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PGA European - Trophee Hassan II Preview
From The Sports Network
| DATES: Thursday, March 18th through Sunday, March 21st |
| SITE: Royal Golf Dar Es Salam (Red and Blue Courses), Rabat, Morocco |
| COURSE ARCHITECT: Robert Trent Jones (1971) |
| YARDAGE: 7,343 (Red Course) |
| Hole-By-Hole: | 1 - Par 4 400 yds | 10 - Par 5 481 yds | |
| 2 - Par 3 232 yds | 11 - Par 4 467 yds | |
| 3 - Par 4 443 yds | 12 - Par 5 526 yds | |
| 4 - Par 4 404 yds | 13 - Par 4 384 yds | |
| 5 - Par 5 566 yds | 14 - Par 3 206 yds | |
| 6 - Par 4 440 yds | 15 - Par 4 391 yds | |
| 7 - Par 4 420 yds | 16 - Par 4 425 yds | |
| 8 - Par 5 582 yds | 17 - Par 3 225 yds | |
| 9 - Par 3 188 yds | 18 - Par 5 563 yds | |
| ------------- | ------------- | |
| 36 3,675 Yds | 37 3,668 Yds | |
| YARDAGE: 6,788 (Blue Course) |
| Hole-By-Hole: | 1 - Par 4 410 yds | 10 - Par 4 388 yds | |
| 2 - Par 5 520 yds | 11 - Par 4 443 yds | |
| 3 - Par 4 427 yds | 12 - Par 3 202 yds | |
| 4 - Par 3 230 yds | 13 - Par 4 350 yds | |
| 5 - Par 4 312 yds | 14 - Par 5 481 yds | |
| 6 - Par 5 531 yds | 15 - Par 3 181 yds | |
| 7 - Par 4 388 yds | 16 - Par 4 410 yds | |
| 8 - Par 3 186 yds | 17 - Par 5 525 yds | |
| 9 - Par 4 405 yds | 18 - Par 4 399 yds | |
| ------------- | ------------- | |
| 36 3,409 Yds | 36 3,379 Yds | |
| Annual: | 33rd (1st on European Tour) |
| Television: | Golf Channel - Thursday/Friday -- 9:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m. (et), |
| | - Saturday/Sunday -- 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (et) |
| Total Purse: | $1,880,204 (1,375,000 euros) |
| Shares: | 1st Place - $313,371; 2nd Place - $208,909; 3rd Place - $117,705 |
| Past Trophee Hassan II Winners |
| Year | Winner (Score) -- Runners-Up |
| 2009 | Not Held |
| 2008 | Ernie Els (275) -- Simon Dyson |
| 2007 | Padraig Harrington |
| 2006 | Sam Torrance |
| 2005 | Erik Compton |
| 2004 | Not Held |
| 2003 | Santiago Luna |
| 2002 | Santiago Luna |
| 2001 | Joakim Haeggman |
| 2000 | Roger Chapman |
| 1999 | David Toms |
| 1998 | Santiago Luna |
| 1997 | Colin Montgomerie |
| 1996 | Ignacio Garrido |
| 1995 | Nick Price |
| 1994 | Martin Gates |
| 1993 | Payne Stewart |
| 1992 | Payne Stewart |
| 1991 | Vijay Singh |
| 1990 | Not Held |
| 1989 | Not Held |
| 1988 | Not Held |
| 1987 | Not Held |
| 1986 | Not Held |
| 1985 | Ken Green |
| 1984 | Roger Maltbie |
| 1983 | Ron Streck |
| 1982 | Frank Conner |
| 1981 | Bob Eastwood |
| 1980 | Ed Sneed |
| 1979 | Mike Brannan |
| 1978 | Peter Townsend |
| 1977 | Lee Trevino |
| 1976 | Salvador Balbuena |
| 1975 | Billy Casper |
| 1974 | Larry Ziegler |
| 1973 | Billy Casper |
| 1972 | Ron Cerrudo |
| 1971 | Orville Moody |
| Top Players in the Field |
| Thomas Bjorn | 9 European Tour wins, 2 European Ryder Cup teams |
| Darren Clarke | 12 European Tour wins, 5 Ryder Cup teams |
| Erik Compton | Won this event in 2005 |
| Nick Dougherty | 3 European Tour wins, Won 2009 BMW International Open |
| Ignacio Garrido | Won this event in 1996, 2 European Tour wins |
| David Howell | 4 European Tour wins, 2 Ryder Cup teams |
| Thomas Levet | 5 European Tour wins, Won 2009 Spanish Open |
| Shane Lowry | Won 2009 Irish Open as an amateur |
| Santiago Luna | Won this event in 1998, 2002-03 |
| Pablo Martin | 2 European Tour wins, Won 2010 Alfred Dunhill title |
| Paul McGinley | 4 European Tour wins, 3 European Ryder Cup teams |
| Francesco Molinari | World No. 45, Won 2006 Italian Open |
| Richie Ramsay | Won 2010 South African Open, Won 2006 U.S. Amateur |
| Sports Network Selections |
| Pick to Win - Francesco Molinari |
| Darkhorse - Rhys Davies |
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| Last Week's Pick to Win (Luke Donald) - Finished tied for 26th |
| Last Week's Darkhorse (Oliver Wilson) - Finished 67th |
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| NOTES: |
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The European Tour travels to Morocco this week for the Trophee Hassan II.
Former European Ryder Cup players Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke, David Howell,
Thomas Levet and Paul McGinley are in the field this week. The highest-ranked
player in the field is world No. 45 Francesco Molinari from Italy, who tied
for 14th last week at the WGC-CA Championship in Florida.
This is the 33rd staging of this tournament, but first as part of the European
Tour. It was first played in 1971 and is the longest running sporting event in
Morocco. Previous winners of this event are major champions Orville Moody,
Billy Casper, Lee Trevino, Vijay Singh, Payne Stewart, Nick Price, David Toms,
Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els.
Els won the last staging of this event back in 2008, as he defeated Simon
Dyson by two shots. Els carded a final round of five-under-par 68 for a -17
total of 275.
This event is being held at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in the Moroccan capital of
Rabat. The tournament is being played over two courses, the red and blue. The
courses were designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened for play in 1971. Royal
Golf Dar Es Salam was a regular site of the Moroccan Open on the European
Tour, played in 1987 and 1992-2001. Previous winners of that event are Howard
Clark, Mark James, Peter Hedblom, Stephen Leaney and Ian Poulter.
The Moroccan Golf Classic has been a regular event on the European Challenge
Tour in recent years. Royal Golf Dar Es Salam was the host of the 2002 and
2003 tournaments, won by Jean-Francois Lucquin and Greig Hutcheon.
The European Tour travels to Spain next week for the Open de Andalucia de
Golf, where Soren Kjeldsen captured the 2009 event.
03/16 16:08:42 ET
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As of March 16, 2010, at 04:08 PM ET
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