Talking Golf in Europe - The DP World Tour and the Ladies European Tour

02/15/22 • 57 min

As we kick off a new Golf Season for 2022, change is afoot in Europe. The European Tour rebrands itself the DP World Tour, increasing prize money across the board for its players. The Ladies European Tour (LET) is fresh off of a thrilling Solheim Cup performance and appears to be in the ascendancy from years previous.
Joining us is our special guest Richard Kaufman, the SkySports golf commentator covering both the DP World Tour and the LET. In this episode, we discuss the increasing money that is coming into Golf, and particularly the men's game from Saudi Arabia. Potential Ryder Cup captains are also a topic for discussion as Richard runs down his list of potential candidates for Captain of the European team, including Luke Donald, Paul Lawrie, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and others.
On the women's side, we look at the abundance of young talented players coming through the ranks in European golf with players such as Pia Babnik, Chiara Noja, and Lily May Humphries among others. There are some compelling story lines from other players such as Becky Brewerton and Julia Engstrom as they look to rebound from injuries to recapture their form and their status on the LET.

Previous Episode

The Champions Mind - A Look Inside Mental Performance

In our first episode of the new golf season, we are joined by Dr. Jim Afremow, a renowned sports psychologist. Drawing on his extensive experience working with professional athletes and teams, Jim shares an inside look into mental performance and what successful athletes do in preparation for their success.
We also discuss working with junior players, teaching them the skills for success whether it be in golf, sports in general, or more importantly, in life. "The younger you are the more of a sponge you are . . . So if a parent is acting calm, confident, playful, having fun in the sport, its more likely we pick up on that."
It is a great episode for parents, golf coaches and aspiring elite players to learn from one of the leading sports psychologists on developing the mental skills for success.
Of course, in the last segment Jim shares some tips and ideas on what the recreational golfer can do to prepare themselves for the upcoming Spring season -- how to practice more effectively, to prepare for your round of golf, and how to shake off the bad shots and prepare for the next one.

Next Episode

The Trials, Tribulations and Triumphs of Gabby Then

Success was all that Gabriella Then knew as a junior player. She was a member of the winning Junior Solheim Cup team, she won numerous AJGA events, and she was recruited to USC when she was 14 years of age. After a successful career at the University of Southern California, Gabby (as her friends know her), turned professional, playing for 2 seasons on the Epson Tour (formerly the Symetra Tour). But when she recorded a bogey on her 72nd hole, at the LPGA's Stage-1, of Q-School, she missed advancing to the next stage.
Confronted with the emotional turmoil of having seen her dream evaporate, Gabby walked away from the sport in 2019. She even took another job outside of golf -- such was her disappointment and desire to consider a life outside of professional golf. Then came Covid, and she had no choice but to stay away from the sport as golf courses closed, and contemporary life came to a halt.
By 2021, Gabby was reassessing her life, her choices, and of course, golf. It was then that she rediscovered her passion and love for the sport and with it, the resolve to commit to professional golf. She "went all-in", nearly draining all of her savings to fund a year of tournament golf on the minor tours. She lived life knowing that she had put everything on the line -- her emotional and mental efforts, her ambitions, and her money.
In this Episode, Gabby Then chats with us about her darkest days in professional golf and how she eventually found her way back to the sport and how life's lessons prepared her to better deal with adversity. Her 2021 season culminated with her winning the Ladies European Tour's Q-School and an automatic "card" for the 2022 Season.

We're Talking Golf - Talking Golf in Europe - The DP World Tour and the Ladies European Tour

Transcript

Douglas Maida00:00:29.699

Hello, good afternoon. Welcome to our podcast show. We're talking golf, our shows produced by the world of golf, and I'm your host, Douglas Maida. Our guest for today's show is Richard Kaufman. Richard is a golf commentator with Sky Sports. SkySports is based in the United Kingdom, and covers primarily the LET -- Ladies European Tour, and the DP World Tour, or what used to be known as the men's European tour. On occasion he also covers footba