Tailored Shorts

 

Westwood Pumping Iron

Donal with Lee after his Portugal Masters win.

Following his recent win in the Portugal Masters at Oceânico Victoria Golf Course, Lee Westwood spoke about the importance his fitness had in bringing back that winning feeling. “I looked at the guys at the top of the game and every one of them seemed to have big arms, big shoulders and impressive core body strength,” Westwood said. “I thought, if I’m going to compete at this level, I need to develop that physical strength”, he added. Westwood joined the likes of Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh in embarking in a punishing training schedule when not in competition. His average driving distance for the tournament was 306 yards and that coupled with his legendary accuracy proved the difference in Vilamoura. Westwood hit 87.5% of greens in regulation and 10.3 fairways per rounds.

Gary Player Moves East

While golf development projects stall around us and courses struggle to stay afloat it’s seems there’s “no recession around here” in Bulgaria. The country whose only claim to fame used to be Dimitar Berbatov has unveiled the first of two new courses designed by Gary Player. Player, who still manages to squeeze out around 4,000 stomach crunches before breakfast was on hand recently to open Black Sea Rama and oversee the final stages of construction of Thracian Cliffs, both set to become premier European golf resorts. Thracian Cliffs, built along five kilometres of Cape Kaliakra Cliffs has already been compared to Pebble Beach. Player on the other hand, has been compared to Simon Cowell.

Immelman’s Latest Injury Woe

Trevor Immelman’s injury woes continue but the former Masters champion now expects to be fit again for the 2009 PGA season. The former Masters Champion has suffered severe tendonitis all season and after exhausting the possibilities of natural healing finally underwent surgery on his left wrist last week in New York. The procedure was performed by the same doctor who successfully operated on Luke Donald and Jim Furyk. Immelman is expected to start strength exercises in six weeks, and hopes to begin chipping and putting after three months of rehabilitation. This is not the first injury to befall the amiable South African. In December 2007, doctors removed a calcified fibrosis tumour from his ribcage, which after tests was found to be benign. Nevertheless, treatment and recovery caused him to miss the first eight weeks of the 2008 PGA Tour season.

2010 Race To Dubai Fixtures

The European Tour will again feature the Race To Dubai in 2010. the new season will feature two new events, the Africa Open, pencilled in for the East London Club in Januray and the Hassan 11 trophy in Rabat to be held in March. The Hassan 11 trophy has been contested since 1971, but is now set to get European Tour status and will feature a pro-celebrity format. Three events to be dropped from next years schedule include the Johnnie Walker Classic, the Malaysian Open and the Indonesian Open. The European Tour has had to overcome serious financial difficulties this year with the collapse of its backer Leisurecorp. Nakheel Leisure who stepped in to, in effect save the Tour, negotiated a reduced prize fund for this years Race to Dubai.

Videos Of The Week: Sergio Spitting and Briny Baird Hitting Homers

apologies to our die hard fans for not updating last week.  We were at the Portugal Masters and just plain forgot to bring the files!  Here’s a double helping of vids to bring us back up to date.

“I didn’t spit, I just let it go down. Anyway it’s no big deal”. If you missed it at the time, relive the gory of Sergio’s misdeamour that kicked it all off for poor Serg.

 

Briny Baird Hits An Unlikely Homer

What’s In The Bag Sergio Garcia

Full name Sergio García

Nickname El Niño

Born 9 January 1980 (1980-01-09) (age 29)

Borriol, Castellón, Spain

Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)

Weight 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st)

Residence Borriol, Castellón, Spain

Turned professional 1999

Professional wins 19

Sergio Garcia was born on January 9, 1980. The second of three children, he grew up in the Spanish town of Borriol, a short distance from his country’s east coast and about an hour north of Valencia. At the time, his father, Victor Sr., was the pro at the Mediterraneo Golf Club, and his mother, Consuelo, ran the pro shop. In fact, she was working there when she went into labour with Sergio.

Golf was a passion enjoyed by the entire Garcia family. Sergio’s older brother by three years, Victor Jr., got the bug first. He eventually attended college on a golf scholarship. Mar, Sergio's younger sister by four years, would go on to play at the University of Arizona.

Sergio began mimicking his father’s swing at age two, with a broom or feather duster. Victor Sr. cut down a set of clubs for his son when he was three. From then on Sergio was hooked. As a child, he often worked on his game on his own. He’d walk the course at Mediterraneo Golf Club and practice hitting difficult shots between trees and from uneven lies. To that he added a few finishing touches courtesy of his idol Seve Ballesteros

García turned professional in 1999 after shooting the lowest amateur score in the 1999 Masters Tournament. His first title on the European Tour came in his sixth start as a professional at the Irish Open. He first achieved worldwide prominence with a duel against Tiger Woods in the 1999 PGA Championship, where he eventually finished second. He now has eight European Tour wins and seven PGA Tour wins to his credit. García was a member of the European Ryder Cup team in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008 and holds an impressive career record at the Ryder Cup of 14-3-3. As three of his appearances have resulted in overall victories, his input in the team has proved invaluable.

Sergio is rated as one of the best drivers in the world. He normally works the ball from right to left with amazing control. Even on tight courses, he isn’t afraid to hit woods off the tee. This is partly why his performance in majors is so impressive. An emotional athlete Sergio battles his temper both on the course and in the press room. In 2007 he encountered criticism when he spat in the cup during the Doral Championship after three-putting. His heavily publicized break up in 2009 with Morgan Leigh Norman further added to his woes both on and off the course.

What’s In Sergio’s Bag

Barclay’s Singapore Open Preview

Odds thanks to Boylesports

Thongchai Jaidee 33/1

An amazing character the Thai Thongchai Jaidee is one to watch this week. He discovered golf whilst recovering from a football injury when a wooden skewer was embedded in his foot. He didnt turn pro until ten years later, choosing to firstly serve as a paratrooper in the Royal Thai Army. On the golf course, in 2004 he made history as the first Thai golfer to win an event on The European Tour with victory in the Malaysian Open, and then successfully defended the title in 2005. Jaidee is seeking a hat-trick of titles for the first time in a season, and a win over The Serapong Course would see him climb back into the money-spinning top 15 in The Race to Dubai. “I’ve not won three tournaments in a year before, but this year I have a very good chance,” said Jaidee, who lifted the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open and the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea earlier in the year.

Miguel Angel Jimenez 50/1

The ever popular Miguel Angel Jimenez takes his place in a star studded field this week which includes Padraig Harrington, Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson. Victory in the UBS Hong Kong Open at the start of The 2008 European Tour International Schedule ended two fruitless seasons and took his victory tally to 14. That was followed by one of the best wins of his career at the BMW PGA Championship. Although not the longest hitter on tour, Jimenez starts this week with the distinct advantage of having won four European Tour events played in Asia. Loves competing in the region and still has what it takes to win. When asked his requirements for The 2004 European Team Room at The Ryder Cup, he simply replied: “Rioja wine, an espresso machine and cigars,” all of which were provided.

Ernie Els 20/1

He may have over 50 worldwide victories including three major’s, but the question on everyone’s lips is not when Ernie Els will win again, but if he can win again. His last victory was in March 2008 at the Honda Classic where he stuttered to victory over Luke Donald. There have been signs of improvement from Ernie of late however. Weekend rounds of 66, 66 in his last European appearance at the Dunhill Links were noteworthy. Els is also somewhat of a Sentosa specialist and will enter this weeks $5 million co-sanctioned event with high hopes. Tied for second with Padraig Harrington (who himself will have designs on this title) in 2008 behind Jeev Milkha Singh. Also came second in 2006, where he lost a bizarre three hole playoff with Adam Scott, when heavy rain reduced the event to 54 holes.