2019 in golf: NCG’s favourite victory of the year

Steve CarrollDan MurphyJoe HughesMark Townsend

The Fourball team looks back on their favourite triumphs from the past 12 months – and it’s not just all about one man and that incredible week in April

So, which tournament win in 2019 really got us frothing?

Steve: Tiger Woods’ win at Augusta was exhilarating – as much for what happened in the minutes afterwards as for what he did on the course. If we’re honest, most of us who’ve grown up watching Woods in his prime feared that moment would never happen again.

To see Tiger with his guard finally down was amazing.

Dan: Need you ask? That would be Tiger at the Masters. A moment that some of us feared we might never see and one that many idiots insisted we would never see. It’s in a category all of its own.

Back on Planet Earth, I also enjoyed the feel-good story of Graeme McDowell earning – not being given a spurious invitation, mind – a spot in the Open being played in his hometown of Portrush. It all became a serious possibility after he won at Puntacana, while the elite were playing in the WGC in Mexico. A couple of months later and he finished the job off at the Canadian Open and he was in.

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Joe: I loved Tiger’s win as it was the first time I had really watched him win a major – I was 11 when he won the US Open in 2008 – but my vote goes to Europe’s Solheim Cup win.

I watched every minute of the coverage and was compelled throughout. There’s just something about the team events that really grab my interest. And the way it was won was phenomenal. I’m off to watch the winning putt again right now.

Mark: Shane Lowry in Abu Dha… sorry Portrush was mind-blowingly good. To stand behind the 18th green for the last three days and see a collection of generally middle-aged men screaming and crying at Lowry’s heroics was beyond anything. For many the occasion and the weather would have got the better of them, for Lowry it seemed to just make it more fun.

I can generally find fault in anything or anyone and I’m struggling with Lowry. Top bloke, top win and roll on his Ryder Cup debut playing under his great mate Padraig Harrington at Whistling Straits.

What was your favourite victory on tour this year? Let us know in the comments below, or you can tweet us.

About the author

Steve Carroll

A journalist for more than 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long.

A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A’s prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.

Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men’s Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.

A part of NCG’s Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He’d like to tell you he floats around 10. The reality is more like 13.

Steve plays at Sandburn Hall, in York, and is a country member at Close House in Newcastle. He has served on various club committees during his time in the game, and is the current Rules Secretary at Sandburn.

Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NCTJ exams at Darlington College of Technology. He began his career working on weekly papers in Newcastle, before joining the York Press in 2001. After five years as a news reporter, he joined the sports desk – specialising in horse racing and snooker – and was Digital Sports Editor when he joined National Club Golfer in 2016.

What’s in Steve’s bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Odyssey 2Ball Microhinge putter.

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