Mark Officer Golf

I was fortunate enough to visit the Shenshan course which is the venue for the HSBC Tournament in Shanghai last week. This week is a WGC so it is basically officially a part of the USPG PGA Tour and the European Tour. It was great to see many of the top players in the world playing in Asia but it looks like tours like the Asian Tour and One Asia may have problems in the future with more and more events in Asia being included on the tow main tours schedules. When there are a number of events being played in Asia at the same time as part of different tours it is going to be difficult to give the sponsors good value for money and proper local and international exposure. This is going to lead to a dilution of the product which won’t be good for golf so hopefully the tours can come to some agreement. I took a Casio high speed camera to the pro am day last week and was able to record a good number of the best players in their full swings in slow motion. Unfortunately the day wasn’t great and there wasn’t much sunshine so the quality of some of the videos isn’t great but you can see clubface positionsand the shaft throughout the swings. Find above images from the videos of various players at different moments in their swings.

Usually when a golfer is having problems with their putting they will look to a quick fix such as a tip from one of their playing partners or something they read in a magazine that one of the top PGA Tour players is working on that has helped them. Or the next most popular thing to do to fix their problem is to buy the latest putter that is backed up by a huge marketing campaign that is guaranteed to help you make more putts because of its face insert or CNC milling or other special feature. The reality is a short time after buying the new putter or after a few holes of using that tip a player can still manage to miss an important short putt and the confidence goes. Sometimes the blend of compensations that a player has works and the ball goes in and he doesn’t realise that he actually misaligned or misread the putt or hit it the wrong speed. He or she just see’s the putt go in and they give themselves credit. There may have been severe problems with the face control or stroke path that are going to present at a later time.  Any player that is serious about improving and getting better results in the future needs to realise that they need to take stock and take a look at where they are now and introduce some plans and strategies to get better.

There are five key components that a player needs to improve or address if they are going to make improvement in their putting results. The key areas are -

1. Aim of the putterface at address and impact
2. The mechanics of the stroke
3. The ability to hit the ball the correct distance
4.  The ability to be able to read the break or slope of the green
5. Using equipment that fits and is suitable to the player

If a player cannot aim the putter face accurately and consistently at address then they are going to have problems with holing putts. You need to be able to aim where you think you are aiming. In a perfect world you would aim correctly with all types of putts and your stroke mechanics would be ideal and you could come back to impact with a square putter face. The ball would start on line and then you could concentrate mainly on the distance. However many effective putters actually misalign at address but then their stroke mechanics bring the putter face back to a position that helps to start the ball on the desired line. With one of these types of players if you set them up squarely and correctly at address they will look to the hole and believe that they can’t make it, this is because of their mechanics which has affected their aim. Good putters will tend to be very consistent with their alignment at address even if that means they slightly misalign. Their stroke mechanics can help to make up for their poor alignment or vice versa – aim can help to compensate for their mechanics. So the question is what do you fix, and do you need to fix it. In most cases I believe that in the long run you are better off to align square at address for all lengths of putt because on shorter putts you are not going to have the same amount of time to make compensations in the stroke. One of the best ways to practice square alignment at address and square alignment at impact is to practice under a string line. The putter head should be very close to the ball at address with the face perpendicular to the line and any markings on the putter head parallel to the string line. When a putt is hit it is then pretty easy to see if the ball starts out directly under the string line. If a player can’t get the ball to start out straight under a string line then we know that there are some problems with the mechanics of the stroke. This is very often a concept problem. The marketing and logic suggests that the easiest way to get the ball started on line is to keep the face square to the target thoughout the stroke with the putter head swinging straight back and through. However this concept can lead to a number of problems. There is a rule relating to putter design that states that the shaft must go into the head at least at an angle of 10 degrees off vertical. Most manufactures actually make their regular length putters at an angle of around 71 degrees or 19 degrees off vertical. If a straight back and through stroke and square face is going to happen there needs to be some manipulations occur with the arms and the shoulder movement. The arms are going to need to separate from the body and under rotate both on the backswing and through swing. The shoulder action is going to need to work in a rocking fashion with the left shoulder going down in the back stroke and the right shoulder going under and down in the through stroke. This usually leads to a closed clubface in the back stroke and opening in the forward stroke. With the clubface getting closed in relation to the path very often the face arrives back at the ball aiming left with the ball then starting left.  Players then usually misdiagnose the problem thinking that they pulled the putt when it really wasn’t a stroke path issue. After a few more missed putts to the left the player will then start aiming right thinking that the problem might also be aiming left at address. There is then a series of compensations and complications happening which will mostly lead to inconsistent results whenever they play. I think it would be better to get back to the root of the problem which is most likely to be alignment, and then resolve any concept and mechanics issues. The putter head should swing slightly inside to inside with the shaft staying pointing at or parallel to the target line throughout the stroke. The face will then open and close slightly in relation to the target on the back stroke and through stroke but optimally will stay square to the path. If the putter head swings on the correct path and plane with appropriate face rotation then there should be no problems with centeredness of contact. When the face is rotating correctly and with good ball positioning in the stance the angle of approach of the putter head should be slightly on the upswing. Combined with the correct loft on the putter the ball should then have the correct skid then roll.

The next component of putting that needs to be addressed is the feel or distance control. Without proper and correct distance control it is not going to be possible to hole breaking putts and all golfers know how often we are face with breaking putts on the golf course. You may have read the break of the putt correctly, aimed correctly and had good mechanics in the stroke but if you haven’t got the speed right then it won’t go in. Distance control comes through practice and experience and somewhat natural ability. Some players instinctively know how far to swing the putter back and through and at what speed to make the ball go the right distance be it uphill or downhill or fast or slow. The rest of us need to develop good distance control. I think the best way to learn and develop this is to have the concept that the backswing and through swings are pretty close to matching with the ball getting in the way of the putter head. There is no hit in the putt and there is no conscious thought to accelerate or swing with any particular rhythm. The best way to develop feel for distance is to do practice drills on the putting green where you are constantly changing the length of your putts to the same target. You must also do these drills on uphill, downhill and side hill putts and feel needs to become instinctive not something you consciously control.

Being able to read the correct and appropriate amount of break to allow for putts is the next skill or component that is required for successful putting. Break is mainly due to the slope of the green but can also be affected by any grain or grass growth direction and to a small extent by wind. Reading break in itself is almost a science and it is understandably important because if you can’t accurately judge the break there is little chance of the ball going in if you have aimed correctly with good mechanics and good distance control. Green design usually has the back of the green higher than the front but there are also many other slopes and moundings that can be in a green that need to be observed. There are always drainage areas in and around greens and this is going to help a player to determine directly uphill and directly downhill putts and therefore left to right and right to left. Grain or the direction that grass grows on a green is also going to affect the speed and amount of break on a putt and grain usually can be seen in the texture and colour of the green. In hot and humid climates the type of grass that is used on the greens needs to be tolerant of these conditions. This type of grass usually has a broader leaf and is more likely to grow in certain directions.  If the grass appears to be shiny then you are almost certainly looking at a down grain putt and if the grass appears to change to a darker colour then the putt will be into the grain. Down grain is faster, into the grain slower. A putt that you would read as straight as far as the slope is concerned may break because the grain is growing across the line of the putt. Almost always grain will grow downhill in the direction that water would naturally drain. Grain will very often grow in the direction of the setting sun and also can be affected by the direction that the greens have been cut. It may also grow in the direction of a large body of water but it doesn’t have as powerful an effect as slope. Usually downhill putts are fast because they are downhill but also because the grain is growing down the slope. Uphill putts are slow because of the slope but also because they are into the grain.

The final component that every good user of a putter usually has in their favour is a putter that fits them and suits them well. This means that it has the correct length and lie angle. The length can affect the players’ posture and eye position. Most players that are good putters have their eyes positioned directly over the ball at address for all putts that has the ball at the same level as their feet at address. If the ball is above their feet their eyes are slightly inside and if the ball is below their feet they are slightly outside the target line. This means that they are assuming the same posture and they can effectively feel break in their address position. Length of the putter will also affect the stroke pattern and face rotation. With a putter that is too long the player will stand upright which will make the shoulders rotate more. This will make the stroke path move more around or more inside to inside. It will also increase face rotation. A putter that is too short may make the shoulders rock more which will mean less inside to inside and less rotation. The lie angle also can have a small effect on direction. A standard putter has around 4 degrees of loft and if the lie angle is incorrect and the toe is up the face will actually aim slightly left because of the loft. Vice versa with the heel off the ground the putter face will aim slightly to the right. The loft can also be a factor to consider in regards to the angle of approach in the stroke. If the ball position is forward for instance the rise angle of the putter will be higher so less loft is needed. If the ball position is back or the player has more weight on the left side for a right hander the angle of approach will be steeper so there should be more loft on the putter. The swing weight and design of the head and shaft entry to the head can have an effect. The markings for alignment can also have some influence on a player’s ability to align at address as some people can align better with a single line, a dot, three lines or no markings. There are face balanced and toe hang putters that vary in differing amounts that can lessen or improve a players tendencies. For example someone that swings the putter on too much of an arc and with excessive face rotation would probably be better off using a face balanced putter. A player that closes the face on the backstroke may be better served by a putter with between 30 and 40 degrees of toe hang.

If you are not satisfied with the results that you are achieving on the course with your putting you need to look at these five key components and perhaps seek professional advice to determine which of these factors is having the biggest influence on your putting. If you are fortunate you may only need to work on one, if you are having big problems you may need to address and improve in all of these areas.  Advice is available in all areas including full analysis of the aim and mechanics of the putting stroke, green reading schools, putter fitting specialists and there are a number of very good training aids available that can provide great results.

Great news that golf has been accepted as an Olympic sport.  What is not such great news is that the governing bodies have come up with a strange format that will not promote the game around the world as was first thought when the announcement was made. Some of the worlds less known countries as far as golf participation is concerned thought that this would be a boost to the game in their countries because their national governments would financially and structurally support the development of the game. However these countries are slowly realising that they are very likely to not have any players participating unless they have a high world golf ranking. The IOC and IGF have decided that there will be two separate competitions for men and women conducted over 72 holes with fields of 60 players in each competition. The top 15 ranked players in the world at a certain time in the mens and womens games are automatically invited. If say the US has eight players in the top 15 in the world at that time then all of those players are invited to play. The same goes for the women. If South Korea has eight women players in the top 15 then they might have all of those players competing for the gold medal. If a country does not have any players in the top 15 then they can only have a maximum of 2 players compete. It seems that with a limit of 60 players in the field and with eligibility requirement of a world ranking then there will be many countries that are not represented. This means that the developing countries as far as golf are concerned such as many European and Asian countries won’t be represented. When the announcement of golf in the Olympics was first announced everyone was talking about how this was going to be great to help grow the game in places where golf wasn’t already a popular and well supported sport. It looks like now that many of these developing countries won’t have any representation and very little chance of representation. I think that perhaps a better way to grow the game and develop the sport around the world would have been to limit the event only to amateur players and for men and women to play at different venues. Also they then have a different qualifying system that is decided by each country which then helps to develop the game in those countries. With different venues for men and women it would mean that the field sizes could increased to perhaps 144 at each which means that 72 countries could be represented with two players from each nationality. The idea that you need to have the top players in the world involved for golf in the Olympics to be successful is short sighted. There are so many golf tournaments played around the world each and every year that golf is not going to be that special when it is played at the same time as the other traditional sports such as athletics and swimming. For most sports enthusiasts we really are going to only watch swimming or marathon running or high jump when the Olympics are on. So golf will appeal to a very small few. The other thing is whether or not the IOC is going to offer prizemoney in the events. For a professional player to be running T45^th in the third round of the Olympics golf tournament there is not going to be much incentive as he is very unlikely to be able to finish in the top three podium places from that position. For an amateur player however who only gets to play a very limited number of events at an international level there is far more to be gained. And that will be much better for the game globally.

American Lucas Glover today won the second tournament of his career the 2009 US Open played at the Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale New York today. He shot a three over par 73 which gave him a 4 under total good enough to win by two from Ricky Barnes, Phil Mickelson and David Duval. At times it looked like it was going to be Mickelson’s tournament or Duval’s but short missed putts late in the round cost both players dearly. So many amazing stories belonged to contenders all around him Monday at Bethpage Black, from Phil Mickelson’s stirring bid to win for his beloved wife as she battles breast cancer, to David Duval coming out of nowhere or what would have been his first win in eight long years.
Glover kept his cap tugged low and played the kind of golf that wins a U.S. Open under any conditions.
He made only one birdie in the rain-delayed final round, and it could not have been timed any better. Glover holed a 6-foot putt on the 16th hole to break one last tie for the lead, then held on with pars to close with a 3-over 73 for a two-shot victory.
“It was a test of patience, that’s for sure,” Glover said. “It was just heart today.”It was sheer heartache for Mickelson. His wife, Amy, is due to have surgery for breast cancer next week. She left cards and text messages asking him to bring home the silver trophy from a U.S. Open that has taunted Lefty for a decade.
Right when it was in his grasp, Mickelson let it slip away again.
He missed a 3-foot par putt on the 15th hole and another par putt from 8 feet on the 17th that ended his dream finish. Mickelson closed with a 70 and wound up in a three-way tie for second with Duval and 54-hole leader Ricky Barnes.
Mickelson left Bethpage Black with the wrong kind of distinction. He set the U.S. Open record with his fifth runner-up finish. “Certainly I’m disappointed,” Mickelson said, “but now that it’s over, I’ve got more important things going on.
“And,” he added, then paused, “oh, well.”
Even more stunning was the revival of Duval. The former No. 1 player in golf came to the U.S. Open as a qualifier who had plunged to No. 882 in the world. Showing remarkable resiliency throughout the week, Duval recovered from another big number — a triple bogey from a plugged lie in a bunker — and surged into a share of the lead with three straight birdies.
Tied for the lead with two holes to play, his 5-foot par putt on the 17th cruelly caught the back of the lip and spun 180 degrees out on the other side. He shot 71 for his best finish on the PGA TOUR since he won the British Open in 2001. Barnes, who set the 36-hole U.S. Open scoring record, never had much of a chance. His swing got him into more trouble than he could handle as he went out in 40, 5-over par, and never quite recovered until it was too late. That left Glover the most unlikely champion.
The 29-year-old from South Carolina, who chews tobacco and listens to Sinatra, had not won since holing out a bunker shot on the final hole at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic nearly five years ago. But this was no fluke.  Once he was handed the lead by Barnes’ collapse, Glover was rock solid on a water-logged course. And when he hit two of his best shots of the final round to the 16th green for his lone birdie, it made for an anticlimactic finish to a U.S. Open that had more delays than drama. Hopefully Lucas Glover will contend and win more tournaments and perhaps majors and players like Duval and Mickelson can also add to their career record in majors. It would be a shame if Mickelson was not able to add a US Open to his resume as he has certainly proved that he has the game for the open course set ups and he has been one of the most dominant players of the past decade.

1	1	Lucas Glover	-4			69	64	70	73	276
T2	3	Phil Mickelson	-2			69	70	69	70	278
T2	1	David Duval	-2			67	70	70	71	278
T2	1	Ricky Barnes	-2			67	65	70	76	278
5	2	Ross Fisher	-1			70	68	69	72	279
T6	9	Tiger Woods	E			74	69	68	69	280
T6	9	Soren Hansen	E			70	71	70	69	280
T6	1	Hunter Mahan	E			72	68	68	72	280
9	16	Henrik Stenson	+1			73	70	70	68	281
T10	22	Rory McIlroy	+2			72	70	72	68	282
T10	15	Matt Bettencourt	+2			75	67	71	69	282
T10	10	Sergio Garcia	+2			70	70	72	70	282
T10	5	Ryan Moore	+2			70	69	72	71	282
T10	2	Stephen Ames	+2			74	66	70	72	282
T10	5	Mike Weir	+2			64	70	74	74	282
T16	9	Anthony Kim	+3			71	71	71	70	283
T16	8	Retief Goosen	+3			73	68	68	74	283

Ricky Barnes is the overnight and second round leader of the 2009 US Open being played at the Bethpage Black course in New York. After a second round five under 65 Barnes leads by one from Lucas Glover and two from first round leader Mike Weir. Sixteen players are yet to tee off in the third round after a deluge hit the course late in the afternoon.  The course became unplayable and even though there was about an hours light left the USGA called the players off the course in very dark conditions with Tiger Woods having played one hole and standing at 3 over par for the tournament. I can’t see Tiger being a factor in the championship from this position because he is too far back and has too many people in front of him. Also he is struggling with his putting and he would need to start making some putts pretty quickly to build some momentum. Of the top ranked players perhaps Englands Lee Westwood is in the best position at two under and six strokes back. He must feel that this is his turn in a major championship after missing out on a playoff in last years event by a shot after being a major factor throughout the last round. Ricky Barnes is the surprise leader as he has not exactly set the PGA Tour on fire so far this year. His two-day total of 132 is the lowest for two opening rounds in U.S. Open history and it leaves him one stroke ahead of Lucas Glover and two up on Mike Weir. Barnes had never broken 70 in 10 previous rounds at the season’s second major.  “Pretty stress free,” was Barnes’ assessment, and the numbers bore him out. He’s been extremely steady this week, hitting all but five greens and 19 of 28 fairways. He’s only made one bogey, too, and that came on the 10th hole in the first round. “It’s pretty cool,” Barnes said. “At the beginning of the week you didn’t think that score was out there. Obviously with some tees moved up and the soft greens helped it out … And obviously my ball striking was the most probably impressive part of the first 36 holes.
“… If you would have told me I would have been 8 under and only one-shot lead, I would have said, “You’re kidding me,” but I’ll take it.  It was solid play.  And I’m happy with in the position.” I like one of these three guys to be the champion tomorrow night if play does get completed – Sean O’Hair, Steve Stricker or Lee Westwood. If it is a marathon day tomorrow then those guys will dodge the media spotlight and hype and will be able to go about the job without being in the last groups in the final round. If the USGA hope to finish tomorrow they will have to keep the same pairings as for the third round because waiting for everyone to finish the third round and then making a new draw will delay proceedings.

1	-	Ricky Barnes	-8		-	67	65	-	-	132
2	-	Lucas Glover	-7		-	69	64	-	-	133
3	-	Mike Weir	-6		-	64	70	-	-	134
T4	-	David Duval	-3		-	67	70	-	-	137
T4	-	Peter Hanson	-3		-	66	71	-	-	137
T4	-	Azuma Yano	-3		-	72	65	-	-	137
T7	-	Lee Westwood	-2		-	72	66	-	-	138
T7	-	Ross Fisher	-2		-	70	68	-	-	138
T7	-	Todd Hamilton	-2		-	67	71	-	-	138
T7	-	Sean O’Hair	-2		-	69	69	-	-	138
T7	-	Nick Taylor(a)	-2		-	73	65	-	-	138
T12	4	Oliver Wilson	-1		-	70	70	-	-	140
T12	4	Hunter Mahan	-1		-	72	68	-	-	140
T12	-	Phil Mickelson	-1		-	69	70	-	-	139
T12	-	Steve Stricker	-1		-	73	66	-	-	139
T12	-	Gary Woodland	-1		-	73	66	-	-	139

Unfortunately after a lot of waiting and a lot of hype the first round of the US Open has been a let down with the first round abandoned at 2.00pm local time. That seems like they gave up on any further play a litle early on the first day when you consider that the USGA are now going to be hard pressed to complete four rounds by Sunday night. The leader at this stage of the event is Jeff Brehaut who is at 1 under after 11 holes and Johan Edfors 1 under after 4. Tiger Woods is at 1 over after 6 having just gone double bogey birdie and now has a birdie putt on the seventh. The course was playing extremely long and you would have to think that the guys out on the course are at a disadvantage having played in some pretty difficult conditions. Having said that if play does resume at the expected time the course will still be playing very long and showers have been forecast for Friday. Mike Davis, Senior Director of Rules and Competitions for the USGA, has stressed time and again this week that Bethpage Black drains incredibly well. “Our meteorologists are telling us that it is very likely that we can get another inch-plus of rain on Saturday,” Davis said. “And we all know how this golf course is right now.  So the question is just how playable the golf course is. But an ideal goal would be to get Round 2 finished by Saturday.  But based on that weather forecast, that’s not looking terribly promising.”
No matter what the weather brings, Davis made one point abundantly clear.
“We will not determine a national champion until we play 72 holes,” he said. “So if that takes us into Monday or Tuesday, whatever. “I think the key thing here at Bethpage is that it’s been the putting greens that have really stopped play,” Davis said. “That’s why we were stopped today.  It was not the 18th fairway.  It was the putting greens that just became unplayable.”
Some tees were moved up for the first round in an effort to be fair to the players who were already dealing with adverse conditions. No. 7, one of the U.S. Open-record three 500-plus-yard par 4s at Bethpage Black, was moved up to the penultimate tee box and played 36 yards shorter than the 525 yards on the scorecard.
No. 9 played 41 yards shorter than usual due to predicted strong south, southeast winds.
Several pin positions were also adjusted because of the standing water on greens.  Tiger Woods is still in a pretty good position having played 6 holes at 1 over and if the course continues to play long all week you would have to think he is in with a good chance of winning his 15th major and fourth US Open.

45-year-old veteran Laura Davies showed the young guns the wisdom of age to take out her second Australian Open Championship at Melbourne’s Metropolitan Course today.The Brit fired off a brilliant 5 under round of 68 to finish 7 under for the tournament, one shot ahead of Spain’s unlucky loser Tania Elosegui, and two ahead of Britain’s Melissa Reid and Koreans, Chang-Hee Lee and Hye Yong Choi. Defending champion Karrie Webb and fellow Australian Katherine Hull, finished a further three shots back on 2 under, to share 6th place. While Davies was a deserving winner it was somewhat a case of Elosegui’s inexperience in the clutch that helped the Brit lift the Patricia Bridges Bowl today.  The Spaniard had played well all day and as she left the 17th green, she thought she was tied in the lead with Davies at 8 under. She didn’t look at the scoreboard. Had she checked she would have noticed Davies had bogeyed the 18th, hich meant the 27-year-old was leading by one with one hole to play.   As the Spaniard stood over her 6m putt for par on the 18th, she thought she had to make it to force a playoff. She charged the putt a metre past the pin. Thinking her return putt for bogey was just for second place, and not for a playoff, her concentration slipped and she missed the one metre slider.  It was only after she left the green that she had realised the error.  “I was kind of “Oh I can’t believe that,” a disconsolate Elosegui said.  “I don’t think it is no-one ‘s fault I didn’t look at the leaderboard at the 18th I just thought, I was almost sure that she was going to have a par at the 18th because it is not really a bogey hole.” Davies, a winner of 74 titles worldwide was surprised the Spaniard did not check the scoreboard.  “I never understand the leader board thing and not looking,” she said. “You have to know where you stand.” Elosegui’s heartache aside, no one would begrudge the popular honorary ALPG member today’s win. At the halfway mark of the tournament, she was way back in a tie for 41st.  “I must admit I thought I was out of it,” she said. “To sit here as a winner is absolutely fabulous. It certainly was not expected on Saturday morning. There was no way I expected to be here.”   Davies headed in to today’s final round three shots off the leaders. She set up her win with a great birdie on the 386m par 4 10th and a brilliant 40-foot eagle putt on 15.  “The best shot of the day was at 10. Everyone was bogeying that hole,” she said. “I hit a two iron and a four iron in to about six feet and made it.  “That’s what makes this such a good win because it is such a good course.”Defending champion Karrie Webb blew her chances today with a doubly bogey on the par 3 7th and then a bogey two holes later on the par 4 9th. Webb turned in 3 over _ her marvellous 7 under round on day one but a distant memory.  Incredibly Webb went 24 holes before she finally secured a birdie on the par 5 14th. Another birdie on the 16th got Webb back to 2 under for the tournament, but it was too little too late for the four-time champion.  Starting the day at 5 under, overnight leader, Korean Chang-Hee Lee had a horror double bogey start but steadied the ship and managed to turn at even par to remain at 5 under. However, a bogey on the par three 13th ended her title hopes and she finished the day even par and in overall T 3rd. Katherine Hull finished strongly today, posting a 3 under 70 to finish equal 6th with Webb on two under 290. Last week’s Masters champion has had an outstanding ALPG season, finishing top 10 in all four tournaments. It sets her up perfectly for a real chance at achieving her stated aim of making both the top 10 money list and top 10 world rankings by year’s end. “They are pretty big challenges but I have a good team of people around me and I am not accepting mediocrity anymore so we’ll give it a try,” she said. Although Dana Lacey didn’t win the silverware she was still celebrating after her round which included the tournament’s only hole in one at the par three 2nd. “I hit my seven iron and I just saw it going at the pin and I didn’t think anything else,” she said. “I thought it’s on the green good enough and then I heard everyone clap and then I was like yes, sweet!”  Her improved performances throughout the local season have the West Australian looking forward to her second year on the Ladies European Tour. “I feel much more confident this year I think I can get some good top fives in there and maybe even a win.” For the winner there will also be a few celebratory drinks. “I think maybe just a couple,” Davies laughed. 

On the US LPGA Tour Angela Stanford managed to come from three behind with eight holes to play to beat teen star Michelle Wie by three in Hawaii.   The pair, who had the event to themselves for much of the final day, was so dominant that there was a further three shots back to the third placed Na Yeon Choi and Angela Park. For Stanford this was her third LPGA Tour victory and continues an amazing run of form in recent months. Late in 2008 she won twice and has now finished inside the top ten in her last seven starts.Wie and Stanford shared the lead into the final round at the Turtle Bay Resort but it would be Wie who was first to move ahead when Stanford bogeyed the 8th. The gap became two when Wie birdied the 9th and was widened even further when Stanford bogeyed the 10th. Three shots ahead with eight holes to play and it appeared Wie was about to win her first LPGA title. The teenager was about to learn however that leading is one thing winning is another. A double bogey at the 11th and the difference was just one and when Stanford took charge with birdies at the 13th, 14th and 15th, she was two ahead.  Another Wie bogey at the 17th put paid to any hopes she may have had of a late recovery but irrespective of the outcome it was an impressive debut by Wie in what is technically and officially her rookie season.  Yani Tseng and Ai Miyazato tied for 5th. The best of the Australians in the event was Sarah Jane Smith who finished 39th, Wendy Doolan was 60th and Lindsey Wright after a fast start to the tournament finished 65th. The LPGA will now move to Asia for two events the first starting on February 25th at the Honda LPGA event in Thailand followed by the HSBC Women’s Champions event in Singapore.

New South Welshman Andre Stolz today completed a tough week of golf in fine style by winning the Victorian PGA Championships at Sanctuary Lakes by shooting a five under par round of 67. He is now also the leader of the Australasian Tour Order of Merit. He won by two shots from Queenslander Stuart Bouvier who matched his round of 67. In a week that produced extreme high temperatures and strong winds the final round was played on a  cool rainy 20 degree day. Returning to competitive golf just nine months ago after a three year hiatus due to a devastating wrist injury, the 38 year old father of four held onto his two shot overnight lead to claim his first title since winning the 2004 Michelin Championship on the US PGA Tour. It’s been an amazing week, the weather threw everything at us, but it feels good to have won a four round event again,” said Stolz who returned to the Australasian Tour at last year’s Cellarbrations NSW PGA Championship in November.
He finished T17 at the 2008 Australian Masters and came back to be one shot off the lead heading into the final round of the Australian Open in December, eventually finishing T6. Coming into this week’s event, he had a T10 finish at last week’s Subaru Open.
Stolz couldn’t really explain the dramatic re-surgence in his form, but put it down to history.
“I don’t know, normally when I play well, I play really well and when I play bad I’m horrendous, so things haven’t really changed. I either win or miss the cut a lot of the time. I can’t explain it. It used to annoy me but now I just go with it.”
Runner up, Queenslander Stuart Bouvier, who was tied for second place overnight, quickly recovered from a bogey at the second to record a five under final round and claim outright second place.
Also tied second overnight, Victorian Cameron Percy shot a final round four under and finished tied third alongside Adam Bland whose six under 66 saw him move up six places on the final day.
The rounds of the day went to Victorian’s Alistair Presnell and Scott Laycock. Presnell recovered from a disastrous third round 77 to shoot seven under 65 and move from T16th place to finish in a tie for fifth alongside Subaru Victorian Open runner up Laycock who was also T16th overnight.
The top ten was rounded out by Queenslander Andrew Bonhomme who finished seventh on 12 under, with New Zealander Gareth Paddison and Brad Kennedy tied eighth on 11 under and Victorian amateur Bryden MacPherson capping off a spectacular finish in just his second professional event to finish tenth on ten under par.
First round tournament record breaker Luke Hickmott finished just outside the top 10 on nine under. He was T11 with Paul Sheehan and Stephen Dartnell.
The Australasian Tour heads to Perth on February 16th for the Johnnie Walker Classic at The Vines, before heading back to Victoria for the Moonah Classic beginning the week of February 23. The Tour then heads across the Tasman to New Zealand for the HSBC NZ PGA Championship at the Clearwater Resort at Christchurch beginning March 2 and then to Queenstown for the Michael Hill NZ Open at The Hills GC from March 9.

1 271 -17 Andre Stolz (AUS) NSW 68 67 69 67 16,500.00

2 273 -15 Stuart Bouvier (AUS) Qld 66 67 73 67 10,450.00

3= 274 -14 Adam Bland (AUS) SA 69 70 69 66 6,600.00

Cameron Percy (AUS) Vic 71 68 67 68

5= 275 -13 Alistair Presnell (AUS) Vic 69 64 77 65 4,180.00

Scott Laycock (AUS) Vic 65 70 75 65

7 276 -12 Andrew Bonhomme (AUS) Qld 65 68 74 69 3,465.00

8= 277 -11 Gareth Paddison (NZL) NZL 70 67 71 69 2,887.50

Brad Kennedy (AUS) Qld 69 67 70 71

10 278 -10 Bryden MacPherson (Am) (AUS) Vic 70 68 68 72 Amateur

11= 279 -9 Luke Hickmott (AUS) Vic 61 70 78 70 2,200.00

Paul Sheehan (AUS) NSW 69 68 72 70

Stephen Dartnall (AUS) WA 69 66 72 72

14= 280 -8 Michael Brennan (AUS) NSW 73 67 71 69 1,544.40

Queenslander Katherine Hull today won the 2009 Australian Ladies Masters at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast. She shot an excellent round of four under par 68 and never looked like relinquishing her lead which was 3 at the start of the day. Tamie Durdin and So Yeon Ryu finished tied second at eleven under. After four successive rounds in the 60′s (69,67,68,68) she quipped, “It’s kinda surreal. I dreamed of winning this tournament as a kid. I’m stoked.” The win follows two runner-up finishes over the previous two weeks and it cements her spot as one of the hottest female golfers on the planet in the last six months. The only blemish to Hull’s round came at the last where she hit a fairway wood second from the right hand fairway trap over the green and then took three more to get down. The Tewantin-Noosa product played very solid golf and showed she has come a long way in the past twelve months and looks like she will continue to improve. Hull, who is currently ranked 26th in the world, birdied her opening hole but it wasn’t until mid-way through her round that she gained momentum with a birdie at the 9th followed by back-to-back birdies at the 12th, 13th and 14th to move, at that stage, six strokes ahead of Tamie Durdin. Best round of the day went to Sydney’s Sarah Oh who shot a 6 under 66 to finish at 4 under and a tie for 20^th.