taking a long overdue victory.

It's been a different story, though, for the other T3. Jason Kokrak sat on a five stroke lead heading into the weekend, only to throw the tournament wide open with the ugliest of rounds, including a triple-bogey at the fifth. It now becomes as much about mental strength as golfing ability for Kokrak, who needs to regain the right mindset before he can even think about regaining the lead.

Day wasn't the only past champion to have a miraculous surge into contention on Saturday, with World No. 5 Sergio Garcia hitting a sizzling 29 on the back-nine to hurl himself into T6 at -8.

Brooks Koepka was the name on the lips of tipsters everywhere, having missed out to Sergio Garcia in a playoff in last year's tournament. However, a disappointing Even on Saturday saw Koepka slip to T24 and all but lose sight of the leaders. Matt Kuchar also looked a promising bet going into the tournament. Sitting at T14 and -6 he's certainly not out of contention, although it poses a serious uphill battle and one that I don't see him winning.

Now, it would be quite simply despicable to not give credit to Jason Day for his outrageous 60-foot putt at the 17th hole of the TPC Four Seasons course. The putting specialist put his TaylorMade Spider Tour Red putter to the ultimate test and it responded extraordinarily well. Perfectly measured, exquisitely weighted and beautifully executed. It's a good thing the golfers can't hear the commentators because Jason Day would no doubt have been lining up more conservatively had he heard the commentator say 'he'll be happy to two-putt this one' seconds before the stroke.

In a tournament jam-packed with world class golfers, anybody could be forgiven for failing to predict the winner of The Players Championship (or the top 10, for that matter). By anybody, I mean us! All eyes, including our own, were watching with unwavering attention as Rory McIlroy debuted his TaylorMade clubs, World No. 1 Dustin Johnson looked to return to winning ways and Sergio Garcia tried to follow up his maiden major with golf's unofficial major.

Remarkably, not a single one of the world's top 10 players could manage a top 10 finish on The Players leader board (although Adam Scott's T6 finish propelled him into the world's top 10 after the tournament). It was youth that prevailed on the merciless TPC Sawgrass course as we saw South Korean Si Woo Kim smash Adam Scott's record as the youngest-ever winner of golf's 'Fifth Major'. A flawless final round of 69 gave the 21-year-old a comfortable three-shot, -10 victory in Florida; writing his name in the history books in the process. Not only did Kim become the youngest Players Champion, he also put his name amongst the illustrious list of Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Sergio Garcia as he became only the fourth player to have two PGA Tour victories at the age of 21; the other coming in the 2016 Wyndham Championship.

Topping the field catapulted Si Woo Kim from 75th to 28th in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). Meanwhile, South African Louis Oosthuizen climbed from 33rd to 18th following his T2 result, which he shared with England's Ian Poulter. Poulter will rejoice in the knowledge that he is once again amongst the OWGR's top 100. Dustin Johnson's T12 result may look like a shocker on paper, but Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia and Jason Day finishing T35, T30 and T60 respectively made Dustin's score look semi-respectable for an OWGR top 5 golfer. The only comfort for McIlroy, Garcia and Day comes in the form of one Jordan Spieth, who failed to make the cut for the third year running.

Whilst McIlroy's disappointing finish wasn't the immediate return TaylorMade had hoped for from their £77 million investment, they teamed up with Titleist and Scotty Cameron in the surprise winner's bag.

So, what's in the champion's bag?

What's in the Bag?

Driver: TaylorMade 2017 M1 460

3-wood: TaylorMade 2017 M1

5-wood: TaylorMade 2017 M1

Irons: TaylorMade P770

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM6

Putter: Scotty Cameron 009M Prototype

Ball: TaylorMade TP5x

48 of the world's top 50. The world's top 5 together for the first time this year. How could you not be excited for The Players Championship? As we all know, there are no guarantees in golf. However, I feel pretty confident in guaranteeing a firecracker of a golf tournament in Florida.

In case you hadn't quite grasped the magnitude of the competition this year, last year's runaway champion, Jason Day, misses out on the top 5 favourites list- priced at a whopping 22/1 with some bookmakers. Of course, topping the favourites chart is World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, closely followed by newlywed World No. 2 Rory McIlroy. Dustin's scintillating 2017 form means that only a fool would bet against the man who holds a comfortable lead at the top of the world rankings. However, Dustin's run of three consecutive tournament wins came to an end in the Wells Fargo Championship last week- his first competition since the infamous disaster at The Masters. Meanwhile, Mr. McIlroy has certainly covered the costs of the wedding with his new blockbuster TaylorMade deal worth an extraordinary £77 million. Now, it is worth noting that, regardless of how good TaylorMade's equipment is, McIlroy tends to take a while to adjust to new equipment. It would be a stretch to rule him out of contention for the so-called 'Fifth Major', but does this give some outsiders a greater chance?

One of those outsiders who may be licking their lips is 2007 champion Phil Mickelson. Whilst Mickelson may be without a win in 2017, the Callaway golfer will certainly feel that his experience of the unique tournament could play into his hands. Whilst topping the field in golf's unofficial major is a huge ask for the World No. 20, the fact that only one of the world's top 5 have won The Players before means he'll undoubtedly fancy his chances. Another past champion, Rickie Fowler, will put his Cobra golf clubs to the test at Sawgrass. Having won the Honda Classic after switching from the Cobra King Ltd Driver to the Cobra King F7+ Driver, Fowler's new clubs may have breathed new life into his game. Fowler will hope to replicate the clinical putting he displayed in the Honda Classic with the Scotty Cameron Newport 2.

Returning to the top 5, young Jordan Spieth will be eager to put past traumas behind him, having failed to make the cut in last year's Championship. The World No. 5 saw success at Pebble Beach with a Titleist-filled golf bag. Spieth stayed loyal to the Titleist 915 D2 Driver and Titleist 915F Fairway Wood to great success at Pebble Beach, with the Vokey SM6 wedges also providing highly impressive performance. Jordan Spieth is a name never far from the spotlight and is certainly one to be feared when he returns with a vengeance.

It would be absolutely criminal to finish without mentioning one Sergio Garcia. No longer the nearly-man, Garcia finally won that elusive major at The Masters in April. If that wasn't enough to put him firmly in contention for The Players, the Spaniard won the tournament back in 2008. Equipped with experience, momentum and an abundance of talent, Sergio Garcia will be looking to steal TayorMade headlines right back from Rory McIlroy by following up his first major with the 'Fifth Major'.

It's anyone's game in The Players Championship 2017. Can a vengeful Jordan Spieth end Rory McIlroy's honeymoon period? Will Dustin Johnson live to fight another Day? Who knows? All we do know is that we can't wait to find out.

The World Cup of Golf doesn’t have the same glamour as football or rugby’s equivalent, but it’s certainly a welcome break from the 72-hole individual strokeplay events that we’re accustomed to.

It’s a pairs’ competition whereby two golfers from each nation join forces to represent their country over four days at Kingston Heath GC, Australia. Playing a mixture of alternate shot and fourball betterball golf, winning the World Cup of Golf requires two in-form golfers who seamlessly dovetail throughout the 72 holes.

This is exactly what Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen managed to do, including a scintillating 60 (12-under-par) in Friday’s fourballs which propelled them to the top of the leaderboard before the weekend’s play. The Danes held a four-shot advantage heading into Sunday and, although this was cut to just a single stroke at one stage, six birdies on their back nine was more than good enough to claim Denmark’s first World Cup of Golf victory.

French duo Victor Dubuisson and Romain Langasque led the chasing pack four strokes back, with China’s Wu Ashun and Li Haotong and America’s Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker also finishing on the same score. How did the English team fare? A T13th finish for the little and large duo of Sullivan and Wood – respectable but not what they were hoping for at the start of the week.