Trimmed Sergio does the job
May 13th 2008 05:30
Bit of a delay in getting this posted - had a leisurely afternoon at Long Reef Golf Club on Sydney's northern beaches on Monday ... one of the golfing gods' gifts to us along with other ocean-side gems such as Port Rush in Northern Ireland and Pebble Beach in California.
OK, that might be exaggerating things a little bit but playing Long Reef on a cloudless autumn day with the surfers in view on the blue waters below is surely one the best experiences a golfer can have...
... Apart form winning $1.7 million for 73 holes' work, as Sergio Garcia did at the Players Championship last week.
Sergio was among those players I had a "watch" on given his strong performances at the Sawgrass over the years. I thought he was a good chance to win, not when he posted an opening 66, but when he decided to shave off that silly goatee that had hatched under his chin.
Somehow it showed he was serious.
Even so, like many others, I discarded him as one of those players destined to either crack under the pressure (last couple of British Opens spring to mind) or to find his putting stroke in the outhouse when his driving was in the penthouse.
But to his credit Sergio has worked damn hard on his putting, taking specialist lessons which came to the fore on the 18th when he had to drain a pressurised 10-footer for par and give himself an outside chance ot making a playoff with Paul Goydos.
Sergio's aggressive celebration of that par was interesting because he knew at that point that even if Goyds (who was coming up the 18th) managed to win the man they used to call El Nino had proved to himself he could make a clutch putt when he needed to.
The celebration seemed as much out laying to rest the ghosts of last year's British Open where he handed the title to Padraig Harrington with a miss from a similar distance at Carnoustie on the 72nd hole.
He looks ready now to contend in the majors and maybe it'll be third time lucky at the British Open.
As for my selections - as someone said before the tournament started, you'd have more chance at winning on the roulette table than picking the winner of the Players - and so it proved with my choices of Stewart Cink, Harrington and Robert Allenby all well off the pace.
In Europe it was a little better with Robert Karlsson finishing third and Marcus Fraser gaining another top-20 in what is turning into a productive year.
Back in a couple of days with this week's top prospects ...
OK, that might be exaggerating things a little bit but playing Long Reef on a cloudless autumn day with the surfers in view on the blue waters below is surely one the best experiences a golfer can have...
... Apart form winning $1.7 million for 73 holes' work, as Sergio Garcia did at the Players Championship last week.
Sergio was among those players I had a "watch" on given his strong performances at the Sawgrass over the years. I thought he was a good chance to win, not when he posted an opening 66, but when he decided to shave off that silly goatee that had hatched under his chin.
Somehow it showed he was serious.
Even so, like many others, I discarded him as one of those players destined to either crack under the pressure (last couple of British Opens spring to mind) or to find his putting stroke in the outhouse when his driving was in the penthouse.
But to his credit Sergio has worked damn hard on his putting, taking specialist lessons which came to the fore on the 18th when he had to drain a pressurised 10-footer for par and give himself an outside chance ot making a playoff with Paul Goydos.
Sergio's aggressive celebration of that par was interesting because he knew at that point that even if Goyds (who was coming up the 18th) managed to win the man they used to call El Nino had proved to himself he could make a clutch putt when he needed to.
The celebration seemed as much out laying to rest the ghosts of last year's British Open where he handed the title to Padraig Harrington with a miss from a similar distance at Carnoustie on the 72nd hole.
He looks ready now to contend in the majors and maybe it'll be third time lucky at the British Open.
As for my selections - as someone said before the tournament started, you'd have more chance at winning on the roulette table than picking the winner of the Players - and so it proved with my choices of Stewart Cink, Harrington and Robert Allenby all well off the pace.
In Europe it was a little better with Robert Karlsson finishing third and Marcus Fraser gaining another top-20 in what is turning into a productive year.
Back in a couple of days with this week's top prospects ...
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Comment by Anonymous
He's spent the last 9 months whinging about his British Open loss.
Maybe now he'll realise that when you drop 4 shots in the first ten holes of the final round of the Open, you are more often than not going to lose.
Good on him
Ole