The sole reasoning for Sabbatini’s change of nationality - he is married to a Slovak - has all to do with the Olympics in Japan next year. Better for Sabbatini to take on the likes of Valasek than heavy-hitters like Louis Oosthuizen or Branden Grace to become an Olympian! As far as the men’s qualifying is concerned, Rory McIlroy is currently seventh in the qualifying table while Shane Lowry is 19th; in the women’s qualifying, Stephanie Meadow is 49th and Leona Maguire is 52nd. There’s still quite a lot of water to flow under the bridge between now and the final qualifying events, but Tokyo 2020 will gain sharper focus in their minds as the Games move closer. That Gil Hanse-designed course, by the way, is very much open for play as part of the so-called “legacy” to those Games.

Source: The Irish Times February 20, 2019 11:26 UTC