Chasing Pars Golf Podcast

(Ep 115) Maja Stark

In another Chasing Pars player exclusive interview sponsored by Golf Tips Checker I was absolutely delighted to be joined by 1x LPGA Tour winner, 5x Ladies European Tour winner & 2023 Solheim Cup star Maja Stark who becomes my 25th Professional Player interview.
 
In this brilliant episode with Maja we find out about her background growing up in the village of Abbekås in Sweden growing up with an older brother they would play competitively in most things against each other. We find out that Maja was in the same year & went to the same school as none other than Ludvig Åberg & Linn Grant while Madelene Sagstrom was also at the same school in Helsingborg. Craig asks some quick fire questions to find out more about Maja with a nice little discussion on ABBA (Why Not?). It was at the age of 15 where Maja would start to get noticed by Top Swedish Coaches & managed to get into university at Oklahoma State University where she was a First Team All American & won 2021 Big 12 Championship with Oklahoma State. Other Amateur accolades include being on the 2017 Junior Solheim Cup Team for Europe, Winning the European Girls Amateur Team Champs with Sweden, winning European Amateur Team Champs 3 times with Sweden & being a part of the successful International side at 2020 Palmer Cup at Bay Hill. 
 
Maja turned Professional in 2021 & since then she's been relentless when it comes to getting wins with 6 wins in a 2 year spell on LET Tour & which includes the win in 2022 at the Co-sanctioned ISPS Handa World Invitational at Galgorm Castle which would help secure full LPGA Tour status. 2023 was a decent year for Maja with T2nd at Tournament of Champions in the opening event & T4th at both Honda LPGA Thailand & Women's Scottish Open events. Maja would win Lalla Meryem Cup on the LET beating Linn Grant by 4 shots & would also get to play in her first Solheim Cup for Team Europe at Finca Cortesin contributing to 2 & a half points for Europe on Debut. An experience that Maja says she will never forget.
As Tournament of Champs starts up next week I ask Maja about her goals going forward for 2024 with making back to back Solheim Cup teams the top of her list along with the Majors. We mention about Maja & Linn's friendship but eagerness to beat each other every time on the Golf course & we also talk late about what to expect from WAGR number 1 Ingrid Lindblad and what the future holds for Ingrid when she does finally turn pro.
It was amazing to speak to one of the best players in the world again & to try and process what goals they try to achieve & what obstacles they have to overcome to achieve them. Maja was a lovely person with an even better Golf game & is a future Major Champion in waiting! 
 
Please Like, Download & Subscribe on Podbean & Spotify I want this episode to reach as many people as possible! 

(Ep 114) Megan Khang

In this next episode of Chasing Pars Golf Podcast which is proudly sponsored by Golf Tips Checker I am absolutely delighted to say I was joined by one of the best players in the world in Women's World Ranked Number 14, 1x LPGA Tour winner & 3x Solheim Cup participant for USA Megan Khang to discuss a brilliant career so far from the Amateur days being Low Amateur at 2012 US Open at the age of 14 years old to going 5-0 at 2015 Junior Solheim Cup to finishing T6th at LPGA Qualifying Tournament to gain LPGA Card in 2016 at the age of just 18 years old making history in the process becoming the first player of Hmong & Laotian descent to play on the LPGA Tour & hopes to inspire the next generation of Hmong & Laotian players!
A proud native of the state of Massachusetts Megan discovered the game of love of the game in New England where she also loved Snowboarding, Fishing & Hiking in her time. Megan is a 3x Solheim Cup participant for Team US having been automatically qualified on merit at the age of 21 to play as a Rookie in 2019 at Gleneagles an experience that will stay with her and tell a funny story about the time she never gave Charley Hull a putt concede in the competition. She was selected on home soil in 2021 & last year at Finca Cortesin Megan would win 3.5 pts for America along with Lexi Thompson & Rose Zhang with a nice story about the super talented Zhang. Megan hopes to be selected for this year's Solheim Cup on home soil again & has aspirations to play into US side at Olympic Games.
Last year on her 191st start on LPGA Tour at CPKC Women's Open in Shaughnessy, Canada Megan would win her maiden LPGA Tour title defeating the mighty Jin Young Ko in a Playoff, Megan describes how she felt coming down the stretch to win her first title! Khang has over 37 Top 10 finishes on the LPGA Tour with 10 Top 10's & 14 Top 25's in 42 Major Starts including a T3rd at KPMG Women's PGA, T9th at Chevron & T9th at Evian in last years Majors!
Megan ranks her favourite majors from 1st to 5th, talks about her friendship group with Nelly & Jess Korda & Alison Lee & of course talks about her favourite coffee! 
It was truly an honour for me to have one of the best players in Women's Golf on the show. I wish Megan Khang every success in 2024! I hope you enjoy the show. 
Please Like, Subscribe & Download via Podbean & Spotify it goes towards the growth!

(Ep 113) Justin Walters

In this latest episode of Chasing Pa In rs Golf Podcast which is Proudly sponsored by Golf Tips Checker I was joined by 2x Sunshine Tour champion & 4x DP World Tour runner up as I give you the remarkable story of Justin Walters. In a really deep, honest, meaningful at times tough not to feel emotional chat Justin goes at length about how career struggles affected him, the heavy loss of both parents with remarkable bravery to recover from such adversity to being a main stay on the DP World Tour for over a decade!
 
Justin was born in South Africa but is Half South African & Half English by his own admission due to having an English mother. Justin would take a college placement in the States in 2001 while managing to get into the University of North Carolina State & was number 1 at a period of time at NC State playing every week against serious players including PGA Tour players Hunter Mahan, Bill Haas, Brandt Snedeker, D.J. Trahan & Ryan Moore. In 2002 due to having dual citizenship Justin would get the call up to team GB & Ireland for Palmer Cup where alongside Oliver Wilson & Stuart Manley would battle a very talented US side consisting of the best college talent (Haas, Mahan, Trahan, Nick Watney). 
 
Justin would turn pro in 2003 & although would struggle in his first few years he would win 2004 Parmalat Classic on Sunshine Tour & 2005 Statesville Open on Tarheel Tour (US). In 2011 he would pick up his 2nd Sunshine Tour title at Investec Royal Swazi Open in the Stableford format legit coming off a 3 weeks injury layoff after slicing the top of a finger. 2013 was the year that propelled Justin properly on Tour ending up a career high 64th on Race to Dubai standings, 2013 European Tour Graduate of the Year & a 2nd at Portugal Masters pipped by David Lynn & contended in the big Turkish Airlines Open event which included Justin Rose & Tiger nonetheless. We get a story of how Justin was just a baby away from the greatest and being mesmerized by his swing! 2019 was also a strong year with a 2nd back home at Dimension Data Pro- Am & T2nd again in Portugal. In 2020 after the COVID restart Justin would lead ISPS Handa UK Championship at The Belfry Brabazon Course from start to finish until making a few mistakes going for home when Rasmus Hojgaard with an amazing finish got into a playoff where Hojgaard would win & still to this day Justin's biggest regret. He loves the Belfry after also a T3rd in 2022 at Betfred British Masters. 
 
From promising college career to career struggles to near misses on the main tour to personal tragedies this is a must listen to episode. I fully appreciate Justin's full honesty! Wish him all the best for 2024.

(Ep 112) George Bloor

In this next player episode of Chasing Pars Golf Podcast in association with Golf Tips Checker Craig was joined by 2023 Clutch Pro Tour/Mizuno Next Gen Order of Merit winner & now Challenge Tour card holder George Bloor who calls in a couple of days before he jets out to Dubai for 3 weeks in hot weather preparation for the start of the 2024 Challenge Tour season in South Africa.
 
A very hard working Golfer with Lazer focus that is always trying to get better & better George has made a name for himself on the Pro-Ams in Portugal & the UK mini tours winning 10 times in total and adores the country of Portugal having won 3 times in a short space of time on the Portugal Pro Tour.
 
George would turn pro at the end of 2018 & missed out on proper EuroPro Tour status and had limited starts in 2019 but a decent finish of T5th at The Eagle Orchid Scottish Masters would stand him in good stead in the same tournament where now fully fledged DP World Tour member & good pal Richard Mansell finished 2nd. Between late 2019-22 George would float about the mini tours and make occasional Challenge Tour starts on invites. In 2022 George would gain more start on the Challenge Tour via invites and would make the weekend a good few times with a highest finish of T34th. Fast forward to 2023 & George would fully commit to the Clutch Pro Tour playing the full 17 events having 7 Top 10's & finished 1st in the Order of Merit rankings to gain a Full Challenge Tour card for 2024.
 
George is from Buxton in Derbyshire which is the home of Buxton Water and played Golf competitively at 12 years old. Watch out for George Bloor in 2024 folks. A player with a great swing & a great attitude. I predict big things.
 
 
This show is sponsored by Golf Tips Checker the premium compiler of Golf Tops on every PGA Tour & DP World Tour event! Wishing you all the best!
 
 

(Ep 111) Jay Mackenzie (Aus Tour)

In this sponsored episode of Chasing Pars Golf Podcast in association with Golf Tips Checker, I am joined by Australian Tour professional Jay Mackenzie who joins from just outside of Melbourne in preparation for the 2nd half of the Australian Tour season. We have a lot of laughs about different things in this episode as Jay is a down to earth laid back character.
Jay is a 1x champion on the Australian Tour winning 2022 Western Australia PGA by 2 shots to his good friend & former podcast guest Austin Bautista. Jay along with his buddy Dylan also have a co-joined Instagram page where they challenge different players to wager matches trying to see if they can beat them!
A very chilled out episode & I hope that Jay finds more consistency & I wish him all the best in 2024

(Ep 110) Jim Herman

In the 2nd episode of today Craig was joined by 3x PGA Tour title winner & 1x Korn Ferry Tour winner & long time PGA Tour pro Jim Herman who gives in his own words a brilliant analogy of his long 23 year pro career from the highs and the lows of a PGA Tour professional. 
 
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio Jim turned pro in 2000 is the winner of 2010 Moonah  Classic on the Nationwide Tour (KFT) in Australia beating Chris Kirk in a playoff, the winner of 2016 Shell Houston Open defeating 2016 Open Champion Henrik Stenson by 1 shot his 1st win as a PGA Tour player, he then followed that up with 2 more PGA Tour wins at 2019 Barbasol Championship in Kentucky at -26 & 2020 Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield CC in North Carolina. 
 
Jim worked as a Assistant Club Pro at Trump National Bedminster and is friends with Donald Trump himself having played plenty of rounds with the former US President in the past. Jim is a loving family man and now resides in Pennsylvania after moving last year from Palm Beach, Florida.
 
This was a great interview with a 3x PGA Tour winner. I hope you all enjoy, subscribe and listen in. Thanks Jim
 
This show is brought to you in association with Golf Tips Checker.

(Ep 109) Benjamin Follett-Smith

We are back for the start of the Player Interviews again on Chasing Pars Golf Podcast in association with Golf Tips Checker. In this episode Craig is joined by current Challenge Tour/Sunshine Tour pro and a 2x winner of the Cape Town Open Zimbabwean Ben Follett-Smith!
We start off finding out what Ben likes to do in his down time off from the Tour life which includes Pints & Coffee. We find out what life was like back in Harare, Zimbabwe growing up while Ben picked up Golf because of his Dad at Age of 2/3. Ben would play sports growing up being a semi decent Cricketer & also played a little bit of Rugby and we have fun seeing who from tour would make it into a Rugby side (Quite a few South Africans). We find out about his growing up with Wildlife and a Pangolin is Ben's favourite animal! 
 
Ben Follett-Smith has 4 big wins in total as a Pro & is a 2x winner of Cape Town Open in 2019 on Sunshine Tour & last year in 2023 on the co-sanctioned Challenge Tour/Sunshine Tour. Also a winner of Big Easy Tour Challenge 9 - Kyalami in 2018 & Notts Hollinwell in 2020 on Clutch Pro Tour. Ben underwent a scholarship in 2013 at The State of Mississippi and was a part of the 2016 Eisenhower Trophy for Zimbabwe & also was a part of 2018 World Cup for Zimbabwe alongside Scott Vincent in Melbourne as a Pro. Ben chats about finally gaining some consistency on the Challenge Tour last year winning in Cape Town, having 6+ top 10s & making Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final at Alcanada where he finished T19th but narrowly missed out on a full DP World Tour card ultimately finishing 23rd overall in the Race to Mallorca standings although Ben takes a lot of positives from that going forward. 
 
I'd like to thank Ben for taking time to come on and chat I wish you all the best for 2024 Season in your quest to the DPWT.

Season 2024 & 2023 Recap

Hello and Happy New Year from a new look Chasing Pars Golf Podcast where Craig & new co-host Craig Edwards go over what type of players we are looking at for Kapalua Plantation Course for this week's The Sentry as well as go over the LIV events of 2023/Majors of 2023/Make some predictions for Majors in 2024 & name a few DP World Tour players we ate looking out for in 2024.
 
Craig Edwards is an experienced Golf Bettor/Tipster with a host of experience in Golf Betting Articles & Golf Journalism and I'm looking forward to seeing what we have planned for the future!
 
This show is now brought to you by Golf Tips Checker which is the biggest compiler of Golf Tips on the Internet for PGA Tour & DP World Tour events. We are happy to be in alignment with Golf Tips Checker!

(Ep 108) Manuel Elvira

In this latest player journey episode of Chasing Pars Podcast where Craig was battling through the flu. Craig was joined by recent DP World Tour card holder Manuel Elvira who graduated from the Challenge Tour last season with 10 Top 10 finishes with 3 2nd place finishes including in last seasons sparkling run resulting in finishing 3rd overall on the Race to Mallorca standings gaining his DP Tour Card for 2024 season.
We look back at how Manuel got into the game, the challenges of having an older brother 9 years senior (DP World Tour winner Nacho Elvira), how he made the decision to go to States & do a Scholarship at University of Central Florida where Manuel would win 3x NCAA titles while at UCF as well as getting the call into 2016 Eisenhower Trophy at Mayakoba in Mexico & being a 3x European Amateur Team Championship participant for Spain where in 3 tries would finish 7th in Chantilly, France in 2016, Winners at Diamond CC in Austria alongside Adri Arnaus, Angel Hidalgo & Alejandro Del Rey as well as finishing 5th in 2018 at Bad Saarow in Germany. Since turning pro in 2019 life on tour has never been the easiest with stop/start finishes in 1st 3 years between Alps Tour & Challenge Tour. In mid 2022 Manuel would get new club system fitted as well as gain a new coach that would transform his game 18 months later to the DP World Tour stage. In the opening swing in South Africa Manuel would finish T12th at Joburg Open/MC at SA Champs & T32nd at Leopard Creek for Dunhill Champs.
A player with plenty of potential to go far if he can keep up his current form & performance levels. All the best to Manuel for 2024!

(Ep 107) Martin Simonsen

In tonight's episode Craig is joined by DP World Tour & Challenge Tour professional Martin Leth Simonsen calling in from holiday in Texas! Martin is a pro since 2015 playing from Aalborg in Denmark the same place as Lucas Bjerregaard & a graduate of the University of Texas El Paso playing in the same fields as the likes of Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth & Bryson DeChambeau. We learn of how Bryson would just come out with the most random stuff! A 2x European Am Team member for Denmark in 2014 at Linna in Finland & 2015 at Halmstad GC in Sweden losing in the final to Scotland that year. Martin alongside his good pal Niklas Norgaard & Nicolai Kristensen competed in the 2014 Eisenhower Trophy together in Japan with was won by USA (DeChambeau, Hossler & Denny McCarthy) other notables include Jon Rahm, Thomas Detry, the dangerous trio of Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith & Adam Svensson as well as the 2 long sons of Italy Matteo Manassero & Guido Migliozzi. Martin reveals how Matteo was delighted for him winning his tour card even in his own struggles and is fastly the nicest guy on the tour and how great it is to have Manassero back playing well again! Martin would win Challenge Tour card in 2019 from the Nordic Golf League and a DP World Tour card in 2022 after finishing 14th overall in the Race to Mallorca standings for the season gaining full playing privileges on the DP World Tour for 2023 winning his only career title as a pro at Kaskada Golf Challenge in Prague at -20 beating the talented Marco Penge by 4 shots going wire to wire all the way! Although injuries and poor form happened in 2023 for Martin there is a sense of optimism that 2024 could be a great year on the challenge tour as Martin looks to win back his DP Tour Card for 2024/25 season!
I hope you enjoy!