GolfCentral Daily: 2010-03-21

Monday, March 22, 2010

Bet Your Balls: Arnold Palmer Invitational and Andalucia Open

Winner Alright

Last week we brought two winners. Rhys Davies obliged at a whopping 40/1 and Nick Watney (30/1) paid out each way for his fourth place finish at Transitions!

Disclaimer: Okay we’ve won a shed load of cash this year so far but there will come a time when we lose. When we do remember the good times!

Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard

Thursday Mar 25 – Sunday Mar 28, 2010

Bay Hill Club and Lodge • Orlando, Fla.

Vijay Singh 28/1

I couldn’t believe it either when I heard that Vijay Singh was taking a week off last week but when I saw pigs flying overhead I knew it had to be true. The next two weeks are going to be huge for the Fijian. An injury hit Vijay finished at the very back of the field last year on 10 over, but that aside, he has top tenned four times at Bay Hill. That included a win in 2007, a tied second in 2005 and a tied third in 2008. Tee to green Vijay is untouchable in the stats but the short stick has been dragging him down. Or should that be the long stick in Vijay’s case! Either way he’s been practicing on the glass and is raring to go.

Vijay: Rare photo showing both dodgy knee and dodgy putter

Nick Watney 34/1

We’ve tipped Nick for the past two weeks and I don’t think he is done yet. Shot 65, 67 at the weekend last week, a full 11 shots better than the first two rounds to storm up the leaderboard and finish fourth. This is surely an indicator that he has finally found his putting game. Watney won’t mind the notoriously difficult Bay Hill layout either, he also tied for fourth last year with a good final round. The par for the course has been extended to 72 this year to give the crowd more birdies but with the wind and rain they have been experiencing recently it is set to be another tough track fro the pros.

Nick Watney: “Wat-knee Vijay”

Stephen Ames 50/1

Traditional alarm clock time of the year for the now Canadian Stephen Ames (or Mr. Ed as we affectionately call him)! The runaway 2006 Players Champion is currently 34^th in the FedEx points race with a solid four top-25 finishes from his seven starts. That included a tie for sixth last week at Innisbrook with a sparkling final round 67 and with two previous top tens at Bay Hill under his belt he looks like good each way value at 50/1

Ames: Won the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham with Ruby Walsh aboard!

Open de Andalucia de Golf

Parador de Málaga Golf

Málaga, Spain

It’s another low key week on the European Tour with many of heavy hitters away in the build up to the Masters. Take a look at Francesco Molinari at 15/1 again this week. By his own admission he was jet lagged last week after travelling from the CA Championship but he still managed a top-10. Third last year and worth a look. I also fancy Thomas Levet at 45/1 to do well this week. The 2008 Andalucia winner was tied for third last week without playing his A-game. Tour insiders reckon a good each way bet is Thomas Bjorn at 65/1 who though still temporarily representing players on tour while George O’Grady is out, is enjoying a return to form.

Pic: Thomas Levet- the eyes have it

What’s In The Bag 2010: Charl Schwartzel

Here’s what’s in the bag of Charl Schwartzel as of March 2010. He changes quite a bit but below is what he’s gaming (at Doral) from the guys on the Nike Truck.

Charl Schwartzel has had a flying start to 2010, winning the first two events of the year, the Africa Open and the Joburg Open to bring his European Tour victory haul to five. Charl is currently ranked #34 in the World Golf Rankings and leads in the early stages of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai. Last week American golf fans got their first glimpse of the South African at the WGC CA Championship where he finished second behind fellow South African Ernie Els. The result secures his PGA tour card for the year and Schwartzel now intends to play on both tour, mimicking the schedule of Els. The two are good friends, Schwartzel even stayed with Els in the two weeks leading up to the CA Championship. He continues a fine family tradition of golfers as his father, George, was a useful amateur before turning professional and his brother, Adrian, who caddies for his older sibling on occasions, is also making a name for himself on the South African circuit.

Vital Stats

Residence: Verceeniging, South Africa

Attachment: Blair Atholl

Date of birth: 31/08/1984

Place of birth: Johannesburg, South Africa

Height and weight: 5ft 11in 10st 6lb (180cm 66kgs)

Interests: Hunting, cars

Turned Pro: 2002 (plus 4)

Qualifying School: 2002*

Ratings

Power

Longest Drive: 316yards

Average Drive: 295.5yards

Rank: 23

Accuracy

Fairway Hit %: 58.5%-rank 105

Greens in Regulation: 70.3%: - rank 51

Putting

Putts per round: 28.8 Rank:50

Putts per GIR: 1.715 Rank:23

High Flyer:

Charl recently got his pilots licence and is the proud owner of a Cessna. Being surrounded by ailerons and propellers really gets Charl high. Let’s hope he keeps his feet on the ground when he lands in Augusta for the first time next month. “I watched the Masters on TV since I was 11” he says, “I said I’ll never go there unless I’m playing”. Dead right Charl. You wouldn’t have got a ticket!

Farm Boy:

Charl grew up on a farm one hour south of Johannesburg and still considers himself a farm boy at heart with a great love of the outdoors. When he’s not on the golf course he loves to hunt. We say why not strap a couple of guns to the plane and kill two birds with the one bullet?

Man In Black:

Gary Player, the Black Knight, reckons Schwartzel is the new man in black and can be the greatest South African player since, er Player. Confused?

You should be. South Africans will just have to get it into their heads that the real man in black is Johnny Cash.

Full Graphic:

Please email me at examinerspindoc@eircom.net if you want to use the graphic. Cheers!

Tailored Shorts: Weird and Wonderful Golf News (Warning: May Contain Lies)

Putt For Dough

In winning at Doral, Ernie Els averaged only 26.8 putts per round and in 2010 he is 27^th on Tour in putting compared to 113^th in 2009. So how did the Big Easy make putting look, well, so easy? For starters Els shortened his putter by 1.5 inches. The Odyssey White Ice No. 5 he used at Doral was 35 inches, considerably shorter than he used in the past. It’s not just Ernie either. Sergio Garcia was also spotted with a new putter recently. The struggling Spaniard is now gaming a TaylorMade Rossa Daytona by Kia Ma with an all-milled face and no insert. Even the Goose is getting in on the act with a TaylorMade Rossa Spider belly putter at The Transitions.

Ollie’s Pain

More sad news from Spain this week as two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal says he will pull out of the Masters next month because he is suffering from a recurrence of his rheumatism. His manager Sergio Gomez reported that Olazabal is suffering acute pain in his shoulder, forearms and hands and is unable to swing properly. He said Olazabal’s condition restricts him to no more than an hour on the range before a flare up occurs. This will be the first year since 1996 that Ollie will miss the Major season opener. . That year he sat out the entire season after being diagnosed with rheumatoid polyarthritis. The 44-year-old Spaniard, inducted last year into the World Golf Hall of Fame, won the Masters in 1994 and 1999 but has not played a tournament since he finished 14th in the Castello Masters in Spain last October.

Creamer Rises To Top

It’s Paula Creamer but not as you know her. The American female golfing sensation known as The Pink Panther due to her love of all things pink took to the catwalk in a black number recently in Singapore in the prelude to the HSBC Women's Championship. Since her rookie year in 2005, Creamer has bagged almost $7 million in tour earnings and barring injury is a nailed on certainty to be part of the defending America team at next years Solheim Cup to be staged at Killeen Castle.

Paula Creamer: Great Excuse to Put Pic On Blog

My Sack

Attention men. Do your balls jiggle about when you drive off? If so you may need MySack. This unique ultra suede patented sack is guaranteed to bring a smile to your partner’s face. Its functional design holds golf balls and much more! Each MySack is crafted using high-quality, ultra-suede fabric and industrial-strength stitching. Ouch! It has a heavy-duty velcro enclosure and sturdy clasp which are both double-stitched to ensure longevity. MySack will not shrivel in cold weather and with regular attention should last a lifetime!

The Slieve Russell Fourball Quiz

This week we have a fourball voucher for the Slieve Russell Hotel Golf and Country Club, consistently among the top parkland courses in the country and always in top condition. Log on to www.slieverussell.ie for course info and rates. To enter text your answer with name and address to 087-2029040 or e-mail to examinerspindoc@eircom.net no later than Friday next.

This week’s question: Who Am I?

I was born in Europe in 1957 and grew up playing golf on the beach near my home. At aged 19, I announced myself to the golfing world by coming second at The Open. I went on to win the Claret Jug three times and also have two green jackets in my wardrobe. I was also very proud to captain the European Ryder Cup team to victory in my own country in 1997. I’ve had my battles of late but am aiming to tee it up one last time at The Open in St Andrews.

Congrats to last weeks winner Donal Fenton, Midleton, Cork who answered David Duval and wins a fabulous fourball at The Heritage

Bloggy Underfoot: A Pound Of Flesh For Tiger?

In the wake of his latest interview at Isleworth, in one sense I’m happy to see Tiger coming back, in another I’m disappointed he has chosen the Masters as the place to do it. In deciding to return at Augusta, Woods has taken the sumptuous cake that is The Masters and poured gravy all over it. All the talk about green jackets, slippery greens and zipping it back into Rae’s Creek is going to be drowned out by a Tiger feeding frenzy. As one reporter put it, he’ll need a flak jacket not a green jacket!

Would it not have made a lot more sense for Tiger to make his first appearance back at the Tavistock Cup? After all it’s a bit of an airy fairy two day event, between two posh clubs, Isleworth and Lake Nona, behind closed doors in a gated community. Nobody in the prawn sandwich munching crowd would have the audacity to heckle him, for fear of being crossed off the Woods’ Christmas card list.

Does Tiger actually think he can win at Augusta without tournament practice? I know he’s produced some miracles in the past, the monster putt at the 17th in Sawgrass, the chip-in at Augusta, covering up his indiscretions for years and the Rocco putt at the US Open spring to mind, but surely he doesn’t expect to contend at The Masters. If he were serious about winning, I suspect he would have played the Arnold Palmer Invitational in the lead up. To my knowledge Tiger has never missed that event and his friendship with Arnold Palmer is well documented. Perhaps Tiger wanted to spare Arnie from that potential awkward moment under the bleachers on the 18th after his final round. We’ll never know if Arnie would have hugged him or pushed him into the lake.

Tiger’s decision to return at The Masters is, to me, a tactical manoeuvre. With due deference to the course and its immaculate condition, the people behind the tournament are the equivalent of a golfing museum piece, an antiquated bunch of suits who for the rest of the year don’t even get the tiniest squeak in the running of the PGA Tour. They run their event with military precision. The media are strictly controlled, both in their numbers, where they can go, and potentially what they can and cannot ask Tiger. I remember Ken Green doing one of his little inserts on the beeb last year. He was walking and talking as he headed down towards the practice ground only to be stopped about a hundred yards short of the range by BA Baracus. Not even charming Ken was getting what he wanted at Augusta. The green jacket brigade have been known to “remove from the property” media hacks who have the gall to question the speed of the greens or the slightly off colour of the magnolias. Yep, commentators will have to be on their best behaviour at the press conferences or risk being taken out from behind the perfectly manicured grassy knoll.

So it seems Tiger, though “so so sorry”, is still hell bent on having things so so much his own way. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic for the game to have him back, but to hijack the first major of the year in doing it is a bit rich for my blood. Has anyone considered the odds of a having a weekend at Augusta with the Tiger having been dispatched with his tail between his legs? You can have all the magnolias you want on the lane, but this one stinks.

Video Of The Week: The Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood Show

Enjoy the banter and the tips at the Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke golf clinic in the Middle East.

On The Tour Truck: Sparks will fly

Wedge grinding is quite an art-form and shaping a wedge by hand is almost like dancing the Tango with a club head. The Tour professionals are always tweaking the sole of their respective wedges to suit not only their style of swing but also to allow relief of the back edge of the club to get better contact quality for their wedge play. It wouldn’t be unusual to spend a whole day building and grinding new wedges for Tour Pro’s to suit specific course rough and playing conditions and the official Tour record to date is 253 wedges built in one day!

We use a high powered belt sander to literally shape and rub away parts of the wedge sole to affect how it hits the ground and delivers energy and spin through to the ball. Each players grind is uniquely different and is all geared around getting the absolute most from the wedge play.

with Derek Murray from www.foregolf.ie

Wayne’s World Of Fitness: Trapped on the Downswing

Problem:

The feeling of getting trapped or stuck on the downswing normally occurs in lower handicap golfers. The arms tend to get stuck behind the body as the golfer begins the transition into their downswing. It can cause blocked shots or hooks depending on how the clubface is at impact. The swing path created is from an in to out path to the intended target line.

Cause:

Having this swing characteristic is generally caused by the lack of rotation of the hips in the downswing as a lateral slide of the hips towards the target occurs.

Drill:

To create the correct feeling, preset yourself to mimick your impact position using an impact bag or even just the golf ball. Place the clubhead behind the bag having it square to the target line then turn your hips and shoulders open to the target line. By rehearsing this you can train your body to produce a more consistent impact position.

Log on to www.wayneocallaghangolf.com PGA Pro and TPI fitness instructor for more info.

Lee Valley Scratch Cup Betting Preview

Lee Valley Scratch Cup

Saturday March 27^th

Lee Valley Golf Club, Cork

Its that time of the year again with the one of the biggest events on the golfing calender. Yes its the Lee Valley Scratch Cup and your last chance to see of Ireland’s biggest golfing talent before they jet off to watch The Masters. Who’s going to win?

Paul Cutler 9/2

If you haven’t had a chance to see Paul Cutler in action grab it while you can because this man is going all the way to the big boys tour. With last years Lee Valley winner Shane Lowry gone pro, the spotlight has shifted to Cutler, who is rumoured to be so psyched about the Lee Valley Scratch Cup that he’s even bought a Sat Nav to find his way down from Portstewart. Reliable sources say he left home on the journey to Cork 10 days ago with six sherpas and is due to reach Lee Valley sometime in the early hours of Friday morning.

Paul Dunne 12/1

A potential Lee Valley raider this weekend could be Paul Dunne from Greystones. They’ve had to extend the mantelpiece in the Dunne house to display all the trophies Paul has won and a Mr Sheen logo has been rumoured to be appearing on the shirt of the Irish star. Both Dunne and Cutler have been named in the extended St Andrews Trophy squad and their rivalry has been compared by many to that of Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton Jr!

Ricky and Cal: “Dear Lord Baby Jesus”, Cutler and Dunne to go at it!

Sean Barry 40/1

Utter lunacy, complete mayhem and uproarious madness. That not only sums up a night out with Seanie Barry but also his Paddy Power odds at 40/1. Barry, who claims this tournament is “as important as The Masters” has been camping out in the bunker at the 16^th green at Lee Valley for the past month in a bid to be ready for Saturday. He also says he won’t shave again until he wins on his home course but locals reckon the long wispy beard he has now cultivated is only hampering his backswing and his chances. Third last week at the TopGolfer in Fota and “playing better that Niall Gorey” according to Sean Barry.

Barry: Has slipped away from Buddhism in recent years.

MacDonagh Withdraws

Shock news from the midlands as Kelan MacDonagh has announced he is to withdraw from the Lee Valley Scratch Cup. Ireland’s biggest Home and Away fan has cited a scheduling clash with the omnibus edition of the Aussie soap on RTE2 as the reason. Paddypower had earlier shortened odds on MacDonagh to 18/1 stating that they hadn’t seen such a flood of money coming in since Francie Barrett’s cousin fought Audley Harrison on Prizefighter. MacDonagh has just returned from New York where he granted five minute interviews to ESPN and the Golf Channel to speak about the Lee Valley Scratch Cup and his affair with Sergeant Charlie Buckton. Sources say MacDonagh is keen to catch up on her on-off relationship with Angelo.