Gongs for Clarke and McIlroy

Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy have received awards for their 2011 success in the New Year Honours list.

Open winner Clarke becomes an OBE while fellow Northern Irishman McIlroy is appointed an MBE for his US Open win.

Clarke, 42, fired a final-round 70 at Royal St George's in July to finish five under par and hold off Americans Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.

"It is a great honour and a fantastic way to end a great year. I am very proud for me and my family," said Clarke.

McIlroy, 22, won the US Open in Washington in June and climbed to number three in the world rankings.

He became the youngest US Open champion since Bobby Jones in 1923, who was just 21, and the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods triumphed at the Masters in 1997 while 21.

McIlroy was "humbled" to be on the list and said: "Many people on the honours list have made huge personal sacrifices and contributed significantly to society during their lives. I feel very fortunate to be in their company."

Clarke and McIlroy were both nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, with Clarke coming second to cyclist Mark Cavendish.

Alliss Promotes Northern Courses

Golf commentator Peter Alliss is helping to bring Northern Ireland’s world-class golf scene to the attention of millions of radio listeners across the rest of the UK.

The well-known TV presenter, widely regarded as the voice of golf, has taken part in a series of radio interviews for the BBC and numerous commercial radio stations to spread the word about the province’s golf courses and trio of Major winning players to 12m listeners.

In the pieces, he speaks of his experience of playing Royal Portrush, Royal County Down and Malone.

Alliss also referred to Northern Ireland's growing reputation and record for delivering first-class golfers.

“Northern Ireland not only has some of the best golf courses in the world, they now also have the best players.

“The success of Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell has led many commentators to label Northern Ireland as the golfing capital of the world.

“The fact that they can now boast three major winning golfers in the space of 13 months gives them an unprecedented opportunity to show the rest of the world just what makes Northern Ireland’s golfing offering so special,” he said.

The interviews were done as part of Tourism Ireland’s Home of Champions campaign.

Open Champ is SPOTY Runner Up

Darren Clarke finished second in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award behind cyclist Mark Cavendish at the end of the glittering evening in Manchester.

Clarke,winner of the 2011 Open Champion at Royal St George's, was one of three European Tour Members among the ten nominations along with World, European and US PGA Tour Number One Luke Donald and US Open Champion Rory McIlroy – the first time three golfers have been among the nominations.

The top award, however, went to World road race champion and Tour de France green jersey winner Mark Cavendish. An "honoured" Cavendish becomes only the third cyclist to win after Tommy Simpson in 1965 and Sir Chris Hoy in 2008.

Cavendish said: "I am absolutely speechless. Just to be nominated was an incredible feeling."

In the night's other awards England's cricket team were named Team of the Year, with their coach Andy Flower winning the Coach of the Year award.

World Number One tennis player Novak Djokovic, winner of three of the year's four Grand Slams, won the Overseas Sports Personality of the Year, while teenage golfer Lauren Taylor scooped the Young Sports Personality award.

Athletics coaches Janice Eaglesham and Ian Mirfin won the BBC Sports Unsung Hero award.

Former rower Sir Steve Redgrave won the Lifetime Achievement award while Bob Champion was handed the Helen Rollason Award.

Cavendish won five stages of this year's Tour de France - including the final time trial in Paris - to clinch the green jersey awarded to the race's best sprinter for the first time.

The Manxman followed that success by confirming Britain's emergence as a major nation in road as well as track cycling by taking gold at the World Championships in Copenhagen in September.

Killeen Returns for 2012 Ladies

A truly international schedule featuring 24 golf tournaments in 19 different countries was unveiled for 2012 today by the Ladies European Tour.

The 2012 Ladies European Tour schedule features two new tournaments in Buckinghamshire, England and Helsingborg, Sweden, as well as two provisional additional dates in March and October. 

The year starts off with Qualifying School at La Manga Club in Spain in early January. The season proper then begins with RACV Australian Ladies Masters during the first week of February, followed by the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open and the ISPS Handa New Zealand Women’s Open, hosted by Christchurch.

The Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco will be played one week earlier than previously scheduled, from March 22-25 and moves to Golf de l'Ocean in Agadir, which hosted the Hassan II Trophée on the PGA European Tour in 2010. For the third straight year the men’s and women’s events will take place in the same city during the same week.

Moving into Europe, the Aberdeen Asset management Ladies Scottish Open presented by EventScotland will continue at Archerfield Links in East Lothian, Scotland, from May 3-5. The designated special event will feature a field of 80 players with a cut.

The Turkish Ladies Open then continues at National Golf Club, Belek, Antalya, Turkey, from May 10-13, followed by the UniCredit Ladies German Open presented by Audi at Golfpark Gut Häusern, near Munich in Germany from May 24-27.

In June, the Deloitte Ladies Open will again be played at Golfclub Broekpolder in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, followed by the Ladies Slovak Open at Golf Resort Tale in Brezno, Tale, Slovakia.

The Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open, with a prize fund of €525,000, will be played at Golf Gerre Losone, Ticino, Switzerland from June 14-17.

Then, following a successful first visit to the Czech Republic in 2010, the Raiffeisenbank Prague Golf Masters will return to Albatross Golf Resort.

The Evian Masters presented by Societe Generale will be staged at Evian Masters Golf Club in Evian-Les-Bains, France from June 26-29.

Returning to the scene of Europe’s dramatic Solheim Cup victory, Killeen Castle will host the Ladies Irish Open from August 3-5.

The inaugural ISPS Handa Ladies British Masters will be played at Buckinghamshire Golf Club, home to the Ladies European Tour’s headquarters, from August 13-19 following the London 2012 Olympic Games and before the Paralympics.

The Tour will then move to Austria for the UNIQA Ladies Golf Open presented by Raiffeisen at Golfclub Föhrenwald in Wiener Neustadt from August 30 to September 2nd.

In another exciting development, the LET returns to Sweden after a three year hiatus for the inaugural Helsingborg Open at Vasatorp Golf Club, Helsingborg, Skane, from September 6-9.

The RICOH Women's British Open, making an historical first visit to Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, from September 13-16, will then take place ahead of the Open de España Femenino and Ladies Open of Portugal.

The Lacoste Ladies Open de France moves to Chantaco Golf Club in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Aquitaine, from October 4-7, for the last event of the year on European soil.

The Tour then heads east for the Sanya Ladies Open at Yalong Bay Golf Club in Hainan, China, ahead of the China Suzhou Taihu Open at Suzhou Taihu International Golf Club near Shanghai from October 26-28.

The Hero Honda Women's Indian Open will again take place at DLF Golf & Country Club near New Delhi and the season concludes with the seventh staging of the highly popular Omega Dubai Ladies Masters at Emirates Golf Course in the United Arab Emirates. 

“We have been able to offer our members a wide range of attractive playing opportunities at some of the world’s finest international venues,” said the Ladies European Tour’s executive director Alexandra Armas.

“We are pleased with the schedule, particularly given the poor shape of the global economy and these are exciting times for the LET.”

2012 European Tour Schedule

The 2012 European Tour International Schedule, announced today, features true worldwide competition celebrating both the diversity and the shared passion for golf across the globe.

From the curtain-raising Africa Open – which gets underway at the East London Golf Club on Thursday January 5 – through to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai at the Jumeirah Golf Estates – which culminates on Sunday November 25 – The 2012 European Tour International Schedule will present 11 months of enthralling tournament action.

One highlight will be The European Tour’s flagship event – the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club from May 24-27 – where, this year, Luke Donald pipped Lee Westwood in a play-off for the title; a victory which helped him become World Number One and was a major influence on him capturing The Race to Dubai and being voted The 2011 European Tour Golfer of the Year last week.

Another tournament which will attract huge worldwide interest will be the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles from August 23-26, the final counting event for players aiming to qualify for the European Team bound for The 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club in Illinois under the captaincy of José María Olazábal.

For the second year in succession, European Tour Members will arrive at three of the four Majors as defending champions; in the guise of Charl Schwartzel (Masters Tournament at Augusta National from April 5-8), Rory McIlory (US Open Championship at the Olympic Club in San Francisco from June 14-17), and Darren Clarke (The 141st Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes from July 19-22).

All five continents – Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Australasia – will stage tournaments and while the schedule currently features 46 counting events towards The 2012 Race to Dubai – in addition to The 2012 Ryder Cup – further tournament announcements will be made in due course.

Keith Waters, Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy for The European Tour, said: “We are delighted today to announce our 2012 schedule which once again is strong and vibrant and one which will allow our Members to exhibit their undoubted talents in a variety of venues around the world.

“The success of our Members globally has clearly contributed to the continuing development of The European Tour International Schedule but we are further inspired by the superb support of our many partners and sponsors, across many geographically and culturally diverse regions, all of whom deserve our sincere thanks for their support in these economically challenging times.

“Our most recent sponsorship announcement, which has seen The Race to Dubai extended through to the end of 2014 – with the end of season tournament being retitled the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai – is particularly significant. In DP World and Nakheel we have two incredibly strong partners who will help provide a truly fitting end to what already looks like being another exciting season.”

To view the 2012 European Tour International Schedule click here.