European Tour Insider: Windy Jeju Island awaits

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Last year's champion Graeme McDowell got familiar with the Jeju Stone Grandfathers at Pinx Golf Club.

Welcome to paradise -- Korean style.

The European Tour has touched down on Jeju -- the holiday and honeymoon island of South Korea -- for the second staging of the Ballantine's Championship. Eventually, that is.

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The majority of players and tournament staff had been delighted to find there was a direct flight from the Volvo China Open in Beijing to Jeju. But the joy turned to irritation upon arrival at the airport to find the 10:50 departure had been delayed more than six hours because strong winds in Jeju had prevented planes taking off. Players who had traveled via Seoul were no better off, as they were stuck in Korea's capital for the same reasons.

OUT OF SEASON

Jeju is an attractive island. It's rugged and volcanic with great scenery, similar to the Canary Islands as well as Hawaii. Then again, Finland's Mikko Ilonen thinks the Pinx club is like Lapland, and -- fittingly for an event sponsored by a whisky distiller -- there are aspects of Dumfries and Galloway.

Legend has it that the island was formed when three "divine men" emerged from the soil on the uninhabited land. Statues carved from lava rock called Dol Hareubang or Stone Grandfathers -- reminiscent of those on Easter Island -- can be found throughout the island. They're focal points on the golf course where this week's event is staged, too.

Tour guides suggest Jeju has "three factors in abundance: wind, women and rocks." It's still early in the year, and vacation season hasn't really started, so it's hard to vouch for there being an abundance of women, but the other factors are prevalent.

As national hero K.J. Choi once said: "Usually on Jeju Island, the wind is over 45 miles per hour. Some tournaments on the KPGA Tour, they can't stop the ball on the greens. Two days, and they cancel."

At least this year's event is a month later than the first staging when snow had been on the course just prior to the tournament.

STRANGE SUCCESS

The wind was troublesome in Beijing as well, but the consistency, patience and excellent putting of Australia's Scott Strange saw him pick up his second European Tour win.

He could enjoy it infinitely more than his first last year at the Celtic Manor Wales Open when he played in the knowledge that his sister was dying from cancer, and his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

"The brain's a funny thing," he said. "When I won in Wales, all I was doing was hitting the next shot. I just wanted to play and do my best. Here, I had a sense that if I played well, I had a chance."

Strange, 32, has progressed from playing at home to thriving on the Asian Tour to graduating on the European Tour. He's not yet thinking of the PGA TOUR, though. He thinks he will one day follow the lead set by Geoff Ogilvy, Robert Allenby and Stuart Appleby, but there's more to be done on this Tour first.

HALL ABOARD

A fellow Aussie rivaled Strange at the Volvo China Open; the little-known Ashley Hall finished third.

By his own admission, he's rarely played at this level, and he had been considering getting a job prior to a win at the Victorian Open earlier this season.

The job's no longer necessary, and his prize money is likely to go toward his wedding. However, he left Beijing believing his next event might not come around until the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland in the fall -- he's been given an invitation. He hopes there are more offers in the pipeline.

A LONG WAY FROM THE NATIONWIDE TOUR

Another Australian looking to make the most of a rare European start was David McKenzie, who tied for 20th.

He might be a more familiar name Stateside, because he's a regular on the Nationwide Tour, but he couldn't get entry to the latest event -- the Athens Regional Foundation Classic -- and opted for a first visit to China instead.

G-MAC DEFENDS

Graeme McDowell is making a return visit to Jeju as the defending champion of the Ballantine's Championship.

A year ago, the Ryder Cup star edged Jeev Milkha Singh in a playoff. He's joined this week by high-caliber stars Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson and Fred Couples.

There's no return, however, for Padraig Harrington. The three-time major champion was last seen here on stage, singing karaoke with the winner. He's got a decent voice, so it's not that the organizers didn't want him back with a microphone.

G-Mac was a reluctant singer but didn't need fortifying by the sponsor's product. He won five bottles of whisky last year -- a 17-year-old blend for a birdie at No. 17 on the first day, two 21-year-old bottles for low rounds of the day, a 30-year-old for lowest 18 of the tournament and one of only eight 40-year-old Ballantine's in existence for winning their inaugural event.

SAYING THE RIGHT THINGS

Former Masters champion Fred Couples has been saying all the right things on the eve of the event.

"It's a privilege to be here," Couples said. "It's a huge event. It's my third time in Korea, but my first time on Jeju island, so I'm excited to be here.

"I've been traveling since The Open Championship in 1983, and the most fun is playing in front of people you don't usually play in front of. So when I come to places like Korea, I want to play well."

Fellow American Anthony Kang is also here, looking to build on the success he enjoyed in Malaysia earlier this year.