ALL-STAR GAME
Saturday, December 12, 2009
By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
In what has been a great summer for Australian tournament golf, the final act will be a contest of one of the best leaderboards we've seen in recent times. Out of the top 13 Australians in the world golf rankings, nine sit inside the top 12 at Coolum. This PGA Championship is shaping as an opportunity for one of them to grab prime bragging rights. Incidentally, the player running second, Greg Chalmers, is not among those top dozen. He's hardly a spoiler though, and there's one thought we can't get out of our head - after the Australian Masters, when Chalmers appeared in the media centre, he was complimentary but couldn't mask his genuine disappointment that he hadn't beaten Tiger Woods that day. Don't expect the '98 Australian Open champ to take a backward step tomorrow.
THE QUESTION
By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
A really gripping tournament is playing out at the Australian PGA, but one thought dominates above all others: what if Tiger's scandal had broken before his visit to Melbourne rather than after?
PGA POISED
Friday, December 11, 2009
By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
at the Australian PGA Championship
Yesterday, Victorian Matthew Griffin described representing Australia in the Eisenhower Trophy, one of the top amateur events in the world, as his greatest experience in golf. That may now have some competition, as the first-year pro moved into the halfway lead at Coolum. The 26-year-old was the winner of this year's Fiji Open and the golf writers' Rookie of the Year Award. He had to miss the Australian Open last week to play the last Asian Tour event on the schedule to guarantee his card for next year. Interestingly, Griffin has a degree in commerce and economics from Monash University. "Macro, definitely," when asked which area of economics he specialised in. "I'm interested in politics and interest rates and all that stuff." Over the next couple of days, he'll have to contend with a few guys who have their own knowledge of the money supply - Geoff Ogilvy and Stuart Appleby are a shot back, while Robert Allenby and Adam Scott are also in range.
SCHOOL DAZE
By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
at the Australian PGA Championship
Reflecting on his experience of US PGA Tour Q-School last year, James Nitties had a thoughtful insight. "The crowds may be small there, but pros pay more attention to Q-School results than any other tournament." There's no other pressure in golf quite like it, Q-School pressure. So it is only proper to give recognition to the resilience that Bronson La'Cassie is displaying through the first two rounds at Coolum. The 26-year-old Queenslander missed his Tour card by a single shot, then spent 40 hours trying to get from the Q-School site in Florida back to the Sunshine Coast. An hour out from Los Angeles, his flight had to turn back because of mechanical problems with the aircraft. He arrived in Coolum at midnight, only eight hours before he was due to tee off in the PGA. La'Cassie is currently six-under through 12 holes of the second round. By the time the jet-lag wears off, he may find himself with the tournament lead.
BY THE NUMBERS
Thursday, December 10, 2009
By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
at the Australian PGA Championship
Tougher afternoon conditions meant little late leaderboard action, but there are some interesting numbers coming back from the revamped Coolum course. The new, 495-metre 1st was the only one of the four par-5s on the course to average over par. With its water hazard running all the way down the left and cutting across the front of the green, the opener threw up three sevens, two eights and a nine. The long par-4 3rd, again into the wind, was tough as advertised. Only 25 percent of the field hit the green of the 448-metre hole in regulation. The stroke average was 4.47, making it the second-hardest hole on the course. The toughest? That would be the 18th, the sweeping left-to-righter around the water that is traditionally the hardest hole during the PGA (average of 4.68). Some things never change.
ONE FOR ONEASIA
By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
at the Australian PGA Championship
Any rumbles about the Asian contingent in the field taking away spots from Australian players will have been effectively put down by Min-Kyu Han's morning round. The Korean fired a nine-under 62, a new course record in the context of the changes at Coolum, with 11 birdies. "I felt like I was in heaven," the 26-year-old said. "Maybe I'm like Tiger Woods today." The newly included OneAsia pros received one of the toughest possible introductions to Australian golf having to tee up their first event at NSW last week. Of the 25 players at the bottom of the leaderboard who finished two rounds, 14 were OneAsia visitors. Coolum always promised to be a better proposition - it's not out of the question that an Asian player will figure in the top ten this week. As for any resentment among the local pros, Australasian Tour commissioner and OneAsia chief Ben Sellenger said the Australian players understood the deal. He noted the players were convinced that the extra events of OneAsia created more spots than the ones filled in the Australian tournaments. As for Han, when asked about his expectations for tomorrow: "Maybe I'll shoot eight-under, only 10 birdies."
A THIRD OF A NEW COURSE
By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
at the Australian PGA Championship
Thanks to years of television coverage, Coolum is one of the more readily recognisable courses to even the most casual Australian golf fan. That’s why there will be some puzzled looks with the beginning of the PGA, as the players set out on a new half-dozen holes that span the 1st to the 6th. As noted course design junkie Geoff Ogilvy put it: “It doesn’t feel like you’re at Coolum until you get to the 7th tee.” He did add that the new holes will eventually take on the character of Coolum, with time. The course’s original designer, Robert Trent Jones Jnr, was brought back to make these changes, with the layout now setting out from behind the short-game practice area before looping back on the far side of the driving range. The hole that has earned the most attention is the long 3rd, which has been turned into par-4 for the pros by the modern method of shortening a true par-5 (which is the par the resort guests will play). With a cape-style green, it has the character of a three-shotter. Into a stiff wind, as it was on Wednesday, it’s brutal. Jones deflected criticism of the hole, noting the 4th is a short, drivable par-4. There will be enough threes made there to compensate for the fives on the previous hole. “Take the two together and you’ve got par-8.” The short par-3 6th, over the green site of the old 1st, has also been derided by players as an afterthought hole, wedged in to make the routing work. Ogilvy was even-handed: “It seems all the new par-3s we play these days are 250 yards, so it’s nice to have a 140-yarder.” The old opening holes at Coolum encouraged fast starts; despite having two par-5s and the short par-4 in the new half-dozen, Adam Scott and Robert Allenby, among others, thought it would tougher getting away. Jones was as interested as anyone to see how his creations would fare in tournament play. As for the complaints, he responded: “You hear a lot of whingeing from the pros – which makes me glad.”
DALY: THE MOVIE
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
at the Australian PGA ChampionshipNew shape, new commitment to golf, same old sense of humour intact. John Daly was in good form at his press conference at Coolum on Tuesday, holding court on subjects ranging across the insurance industy, celebrities and their marriages, losing weight and his love of St Andrews. Provoking the greatest laughs was Daly's desire to see his story get the big-screen treatment. "It would just be the life, it would be the whole thing," he said. "The guts of it all." Who would (or could) play him? "Matt Damon, I saw him in Bagger Vance, if I can get him to take the club back a little further, he'd be perfect ... I'd want him to be me, like now, 'cause I probably weigh what he does." And the bigger Daly of the old days? "The Tommy Boy [comedian Chris Farley], he passed away, but he would have been perfect ... Kevin James, now he's my bud, so I hate to say he's a little big, but he'd be good." The toughest casting call of all? "The problem is who is going to play the ex-wives?" Daly wondered. "To be that mean, I don't know. There are not too many actresses that could be that mean."
BACK IN THE GROOVE AT COOLUM
By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
at the Australian PGA ChampionshipAustralian golf wraps up 2009 with the PGA returning to its traditional spot as the last event on the schedule. The vibe in Coolum is almost like an office Christmas party - there's work to be done, but you can enjoy yourself while doing it. Looking ahead to next season is always a talking point at the year's final tournament, and one intriguing element of the Australian events has been to see how many players are using the tournaments to try the new grooves, or the new-old grooves as it were, that will be required on Tour next year. Opinion among the pros is still divided about the level of impact the changes will have. John Daly offered up a vivid picture of players struggling to adapt. "I grew up on V-grooves," the dual major winner said, noting that many players had yet to test the 2010 grooves. "I've tried all the new wedges ... I have no confidence in hitting the green [from the rough] from 60 yards out." Daly's solution? "You're going to see a lot of people looking for the old [Ping] Eye2s next year." With an alternative view - from a younger player than Daly, it must be noted - was American pro Bryce Molder, who is in the PGA field after his tied third finish at the Australian Open. Molder used the 2010 grooves last week at New South Wales. "I had a lie which I didn't think was a flyer and it jumped real good, hit it 20 yards over the green." Despite that experience, the 30-year-old believed the Tour pros would make their adjustments and render it a non-issue by midseason. "More is being made of it than will be." It seems many pros are taking the same kind of approach to the equipment changes that they have about the world rankings - play well, and they don't have to worry about it. Case in point: when Tiger Woods won the Australian Masters at Kingston Heath, he did it with a bag full of grooves ready and conforming for 2010.
SCOTT WINS ... AT LAST!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
By Brendan JamesGolf Australia Editorat The Australian OpenAdam Scott has won the Australian Open, his first win as a professional on home soil. The 29-year-old Queenslander fired an even par 72 closing round to hold off Victorian Stuart Appleby and win by five shots. American Bryce Molder, Kiwi Michael Long and West Australian Nick O'Hern were a further four shots back in a tie for third place. Scott said the win was sweet after enduring his worst season on the PGA Tour in the nine years since turning professional. "This vindicates all the hard work I have done," Scott said. "It is incredible to now have my name on the same trophy that has been won by so many great champions. I feel honoured. "With my results in Singapore, then at the Masters in Melbourne and last week in Dubai I could feel this coming, I just had to keep doing the right things in terms of preparation." Scott received the Stonehaven Cup for his win from childhood hero and mentor Greg Norman, who appeared to whisper something in his protege's ear as he handed over the trophy. "He said it's about bloody time," Scott laughed. "To get trophy from Greg just adds to the occasion. We have a very close relationship and he has been very helpful throughout my career with advice about all sorts of things. I can't thank him enough." Of course, it was Norman who boosted Scott's confidence, and virtually turned his season around, by selecting him in the International team for the Presidents Cup back in October. "I was going home to put my feet up for a few weeks but then I got the call from Greg, so I had to knuckle down and work my arse off to turn things around," Scott said. "I didn't play great at the Presidents Cup but I did get a confidence boost out of just being there and competing. "That has rolled on into the events since." Scott started the final round with a two-stroke lead over Appleby, but that advantage was quickly eroded at the 1st hole as Appleby birdied and Scott bogied. But birdies to the eventual champion at the 2nd and 3rd holes opened up a three-shot lead and from that stage Scott was never headed. ***FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN, CHECK OUT THE JANUARY ISSUE OF GOLF AUSTRALIA, ON SALE DECEMBER 16.
OPEN HISTORY BECKONS SCOTT
By Brendan James Golf Australia Editor at The Australian Open Former World No.3 Adam Scott heads into today's final round of the Australian Open with a two-stroke lead over Stuart Appleby and the chance to break an almost decade long duck. Despite winning 15 titles worldwide, the 29-year-old Queenslander has never won a professional tournament on Australian soil. With just five bogies blotting his scorecard for the first 54 holes, Scott is the short-priced favourite to add his name to the Stonehaven Cup later this afternoon at the picturesque NSW Golf Club. Late in the third round, Scott dropped back into a share of the lead at 13 under with Appleby after making bogies at the 15th and 16th holes. But he regained his advantage within sight of the clubhouse with a solid birdie at the par-3 17th and a spectacular up-and-down birdie 4 at the 18th after his second shot hit a spectator on the wrist and dropped into long greenside rough. Scott starts today at 15 under, while Appleby fired a one-under-par 71 to finish at 13 under through 54 holes. While plenty of attention was paid to Appleby's magnificent ball-striking display in tough conditions during rounds one and two, Scott's play has been equally superb, albeit in less wind. At the start of the week, the Queenslander spoke of working on his putting and swing and the renewed confidence he has in his game. Heading into today's final round, Scott has hit more greens in regulation than any other player in the field (average 78 percent through three rounds) and is 16th in putting. They're stats that will win most golf tournaments. Appleby has his chance too to add a second Australian Open title to the resume but he will have to close the two-shot gap on Scott early and avoid any mistakes around the challenging par-72 layout if he is to claim the Stonehaven Cup. Light north-easterly breezes are making scoring easier today, which gives Nick O'Hern (-8) and James Nitties (-7) a slight chance if they can post a tournament-low round of 64 or 65. Scott and Appleby are due to tee off at 12.25 (ESDT). Can Scott hold on for his first Australian Open win or will Appleby add to his 2001 title? Let us know what you think.
APPLEBY, SCOTT IN OPEN SHOWDOWN
Saturday, December 5, 2009
By Brendan James Golf Australia Editor at The Australian Open With most of the field having completed their disrupted second round, the Australian Open is developing into a race in two between Stuart Appleby and Adam Scott. Appleby ground out a magnificent six-under-par 66 in the worst of the windy conditions at NSW Golf Club last night, to open up a ten shot lead over those players who finished their rounds after gale force winds caused play to be suspended for five hours on Friday. Nearly half the field returned early this morning to complete their rounds and were greeted by light winds making conditions ideal for scoring. Scott took full advantage adding four more birdies to his two late yesterday to card a 66 and reach the halfway mark at 10 under, two shots adrift of Appleby. It has been a near flawless display from Scott thus far, with just three bogies blotting his card in the first 36 holes. First round co-leader Scott Hend moved to seven under with a 71 and is five shots behind Appleby in third place, alongside Victoria's Jarrod Lyle (68) and West Australian leftie Nick O'Hern (68). Other big movers this morning have included Scott's playing partner, John Daly, who made five birdies in his three under round of 69. The new slim Daly was on the cusp of the top-10 and had made his first cut from six previous starts on Australian soil. Two-time Australian Open champion Aaron Baddeley looked set to rip the NSW course apart when he reached five under for his round through his opening seven holes, that included six 3s on his card. But as has been the case for most of 2009, a bogey and double bogey finish to the front nine snuffed out his incredible run. He regained his composure to card a 68 and move to three under. The third round is expected to start shortly after midday with Scott, Appleby and Hend making up the final grouping. Can Appleby continue his charge toward a second Stonehaven Cup, or will Scott finally win at home and get his career moving forward again? Let us know what you think?
PLAY RESUMES, APPLEBY STILL FIRING
Friday, December 4, 2009
By Brendan JamesGolf Australia Editorat the Australian OpenStuart Appleby has defied strong winds and the boredom of a five-hour suspension of play to open up a three-stroke lead late in the second day of the Australian Open. Beginning his second round on the 10th tee at 7.40 this morning, Appleby had played just two holes when tournament officials ordered a halt to play because gale force winds, gusting up to 70km/h, had made four oceanside greens unplayable. The 2001 Australian Open champion went back out onto the course five and a half hours later and quickly moved to seven under with a birdie at the par-5 12th. A bogey at the next was simply a speed bump to Appleby who ended his opening nine holes with a birdie at 17 and an eagle at the long par-5 18th. With the winds starting to ease and shift more to the east, scoring has become marginally easier but the NSW layout is still averaging a high 75.91. If Appleby can maintain his advantage through today he can come back fresh for the third round later tomorrow, while players in the other half of the draw - including overnight co-leader Scott Hend, and close by contenders James Nitties and Adam Scott - will have to finish their second round early tomorrow before heading back out for their third round. At this stage, Appleby is firing and seemingly well in control. Many are already predicting he will be a wire-to-wire champion. What do you think?
PLAY SUSPENDED AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN
 By Brendan JamesGolf Australia Editorat the Australian OpenGale force winds have forced players from the course (pictured right) little more than an hour into the second round of the Australian Open at Sydney's NSW Golf Club. A southerly buster, with winds gusting up to 65 and 70km/h, hit the La Perouse peninsula nearly six hours before it was expected and tournament organisers had no choice but to call a halt to play. Tournament director Trevor Herden said strong winds had been expected but they arrived much sooner and stronger than anticipated. "There are no issues with the golf course - it's simply a matter of weather and we consider the current wind gusts to be unreasonable to expect players to compete in,""Herden said. "We looked at some of the flat areas around pin positions and the wind was blowing flat putts six or seven feet off line, which is a situation that is not fair. "This course is on the windiest part of the Sydney coastline and winds are always a factor but they are simply too strong at the moment to continue." Herden said winds were expected to ease by 10am and a decision would be made then to get players back out on the course. He added that he hoped the second round would be completed today but provisions would be made for late players to complete their rounds tomorrow if need be. Several players were unhappy with the suspension of play. Peter O'Malley, who won the Australian Junior Championship around this course 23 years ago, was visibly annoyed as he trudged back to the clubhouse from the 13th hole, his fourth hole of the morning. O'Malley had just birdied the par-5 12th to get back to three under, three shots adrift of overnight leaders Stuart Appleby and Scott Hend. Appleby was also affected by the suspension, having played two holes in par to stay at six under. Co-leader Hend was not due to hit off until midday but that time will now be revised. The wind has been the big issue at this year's Open with every player, and official, keeping their eye on the weather forecasts. How it will affect scoring as round two continues is anyone's guess but if round one is any indicator, more high scores will be posted. Some players took more than six hours to complete their opening round as strong wind gusts battered the NSW layout. More than a dozen lost balls were reported on the 12th and 15th holes, while scores ballooned late in the day. Queensland's Nathan Uebergang felt the full brunt of the wind and the challenging layout, carding an 18-over-par 90 that included a septuple-bogey 12 on the 507-metre par-5 18th. He was one of 28 players who failed to break 80 in the first round. The average score for the par-72 layout was 76.226 with only the par-5s - 5, 8 and 12 - offering average scores below par. At the suspension of play this morning, 46 players had begun their rounds and the scoring average for the course had already topped 75. The par-4 13th was proving a brute into the southerly with players averaging a bogey 5 on the hole. All of these windy antics give rise to two questions: Should the players just be left to battle the elements until it becomes a ''golf course being unplayable'' issue? And, has the wind exposed the lack of the depth in the Australian Open field? Let us know what you think.
BLOWY OPEN UNDERWAY
Thursday, December 3, 2009
By Brendan James at The Australian Open With winds gusting up to 50 knots across Sydney's La Perouse peninsula, the contenders are already starting to separate themselves from the pretenders midway through the first round of the Australian Open championship. Deep into the first day, Asian Tour-based Queenslander Scott Hend holds a one-stroke lead after carding eight birdies against two bogies for a six-under-par 66. Novacastrian James Nitties, former Australian Open champion Stuart Appleby and Victorian journeyman Peter Wilson are one stroke behind. Stephen Allan, Adam Scott and little known American David Oh are a further shot back on four under. Hend, who was in the first group off the 10th tee in the morning session, and Nitties were able to post their scores - both with just 26 putts - before the wind really started whipping across the NSW course. It didn't seem to hamper Wilson though as he rattled off six birdies on his back nine for an inward 30. Appleby was also showing his return to form at the Australian Masters was no fluke as he rolled in five birdies through his opening nine holes to grab a share of second place. Most of the afternoon players seem to be coping well with the conditions with plenty of red numbers dominating the leaderboard. With most of the afternoon field left to play nine holes, there were 40 players at even par or better. That said, the Alister MacKenzie-designed conspired with Mother Nature to ruin the chances of many including visiting German player Max Kellner, who parred his final three holes to card a 16 over 88.
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