Dubai-Bound: France's Greg Bourdy Wins in Hong Kong

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He held his own against a roaring Rory McIlroy to win the USB Hong Kong Open... and in doing so, secured a place a the table in Dubai.

The win was Gregory Bourdy’s third on the European Tour, making him the first French man to win three tournaments in consecutive years.

I first got to know Mr. Bourdy in April of 2008 when I wrote about his victory at the European Tour's Portuguese Open.

I played golf for the first time in France a few years ago, and though it's not often associated with the game, golf's popularity is growing and there are a number of French players making their marks in international tournaments. In fact, the Hong Kong Open leaderboard featured another Frenchman in prominent position as Raphael Jacquelin sharing the number five spot with with Ian Poulter. And, down in Australia where Tiger Woods held court at the Australian Masters, Francois Delamontagne finished T3 with American Jason Dufner. Thomas Levet won the Open de España in April, and a couple of weeks ago finished in the top ten at the Barclays Singapore Open.

As for Rory McIlroy, his third place finish in Hong Kong put him right back on top of the European Money List and front runner in The Race to Dubai.

Photo: Getty Images/Anthony Dickson ✿

Cute French Golf Guy Wins in Estoril (updated)

Some might accuse me of having a bit of a French obsession lately. Well, the truth is, I've always had one. I love French literature, French architecture and French fashion. I adore their sexy language and their succulent pastries and frankly... I'm convinced, everyone else does too.

But it's not that often that I get to celebrate a French golfer. Well, this weekend I did. On Saturday Gregory Bourdy, a 25 year old Frenchman with blue eyes and a disarming smile, won the European Tour's Portuguese Open. It was an ultra exciting victory too. After leading for the first three rounds Monsieur Bourdy saw his lead evaporate in a flurry of missed shots. At one point five players had pushed ahead of him. But (as I know first hand) French guys can be tenacious, and finally, Gregory fought his way back to win in a three way play-off. So it was another exciting finish on the European Tour where exciting finishes are becoming the norm. With play-offs in Madeira, Andalusia and now Estoril, the Iberian swing has been animated, to say the very least. Alors, toutes mes felicitations Monsieur Bourdy, I'm glad to be able to celebrate a French golfer and hope to be able to do so again soon.

Here in the US the guys were in Houston, essentially warming up for Augusta, and the big golf story was Lorena Ochoa, reinforcing her dominance with a steely performance on the Dinah Shore Course then celebrating her victory en familia, with with a group swim in the Lake of Champions and a Mariachi band. Lorena's playing at an extraordinary level, that's undeniable, AND she consistently looks awesome in her golf outfits. Check out my post on Lorena Style at Golf for Women.

Now, let's get ready for the Masters. Personally, I can hardly wait to see those azaleas.

Update: One of my awesome & observant readers, himself a stellar golf blogger, introduced me to yet another winning golf guy, Thomas Levet. I was obviously distracted by what was going on over here, and totally missed his win in Andalusia. Luckly, the always engaging Golf Punk, has him covered in this great profile.

Golf Fashion at the Blustery British Open - 3rd Round

High winds are what it's all about today.

How high? Well high enough to move balls around on the putting greens. Which can be rather disturbing. Just ask Anthony Kim who turned his hat around and called in an official due to capriciously strong wind gusts. There's even some discussion of suspending play. It's that windy. But for now it on, and the guys are still out there battling with the bluster.

Right now, awesome KJ Choi is in the lead, defending champion Padraig Harrington has moved up to second and Greg Norman is holding on to third. But that'll undoubtedly change as play continues today. And Jim Furyk, Camillo Villegas...Ian Poulter (!) and a number of others, are waiting in the proverbial wings.

Now for a style note. The golfer above is France's Jean-Baptiste Gonnet and he hit a triple today. Yep. What I mean is, he managed to combine three of the looks I featured in my Open fashion post yesterday: He's got the black on black going on ... AND he's added the argyle...topped off by the wool beanie. What can I say, I'm impressed. But then again he's French.

Jean-Baptiste is currently a ways back on the leaderboard at +10. He's one of four French players on that wind blown course today, with Gregory Havret, Gregory Bourdy (who I wrote about earlier this year) and the infamous Jean Van de Velde. Yes, I'll admit it, I have a thing for French golfers maybe it's because I played my first round ever in France...and maybe because my photographer caddy husband is French. Yes, that probably has something to do with it.

Matteo Manassero: A Second Win & Still Seventeen

I heard more than one golf fan lamenting the absence of Matteo Manassero at the Masters last week.

After all, a year ago he'd been the youngest ever to make the cut in Augusta.  He followed that up with a win at the Castello Masters in October and became the youngest ever to win on the European Tour.
 
Those accomplishments weren't enough to get him into this year's Masters however.  Though he'd gotten down to 55 in the world rankings, as a professional, he needed to be in the top 50 to make the field at the season's first major.

Happily, those legions of Manassero fans needn't lament any longer. Matteo won the Maybank Malaysian Open today, and is now well within within the numbers... at 35th in the world... for the three remaining majors. He accomplished his win in style too, narrowly defeating Gregory Bourdy and Rory McIlroy, despite valiant challenges from both.

Paying tribute to Seve Ballesteros, who he described as "the kind of player I wanted to be" Matty kissed the massive, beribboned cup and went off to celebrate his 18th birthday.

April 16, 2011 - Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images AsiaPac