Justin Rose got his first PGA Tour victory at Jack Nicklaus’ tournament. His latest came after finishing 20 under at Hogan’s Alley, three strokes ahead of defending US Open champion Brooks Koepka.

Jon Rahm will attempt to put his Masters disappointment behind him by completing his collection of national titles in the Open de Espana.

Shane Lowry will lead the Irish challenge into the weekend at golf's Valderrama Masters.

It is appropriate in these golden times for Spanish golf that the oldest major should be returning to the place where the godfather of the sport in that country first made his mark.

Former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen has joined Adam Scott in opting out of the Olympic Games in Rio this summer.

England’s Andrew Johnston hailed a dream come true after holding off a final-day charge from tournament host Sergio Garcia to win a first European Tour title in the Spanish Open.

Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal hailed one of the best rounds of his career after claiming the halfway lead in the Spanish Open at a testing Valderrama.

Former world number one golfer Vijay Singh says he will skip this summer’s Rio Olympics, citing the Zika virus as the reason.

Italy will host the Ryder Cup for the first time when the biennial event heads to Rome’s Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in 2022.

Great communication skills and the respect of players made Darren Clarke the only choice for Hazeltine.

Italian golf has reached previously unknown heights since the arrival in the big time over the last few years of the Molinari brothers Francesco and Edoardo and the clear possibility that in the 20 year-old Matteo Manassero, last week’s highly impressive winner of the BMW PGA Championship, they possess the next Tiger Woods.

Never do things in a hurry.

Golfing great Tom Watson – at 63 old enough to be Rory McIlroy’s grandfather - was today named as the oldest Ryder Cup captain in history.

Tiger Woods plays his seventh Ryder Cup this week, but his memory of his only Walker Cup appearance is far different to that of one of his opponents in Wales in 1985.

Colin Montgomerie would not want Rory McIlroy facing Tiger Woods in the Ryder Cup singles next Sunday if he was still Europe’s captain.

The European Tour have confirmed that next month’s Andalucia Masters at Valderrama has been cancelled.

It’s that time of year when European Tour golfers are perusing the rankings with greater interest.

Miguel Angel Jimenez is to become Europe’s fourth assistant captain at next month’s Ryder Cup.

Miguel Angel Jimenez admits that staging the Andalucian Open this week will cost him money because of a struggle for sponsorship.

HAVING consolidated his place at the top of the world rankings by finishing third in the WGC Cadillac event at the weekend, Rory McIlroy takes a three-week break before the Masters at Augusta on April 5.

Graeme McDowell has put sentiment aside, declaring irreparable damage to his Ryder Cup winning driver has been a “blessing in disguise”.

SPEND an hour or two in Shane Lowry’s company and you quickly find an uncomplicated young man with a bright, positive attitude to life and one whose head won’t be turned by fame and fortune.

BELGIUM’S Nicolas Colsaerts leads the Volvo Golf Champions by four strokes after surging clear of the field with a course-record 64 at Fancourt in South Africa today.

Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald are centre stage in Dubai this week as they do battle for the European Tour's money list crown, but Sergio Garcia is going for something special too.

GRAEME McDOWELL left Singapore last night bound for the Land of the Rising Sun buoyed by a third and final round 66 for share of 13th place in the rain-affected Barlcays Singapore Open.

STEVE WILLIAMS can now surely be described as the Teflon caddie after getting away with his latest regrettable outburst, this time concerning his former employer Tiger Woods.

RORY McILROY is gunning for Luke Donald.

THE European Tour and sponsors, the Andalucian Tourist Board, must have been furious the Andalucian Masters was bypassed by many marquee names in favour of the Shanghai Masters.

THE excited Valderrama crowd cheered Sergio Garcia home to a hugely significant victory for himself and Spain yesterday but the sparse but vocal Irish in the gallery also had plenty to shout about after a superb final day performance by Shane Lowry at the Andalucia Masters.

Sergio Garcia made it two wins in a row today – but it was far tougher than the first of them.

Sergio Garcia was locked in a battle with fellow Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez after failing to make the start he was hoping for in the final round of the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama today.

A 20-foot putt on the short third kept Scotland’s Richie Ramsay in control of the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama today.

A red hot putter combined with a delightful touch around the greens has Shane Lowry sitting in a share of 6th place in the €3 million Andalucia Masters at Valderrama.

Sergio Garcia, seeking a second successive win and with it a place in next week’s world championship, remained in joint fifth place after seven holes of his second round in the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama.

IRELAND’S challenge failed to ignite in the first round of the Andalucian Masters at Valderrama yesterday as Scotland’s Richie Ramsey jumped into a two-stroke lead with a sparkling six under par 66 in spite of finishing with bogeys at the 17th and 18th.

Four days after proclaiming “Bring on Valderrama”, Scotland’s Richie Ramsay rose to the challenge of continental Europe’s toughest course today.

Scotland’s Richie Ramsay made a blistering start to the Andalucia Masters today, surging to seven under par after just 11 holes of his opening round.

HOLDER Graeme McDowell is chasing his first tournament success of 2011. Peter Lawrie is bidding to put his place in the Race to Dubai order of merit on the European Tour beyond any further doubt. Shane Lowry badly needs a big finish to get back among the top 60 who make it to the Emirates for the cash rich Dubai World Championship in December.

THERE was no poaching by Horizon and no enticement on my part.

FRESH from his remarkable 11 strokes victory in front of his home fans in Castellon on Sunday, Sergio Garcia has moved down the coast in western Spain to Valderrama where the €3m Andalucia Masters gets underway tomorrow.

THIS time last year, Graeme McDowell was the toast of the golfing world.

Sergio Garcia is finally back as a winner in golf – but he needs to do it again this Sunday if he is to play in next week’s world championship in China.

DARREN CLARKE has enjoyed something of a golfing honeymoon since his magnificent victory in the Open Championship at Royal St Georges in July.

IT WAS a chilly, windy morning for the third round of the Irish Close Championship at Tramore in 1987.