Golf Australia Blog

TIGER TO DEFEND IN MELBOURNE

2010-06-09T10:18:00.003+10:00

Tiger Woods will return to Melbourne in November to defend the JBWere Masters.
This year’s JBWere Masters will witness one of the greatest fields assembled in recent times for an Australian tournament with the defending champion joining international stars Sergio Garcia (Spain) and Camilo Villegas (Colombia) along with the 2006 US Open Champion, Geoff Ogilvy. It is understood Adam Scott and Robert Allenby will also play in the championship.
On his defence of the Gold Jacket, Tiger Woods commented: “I am pleased to be able to return to Melbourne to defend the JBWere Masters. The Australian galleries made last year’s event a great experience for all the players and I look forward to playing at The Victoria Golf Club in November.”
Last year’s JBWere Masters set a new benchmark for Australian golf with record crowds and television audiences and delivered in excess of $34 million to the Victorian economy.
The 2010 JBWere Masters will again be broadcast on Channel Nine and FOX SPORTS and will be played at The Victoria Golf Club from 11 – 14 November.

2010-06-05T18:07:00.002+10:00

CRAZY GOLF
What is the craziest golf shot you have ever seen? The reason I ask is that a friend sent this video attachment to me today and it ranks up there with one of the all time freakiest putts ever made. Down three storeys of stairs and into a jam jar? Odyssey should be using this one to market their putters.....can't miss. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk35PZDEVwM

SNOW STALLS MASTERS PREPARATION

2010-03-02T10:26:00.013+11:00

With just over a month to go before the year's first major, snow continues to hamper the preparation of the Augusta National course for the Masters.
More than 25 centimetres of snow (about 20 centimetres above the usual monthly average) has fallen on the course during the past few weeks, with several big dumps turning the layout into a winter wonderland. Most greens have not been affected by the snow, as well as some heavy rainfalls, as they have heated coils buried beneath the surface.
The pictures here show what Augusta looked like on the morning of February 13, 54 days out from the first round of the Masters.

TIGER WOODS TO SPEAK MARCH 24

2010-02-09T19:36:00.003+11:00

Speculation continues to grow that Tiger Woods will play the Masters after playing warm events including the made for TV, Tavistock Cup, and the Bay Hill Invitational.
Bay Hill is run by Woods' management company IMG, so they can screen everyone, including media, who goes through the gates.
So mark March 24 in the diary...they day before the first round at Bay Hill, as the day we finally hear from Tiger. Then we can all move on and enjoy the golf.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-tiger-woods-return-tavistock-0208,0,1837612.story

ALL-STAR GAME

2009-12-12T16:25:00.004+11:00

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

2009-12-12T14:20:00.001+11:00

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

2009-12-11T19:14:00.004+11:00

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

2009-12-11T11:58:00.002+11:00

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

2009-12-10T18:09:00.003+11:00

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

2009-12-10T11:50:00.004+11:00

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

2009-12-10T11:40:00.005+11:00

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

2009-12-08T16:43:00.004+11:00

By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
at the Australian PGA Championship
New 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

2009-12-08T15:36:00.005+11:00

By Jeff Centenera
Golf Australia Assistant Editor
at the Australian PGA Championship
Australian 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!

2009-12-06T17:38:00.004+11:00

By Brendan James
Golf Australia Editor
at The Australian Open
Adam 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

2009-12-06T10:26:00.002+11:00

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

2009-12-05T09:25:00.003+11:00

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

2009-12-04T16:26:00.000+11:00

By Brendan James
Golf Australia Editor
at the Australian Open

Stuart 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

2009-12-04T09:23:00.000+11:00

By Brendan James
Golf Australia Editor
at the Australian Open

Gale 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

2009-12-03T14:07:00.000+11:00

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.

2009-11-15T16:56:00.000+11:00

TIGER CLAIMS GOLF JACKET ...
BUT WILL HE DEFEND?

By Brendan James
Live @ The Australian Masters

Tiger Woods has won the Australian Masters, becoming just the third American to don the Gold Jacket in the tournament's 30-year history.

The World No.1 fired a final round four-under-par 68 to finish at 14 under, two strokes clear of former Australian Open champion Greg Chalmers. Successive birdies at the 5th and 6th holes created a buffer from the field that was never closed, despite a cheap bogey at the short par-4 13th.

Woods follows Gene Littler (1980) and Mark O'Meara (1986) in winning the title. Now will he follow in their footsteps and not defend his Masters title?

Victorian Premier John Brumby would not be drawn on whether an offer was on the table to have Woods return to the event in 2010 when it is played at Victoria Golf Club.

And the 14-time major winner would only say, "I'd love to come back".

"I'll sit down with Stevie (Steve Williams, his caddy) after my tournament and we'll look at the schedule for next year," Woods said. "I'd love to come back."

That is short of saying he will be back but you can be assured the event owners and Tiger's management, IMG, will be keen to do business with the Victorian Government again.

Watch this space!

2009-11-13T08:37:00.000+11:00

BIDDING WAR BREWING OVER TIGER WOODS

EXCLUSIVE
By Brendan James
Golf Australia Editor
Live @ The Australian Masters

As the second round of the 2009 Australian Masters gets underway, speculation is growing that the Victorian and NSW Governments may be drawn into a bidding war to get Tiger Woods back to Australia in 2010.

The overwhelming success of Woods appearance at Kingston Heath has ignited interest in getting the World No.1 to play here again next summer. Of course, he is due to lead the Americans in the Presidents Cup in 2011 at Royal Melbourne.

The highly publicised US$3 million appearance fee paid by the Victorian Government has been covered by record gate takings, increased sponsorship and lucrative TV deals. Victorian Premier John Brumby noted earlier this week that 35 percent of visitors to the Masters were from interstate and overseas and represented a cash injection of at least $35 million into the Victorian economy - marking a substantial return on their investment.

Figures like that have not gone unnoticed north of the border in NSW. NSW Special Events made the first move in trying to secure Woods for this year's Australian Open and, through its chief John O'Neill, flagged the possibility of Tiger playing in Sydney. It is understood the NSW government then baulked at the multi-million dollar appearance fee and dropped out of negotiations. Victoria's major events people stepped in and got Woods to sign on the dotted line.

When asked yesterday whether NSW had dropped the ball and should feel embarrassed by its blunder in not signing Woods, Victorian Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding said: "I think Sydney made a mistake."

"I will say one thing, Sydney made the mistake of declaring the events they would secure in advance," Holding said. "Melbourne is not in the business of showing our hand. We prefer to work quietly, professionally behind the scenes, and then when we secure an event we shout it from the rooftops."

Holding said Sydney is not in the same league as Melbourne when it comes to bidding for major events.

"Frankly our competition is not cities like Sydney anymore," he said. "Our competition is great international cities that are also in the marketplace to compete for those events."

When asked by Golf Australia whether the Victorian Government would be bidding for Tiger to return to Melbourne next year, Holding was coy in his reply.

"Obviously we're very cautious about saying what else we might be bidding for," Holding said. "We saw Sydney made a concerted effort to get Tiger to participate in the Australian Open there but we're not in the business of bidding up the price of these sorts of things by declaring our hand in advance.

"But it's as plain as the nose on your face how successful this event is for Melbourne.

"It has been successful through a lot of different factors, but the key element of its has been the participation of Tiger Woods ... he is always welcome to come and play in Melbourne."

While Victoria would certainly be the front runner of any negotiation with Woods' management, the International Management Group (which owns the Australian Masters), it is believed that a significant offer is brewing from NSW to lure Woods to Sydney for next year's Australian Open to be played at The Lakes.

The Open already has a commitment from Greg Norman that he will play (if he's fit) but Woods has proven this week that he is the only player in the game that can guarantee a sell out and deliver a handsome profit for organisers.

It might be a hard sell given that Woods has said he's not here for the money but was attracted by the prospect of playing in the Melbourne sand-belt.

The question now remains: If Tiger wins the Gold Jacket on Sunday, will he defend his title? Melburnians have every right to be quietly confident.

2009-11-12T09:27:00.000+11:00

WHO CAN CONQUER THE HEATH?

By Brendan James
Golf Australia Editor
Live @ The Masters

Play is underway in the 2009 Australian Masters with bookie and crowd favourite Tiger Woods already hovering near the top of the leaderboard.

With a crowd of more than 15,000 trying to follow his progress, the World No.1 carded three birdies in his first ten holes to be at three under, one stroke behind veteran Queenslander Terry Price.

Can Tiger stay in contention through to Sunday afternoon? Here is my form guide of players to watch at the Masters and some betting tips you may want to follow.

TIGER WOODS - The world's best player will only get better with each round as he becomes more familiar with the nuances of the Kingston heath layout. However, winds predicted for the weekend may bring him back to the field and give the locals a better chance. Will be interesting to seen if he is in contention come Sunday whether he can seal the deal given he has struggled when contending in four of his past five events.
Betting: $2.50. Too short to back with a few dollars.

GEOFF OGILVY - Australia's highest ranked player seemed a little out of sorts during the pro-am but he still feels his game is nearing a peak. The Melbourne sand-belt bred Ogilvy believes if he plays "the way I should play", which he showed during the final two rounds of the HSBC Champions last week, he will be in contention.
Betting: $10. Good value that will keep you interested right through to the dying stages of the tournament.

ADAM SCOTT - Has had a year to forget but looks good this week. His ball striking in practice has been sharp and there appears to be a growing confidence in the putter. The Queenslander looked quietly confident after the pro-am.
Betting: $17. At this price he's worth a dabble.

MICHAEL SIM - Australia's best player overseas during 2009 had his chances in this event last year. Has learned plenty about his game and matured a lot in just 12 months and cannot be ruled out as a chance. Capable of shooting very low numbers in trying conditions.
Betting: $17. Get on!

AARON BADDELEY - Another Aussie who has has a less than memorable 2009 abroad. You can expect, however, that Badds will lift his game on a course where he won the 2000 Australian Open in fine style. Knows this course better than his own backyard.
Betting: $20. A good chance but needs to improve tee to green to grab the Gold Jacket again.

GREG CHALMERS - The former Australian Open champion possesses all the right stuff needed to win this week. He's a great ball striker, canny strategist and his short game is A+. If he doesn't win he will be thereabouts.
Betting: $34. Jump on for a top-three finish at good odds.

OTHERS TO WATCH
Steve Bowditch - Coming off a win in Queensland, all Bowditch's best performances seem to come in a bunch. Betting: $6.50 for a top-10 finish is a good bet.
Marc Leishman - The boy from Warrnambool has established himself as one of the rising stars of the US PGA Tour and cannot be discounted. Betting: Good odds for a top-3 finish.
Cameron Percy - The PGA Tour bound Victorian grew up a short drive from Kingston Heath and knows better than most how this course works. Betting: Juicy odds for an each way bet.

I hope this helps you decide who to back this week and you win a quid following these tips.

2009-11-10T10:49:00.000+11:00

TIGER THE TOAST OF MELBOURNE

By Brendan James
Golf Australia Editor
Live @ The Australian Masters

Melbourne has never seen anything like it.

Tiger Woods' much anticipated return to our shores and the Australian Masters began under the constant buzz of news helicopters and amid record crowds today.

The World No.1 had been expected to arrive at Kingston Heath shortly after dawn and there were plenty of fans waiting at each of the course gates as the sun broke across the sand-belt layout.

But Woods chose instead to hit warm up balls in solitude at the neighbouring and very exclusive Capital Golf Club. Word quickly got around that Woods would hit off with former Australian Masters champion Craig Parry at 8am. As the throng of fans gathered around the 1st tee and began lining the par-5, Woods, Parry and their entourage, including five security men, scooted across to the 10th tee.

By the time the pairing hit their tee shots word had got out and there were hundreds of golf fans flocking to get a glimpse. By the time Woods and Co. reached the 18th green, an estimated 7,500 people were clinging to the gallery ropes.

This all begs the question. Have we all gone Tiger mad?

In his post-practice press conference, Woods was asked: "Is it like this all the time?"

"Certainly not ... not like this," Tiger laughed.

Yes, Tiger is the word on everyone's lips in Melbourne and the man smiling all the way to the bank is Victorian Premier John Brumby. Not only did he snatch the world's best golfer from under the nose of the NSW Government, who originally wanted Woods to be top billing of the Australian Open, he is now boasting a Tiger-led economic stimulus to the Victorian economy in excess of $35 million.

That's not a bad return on their US$3 million outlay of public money to get him here. No wonder he's the toast of Melbourne.

Tomorrow: Check out Golf Australia's exclusive Australian Masters form guide including our selections.

2009-11-05T14:50:00.000+11:00

NORMAN, CLARK TO MISS
AUSTRALIAN OPEN

By Brendan James

Editor

Golf Australia

Greg Norman's announcement that he will not play this year's Australian Open at NSW GC due to a shoulder injury is a disappointment but is arguably better than him turning up, playing at 50 percent and missing the cut.

Norman, who underwent surgery on the shoulder just days before the Presidents Cup in October, has not recovered as quickly as his surgeon had hoped and he will not play golf again this year. But even at best he was only going to start practising for an assault on the championship ten days out from the opening round. Hardly the sort of preparation required to win such a tough championship.

I have no doubt the Shark, who has always said he is not a ceremonial golfer and is committed to winning every event he plays, probably realised he was not going to be competitive and pulled the pin at the first opportunity.

"Having made the decision to have surgery in September in order to facilitate my playing the Australian Open and The Shark Shootout, I am disappointed," Norman said in a press release.

"At the same time, I understand it would not be prudent to rush my return to competitive golf.

"I was very much looking forward to playing this year's Australian Open at the New South Wales Golf Club. I look forward to playing in 2010 and expect that I will make one visit to Sydney in support of The Australian Open in the middle part of 2010."

Meanwhile, the man whom Norman described as his "little bulldog" at the Presidents Cup, Tim Clark, has also pulled out after accepting a last-minute invitation to play the lucrative Nedbank Challenge in his home country, South Africa.

Interestingly, there was no official announcement from Golf Australia of the reigning Open champion not coming back to defend his title.

However, the championship organiser has said: "Golf Australia intends to pursue opportunities to make other world-class additions to the field."

Norman's shoes will be hard to fill. Clark's, not so hard.

TIPS TO TAIL TIGER

2009-10-21T12:46:00.000+11:00

If you are one of the 100,000 people planning to venture to Kingston Heath for a glimpse of Tiger Woods at this year’s Masters, it is important that you read on from paragraph three.

If you haven’t got a ticket you will probably see more shots played by the World No.1 by watching him on TV.

Now, for those heading to Kingston Heath for one or more days of the Masters you are in for a treat. The experience of hearing him hit and seeing Tiger’s ball flight simply cannot be fully appreciated from your lounge room.

Tiger’s star has risen substantially since he was last on our shores in 1998, which means we’ve probably never really experienced a good dose of Tigermania.

I have experienced the toil that comes with tailing Tiger during a tournament and, through, 18 holes it can be hard work.

My first encounter with Tigermania was during the third round of the 1996 Australian Open in Sydney, and it led to a chance encounter with Woods.

I was mingling with the galleries in researching a story on what it was like to be among the crowds trying to get a glimpse of Woods and observing how the young man handled the attention. After trekking 14 holes of The Australian GC in sultry conditions, nature was calling … screaming actually. A portable toilet between the 14th green and 15th tee was never more welcomed. I raced inside as Tiger’s group putted out.

In my haste, I didn’t realise Woods knocked his approach stone dead and he had quickly tapped in for his birdie and made a similar beeline for the men’s. I had just finished when a man barrelled inside just as I was turning with zip in hand. My substantial shoulder caught him in the side, forcing him off balance for a split second. Then I realised it was Tiger. All I could blurt out was, “sorry ‘bout that mate.”

“No problem,” he replied, taking up his position at the urinal. But I digress.

If you are expecting to walk shot by shot with Tiger during Masters week, you’d better be equipped with a small step ladder or be able to cover the hundred as quick as Usain Bolt. Otherwise, there are going to be several holes where all you will see is the swoosh on Woods’ Nike hat scooting by.

The biggest crowds in Australian golfing history will descend on Kingston Heath between November 12 and 15. To give you an idea of what it will be like, imagine this. You’re standing courtside at Rod Laver Arena with 20,000 other people, hoping to see Roger Federer hit a serve. You might just see the top of the racquet.

Bearing this in mind, here are some valuable tips for enhancing your Tiger viewing experience at the Masters.

1. Get your day off to a good start and leave home early. Parking near Kingston Heath is going to be tight.

2. Once you are in the gate, get a program with the map of the course and establish a “Tiger plan”. As previously mentioned, you can’t possibly follow Tiger shot for shot so you need to find five or six spots around the course where you can park yourself and let the phenom come to you.
3. If you are old enough to remember what it is like to hit a persimmon driver you are too old to climb a tree for a better view of play. Just imagine how embarrassing it will be when the fire brigade has to be called to the course to pluck you from the tree limb 20 foot above the ground. Also, think the further embarrassment when it makes the evening news.

4. If you are less than 183cm tall, 6 feet in the old money, consider a millk crate to give you a boost if your option is to follow all of Tiger’s round.

5. Whatever you do, don’t piss Steve Williams off. He has been known to dress down spectators and even throw cameras into water hazards. Keep your distance.

6. Don’t Tiger’s playing partners. Respect the other players in his group by not moving until everyone has putted out on a hole.

7. If you plan to dress in a full body costume, make sure you put lashings of deodorant under the armpits. Also, see if you can be more original than dressing as a tiger.

8. Don’t expect to get an autograph from the World No.1. He will be mobbed and there will be so many security types, and Stevie, around him you will be very lucky to get anything signed. I repeat tip No.5: Whatever you do, don’t piss Steve Williams off.

Apart from that, have a great time!

SENIOR IS A MODEL CITIZEN

2009-10-01T15:18:00.000+10:00

As you read through this month’s issue of Golf Australia you might spot a recurring theme running through some of our features and columns. That theme is age.

The performance of 59-year-old Tom Watson at the Open Championship was an inspiration to every golfer, no matter what their ability, who thought their best golf was played before they had grey hair, prostate checks and prescriptions for Viagra.

As you will read, some of the biggest names in the game through the 1980s, like Greg Norman and Bernhard Langer, still have something to offer the game and remain competitive beyond just the Senior Tours.

The newest addition to the senior ranks is one of Australia’s favourite golfing sons, Peter Senior, who turned 50 on July 31.

If you asked anyone who has ever been involved with Australian golf at a tournament level to name their top-three nicest and easiest players to get along with, Senior’s name would feature on every list.

I discovered this early in my journalistic career. It was the early days of summer in 1989 and I was the junior reporter working on the sports desk of Sydney’s afternoon newspaper, The Daily Mirror.

As the 8am deadline for the first edition approached, the sports editor shouted “we don’t have a back page lead”. Minutes later, he almost shirt-fronted me and said: “You know about golf, find Peter Senior and get him to say he’ll win again. You’ve got half an hour.”

Four days earlier, Senior had blown the field away at the Australian Open at Kingston Heath. The likes of Norman, Nick Faldo, and the then reigning British Open champion Mark Calcavecchia and US Open champion Curtis Strange were no match for the broomstick-putter wielding Senior. The Queenslander won by seven strokes, just two weeks after winning the Australian PGA by a stroke in front of a class field at Sydney’s Riverside Oaks.

My editor was asking for much at 7.30 in the morning. Find the hottest man in Australian golf on the morning of the first round of the Johnnie Walker Classic and get him to boast that he’ll make it three wins from three starts.

I rang the only hotel in Melbourne I knew pro golfers stayed at – the Hilton. “Can you put me through to Mr Senior’s room please?” I asked the receptionist. I had struck gold and could barely believe my luck as the phone rang in Senior’s room. He answered the phone and it was immediately apparent that I had awoken the champ, who had an afternoon tee time, from his slumber.

I expected to hear the click of a hang up as soon as I identified myself but he could not have been more accommodating. We spoke for 10 or 15 minutes and then I made one last request: “Peter, any chance you can say ‘I’ll win again’? It will make a great headline.”

“No worries, I’ll win again … anything else you need.”

That was 20 years ago and that interview gave me my first back page story. Senior’s generosity of time, and quote, where others would have been dismissive and angered has stayed with me for all these years.

In compiling this column, I called Senior again, this time at a more civilised hour, to discuss his plans now he is eligible to play senior’s golf.

“I’ll play a few events in Australia but I’m going to play more overseas,” he said. In fact, as you read this Senior is playing events on the European Seniors Tour.

“Then I am going to head to the US Champions Tour qualifying in November.”

Senior’s passion for the game has helped him maintain a high quality of ball-striking during the past few years as he approached his 50th birthday.

“I still practice quite a bit and I still enjoy the game a lot, so that makes it so much easier to get out and work on the game,” he said. “If you enjoy what you’re doing it is quite easy.”

I have no doubt Senior will make it through the Champions Tour qualifying and will be a winner in his rookie year. That Tour’s gain will be the loss for several pro-ams and secondary Tour events here in Australia that Senior has supported in playing for many years. In fact, he celebrated his 50th birthday, not with friends and family at home, but by playing a four round pro-am at the Capricorn Resort near Yeppoon. For the record, Senior shot 15-under to finish second.

“I have been a member of the PGA board and it has been a twofold thing,” Senior said. “I like to play the events and meet some of the younger guys who I haven’t met before.

“I like to put in a bit, so do most of the older guys who still support the pro-ams and other events. It’s great for us to play a bit but it is more important to liaise with the sponsors and do your little bit in that area.”

There has been no greater ambassador for Australian golf, here and abroad, than Peter Senior and we wish him all the success in the United States next year.

Golf An Ill-Fit For The Olympics

2009-09-23T10:30:00.000+10:00

THE International Olympic Committee’s 106-member assembly will meet in Denmark this month to rubber-stamp golf’s inclusion in the program for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Golf and rugby sevens were recommended additions to the Games program by the IOC Executive Board back in August and it is expected golf will again become part of
the Olympic movement for the first time since 1908 when the assembly casts its vote
in Copenhagen.

Seven sports – baseball, golf, karate, roller sports, rugby, softball and squash – were seeking to enter the Olympic program. The secret ballot vote by the executive board followed an extensive evaluation by the Olympic Program Commission of the potential added value each of the seven sports would bring to the Games.

“Golf and rugby will be a great addition to the Olympic Games,” IOC President Jacques Rogge said.

The key factors in determining a sport’s suitability for the Olympic program include youth appeal, universality, popularity, good governance, respect for athletes and respect for the Olympic values.

“Golf and rugby scored high on all the criteria,” Rogge said. “They have global appeal, a geographically diverse line-up of top iconic athletes and an ethic that stresses fair play.”
Golf also has Tiger Woods … arguably the most recognisable sportsman in the world. No matter where the 2016 Games are held – Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid are the front-runners – Woods will become one of the corporate sideshows of the event.

By that time the World No.1 will be 40 and will undoubtedly have surpassed Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles. He has already said he will play in the Games “if I’m not retired by then”.

Golf’s push for inclusion in the Games was seriously helped by the pledge of its top players to compete. Whether or not Woods and Lorena Ochoa are the game’s best in seven years’ time remains to be seen.

But for the meantime, golf, and Woods, has the Olympic blazer-wearers salivating at the prospect of the game’s return.

The question now is how will the rest of the game’s elite players place the Olympics in their list of career goals? The format will be just like any other Tour event: 72 holes of stroke play over four days for a field of 60, with the world’s top-15 ranked players exempt into the field.
If the dates clash with their preparation for a major championship, will they turn up? It wouldn’t be the first time if they didn’t.

The precedent for this was set back when golf was last included in the Olympic program in 1908. Before you ring in to say I am wrong and that golf was last played in the Olympics in 1904, you are indeed correct.

Golf was last contested at the 1904 Olympics in St Louis. George Lyon, a 46-year-old Canadian, had only been playing the game for about eight years when he joined the 72-strong field for the match play competition.

Against all odds, Lyon, who was a handy cricketer and held the Canadian record for the pole vault, made it through to the final against the more fancied Chandler Egan, the 23-year-old US amateur champion. Lyon sang and cracked jokes between shots in the final and outplayed Egan to claim the gold medal, which he collected walking into the presentation on his hands.
Lyon made the trip to London for the 1908 London Games, only to find himself as the sole entrant. By scheduling the Olympic tournament into the first week in June, the British Olympic Association stirred up opposition from the Royal & Ancient Golf Club for clashing with established domestic events. All of the British golfers withdrew from the competition and no Americans were prepared to make the trip (sound familiar?). Lyon was offered the gold medal by default but he declined to accept it out of respect for the game.

I’m not suggesting the game’s best players, en masse, will shun the Games in 2016 and beyond. But you can be sure of one thing. If the Olympics clashes with their schedule for those events that really matter, the majors, they will not go.

This is why golf should not be in the Olympics. For mine, it doesn’t quite fit and nor does tennis. I’m not discounting them because they are big-money professional sports, either. After all, Usain Bolt doesn’t run for love over money.

But I believe an Olympic gold medal represents the pinnacle achievement in a sport. Whereas in golf, the trophies of the four major championships are, and always will be, the Holy Grail.

Perhaps, in time, an Olympic gold medal for golf will hold some historical cred but I am sure most of us will have long fallen off the perch before that happens.

Interestingly, the IOC was impressed by the support coming from players for inclusion into the Olympics, which was one reason why golf’s bid to be played at the 1996 Games in Atlanta failed. Several current and former players –including Annika Sorenstam in Sweden, Ernie Els in South Africa, Fiji’s Vijay Singh and Jack Nicklaus – stood before the executive board to pledge golf’s case.

But one senses, at least from the Australians, the players are more keen on the social aspects of being in the Games village than they are about winning golfing gold.
“You could disregard the golf tournament as far as I’m concerned. I just want to be at the Olympics,” Geoff Ogilvy said. “Two weeks with the camaraderie and mayhem in the village, that would be the best part of it.

“In athletics, the Olympics is the pinnacle of their sport. The pinnacle for us would be hanging out with the 2016 equivalent of Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe and Usain Bolt.

“Those guys aren’t going to be there, but their equivalents will.

“I want to spend two weeks in the Olympic village and walk into the Olympic stadium for the opening ceremony.”

Mathew Goggin agreed: “I don’t think it should be in there, but bloody oath I’d go and play. It would be unbelievable for two weeks in the village, that whole experience.”

If only there was this sort of boundless enthusiasm for experience when it comes to represent Australia every year at the World Cup!

Then, of course, there is the argument from golf’s officialdom that being part of the Olympics will help spread the game at the grass roots level. That theory has worked wonders in this country for sports like tennis, baseball, synchronised swimming and, even, athletics, don’t you think?