Oz in Spain

Debut Triumph for Mireia

Mireia Prat made quick amends for losing an excellent winning chance earlier in the year when she secured a one-shot victory over Australia’s Bree Arthur in the Ocho Golf Ladies Open at the Augas Santas Balneario & Golf Resort in Galicia – part of the Ladies European Tour Access Series (satellite tour). It was the 23-year-old from Barcelona’s first title as a professional. […]

While the men’s game has, in many ways, become tediously predictable in recent seasons, the Ladies European Tour offers a marked contrast: blossoming new talent, exotic horizons and a sparkle of sensuality… all with a rich Spanish flavour.
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José María Olazábal, Jaime Ortiz-Patiño, George O’Grady and Ángel Gallardo (Photo: Getty Images)

It was July 1990, the British Open was being played at St. Andrews, and an earlier (and less bald) incarnation of OzinSpain was sipping a Scotch in the downstairs clubhouse lounge area set aside for press and players that week. (Those were the good old days when press and players cheerfully mingled – some even bought us drinks!) […]

Viva Sydney… and España

a) That South Korean “pop sensation” Gangnam Style has officially become the first video on YouTube to reach one billion views…

b) That when South Korean “pop sensation” Gangnam Style took over top spot one month earlier (with 805 million views since its launch in July 2012) Justin Blubber’s Baby video clip had been leading the way…

c) OzinSpain actually first performed a remarkably similar “horse-riding dance” in 1982 towards the end of a long and memorable company Christmas dinner – i.e. when Psy aka Park Jae-Sang was just five years old (and, perhaps fortunately, 23 years before the advent of YouTube)…

d) South Korea apparently sees such popular culture as a “potent export force”…

e) All of the above…

Santa María de los Reales Alcázares (Úbeda)

Palacio de Jabalquinto (Baeza)

Jaén is something of a hidden treasure for many visitors to Andalucía. The seven other provinces (Málaga/Costa del Sol, Granada, Sevilla, Cádiz and, to a less extent, Córdoba, Huelva and Almería) tend to corner the market when it comes to tourism in Spain’s renowned southern region. […]

Finally… a voice of reason to ease the looming trepidation of men of a certain age. In its latest book of preventative health guidelines, the Royal Australian College for General Practitioners advises its members not to recommend prostate cancer screening to patients. Arguing that the risks of being screened for prostate cancer outweigh the benefits, the group says the risks of being screened for prostate cancer outweigh the benefits.

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(Photo: Getty Images)

It’s now official: Miguel Ángel Jiménez is the oldest winner on the European Tour. It took two years after his last win (Omega European Masters in Switzerland) but, with 11 of his 18 Tout titles having come since turning 40, few were surprised when the 48-year-old Málaga-born star triumphed in the UBS Hong Kong Open. It was his third victory in the event (following 2005 and 2008) and meant he was six months older than Des Smith when the Irishman won the 2001 Madeira Islands Open. […]