Stewart Cink claimed his first major title as Tom Watson squandered the chance to create history in a dramatic Open Championship at Turnberry.

Watson just needed to par the final hole to claim his sixth Open title - a remarkable 34 years after his first - and become the oldest major winner by 11 years. But the 59-year-old hit his approach through the green and then three-putted from the fringe, his putt for victory from eight feet never threatening the hole.

The American pair had finished tied on two under par, Cink making a birdie on the last for a round of 69 and Watson, who led by one at the start of the day, returning a 72.

And Cink then won an anti-climactic four-hole play-off by six shots, playing the fifth, sixth, 17th and 18th in two under par as Watson stumbled to four over.

Cink revealed he'd had a good feelling all week about his chances of lifting the Claret Jug.

"This week for some reason I just believed all week that I had something good, I was hitting the ball solidly, the swing felt good and I never felt nervous at all, I literally never felt nervous," he said.

England's Lee Westwood and Chris Wood missed out on the play-off by a single shot after both bogeyed the 72nd hole, Westwood three-putting from long range and Wood failing to get up and down from the back of the green.

Compatriot Ross Fisher led by two shots after birdies at the first two holes, but took eight at the fifth and eventually finished tied for 13th.

To read more about the Open Championship click here...................

Three Majors down, one to go, with the USPGA Championships coming up later this month, and so far they’ve all thrown up some surprises.

The Masters saw Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods battle it out for 18-holes on the final Sunday, only to be beaten by Angel Cabrera, while unknown Lucas Glover, ranked 71 in the world surprised everyone with his win at the US Open held at Bethpage State.

 The USPGA Championships is being staged at Hazeltine Golf Club, Minnesota, from August 13-16.

Despite missing the cut at Turnberry, Tiger Woods will start the tournament as favourite, but with the way the Majors have gone so far this year, there’s sure to be a surprise coming from somewhere.

For information on this year's PGA Championship, the course, and a whole lot more on the event click here.

Consistent iron play is one of the most important ingredients to success on the golf course. After the putter the iron is the most hit club, and if you have difficulty in continually controlling your iron shots then big scores may well blight your card.

Modern technology has brought the iron on leaps and bounds over the past few years with the clubs becoming more forgiving and helping all golfers from low to high handicapper strike the ball well.

Below we take a look at the latest irons to come onto the market from the main golf companies and highlight those that are currently being offered in the proshop.  We would recommend to all golfers who purchase new irons to be custom fitted and we are in an excellent position to do this so why not book at fitting today by sending me an email at rmasters@tgigolf.com

The 17-4 stainless steel G10 irons are engineered with extreme low toe weighting to increase the moment of inertia for added forgiveness and consistency. The large, perimeter-weighted head features a new cavity shape and wider sole.

The center of gravity is positioned away from the face and low in the club head to promote higher launching, lower spinning shots. By creating a new shape for the Custom Tuning Port (CTP), PING engineers stabilized the hitting area to produce consistent ball velocity across the entire club face. An elastomer CTP insert helps control vibration for a solid feel.

All-in-all a fantastic iron for any standard of golfer!

SSP: £499

For more information on the PING G10 irons please click here.

The MX-200 takes Grain Flow Forged forgiveness a quantum leap forward with the introduction of Y-Tune performance.

A deep pocket cavity, milled to preserve MX-200's one piece feel is complemented by a Y shaped reinforcement pad, extending a 5% larger sweet area* into the toe - matching the miss hit patterns of amateur golfers.

Enhanced solidity in the hitting area and an aggressive triple cut sole design ensures MX-200's place in the bags of both professionals and amateurs

SSP: £399

For more information the Mizuno MX-200 irons please click here.

 Wilson Staff Ci7 irons earned top honors from GOLF Magazine's prestigious ClubTest 2008 winning "Best for Look," "Best for Feel" and a five-star rating. It was played by Padraig Harrington in his stunning 2008 Open Championship victory.

Tour Inspired Blend of Power and Control
The Ci7s advanced weight distribution creates high MOI and maximum forgiveness.
Central notch accentuates heel/toe perimeter weighting for increased MOI
Thin face delivers maximum power
Undercut cavity for greater head stability
Elastomeric paint in cavity reduces vibration by 1/3

SSP: £299

For more information on the Wilson Ci7 irons please click here. 

As more golfers are having their golf clubs custom fit to their own personal specifications, we thought we would follow a Baildon member as he goes through the custom fitting process. 

Scratch Team member Dan Teece decided he wanted a new set of irons, and after speaking to Sean in the pro shop he decided on a set of Mizuno.

Sean then suggested he should have these custom fit to make sure they were perfect for him, and advised Dan he could have this done at the Mizuno National Fitting Centre in Wrexham North Wales. After a quick phone call this free appointment was booked for a time which suited Dan.

Dan is already a keen golfer playing off a fantastic handicap of 1, but he felt that he would improve his game by having a set of clubs custom built to his own personal size, set up and golf swing.

At the fitting centre he was taken through the 1 hour session (should have been half an hour but we all know how long Dan takes!) by a qualified PGA Professional, who offered him the chance to try all the different options and specifications available, and explained how each shaft/loft combination would effect the ball flight, spin etc.

Using results from a ball flight launch monitor and taking into account how Dan felt about the look and feel of the club's, they matched him to his perfect set of irons.

Dan's spec is: Mizuno MP-52's, 3-PW, Nippon 1150 Tour stiff steel shafts, 1/2 inch longer than standard, 1 degree upright, 1 degree stong loft, with Tour Velvet grips and an extra layer of tape.

His new club's should arrive any day and we will keep you updated how they work out for him in the coming months - look out for Dan's name on this year's honours boards!

To discuss custom fitting or to book your free appointment please contact Ricky or Sean in the golf shop.

With the Open Championship still fresh in our mind's, we take a look at one of the skills which proved most effective for Cink at Turnberry.

Links golf requires a number of different skills to those usually used on the golf course, with the coastal winds whipping around the course it is useful to keep the ball low so it’s not pushed off target by the gales.

The chip and run shot often comes in to play when around the green, especially with the natural landscape of links courses being flat and hard. So rather than lofting the ball high in the air, it pays to go under the radar.

This kind of shot is not confined to links golf however, if you have a shot at the green with no danger to clear in front, the chip and run is a useful weapon to have in the armoury.

To play an effective chip and run shot follow these simple pointers.

• Select a mid-to-low iron like a seven or eight iron, depending on how far you are from the pin

• Play the ball back in your stance, nearer to the right foot for right handers

• Keep your hands ahead of the ball so the club face is de-lofted a little, this will make the ball roll better

• Make a stroke similar to your putting stroke, with no breaking of the wrists, this will get the ball rolling. 

For the golfer who just wants to know the distance to the front, middle and back of the green, it doesn't get any simpler. It's all there at a single glance with the Yardage Pro, the easiest to use golf GPS device on the market. It stores hole-by-hole information for up to 10 courses, and can even measure driving distances. All in a compact unit small enough to go unnoticed - unlike your dramatically improved play.

For more information please click here

Hi-Tec Golf Shoes - were £69.95 - now £45.00 per pair

British Open logo Shirts - £12.50 each or £20.00 for 2

RIFE Putters - 10% off during the month of August

Titleist Pro V1 Lake Balls - £2.00 each or 12 for £20.00

Ram Cube Drivers - were £99.00 - now £59.99

Wilson smooth Drivers - were £159.95 - now £129.00

ProQuip Ultralite Waterproof suits - were £129.99 - now £99.00

Finally I'd just like to say a huge thank you to all the members who have supported me during the recent tough times we have experienced here at Baildon Golf Club.

I very much appreciate your show of support, and if we all work together and use the club facilities, bar etc, then hopefully we can all help grow this club back up to the strong and well respected position we have held for so many years.

And please don't forget to ask me for a price when considering your next golf purchase. As I am a member of TGI Golf, which is Europe's largest buying group for P.G.A. Professional's, I have access to all the products from the major brands at best prices available - so GIVE US A TRY!!