Category Archives: News Stories

Will McIlroy End Up Chasing Tiger’s Tail?

Rory McIlroy decided not to play at the Bay Hill Invitational this week for reasons he will only know. He didn’t play last year either as he wanted to prepare for the Masters and seems to do this before every major to get his golf game tuned.

I find it a little strange I have to admit,  if you were No.1 in the world wouldn’t you want to deny the guy in second place  the chance of overtaking you? Especially as that guy happens to be Tiger Woods who won’t give the spot up easily after losing it for a few years now.

Even Arnold Palmer was surprised that the Northern Irishman didn’t want to  play at Bay Hill in Florida this week and opted to play in next week’s Houston Open instead.

Well McIlroy could find himself behind Tiger in the World Rankings when he tees it up in Houston and in my opinion could be chasing Tiger’s tail for a very long time!

It’s a great week of golf ahead and an exciting time of year to be interested in golf. Let’s just hope it lives up to expectation!

 

The Italian Stallion Back To Claim Title

Young Italian Matteo Manassero  is returning to the scene where he won back in 2011 and is looking to find that form again after toning up and losing a lot of weight.

The teenager who has spent over a month in the golfing off-season toning his body and getting himself fit so he can cope with the endurance that professional golf requires in this day and age and returns to Malaysia as fit as he’s ever been.

He always had some puppy fat which a lot of teenagers have but felt that if he was going to compete at the top level week in week out the would have to fitter and stronger.

Manassero has always been a good golfer with the potential to be in the worlds top 10, I just hope that losing too much weight doesn’t effect his swing too much as it has done with players in the past. He has had to make some swing adjustments already so we shall see what happens.

Donald Chasing The Dollar In Malaysian Open

This week’s European Tour event heads to Malaysia for the Maybank Malaysian Open which will see Luke Donald as the star attraction in a star studded field. This will be the first time Donald has played in this event which sees an increased prize fund this year up to $2.75million. Umm I wonder what attracted him this time?

Donald had a good finish last week at the Tampa Bay Championship where he eventually finished fourth and this week in Kuala Lumpur will be looking to claim his eight win on the European Tour.

Donald has yet to claim a European Tour victory since the BMW Championship last summer and will be desperate to put that right this week.

 

 

Chinnarat Phadungsil Plays Best Round Of His Life

Something happened today that we don’t see that often. No not a round of 58 but a back nine of 28 from Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadungsil who produced some scintillating golf in the opening round the Avantha Masters.

The 25 year old who won his maiden event at the age of 17 ended up carding a round of 61 and leads the tournament by five shots and said that it was the best round of golf he has ever played.

He managed seven successive birdies in a round of eleven birdies in total and with no dropped shots.

There are five players tied for second at the end of today’s play who will be hoping Phadungsil won’t have such a good day tomorrow!

 

McIlroy Continues To Get Frustrated By Current Form

The story on everyone’s lips ( apart from the ongoing putter row ) is that of Rory McIlroy, and his sudden loss of form since the equipment change at the start of the season.

It certainly didn’t get any better at the Honda Classic for McIlroy after he withdrew from the tournament in his second round after finding himself seven over par through eight holes.

He said it was because of pain in his ‘wisdom teeth’ that caused him to walk off the golf course, but only he will know the real reason why. Was it just the frustration of  playing awful golf? Was it petulance? Or was it more ‘I’m not going to win this golf tournament so I might as well call it a day and stop the embarrassment”?

Eighteen time major winner Jack Nicklaus believes that McIlroy is frustrated with his current form but will come good for the first major of the year at Augusta.

The Northern Irishman has had it pretty easy since he turned professional, so it will be interesting to see how things develop over the next few tournaments and whether he will get some more wisdom tooth pain if things don’t go his own way over the course of the next couple of months.

 

McIlroy Worried About Split Over Long Putter Row

There’s been  a lot of discussion recently about the rule changes of the long putter which has seen a lot of opinions and comments from professional golfers around the world.

It was announced last year  that the R&A and USGA were proposing changes to outlaw the use of anchored putters starting in 2016. But the move has been opposed by the PGA Tour which worryingly could cause a split in rules for different tournaments around the world.

Rory McIlroy has urged both parties to come to an agreement over this to stop the threatening split that is likely to happen if both parties don’t unite. The last thing that players want is different rules at different events.

To read more about the long putter law click here

 

Poulter Back In Top 10 Of World Rankings Once Again

England’s Ian Poulter has managed to get himself back into the top 10 in the world once again by coming fourth in the WGC-Accenture Match Play.

Poulter battled it out yesterday in the semi-final against Hunter Mahan before unfortunately losing 4&3 to the American, but it was still good enough to see him move up three places in the world rankings.

Poulter was the top European in the field of 64 taking part last week and with a slightly better putting display could’ve progressed into the final.

He has a pretty record in this event as you would imagine, and did win it back in 2010. He loves match play and loves the whole camaraderie that comes with it.

I get the feeling that this could be a good year for Ian Poulter. He seems more focused than ever and has matured quite a lot in recent years as a person and as a player.

 

 

Play To Get Back Underway In Arizona

Play is to get back underway in Arizona after yesterday’s amazing snow deluge as the snow is starting clear. Players  will be heading out to get there matches finished from yesterday with Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods still yet to tee-off.

The snow was quite a sight as you’re not used to seeing  it happen in the desert or on live television golf coverage, but the snow is still visible today and will make it harder for the players.

Garcia will be hoping to close out his match quickly as he is 2 up with three holes still to play and Ian Poulter will be hoping to do the same being 3 up with six still to play.

Conditions will be suiting the European players more at the moment, so don’t be surprised to see an all European final come Sunday.

Mickelson Going For Riviera Hat-Trick

Phil Mickelson has said that he fees he’s ready to compete this week and win his third Northern Trust Open after having won the event in 2008 and 2009. He showed sublime form when he won the Phoenix Open two weeks ago and is hoping to re-capture some of that feeling again.

He was defending his title last week at Pebble Beach but had to settle for a tie for 60th even though he did produce some fine golf. He said that he just needs to find some consistency but feels he is in some of the best form of his life and is looking forward to competing in all four majors this term.

Mickelson has said that he is playing well in practice and loves Riviera and its set-up as it suits his game and eye.

Want to learn how Golf  Professionals like Phil Mickelson shape the ball in the air and keep it low in the wind? Feel free to contact me here with any questions….

Want to get your distance control ready for the start of the season? Read my blog about Winter Practice here

Sterne Wants Back-To-Back Victories

Well we have a new leader in the Race to Dubai after last weeks near perfect performance from South African Richard Sterne. He won the Joburg Open by seven shots and incredibly only carded one bogey in the 72 holes.

Sterne from Pretoria also managed to shoot the lowest 72 hole score of the season so far – a 27 under par score of 260.

Four years ago he managed to secure back-to-back victories and is hoping to do the same going into this weeks Africa Open, at East London Golf Club on the Eastern Cape.

This was Sterne’s first victory since 2009 and he is hoping that this is the foundation for a great season ahead.

As you know Richard Sterne only dropped one shot throughout the whole tournament, you can’t do this unless your short game is at its best. To learn more on how to get up and down from Greenside Bunkers click here.