Weekly Round Up: What you missed

A round up of everything you missed last week: Disabled World Cup, The Match, and the most entertaining swing in golf claims another title

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Ho-Sung Choi (and his famous swing) just won an event in Japan

Do you remember the media buzz surrounding that unbelievable golf swing from South Korea Tour Pro Ho-Sung Choi? Well, while we can all make fun of the golf swing, we certainly can’t make fun of his scores. 

He found himself back in the news once again on Sunday, this time for claiming his second Japan Tour Golf title at the Japan Golf Tour’s Casio World Open. With a final round 67, Choi won by a single stroke – compounded by this impressive 72nd hole birdie. 

Aaron Rai wins on European Tour at the Honma Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi

Aaron Rai saw off a world class field to complete a wire-to-wire victory and win his maiden title on the European Tour on Sunday.

“It’s incredible,” he said after his win. “It definitely hasn’t sunk in just yet. I’ll probably need a few days for that to happen.

The Englishman held a six-shot lead heading in to the final round but saw that advantage cut to just one as he fended off a strong challenge from fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick during a thrilling final-round battle.

With the rain pouring at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Fitzpatrick piled the pressure on the three-time Challenge Tour winner, making 7 birdies in his first 14 holes to close the gap to just two shots. 

On the 16th hole Fitzpatrick drained his 20-foot putt to narrow the gap to one, but his challenge faltered when he carded his first bogey of the day at the 17th.

Rai replied with a dropped shot of his own at the last, but a closing 69 to finish on 17 under par was enough to secure his first title in just his 46th European Tour appearance.

“It’s incredible to win on any Tour, let alone the European Tour and let alone the Hong Kong Open,” Rai said.

“It’s an incredible course, incredible event, very well supported. The crowds have been amazing. I’m just very grateful.

“Matt played incredibly all day. It was tough but again, I really just tried to play the course as much as possible rather than Matt or anyone else who was playing well today.

“I luckily managed to do that for most of the way around. It was tough considering the situation but I’m very pleased.”

Belgium win World Cup of Golf for the first time

It was a World first for Belgium on Sunday as Pieters and Detry combined for a total of 23-under to claim their nations first ever ISPS Handa Melbourne World Cup of Golf title by three shots.

The Belgian duo fired a final-round four-under 68 in the foursomes at Metropolitan Golf Club, outlasting a strong charge from Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith – who had at one point briefly cut their five-shot overnight lead to just one.

“We weren’t far away in the football World Cup, so it’s pretty good to bring it back!” Detry said. “It’s not really something you put on the list, but when it happens, you qualify for it, you play for it, you play with your best mate and it’s kind of a dream come true.

“Being able to put our name down the list when you see the amount of good players and all the big names that were actually on the Cup, it feels pretty special.

They began the day with a comfortable cushion but by the second hole a short-miss for par from Detry showed signs of nerves as they found themselves with a lead that had been drastically reduced to just one shot.

However, Detry soon regianed the Belgian momentum with a 20-foot eagle putt on the fourth, adding further birdies at the seventh and ninth holes to once again improve their lead over the field.

Yet Australia, cheered on by a home crowd, looked a threat to the two Thomas’. They followed a front-nine 32 with three-birdies in a row from the 12th hole, which included a bunker hole-out from Smith that once more cut the Belgian lead to two shots.

And while there were four birdies for the eventual winners on the back-nine, there were also three bogeys for Pieters and Detry. In the end though, a stellar approach at the last almost saw Pieters hole out from the fairway, with Detry sinking the four-footer for a final hole birdie to secure a three shot victory for the Belgian pair.

For Pieters, the win was just as memorable as any individual event he has won.

“It feels very good. It’s been a long time since I won and this feels as good as an individual title. I’m very, very happy,” Pieters said.

Mixed Reviews as Phil Mickelson wins $9million for beating Tiger Woods in ‘The Match’

Phil Mickelson hasn’t been used to having the upper hand on long-time rival Tiger Woods, but with the help of 22 holes and some floodlights in Las Vegas, he outlasted the 14-time major champion to win $9million and some extreme bragging rights.

“Just so you know, I will never let you live that down,” Mickelson told Woods afterwards. “It’s not the Masters or the US Open, but it is nice to have a little something on you.”

On the first hole the match looked like Tiger may have the advantage, taking $200,000 from Mickelson in the first side-bet when he failed to make a birdie as both men made a par after missing putts from around 10 feet.

“That hurts the pocket,” Woods had teased.

However, he wouldn’t win another side-bet for the remainder of the round and it was Mickelson who had the upper-hand for the majority of the time, moving 1UP on the second when Woods missed from a couple of feet, prompting Phil to say ‘I’ve never seen him miss one of those’. 

Woods finally looked to be mounting a comeback with consecutive birdies that pushed him ahead for the first time at the 12th, but soon handed back that advantage. He then needed to produce the most memorable moment of the match with a chip-in on the 17th to go back to all-square, before gifting Mickelson a five-footer on the last to force extra holes. 

Both men had chances to win over the next three holes but the contest was finally settled on the 22nd hole as Woods failed to convert a much-better tee shot to eight feet, and Mickelson secured the $9m bonanza with a four-footer for birdie. 

So it would be a Mickelson victory, but not one for the fans as the entire contest failed to live up to the hype. Sure it was entertaining at points, but Rickie Fowler branding the 18-hole match as a pillow fight was one of the more accurate descriptions. 

The trash-talking was kept at a minimum and was replaced instead by awkward small-talk, the golf was less than stellar and the intentional lack of a crowd meant the whole thing was devoid of a proper atmosphere. And that’s before we get in to the commentators talking over players at certain points, and the side-bets that were sporadic and likely should have been prearranged. 

For us, the concept would have to be much improved if golf were to buy in to the head-to-head battle idea again in the future. 

No leg? No problem for these impressive golfers

If you’re looking for inspiration, there’s no need to scroll any further. 

In addition to the World Cup of Golf, The Metropolitan Golf Club hosted the Disabled World Cup this week – featuring twelve of the world’s leading golfers with a disability from seven different countries. 

It was the first time professional golfers and disabled golfers have played at the same event, with play taking place immediately after the second and third rounds of the main tournament – featuring the same tees and course conditions. 

Just take a look at their swings!

WATCH: Tyrrell Hatton smashed up a tee box in anger

Hatton took out his anger on the wooden tee box after putting his tee shot deep in to the trees during the second round of the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf – and it drew criticsm from former Tour Pro Gary Evans.

But fellow Pros such as Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Waring were quick to support him and Hatton himself acknowledged that he did the wrong thing and needs to control his emotions better.