Tag Archives: Golf Lessons West London

Schwartzel Goes For Hat-rick At Joburg Open

Charl Schwartzel ended 2012 in fine form and is hoping he can continue that amazing form when he returns back to his native South Africa to compete in the Joborg Open. 

The little South African won the Dunhill Championship at the end of last year by an incredible 12 shots before taking a well earned six week break, will tee it up in confident mood, if not a little rusty.

He will see this as preparation leading up to the Masters and will want to get that competitive edge back after having such a long break from golf.

For me, this golfer can beat anyone on his day and will definitely be an each way bet for me at  the Masters, a tournament that he has won before and loves.

He is one of the best putters in the world which is just what you need around Augusta.

Sterne Shoots Lowest Round Of Career To Lead In Dubai

Well the opening day at the Dubai Desert Classic saw Richard Sterne shoot a round of 62, which is the lowest round of his European Tour career and he tops the leaderboard at ten under par on a heavy day of scoring from the field on the Emirates course. 

The South African had a couple of years of bad health in 2010 and 2011, nursing a back problem, but the man from Pretoria is back, and fit to play a full schedule again this season and couldn’t have hoped for a better start.

The superb round off golf was nearly good enough to beat the course record of 61 set by compatriot Ernie Els nearly 20 years ago. Els managed to go on and win the event that year and I’m sure Sterne is looking to do the same this time round.

Westwood Eyeing Up First Win At The Emirates Golf Club

Lee Westwood is confident of having one of his best seasons yet and is sure he can hit the ground running when he tees it up at his first tournament of the year, the Dubai Desert Classic.

The Englishman from Worksop who will be 40 this year has a great record at the Emirates Golf Club, coming second three times and a total of seven top ten’s in 19 appearances, but is still yet to claim the trophy.

Westwood feels that his move to Florida last year has given him the platform to get his game into tip top condition for the 2013 season.

He’s had time to practice his short game out in the Florida sunshine whilst the snow has been falling in the UK and it’s fair to say that his short game has been his Achilles heel in recent years and probably cost him many wins, so it will be interesting to see how much it has improved and whether he can capitalise on his great driving and iron play.

Want to hit as many fairways and greens as Westwood? Why not book a  golf lesson with me and get your game ready for the season ahead.

Tiger Woods Is On A Mission

Tiger Woods goes into tonight’s conclusion of the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open with a  six shot lead.

The weather has got the better of them this week in America where an entire day of golf got wiped due to fog, but the tournament has virtually come to end despite going to an extra day, as Tiger produced the form that he has promised to for a long time now.

If he does go on to win, it will be Woods’ eighth victory on the public course of Torrey Pines that runs along the pacific coast.

I’m sure the other players will be trying to put pressure on Tiger and hope that he slips up a couple of times which he has been prone to in recent years. But this Tiger looks different, I think he’s on a real mission this year to prove to himself and to many people that he still has what it takes to win big tournaments and even major championships.

My money is going to be on Woods getting back to the number one spot and to win a major this year. You can’t keep a player of his quality down for too long, and lets face it, his bad form is as good as a lot of players good form.

Ryder Cup Duo Fight It Out At The Top

Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer, who were team-mates at the miracle comeback in Medinah, are tied at the top of the leaderboard in the Qatar Masters. There are four players sharing the lead in Doha after two rounds, the other players are Marcus Fraser and Ricardo Santos. 

Garcia played a near perfect round of golf shooting a 66 on a calm day in the desert, whilst Kaymer shot a bogey-free 67. Garcia had plenty of chances to make more birdies but the putter deserted him on these occasions.

There are many players within striking distance though, with the leaderboard looking quite bunched at the moment.

At the other end of the leaderboard, Ernie Els was struggling with the putter and struggling to make the cut going into the 16th at one over par, but a birdie and two pars was enough see him through to the weekend.

It’s all set up for a great couple of days of golf, make sure you tune in to watch!

To find out about my coaching, and the golf lesson packages I offer, please click here 

 

Bjorn: “Olesen Could Be The Best In The World”

The Great Dane Thomas Bjorn has said that fellow Dane Thorbjorn Olesen could be one of the greatest players in the world.

He’s not wrong, he certainly has got a lot of talent and a lot of determination and guts to go with that ,which can be a leathel combination going forward.

They both teed it up together in the first round of the Qatar Masters and Olesen shot a fantastic four under par 68 to find himself three shots off the lead.

Olesen won his first European Tour title last year at the Sicilian Open, and  has since climbed to 42nd in the world after his second place finish last week in Abu Dhabi.

Keep your eye on this young man, he will be contending a lot this season and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him up there in a major too!

Oosthuizen Wants McIlroy’s Number One Spot

South African major winner Louis Oosthuizen is setting his sights to leapfrog Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy to the World Number One position this season.

Oosthuizen is currently fifth in the rankings after a great start to the season after victory at the Volvo Golf Champions two weeks ago. He tees it up this week in Qatar Masters which is his second tournament of the season.

He seems to have a habit of winning his first event of the season as he has now done it three years running. The 30 year old knows there is a big gap in points between him and McIlroy but is in confident form and believes he can have a very good year and can challenge the Northern Irishman to the top spot.

“I want to climb up the World Ranking to Number One if I can, but I always take it slowly and see how my game is,” said Oosthuizen.

He has always been a good solid player, and last year found himself at the business end of many tournaments and majors, but he seems to have taken the next step and will be a tough man to beat if he gets himself into contention this season.

McIlroy and Woods Struggle In Opening Round

It was the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Championship today and it’s Justin Rose and Jamie Donaldson who share the lead while Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy struggled.

McIlroy playing in his first competitive round with his new clubs was all over the place. He was hitting his new driver wayward and even hit a shot out of bounds. He managed to scrape it round in 75 shots ( +3 ). Tiger wasn’t much better, on the first hole he topped a drive which only went 70 yards! Maybe the pressure got to McIlroy a little bit knowing that all eyes were on him after the Nike deal.

It will be interesting to see if McIlroy bounces back straight away or whether he continues to struggle. One thing is for sure…he won’t be down for very long.

 

Montgomerie Backs New European Ryder Cup Captain McGinley

Colin Montgomerie has told Paul McGinley that he has his backing and will support him  in every way he can after the Dubliner was appointed Ryder Cup captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. 

The European Tour committee  confirmed McGinley as captain yesterday evening in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship which starts tomorrow. McGinley had to fight off a few strong contenders to get the position including  Scotland’s Sandy Lyle and Spains Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Montgomerie who has a fantastic record in the Ryder Cup matches and won as captain in 2010 was a late contender for the job after it was announced the Tom Watson would be leading the US team out to battle. But is was McGinley who was successful.

Montgomerie said he is confident that McGinley has the experience after two Ryder Cups as vice-captain.

 

Monty In Late Running To Get Ryder Cup Job Again

World number one Rory McIlroy is giving his full support to Paul McGinley on getting the job as 2014 Ryder Cup captain despite reports claiming Colin Montgomerie will be given the task to lead Europe once again.

The European Tour is set to announce the decision on Tuesday. Whoever gets the nod will be up against a very strong captain in Tom Watson and a very strong American team no doubt. There wasn’t any mention of Monty being involved until recent weeks but he is now favourite to take charge at Gleneagles.

Paul McGinley is Motgomerie’s only real contender now Darren Clarke is out of the running, and if Monty is chosen he will have the chance to win back-to-back Ryder Cups which was last achieved by Tony Jacklin when he won in 1985 & 1987.

Without doubt Paul McGinley would make a great captain and has done a great job as vice captain in recent years but I think Monty will get the job after such a spirited comeback last year and of course his tremendous record as a Ryder Cup player to boot.