HKGolfer
HK Golfer Event Review: Masters, Ballantine's Championship, HK Ladies Close
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HONG KONG GOLF ASSOCIATION ISSUE 46
HKGOLFER.COM
JUNE/JULY 2010
$40
ERNIE ELS
BIG EASY LOOKING GOOD FOR THE OPEN
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contents
HK Golfer
Issue 46
June/July 2010
52 Features
Plus…
26 | The Open 2010
11 | Tee Time
Nothing beats the Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews – and this year 's edition will be even more special given that golf's oldest major championship will be celebrating its 150th anniversary
By The Editors
34 | Top 10 Brits
The British may have invented the game, but they've hardly been excelling at it in recent times. HK Golfer takes a look at the finest golfers from these windswept isles
By Mak Lok-lin
43 | Master Class
34
Tiffany Chan put on a near-flawless display to capture the Hong Kong Ladies' Close Amateur Championship in fine style at Clearwater Bay, the first time she has won the city's most prestigious ladies' event
By Alex Jenkins
52 | As Good as it Gets
Our car editor slides behind the wheel of the new Rolls Royce Ghost and really doesn't want to leave
By Ben Oliver
20 | 19th Hole
Like the Old Course, The Seafood Restaurant, just a stone's throw from the legendary course, is set to become a St Andrews institution
By Birdie Golf
22 | Liquid Assets
Hong Kong's position as the Asian capital of wine and spirits has been solidified following the successful hosting of this year's VinExpo Asia Pacific
58 | Pebble Beach Experiment
74 | Final Shot
By Scott Resch
62 | Masters Diary
HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
16 | Driving Range
By Robin Lynam
How difficult is a doctored Pebble Beach Golf Links, site of this month's US Open? HK Golfer heads over to the Monterey Peninsula to find out
By Evan Rast
The Vietnamese city of Danang has a surprise in store – world-class golf. The recently opened Danang Golf Club and Montgomerie Links Vietnam combine to make this former war-torn city the most exciting new golf destination in Asia
By Alex Jenkins
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As two of the world’s most important watch events come to a close, HK Golfer looks into the present and future of watchmaking
Phil, Tiger, Westwood – this year's Masters produced a wonderful finish to an unforgettable week. HK Golfer was there to witness it at first hand
By Lewine Mair
23 | Single Malts
The latest musings from HK Golfer's Caledonian critic of the golden nectar. This issue: Bruichladdich
By John Bruce
Eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner and European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie talks to HK Golfer about the biennial event, which takes place in October at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales
By Alex Jenkins
On the Cover:
Make mine a double. Ernie Els will be looking for his second Open Championship title at St Andrews this July HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer Mailbag Bad Grass Cheaper Fees?
I 'm f o r t u n at e enou g h to play most of the courses in Hong Kong on a regular basis, and it's fair to say that i n r e c e n t we e k s they've all - private clubs a nd publ ic courses alike - been in pret t y woef u l condition. I know that growing grass in sub-tropical climes isn't easy, but surely there should be discounts given when the courses are in such a poor state. Moody Martin Mid Levels
HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HONG KONG GOLF ASSOCIATION Jun / Jul 2010 • Issue 46
Editor: Alex Jenkins email: alex.jenkins@hkgolfer.com Sub-editor: Linda Tsang Playing Editor: Jean Van de Velde Contributing Editor: Lewine Mair Published by:
TIMES INTERNATIONAL CREATION
Missing Tubbies
Your article on fat golfers ["Top 10 Tubbies"; April/May 2010] was great, and while I agree with most of the entries I think you missed two of the more obvious candidates. Where were Colin Montgomerie and Christina Kim? Surely these two heavyweights should have been included. Emily Chiu Kennedy Road Editor’s reply: Mak Lok-lin had plenty of choices when it came to selecting his list, and your two suggestions could easily have made it. As it was, there were simply too many candidates. The fact that I recently interviewed Monty (page 74) - and thrusted a copy of the last edition containing the article into his meaty paws - had absolutely nothing to do with his exclusion. Honest.
Times International Creation Limited 20/F, Central Tower 28 Queen’s Road Central Hong Kong Phone: +852 2159-9427 Fax: +852 3007-0793 Publisher: Charles McLaughlin Art Director: Mimi Cheng Office Manager: Moira Moran Accounting Manager: Christy Wong Advertising For advertising information, please contact: ads@hkgolfer.com For purchasing information contact: sales@hkgolfer.com For subscription information contact: subs@hkgolfer.com Hong Kong Golf Association Suite 2003, Olympic House 1 Stadium Path, So Kon Po Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Phone (General): +852 2504-8659 Fax: +852 2845-1553 Phone (Handicaps): +852 2504-8197 Fax: +852 2504-8198 Email: hkgolf@hkga.com handicaps@hkga.com HK GOLFER is printed in Hong Kong.
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Editor’s reply: It's been a tough time of late for superintendents across Hong Kong (and southern China), Martin, there's no question about that. The almost complete lack of sunshine, which is imperative for growing Bermuda grass (the dominant strain here) since the beginning of the year here has meant the courses have struggled. As frustrating as it is, you can't blame anyone, aside from Mother Nature. Even the best agronomists in the world couldn't cope with the weather we've had. But your point is valid. Why not offer discounts when the playing surfaces aren't at their best? After all, discounts are given at many of the better clubs in many parts of the world, normally when the greens have been aerated. Why shouldn't the same apply to Hong Kong? It's a tricky one however. Shouldn't they charge more when conditions are stellar? As you rightly point out, growing grass in this part of the world isn't the easiest of practices. Let us put this question to the courses and see what the response is. In the meantime, enjoy your bottle of Louis Roederer and if you have a choice, try getting a tee time on the East Course at Kau Sai Chau or the Old Course at the Hong Kong Golf Club. Recent reports suggest that, unlike the Bermuda, the paspalum grass there is holding up very well indeed.
HK Golfer
HK Golfer Event Review: Masters, Ballantine's Championship, HK Ladies Close
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HONG KONG GOLF ASSOCIATION ISSUE 46
HKGOLFER.COM
JUNE/JULY 2010
$40
ERNIE ELS
BIG EASY LOOKING GOOD FOR THE OPEN
We Want to Hear from You! Have something to say about an article in HK Golfer or a topic affecting golf in our area? Send your thoughts and comments to letters@hkgolfer.com. Please also include your address, contact number, email and HKGA #. The winner of the best letter will receive a bottle of Champagne Louis Roederer courtesy of Links Concept.
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HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
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SEASIDE SWING Tiffany Chan plays her tee shot at Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club's scenic third hole during the final round of the Ladies' Close Amateur Championship of Hong Kong in late March. 17-year-old Chan, one of Hong Kong's most promising young talents, won the event for the first time in quite brilliant fashion, defeating the rest of the field by a staggering 14 strokes. –Alex Jenkins PHOTOGRAPH BY CHARLES McLAUGHLIN
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HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
divots
Hak Claims Azalea Crown Hong Kong’s Jason Hak scooped the biggest win of his amateur career to date with victory at the prestigious Florida Azalea Amateur late March. 16-year-old Hak, who was born in Tsim Sha Tsui and now bases himself in Lake Mary, Florida, carded a three-round total of 200 (10-under-par) to win the title by four shots at Palatka Golf Club. The championship is considered one of the major amateur tournaments in the state. Hak, who made headlines around the world by becoming, at the age of 14, the youngest player to make the cut in a European Tour event at the 2008 UBS Hong Kong Open, is currently ranked inside the top 20 in the US Junior Golf Rankings.
Two Weiskopf Gems to Open in Hainan Word has reached HK Golfer of a very special club set to open in Hainan late this year. The Dunes at Shenzhou Peninsula, situated on the eastern shores of the tropical island, an hour’s flight from Hong Kong, is a 41-hole facility designed by former Open champion Tom Weiskopf – and the results look spectacular. Comprising the West and East courses (plus five additional practice holes), the two courses have been laid over sandy terrain adjacent to the ocean and feature definite linkslike characteristics. Much like the Dunes Course at Danang Golf Club (featured on page 52 of this issue), the courses, with their rugged bunkering and large scrubland waste areas, certainly look a world away from your typical Asian layout. Whether they play like a true links remains to be seen of course – but expect a review in an upcoming issue.
NUMBERS GAME
1 35 490
The number of Hong Kong golfers to have played in the Open Championship. Jock Mackie, now 81, a member of the Hong Kong Golf Club, qualified for the Open at Muirfield in 1959, where he played alongside Max Faulkner in the opening rounds. Unfortunately for Jock (and Hong Kong), he narrowly missed the cut. The number of rounds in the 60s recorded by Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo at the Open Championship, who currently share the record. Tom Watson is third with 27. Although Nicklaus won the Claret Jug on three occasions (in 1966, 1970 and 1978) he also ties the record for the number of top-five finishes with 16.
The new length, in yards, of the famous seventeenth hole – the Road Hole – at the Old Course, St Andrews. For this year’s Open Championship, the tee has been brought back 40 yards to force players into hitting longer irons shots into the green, thereby bringing the traditional hazards – the front left pot bunker and the roadway behind the green – more into play.
“ It doesn't hurt much any more. These days I can go a full five minutes without thinking about it.” - Doug Sanders (pictured), in 2000, thirty years after missing a three-foot putt to win the Open at St Andrews in 1970. He went on to lose in a playoff to Jack Nicklaus.
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CLUBHOUSE Away from the Fairways Showstoppers: Patek Philippe’s 5170 Chronograph starred at Baselworld, while Vacheron Constantin’s Historique UltraFine 1955 and the Portuguese Yacht Club Chronograph from IWC impressed at SIHH
TEE TIME
Stargazing As two of the world’s most important watch events come to a close, Evan Rast looks into the present and future of watchmaking
CONTINUED OVERLEAF HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
11
“But as they say, what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger. And with the lessons companies have learned, it is us, the watch lovers, who are reaping the rewards.”
I Bumper Basel: Visitor attendance at Baselworld 2010 was up seven percent, an indication of the continuing market recovery
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am one of those who believe that maturity comes with experience, not age. Even the oldest and most successful of industries need a shakeup once in a while, especially if they seem to be moving onto a more selfindulgent path. We of course know what I am pertaining to. Our chum the Swiss watch industry was enjoying a period of unbridled growth – which led to cocky lavishness for some companies – when it had a moment of selfrealization, not by choice, but by necessity. The global financial crisis abruptly put an end to its devil-may-care days. But since then, at least in my view, things have only gotten better. Yes, sales may have slumped. And yes, the industry may have been ravaged, with many companies having to throw in the towel. But
as they say, what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger. And with the lessons companies have learned, it is us, the watch lovers, who are reaping the rewards. Apart from feeling a bit more appreciated – and being less likely to fall for brands selling high-priced, ostentatious pieces that no one can maintain or repair – we now have the benefit of seeing beautiful, wellthought of collections that impart the true value of wearing watches; the most important of which is to read the time! Take Zenit h, for example, which has repositioned itself from a luxury-centred, wowfactor brand to offering pieces that are more accessible, still of high quality, but at the right price points. For 2010, the company focused on revamping one of its proudest achievements, the El Primero movement, by taking away the most excessive design features of its previous models and zeroing in on balance and readability. With maturity comes stability. While 2009 will be remembered as a year of drastic change, 2010 will likely be known as the year of persistence. Those who persevere will remain, and those who have not thought out their long-term strategies will have to deal with the consequences. Large conglomerates like the Swatch Group are already benefiting from their meticulous planning, of which product diversity
HKGOLFER.COM
F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance
Baume & Mercier Classima 8870
Zenith El Primero Striking 10th
Oris Oscar Peterson
Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph
Van Cleef & Arpels Le Pont des Amoureux
Panerai Radiomir P.999
Girard-Perregaux 1966 Chronograph
Parmigiani Bugatti Atalante
HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
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By the Numbers
SIHH 2010
Visitors 11,300 (+10%) Media representatives 1,200 Exhibitors 19 Swiss brands
Natural progression: the provocative Rotonde de Cartier Skeleton Flying Tourbillon represents Cartier’s ambitions as a serious watchmaker 14
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BASELWORLD 2010 100,700 (+7%) 2900 1,915 456
and industrial strength are key components. Compared to the entire Swiss watch industry, whose exports declined by 22.3 percent, the group fared better, down only by 5.5 percent. The group also announced a 29 percent increase in sales in December 2009, while other companies were still in negative territory. Recently we have seen watchmakers like Hublot, Chopard and Greubel Forsey invest in their own manufacturing facilities. Hublot, in particular, presented its first in-house movement i n Ba selWorld , t he U N IC O, a f lyback
chronograph that is fitted onto the brand’s King Power case. The company has also delved into sponsoring large sporting events like the FIFA World Cup, to be held in South Africa this June. Its contract as official timekeeper of the World Cup until 2018 was a decision questioned by many, since football is clearly a mass market sport. Where is the luxury there? But as CEO Jean-Claude Biver explains, it’s all about their long-term goal of reaching future leaders, executives and VIPs; slipping their name into the consciousness of not only a select few, but the largest number of people possible early on. Indeed luxury is being redefined as we speak. It’s not just about the divide that separates those who can afford it and those who cannot. For an increasing number of watch brands, it is more about bridging the gap. Technomarine, known for its plastic watches set with diamonds, has reintroduced itself this year as haute horology for the greater many, banking on its collaboration with renowned watchmakers for development of more affordable, yet still technically savvy creations. And while classicism and traditional values may be the buzzwords for the past year and well into the coming months, this doesn’t mean that innovation has been forgotten. Like many other industries, research and development will give brands an edge, and certainly make things more interesting. TAG Heuer’s Grand Carrera concept watch for instance, has been mentioned as one of the highlights of the Basel fair. The company has replaced the hairspring used in most automatic watches with a pendulum or virtual spring created from four high-performance magnets that creates a harmonic oscillator. The magnetic field provides the torque necessary for the balance wheel to oscillate and regulate its frequency. Like a regular pendulum clock, the TAG Heuer watch is more resistant to changes from disturbing forces, which makes it exceptionally accurate. A l l t hese developments su m up to a word that brings music to the industry’s ears: recovery. The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie closed with attendance up 10 percent from last year. The 19 exhibiting brands, despite greater selectiveness in extending invitations, still reported an increase in orders. And at BaselWorld, visitor numbers reported an increase of seven percent, with a noticeable return of buyers from the US. After 15 months, Swiss watch exports were finally back on the positive quadrant (2.7 percent in January and 14.2 percent in February, in terms of value), definite signs of recovery. And though it may be slow – a couple of years, at least – the only way to go is up. HKGOLFER.COM
NEW!
DRIVING RANGE
An English Gent HK Golfer car editor Ben Oliver slides behind the wheel of the new Rolls Royce Ghost and really doesn’t want to leave
T
he new Rolls-Royce Ghost won’t have quite the same impact as the bigger Phantom did when it first appeared in 2003. That car was a staggering statement of intent from BMW, which had just taken over the fabled British marque and built it a new home – factory is too base a word – in the grounds of The Earl of March’s Goodwood House in Sussex. The Phantom is an extraordinary piece of automotive architecture; its prow is as proud, bluff and upright as the white cliffs of Dover, and the engineering beneath is just as impressive. It is eye-wateringly expensive, but worth every cent; it redefined the luxury car, and made it abundantly clear that the new generation of Rolls-Royces would be far more than simply rebadged, reskinned BMWs. As anyone who has seen one of the Peninsula Hotel’s fleet of Phantoms can attest, witnessing one on the street is an event. 16
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HKGOLFER.COM
seen in such ostentatious vehicles. Rolls will be glad it isn’t launching a new Phantom now, but this new Ghost will be a much easier sell. The Ghost takes many of the Phantom’s stand-out styling cues – particularly the theatrical, rear-hinged, ‘suicide’ rear doors – and incorporates them into a gorgeous but more subtle shape. It’s still a very large car at 5.4 metres in length but it disguises its bulk well. Inside, the cabin is also a little more conventional-looking than the Phantom’s but no less well-executed. The materials used are of a quality beyond what you’d expect to find in a mere car. The leather is so soft and supple it is almost oily to the touch. There is thick, flawless chrome, piano-black gloss veneers, glass switches and solid, fat nuggets of aluminium; the quality and precision here is best compared to bespoke furniture or a sporting gun.
H av i n g u s e d t h e Ph a nt o m a n d t h e subsequent coupe and convertible spin-offs to re-establish Rolls-Royce as an automotive nonpareil, the company is only now beginning to expand its range with a more affordable model. At around two-thirds the price of the Phantom, depending on specification and local taxes, the new Ghost still sits well above range-topping Mercedes and BMWs. But it is smaller and less arrogant than the Phantom, intended as a car for owners to drive themselves, and which they’d feel comfortable parking on a city street. Design work began long before the financial crisis, but this the ideal new model for our times. With Rolls-Royce’s Asia-Pacific sales doubling in the first quarter of 2010 by comparison with the same period last year, buyers are plainly prepared to buy luxury cars again. But even if they can afford them, many don’t want to be HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
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SCORECARD How much? Engine: Transmission: Performance: How heavy?
HK$4.8 million 6592cc twin-turbo V12, 563bhp@5250rpm, 575lb ft @1500rpm 8-speed automatic 4.9sec 0-100kph, 250kph (limited) 2435kgs
And there’s wit, creativity and intelligence in the design too. As well as the age-old RollsRoyce features like the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, the violin-key switches and the ‘power reserve’ gauge in place of a rev counter, there are new ideas to surprise and delight. An umbrella is hidden in each front door. The RR logos in the wheel centres are weighted and rotate independently of the wheels so they’re always the right way up, and the elegant typeface used on the gauges and switches was designed in the 1920s by the artist Eric Gill, who lived in the
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village of Ditchling, not far from the new factory and a subtle nod to the car’s Sussex origins. Under that long hood lies a 6.6-litre, BMWderived, twin-turbocharged V12 engine. Its colossal 563 horsepower is enough to fling this heavy car to 100kph in just 4.9 seconds, as fast as a serious sports car. But the refinement is somehow more impressive than the pace; at town speeds the Ghost is ghostly, sighing from light to light in the near-silence we’ve come to expect from electric cars. Under hard acceleration the sound doesn’t quite match the picture; the horizon comes rushing at you, but from the engine comes only a distant, cultured burble, the automatic gearbox changing up through its astonishing eight ratios utterly seamlessly. And of course, the Ghost rides serenely, its air springs constantly analysing the road conditions and the driver’s intentions to produce either cloud-like insulation from Hong Kong’s occasionally cratered tarmac, or level, composed handling when the speeds rise and the bends sharpen. Few cars achieve this duality of character. Of course, the Ghost makes no pretence of being ‘sporting’, but instead leaves you to be surprised at how sporting it can be when required. Criticisms? Very few. We’re not abandoning our journalistic objectivity here; some cars are just right first time. The Phantom was a perfect example, and having taken seven years over the next distinct model in the new Rolls-Royce range, BMW was always unlikely to produce a car to lesser standards. Rolls-Royce famously acquired the ‘best car in the world’ moniker in the 1920s. Social and environmental pressures and the very high standards of more affordable cars mean a Rolls is unlikely to win that tag again. But the Ghost comes as close as a superluxury car can.
HKGOLFER.COM
19TH HOLE
Linksland Temptation
Like the Old Course, The Seafood Restaurant, just a stone’s throw from the legendary course, is set to become a St Andrews institution, writes Birdie Golf
I
© BirdieGolfBlog.com
f anyone told you they were travelling to St Andrews, the Home of Golf, in the middle of February you’d think they were out of their mind. Scotland is a beautiful country, but they’re undoubtedly better times of the year to visit, especially if you’ve got golf in mind. I did have golf in mind, but not the playing variety. I packed my ear muffs and flew over to attend the R&A’s Referee School. (And for the record, I can – and will – impose a two-shot penalty on the next group that keeps me waiting for more than five minutes on the tee!). On arrival in the Auld Grey Toon, I was surprised by the almost complete lack of grey. There was occasional drizzle, but the skies were generally clear. Where was the sleet and snow? Would it warm up enough for me to get a round on the fabled Old Course? That may have been wishful thinking – like most golfers from Hong Kong I don’t stick a tee in the ground until the mercury reaches at least double figures – but not to worry. I could indulge in that other passion of mine – eating – and was keen to visit a relatively new place that I’d heard very good things about – The Seafood Restaurant. Located just behind the excellent British Golf The Seafood Restaurant Museum, right next to the Old Course, the The Scores St Andrews outlet of The Seafood Restaurant St Andrews Scotland (there is another one at St Monans barely twenty Contact: +44 (0) 1334 479475; minutes away) sits atop a cliff overlooking the theseafoodrestaurant.com scenic West Sands, which many first time visitors will recognize from the opening scene of that legendary flick Chariots of Fire. The views from here are stunning, the only demerit being the museum’s car park which catches the eye and disrupts the natural splendour of the place somewhat. Nevertheless, the restaurant’s interior is very clean and simple, and the wonderful panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows do a great job of ‘soaking up’ the expansive coastline during a lunchtime visit. Admirably, the restaurant’s ethos is to support the sustainability of the seas – like many places along the North Sea coast, fishing has ceased to become a legitimate career option for the locals here – which is why the menu carefully explains the origin of the seafood used in every dish. It’s a great concept, one that restaurateurs here in Hong Kong would do well in adopting. Like my companion, I went for the Winter Menu, which was an absolute bargain at £14.95 (approximately HK$170) for three courses. First up was Smoked Haddock Rarebit (straight from the North Sea). The crust was crispy; definitely not the dry 20
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and hard skin that we’ve sadly become used to. It was a tad salty perhaps, but nothing a chilled Chardonnay couldn’t fix. The fish itself was very soft and moist, confirming its freshness. Our main course was Hot-Smoked Salmon (farmed on Loch Duart). We don’t normally go for salmon because it’s invariably overcooked and dry. But this came highly recommended by the waiter, and he wasn’t kidding: very juicy and cooked to perfection, it’s fair to say the chefs at The Seafood Restaurant really know how to prepare this most delicate of fish. The risotto that accompanied the dish came al dente, and the garlic butter added a lot of fragrance to the dish. We felt that there were just a little too many peas in the risotto, but that was just a small blemish to an otherwise great dish. The biggest surprise of the day – aside from the unseasonably dry weather – was the Black Forrest Gateau. This was to die for and quite honestly I’ve never had a tastier version. The branded cherries and exquisite dark chocolate took it to a new dimension and really hit the spot. Impressed? I’ll say… For those heading over to St Andrews for this year’s Open – or indeed for those heading over at any time – a stop at The Seafood Restaurant, much like a round on the neighbouring Old Course, is a must. Enjoy Score: 17.5/20 Read more from Birdie Golf at www.birdiegolfblog.com
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LIQUID ASSETS
Something for the Summer
Forget those heavy reds, this is what we should drinking over the next few months, says Robin Lynam
H
ong Kong’s devotion to heavy Bordeaux reds tends to puzzle wine industry professionals who visit during the summer months. Surely, they argue, this is an impossible climate for something so tannic and heavy in alcohol? At this point in the conversation somebody usually mentions that most of us spend much of the summer in meatlocker-level air conditioning, so the weather makes less difference than you might think, but the visitors have a point. Thanks to the smoking ban and a huge increase in the number of restaurants offering outdoor areas, more of us now drink and dine al fresco, and at this time of year wines a bit better matched to warm weather seem called for. That need not mean switching from red to white, but might entail gravitating from Bordeaux to Burgundy. At May’s Vinexpo Asia-Pacific wine fair I caught up with Michel Rolland, the original flying winemaker, and asked him what he would recommend for summer sipping. “Strange for a Bordelaise to recommend Pinot Noir, but I like it and now I’m making it,” says Rolland, who not surprisingly recommends the Mariflor Pinot Noir from his own estate in Argentina, available in Hong Kong from Amorosso F i n e W i n e s (w w w. amorosso.com). “For summer Cabernet Sauvignon is maybe too tannic, but Pinot Noir has the complexity without the heaviness,” he adds, suggesting that those who prefer to stick to Bordeaux drink merlot during the stickier weather. Pinot Noir is of course the signature red grape of Burgundy, and good Burgundian red might be a pricy choice for summer quaff ing, but excellent value Pinot is available now from several New World The greatest rosé? Chateau d'Esclans Garrus Rosé regions, particularly – and notably – New Zealand and Tasmania. Try the organic Isabel Estate Pinot Noir from New Zealand’s Marlborough region, available from Berry Brothers (www.bbr.com) and currently priced at HK$332. One useful guide to what to drink during a sweltering summer is to consider the wines of choice in other hot regions, and in southern France, Spain and Portugal the choice has long been rosé. Pink wines are gaining ground rapidly in France, which now sells more rosé wines than white in its domestic market. Most wine merchants and supermarkets have a fair selection of cheap and cheerful rosés from both old and New World producers. At the HK$50-$70 per bottle level you get, most decidedly, what you pay for, but just a few dollars more will take you into the area of still very reasonably priced but much better made easy drinking wines. 22
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Try Turkey Flat Rosé from the Barossa Valley, currently available from Watson’s Wine Cellar (www.watsonswine.com) for HK$128, discounted from HK$158. It is full of summer fruit character, and robust enough to work with food as well as being an easy drinking aperitif. Portugal’s rosés are still to some extent tarred with the Mateus Rosé/Lancers brush, but the country now makes some serious pink wines. One of the most impressive of many on display at Vinexpo was the CAR M rosé from the Douro region, an area traditionally associated with port but increasingly also with fine wine production. By the time you read this that should be available in Hong Kong from Force 8 Cellars (www.force8wines.com). For those who don’t mind pushing the boat out a bit for a good rosé perhaps the world’s best – and certainly the world’s most expensive – is made by Sacha Lichine at Chateau d’Esclans in Côtes de Provence, and he also was present at Vinexpo to promote the wines. Lichine bought t he chateau, in the heart of French pink wine country, in 2006 with the stated intention of making the world’s g reate st rosé , and most critics think he has done it. The only problem is that Chateau d’Esclans Garrus Rosé, available in Hong Kong from Altaya wines (www. altayawines.com), costs an eye watering HK$980 per bottle. The chateau’s “entry level” Whispering Angel on the other hand costs a mere HK$150 per bottle, has more than a hint of Garrus’s class, and can be quaffed more casually on a hot day. Other good white summer choices include Portuguese Vinho Verde and German Riesling – both thirst quenching and low in alcohol Loire Valley whites or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Heavily oaked New World chardonnays are perhaps best avoided. Here’s to a long hot summer. HKGOLFER.COM
SINGLE MALTS
The Best Place in the World
Whisky editor John Bruce on Islay’s Bruichladdich Distillery and its limited edition “Links” series
D
espite the best efforts of as promised, to Bruichladdich. The distillery, on Islay, has been nominated in the G overnment t here is an category “World’s Best Place to Drink”, which one could think was slightly off undeniable link between the mark, but at five pounds for a tour of the distillery which includes a dram, sport and alcohol, and not an perhaps they have got it right. entirely negative one. As usual, There is much to be written about Bruichladdie and its rescue by a group this thought came to me in of private investors to re-emerge as a truly traditional distillery but the editor’s an entirely circuitous manner as I pondered the preference for brevity remains and I’ll focus on the actual whisky, which makes upcoming Open Championship at St Andrews. its own case more than adequately. Harking back to the criticism of Scottish Being Scottish and less than well-acquainted with marketing, Bruichladdich stands proud as an exception to that rule. A distillery sporting success I treasure each and every triumph where we sneak up on the big boys and steal the prize from under their noses, which was what Paul Lawrie did so well back in 1999 at Carnoustie. Actually, Lawrie didn’t sneak up on his opponents as much as bushwhack them from the comfort of the clubhouse. Never in the lead at any point through the 72 holes, he waited in ambush as the field came back to him. Aided by some fine Scottish water and the misfortune of Jean Van de Velde, he Island splendour: the won in a playoff against the cursed Bruichladdich distillery on Islay Frenchman and Justin Leonard. A much more expa nsive stretch of water nearly cost Scotland one of its that makes so much of its traditional methods and absence of modern technology true sporting heroes when, after a late night that manages to win the “Innovator of the Year” award for 2004 must be run celebration of Scotland beating Wales in 1974, by some very astute people. An obvious example of this is their “Bruichladdich Jimmy Johnstone famously set off from Largs in Links” series of limited edition bottlings launched in 2003, which celebrates the a rowing boat to get some more Jamaican rum two Scottish passions of whisky and golf. Although an 18-year-old might have to continue the party. Always confident in his been more appropriate, each of the series is bottled at fourteen years and the first own skills, Johnstone had bitten off more than released was “The Old Course, St. Andrews-17th Hole”. even he could chew and the coastguard had to Of the eleven released so far, I have only sampled one, the fourth in the series, rescue the best winger Scotland ever produced. “Turnberry 10th”, and it was an experience that I truly enjoyed. The immediate My memory of this incident was sparked surprise was the lack of peatiness in this golden coloured malt. Indeed, there was a by an article in Lonely Planet, which decried strong fruitiness to the nose and the taste and finish were spicy and even slightly sweet. the efforts of the Scottish Tourist Board, Given that each of these bottlings are strictly limited, with an average of 12,000 describing them as “casually kicking a ball bottles released, it is not surprising that they are hard to find in Hong Kong, around rather then going for goal” when although visitors to St Andrews for this year’s Open might be lucky enough to find advertising the attractions of the country. Two a few bottles. However, there is no need to despair as a variety of Bruichladdich Argyll landmarks, the West Highland Line and bottlings are more readily available. The 12- and 18-year-olds are both matured in Bruichladdich Distillery have been nominated in bourbon casks and are delightfully complex examples of Islay malts which eschew the publication’s inaugural awards. the traditional peat and salt dominated flavours. The distillery is also receiving much I have travelled the railway that is the West praise for its series of sherry-aged varieties and I eagerly anticipate sampling them, Highland Line, and it was a truly magnificent perhaps while watching a Scot sneak in at St Andrews. experience rolling slowly through the unmatched With that in mind, we should reflect that while Jimmy Johnstone would have scenery of western Scotland. However, this been advised to seek a nearer island and a better drink, Scotland, with his assistance, is an article where I occasionally feature the did go on to hammer the English two-nil four days later. Should Monty be found promised topic and this brings us, circuitously afloat off Islay in the early hours of a July morning I’d be excitedly optimistic. HKGOLFER.COM
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The Open
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Championship
An Open Championship at St Andrews is always the highlight on the international golfing calendar – but with the game’s oldest major championship celebrating its 150th anniversary over the storied Old Course this summer, the 2010 edition – to be played from July 15-18 – promises to be even more special than normal. Inside this Best of British issue of HK Golfer, resident tipster Archie Albatross reveals the men he thinks have what it takes to lift the Claret Jug; there’s a story on the history of St Andrews and the Old Course’s iconic seventeenth hole; and Mak Lok-lin picks his top ten British players of all time… HKGOLFER.COM
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open punting
Who Els?
Resident tipster Archie Albatross reckons it's time for Ernie to add a second Claret Jug to the trophy cabinet. But with Rory McIlroy finding form stateside and Tiger Woods looking for a third St Andrews win, the big South African will have his work cut out
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or the twenty-eighth time in its fabled history, the Open Championship will be contested over the ancient links of the Old Course at St Andrews. The Royal and Ancient has settled on a five-year rotation for the oldest of all the majors to return to the home of golf. It is a wise decision - allowing Britain to show off its other classic courses whilst preserving St Andrews' sovereignty and seniority for years ending in zero and five. The modest dunescape of the Old Course underwhelms many visitors at first sight (the great Bobby Jones gave up in disgust and despair on his first appearance) but Old Tom Morris and co. knew a thing or two about championship golf and their choice of course has been fully vindicated over the years; there has never been an 'average' champion golfer when the Open has been held at St Andrews. So what does it take to win at the Old Course? And who fits the credentials in 2010? 28
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The truth is that past Champions have come in all different shapes and sizes; compare for instance the elegance of Seve versus the uncouth brawn of John Daly or the raw muscle of Arnold Palmer against the restrained power of Tiger Woods. But one thing that all the greats have in common is that they arrived in Scotland at the peak of their powers. It might sound obvious to say, but the winner will be a man already in top form. You simply don't turn up at St Andrews with your game in disarray and hope to compete. The Old Lady simply doesn't allow that kind of thing. HKGOLFER.COM
Outsiders? Well the Albatross has always thought Kenny Perry a good'un for the Open. He hasn't always bothered to travel across the Atlantic, but with his length, that sweeping draw and a ever-patient mentality he might be worth a flutter at over 100/1. And if we're talking old-timers, why shouldn't young Tom Watson continue to thrill us in the majors? This may be his last visit to St Andrews and you can bet your bottom dollar that the sentimentalists will bet theirs on him. Lastly, four Asian qualifiers – Fujita (Japan), Chia (Malaysia), Noh and amateur Eric Chun (both Korea) – have tickets for the Open but will struggle to make it through to the weekend action. As with Watson, we should cheer them on but keep our wallets closed! Tiger? Yes, is the answer. Forget the sore neck; we know he can win injured. Forget complacency; he did not enjoy nor will tolerate his first 2010 comeback. With wins in 2000 and 2005, he will be looking for a three-peat at the Old Course. He can do it. But you'll surely be able to 'ave 'im at better than 7/2. Wait and pounce in running if you like the course specialist!
In the frame (clockwise from bottom): According to Archie, young Rory McIlroy has what it takes to emulate both Els and Woods in becoming an Open Championship winner at St Andrews this year.
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AFP (Els + Woods); Charles McLaughlin (McIlroy)
Recent form is well expressed by the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup rankings and currently Ernie Els, Jim Fuyrk and Phil Mickelson are at the top of the list. Arguably Mickelson is the form man and having won the Masters with a genuinely impressive display, he will go into both the US Open at Pebble Beach and the British equivalent at St Andrews with soaring confidence. Whilst he looks a confident selection in the former (current best price 8/1), he cannot be regarded as a man to win in Scotland and the bookies will need to be more generous than the current 18/1 to prise out Archie's wedge. Jim Furyk looks more reasonably priced at 40/1 but it is the 20/1 offered on former champ Ernie Els that makes most appeal. The big South African has the game and the temperament for Open golf and has made big strides this year in recommitting to his game, winning two PGA Tour events in March. Rip the arms off anything over 25s! The Irish will like their chances this year also with Paddy Harrington now an evergreen threat on links courses. His back to back wins in 2007 & 8 were classy affairs and his form has continued strongly enough for him to be well backed at 16/1 and less. Amazingly, he could find himself as an outsider to his neighbour from the North, young Rory McIlroy. The trout-mouthed young man from Holywood, Northern Ireland has come of age in the USA this year, hooking a brilliant win at Quail Hollow. With confidence bubbling over, he could make an early run if the fish are jumping and the cotton is high. HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
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Who was Grannie Clark? Why does the Old Course have double greens? And are there really skeletons buried deep beneath the eighteenth green? HK Golfer investigates...
Historical 18 Holes - the Worldwide Standard
Early Scottish courses didn't have a standard number of holes. Some had five, others had seven; the Old Course first had eleven and then twenty-two: eleven holes out and eleven back, with golfers playing to the same hole going out and in, except for the eleventh and twenty-second holes. In 1764, it was decided that the first four holes – and therefore the last four holes – were too short and that they should be made into two holes instead of four. This reduced the number of holes in the round to eighteen – and, among other things, removed the inconvenience for townspeople who wanted to get to the beach and presented the Royal and Ancient Golf Club with a superior location for their clubhouse, which was built in 1854. With the growing influence of the R&A on the global game, eighteen holes became standard. The number has nothing to do with the number of drams in a whisky bottle. 30
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St Andrews Getting a Game There are a number of ways of getting a tee time on the Old Course, although demand always outstrips supply. Groups of two or more can request tee times online at the official website of the St Andrews Links Trust (www.standrews.co.uk), but to have any chance of success through this channel you'll need to act quickly as spots are limited and normally sell out at least six months in advance. There are numerous tour operators that can guarantee a game on the Old Lady - but going down this route will normally involve committing yourself to a longer itinerary, which may not always be suitable. You would have to pay a premium for the privilege too. The famous St Andrews Daily Ballot basically a lottery, which requires registration the day before you want to play - offers a good rate of success, especially in the spring, but requires a minimum of two players to enter. The most common way for a single to access the Old Course is by showing up at the starter's hut on the day you wish to play, "as early as possible in the morning," according to the Trust's website. The starter will then attempt to pair you with the first available twosome or threesome. To increase your chances, don't arrive any later than 5.45am. Remember: the Old Course is closed on Sundays and you need to show your handicap card. No handicap = no game.
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The Origin of Double Greens
Fun features (clockwise from above): an aerial view of the the seventeenth showing the placement of the new tee; Tiger walks through the Valley of Sin, but what lies deep beneath?; Retief Goosen plays a chip shot from up against the wall on the Road Hole. 32
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Until around 1850, play on the Old Course took place in both directions – the routing lends itself to reversibility. But in the 1850s, the railroad’s arrival and the invention of the cheaper and more durable “guttie” ball led to more feet stomping down the gorse and heather that lined the holes, not to mention increased traffic around each green’s cup, which served both inward- and outward-bound players. In 1856, greenkeeper Allan Robertson began to cut a second hole in each green, and the next year both the greens and fairways were expanded to accommodate the new visitors. The transformation was almost complete by 1870,
when Old Tom Morris constructed a new first green (prior to this, the seventeenth green had also served as the first). Since then, the creation of new back tees has formalized the right-hand course as the championship layout, leaving the clockwise “reverse course” as a curiosity that is only open for play a few days a year.
Who was Grannie Clark?
Grannie Clark's Wynd, the road that bisects the first and eighteenth fairways, is very much an integral part of the course, and a definite oddity unique to St Andrews. It is thought that no other championship course has a public road crossing two of its holes and golfers who have HKGOLFER.COM
the misfortune of having their ball end up on the road must play it as it lies or take relief under penalty. But who was Grannie Clark? According to historian David Joy, "The Clarks had a cottage on the communal drying green [an area next to the lifeboat house where townspeople dried their laundry], and from about 1830 to the 1860s Grannie Clark supervised the activity around that site and provided endless cups of tea, sandwiches and so on.”
Are there Skeletons Under the Eighteenth Green?
Quite possibly. The notorious Valley of Sin the steep depression that protects the front of the green - has been the scene of many memorable m o m e n t s f r o m O p e n C h a m pi o n s h ip s past: remember Italy's Constantino Rocca hammering the turf in unrestrained joy after holing a scarcely believable 70-foot putt to get in the playoff with John Daly for the 1995 edition? It is thought that the base of the Valley was the original ground level, with the green pushed up behind it by Old Tom Morris. The feature is thought to be Old Tom's favourite on the course. But what, if anything, lurks deep below the sod? In his book, My Fifty Years of Golf, Andrew Kirkaldy, Morris's successor as the professional at St Andrews, wrote: “What is now the eighteenth green on the Old Course was built up from a rubbish heap that had also served as a burial ground.” Noted American architect AW Tillinghast agreed, saying Morris had told him it had been "built over the bones of dead men."
Bunkered
Contrary to popular belief, bunkering at the Old Course has changed markedly over the years. The most recent period of significant change to the course's bunkering scheme began in 1904, when thirteen were added, largely as a response to the longer Haskell ball. The most notable of these was cut into the front left of the fifteenth green, but several fairway bunkers also HKGOLFER.COM
appeared along the right sides of the second, third, fourth and sixth – all of which increased the risk of taking the direct line to the hole. Just as interesting is the elimination of the mysterious Halket’s Bunker. Located on the eighteenth, it lay halfway between the Swilcan Bridge and Grannie Clark’s Wynd and would be a hazard of considerable distraction today. It was removed in 1842, when Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair, captain of the R&A, had it turfed over as part of his program of repairs to the area, but its imprint remains. In 1869, a bunker on the par-four fifteenth was filled in. A Mr AG Sutherland, believing it was of strategic merit, wrote many vigorous letters to the R&A insisting the hazard be recut, but to no avail. Late one night, two men roused a local gardener from his sleep and bribed him with gold to recut the bunker, and a note with Sutherland’s name on it was left in the reinstated hazard. The bunker is still there, a simple pot waiting to catch drives blasted too casually from the fourth or fifteenth tees.
A New-Looking Road Hole The seventeenth, arguably golf's most famous hole, has seen its fair share of changes in recent times. Prior to the 2005 Open Championship, the Road Bunker – the ominously deep greenside pit – was slightly altered to gather more shots, and the changes drew near uproar from far and wide. This year, in preparation for the championship, a new tee has been installed 40 yards back, making the par four play a mighty 490 yards. The change has been implemented in order to force the pros to hit driver off the tee and a longer iron for the approach. While this in itself has caused some consternation among traditionalists, you can see why it's been done. At last year's Dunhill Links, the celebrity-packed proam event, retired British tennis star Tim Henman had the temerity to hit a 7-iron onto the green and hole the putt for a birdie three. While Henman is clearly a competent golfer, it does rather show how the hole's moniker as the "hardest in golf" has been somewhat eroded.
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top 10 feature
TOP 10
BRITS
The British may have invented the game, but they've hardly been excelling at in recent times – particularly in the majors. Mak Lok-lin trawls through the archives to discover who really were the finest golfers from these windswept isles
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The British Are Coming!” screamed the headline in Archie Albatross’ Masters betting round up in the April issue of HK Golfer. Indeed, at the halfway stage Archie's picks of Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter were sitting at the top of the leaderboard and he was looking like a genius. Sadly, as so often in the recent past, the Brits faded when it mattered most, and the United Kingdom was left waiting for their first major champion since Paul Lawrie somehow managed to swipe the Claret Jug away from Jean Van de Velde at the 1999 Open. As I pondered this eleven year drought, my mind turned to those halcyon days when British players did indeed rule the golfing world.
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Sir Nick Faldo
There's no question that Faldo is the greatest British golfer of modern times, but was he the greatest in history? The jury's still out on that one (particularly when one considers the achievements of others on this list), but he peaked at a time when British golf was in the doldrums and his achievements undoubtedly inspired the current crop of young Englishmen – the likes of Poulter, Donald, Casey and Rose – into taking up the game. Born into middle class suburbia in Welwyn Garden City, a 14-year-old Faldo was himself inspired into picking up a club after watching Jack Nicklaus come close to winning the 1971 Masters. Just four years later Faldo had won the English Amateur and turned pro the season afterwards. Despite early success, he felt his swing needed to change in order to succeed at the highest level, a decision that baffled many at the time. Showing the steely determination that has defined his career, Faldo, in harness with coach David Leadbetter, spent a painful two years during the mid Eighties revamping his action – and the results were dramatic. In 1987, he silenced his critics by winning the first of his six majors – the Open Championship at Muirfield, after recording eighteen successive pars to hold off Paul Azinger. Back-to-back Masters titles
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followed in 1989 and 1990, and he added to his Open Championship tally with a win at St Andrews (1990) and a second at Murifield (1992). Faldo, who became only the second golfer to be knighted (Henry Cotton was the first, although his was awarded posthumously), was the top ranked player in the world for ninetyeight weeks, but his decline was almost as rapid as his ascendency. Few watching his magnificent 67 to reel in his fishing buddy Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters would believe that it was to be the second last win of his career. By 1997 it was all over. HKGOLFER.COM
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Old Tom Morris
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Young Tom Morris
Tom Morris Jr was born in St Andrews in 1851, the oldest son of Old Tom. Almost immediately, the Morris’ moved to Prestwick, where the recently sacked Old Tom had been snapped up by the newly created Prestwick Golf Club to build a new course for them. Young Tom grew up playing daily on the site of the first Open Championships, the first being held when he was only nine-years-old. By the time he was 13, Young Tom was being hailed as a prodigious talent, and had already won his first match against professionals. Unlike all other players at the time, Young Tom had not come through the caddying or clubmaking ranks, and, having had a private education, was a dramatic new phenomenon. He created completely new techniques that were rapidly imitated by his opponents, who never mastered them to the same extent. In 1868, aged 17, Morris won his first Open Championship, an age record that still stands. The following year he repeated his victory, scoring a hole in one – the first at the Open
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Morris was involved in the development of every aspect of the game. As a player he was a central figure in the creation of the Open Championship, and struck the first ball played in the competition in 1860. He subsequently won four Opens. – along the way. In 1869, he became the first player to win three times in succession, beating his father into second place, the only time this has happened. A year later, Young Tom won his fourth Open in succession, a record still unmatched. By this time, his renown was such that he was the first to arrange a series of dates where he would personally “tour” to various clubs to play money matches, as opposed to attending official events. He also commanded the first “appearance money”, also unheard of at the time. Sadly, Young Tom died of a heart attack on Christmas Day in 1875, aged only 24, having seen his wife and child die in childbirth earlier that year.
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Harry Vardon
Not many know that Harry Vardon was actually a “Bean”, the slang term for a local on the Channel Island of Jersey where he was born in 1870. The population of Jersey at that time
AFP (Faldo); www.historicalgolfpictures.com (Morris)
Thomas Mitchell Morris was born in St Andrews in 1821 and was a pivotal character in the development of the modern game of golf. He lived to be 86-years-old and witnessed the evolution of the courses, equipment and players themselves into the new century. Morris was involved in the development of every aspect of the game. As a player he was a central figure in the creation of the Open Championship, and struck the first ball played in the competition in 1860. He subsequently won four Opens. As a club and ball maker, he helped develop the innovations of the day, including being fired by his employer Allan Roberston for playing with the new “guttie” ball, which he started manufacturing himself. As a greenkeeper, he developed techniques for course maintenance that transformed playing conditions. He also developed the concept of entirely separate tees and greens. He also became the first dedicated course architect, travelling extensively to lay out routings all over the British Isles. After leaving St Andrews to design and build Prestwick, he was then instrumental in bringing the Open Championship to his new club, where it was held for the next twelve years. Finally, for the richest salary in the game, he was enticed back to his hometown and brought the Open with him. It was Old Tom’s presence and influence that made St Andrews the “Home of Golf” and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club the game’s dominant force, over its older rival, the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.
Major players: Arise, Sir Nick! Faldo at Buckingham Palace (left); Old and Young Tom Morris, golf’s first superstars HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
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Four’s a crowd: The Great Triumvirate – Vardon, Braid and Taylor – seen here with 1902 Open champion Sandy Herd
was under 60,000, barely that of a small town today. To find a multiple major winner born there would be a minor miracle, to discover that a second – the beefy Ted Ray – was a contemporary defies belief. Vardon is still remembered today for the “Vardon Grip”, the most popular grip in golf. He was revered by fellow pros for his effortless power, rhythm and balance, largely due to the lightness of his grip. Pedantic Scots may argue that it should be called the “Lindlay Grip”, as top Scottish amateur John Ernest Lindlay is actually credited with having invented it. Regardless, Vardon is unique in winning the Open Championship an amazing six times. The only other major of the era was the US Open, which, despite the travel difficulties involved, he entered three times with a stunning record of a win and two second places. This included losing to Francis Ouimet in the historic playoff in 1913, alongside fellow “Bean” Ray, and then losing to Ray by a stroke in 1920. Vardon was 50-yearsold by that time and would have been the oldest major winner of all time had he prevailed. His name also graces the annual PGA of America Vardon Trophy awarded for the lowest average round over the season which Tiger Woods has won a record eight times. The trophy was first awarded in the year of Vardon’s death in 1937.
Braid decided to turn pro and went on the finest run of major form ever seen. From 1896 to 1912 he finished in the top ten of every single championship, winning five times and earning three runner-up places.
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5
James Braid
Based on his golf course design work alone, James Braid would be a legendary figure. Born in Earlsferry, Fife in 1870 (the same year as Vardon), he was responsible for new courses or redesigns the length and breadth of the British Isles, including Blairgowrie, Carnoustie, Dalmahoy, Gleneagles, Lundin, Nairn and Royal Musselburgh. His legacy was either breathtaking new creations, such as the King and Queen courses at Gleneagles, or remarkably sympathetic reworkings, such as the weaving of MacKenzie’s original holes into his designs at Blairgowrie and his handling of Carnoustie. Only someone of his reputation and temperament would have been offered or indeed taken such responsibilities. However, it was his dominance of the Open Championship that gets him on to this particular list. At the 1894 edition, while still an amateur, he finished tied for tenth. He didn’t play in 1895, decided to turn pro and went on the finest run of major form ever seen. From 1896 to 1912 he finished in the top ten of every single championship, winning five times and earning three runner-up places, putting him one behind his arch rival Vardon on the all-time list. Renowned as a very long driver, his savage action enthralled spectators in much the same way Arnold Palmer did sixty years later.
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JH Taylor
John Henry Taylor rounded out the “Great Triumvirate” and is unfairly seen as the weakest link. Born a year after his rivals in 1871 in Westwood Ho! Devon, he had perhaps the toughest route to the top of all, born into a working class family and orphaned at the age of eight. He came through the caddie ranks and worked as a junior greenkeeper at Royal North Devon Golf Club, turning pro in 1890. Grow i ng up i n t he w i ld weat her of southwest England set him up to become renowned for his ability to handle adverse conditions better than most. He was like a golfing Michael Schumacher when it rained and his five Open wins came with an average winning margin of over six strokes. In a twenty-two year period from his first Open in 1893 until 1914 he won five times, came second a heartbreaking six times (including 4 years in a row from 1904-1907) and was out of the top ten on only two occasions. Where Braid had power and Vardon had rhythm, Taylor was renowned for his accuracy and the tale is told of him having “directional posts removed from the blind holes out of fear that his drives would hit them and carom into bunkers”! HKGOLFER.COM
In all, he came second to Vardon three times, and to Braid twice. His reputation as a course designer is little remarked upon, unfairly perhaps as he was the man behind Royal Birkdale.
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Tony Jacklin
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“I have not played golf with anyone, man or woman, amateur or professional, who made me feel so utterly outclassed. She is the finest golfer I have ever seen." - Bobby Jones on Joyce Wethered
AFP (Jacklin); www.historicalgolfpictures.com (The Great Triumvirate + Wethered)
Despite a relative dearth of tournament wins, Tony Jacklin won very high quality events, including two majors, and was undoubtedly the best British player of his era. In addition, he established himself as the most successful Ryder Cup captain of all time. Born in 1944 in working-class Scunthorpe, Anthony Jacklin originally trained as an apprentice steel worker before his passion for golf won through. Having won a junior event at 13, he gave up the steelworks to turn pro in 1962 aged 17. By 1964 he had won his first event and in 1968 he broke through on a global level, winning the Greater Jacksonville Open to become the first Briton to win on the PGA tour. The following year he became the first Englishman to win the Open Championship since 1951. In 1970, he won the US Open at a very tough Hazeltine by a staggering seven shots and was on top of the golfing world. He had top five finishes in the next three Open Championships, but in 1972 he could only watch in disbelief as Lee Trevino made the most of a ridiculously hot wedge to hole five chip shots –including one on the seventyfirst hole – to snatch the title from his grasp. The episode destroyed Jacklin mentally. He never recovered. In 2002 he admitted, “What Trevino did not only ruined me for that day, it ruined me forever.” However, his heroics had inspired a new generation of young Europeans and it was fitting that Jacklin himself would lead the Ryder Cup renaissance and captain those players to a series of wins against the previously unbeatable Americans.
Joyce Wethered
To the uninitiated this will seem like an unusual choice, but the future Lady HeathcoatAmory was considered the finest female player of her generation and the best female British golfer of all time. I n t he ea rly 1920’s she was close to unbeatable, winning the English Ladies Amateur Championship five years in a row, and winning three of four British Amateur Championships she entered during the same period. She then retired at the ripe old age of 23. She was lured out of retirement in 1929 to play in the British Amateur being held at St
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Andrews as the American, Glenna Colette, the only female player with a remotely similar reputation, had entered. Wethered beat Colette 3 and 1 in the final to take her fourth British title. She then retired from competition for good. Throughout her life she regularly played with the top male professionals of her day, and it is their feedback that is perhaps the most telling. She drew gushing praise from greats
Open winners all: Ballesteros, Player, Tony Jacklin and his nemesis Trevino at St Andrews (top); Joyce Wethered at Worplesdon with her brother Roger (second from left) HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
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Chalk and cheese: Henry Cotton and Laura Davies approached the game from entirely different angles, but both achieved wonderful success in their respective arenas.
such as Walter Hagen, Francis Ouimet, Gene Sarazen and many more. The highest praise of all came from her biggest fan, the world’s greatest player, Bobby Jones. Jones played many times with Joyce, including a round at St Andrews where she joined the men from the back tees and defeated them all. Jones later made the following comments: “I have not played golf with anyone, man or woman, amateur or professional, who made me feel so utterly outclassed. She is the finest golfer I have ever seen.”
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Henry Cotton
Born in 1907, Henry Cotton’s first love was cricket, and it was a suspension from his team that led him to take up golf. He turned pro at the age of 17 and finished ninth in his first Open Championship just three years later. In an unbelievable stretch of consistency from 1930 to 1948, Henry Cotton finished in the top ten of every Open Championship except one, recording three wins. This stretch included six years when the Open wasn’t held, due to the war, and it’s tempting to imagine that Vardon’s record may have gone had the event been held. Henry was mentored by the great Tommy Armour, and inherited a liking for the high life from the Scot. As a side note, Armour took American citizenship and thus missed out making it on to this list. Many tales are told of Cotton and his liking for caviar, Champagne and a Rolls Royce lifestyle. Less remarked upon was his relentless dedication to his golf game, often practicing until his hands bled, or his nurturing of young professionals. In his autobiography, Life Swings, Nick Faldo writes fondly of the support Cotton gave him when he first joined the pro ranks.
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Lovely Laura has graced these pages before and is without question the preeminent British female player since Joyce Wethered. Born in Coventry in 1963, Laura represented Britain in the Curtis Cup in 1984, before turning pro the following year. She was an immediate success, winning both Rookie of the Year and the Order of Merit titles in 1985. In 1986 she won the British Women’s Open, but at that time it lacked major status. Her international breakthrough came in 1987, when she won the US Open in a playoff. In 1990 she played on the first Solheim Cup team, and has played in all eleven events held to date. Perhaps the best “traveller” in the history of the game, in 1994 she set a unique record winning on five different tours – US, Europe, Japan, Asia and Australia. In all, Davies has won four majors, and nearly 80 events worldwide, a magnificent tally.
Perhaps the best “traveller” in the history of the game, in 1994 Davies set a unique record winning on five different tours – US, Europe, Japan, Asia and Australia. 38
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AFP (Davies); www.historicalgolfpictures.com (Cotton)
Laura Davies
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EXPERIENCE
VISION
Luxe Hills, China Hole 2 Par 3
WORLD CLASS RESULTS Mark E. Hollinger ASGCA
Address: 1513 Folger Drive, Belmont, California 94002 USA Tel: 1-650-620-9670 Fax: 1-650-620-9707 China: (86)136-6018-6366
www.jmpgolf.com
From the President My year-long term as president of the Hong Kong Golf Association comes to an end this month, and I would like to take this opportunity to talk about an eventful, interesting and rewarding last twelve months. Firstly, the Hong Kong Open. A fter negotiations with the European and Asian Tours, we have agreed that they will be a partner of our prestigious national championship for the next three years. The HKGA will have direct control of the tournament and this arrangement will be more beneficial in terms of revenue earning for the association. As announced last month, UBS - Private Wealth Management has agreed to be the title sponsor of the championship for 2010 and 2011. Personally speaking, I look forward to witnessing more of the exciting finishes that the tournament has become famous for. One of our key objectives at the HKGA has been to promote junior golf throughout Hong Kong and to identify potential players that are equipped with the natural talent to excel in the game. To that end, the past year has been a successful one. Just last month, the Hong Kong men's and ladies' teams - which were represented entirely by junior golfers - finished first and second at the fourth edition of the All China Games. This was a remarkable result and shows the great strides that have been made in junior golf in recent times. Other successful events include the Lion City Cup and the Santi Cup - Southeast Asia's international team events for junior boys and ladies - where Hong Kong recorded two third place finishes, the first time Hong Kong had won medals in the tournaments.
There were also many noteworthy performances in the individual events. Liu Lok-tin defeated a very strong field to win the HSBC China Junior Open, and then just two weeks later brilliantly won the Montrose Fine Wines Hong Kong Close Amateur Championship, which Steven Lam had won the year before. Lam secured top three finishes at the Lion City Cup and All China Games, and started brightly at the Asian Amateur Championship before fading over the last nine holes. Not to be outdone, Tiffany Chan compiled one of the lowest totals in Hong Kong ladies' golf history enroute to winning the Hong Kong Ladies' Close Amateur Championship. My thanks to all the staff, especially National Coach Brad Schadewitz and Golf Development Manager Michael Ip for all the hard work they have put into making our junior training programme a success. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank EFG Bank for their generous support. As a result, we are now able to provide more training and tournament participation opportunities for young golfers in Hong Kong. This is obviously crucial to the development of golf in the city. Thanks, too, to all the golf clubs for their cooperation with the HKGA. Without their generosity our squad players would not have achieved such good results. Whether it's the use of the clubs' practice facilities or being able to secure tee times for national team training, their help and understanding has proved invaluable. Finally, I would like to welcome Ning Li, the incoming president. I wish him all the success in leading the HKGA to the next level. —William Chung President HKGA
HKO: UBS Extends Sponsorship The Hong Kong Open was given a boost last month with the news that banking giant UBS will continue as title sponsor of the tournament at the Hong Kong Golf Club from November 18-21, 2010. UBS has been title sponsor of the event since 2006 during which time it has overseen a substantial rise in the tournament’s prize money – from US$1.2 million in 2006 to the US$2.5 million figure which will be on offer at Fanling in five months time. HKGA Chief Executive Iain Valentine said: “On behalf of the HKGA I would like to express our delight and appreciation to UBS for extending its commitment to the Hong Kong Open. UBS has helped turned the championship into a world-class golf event and their continued involvement is excellent news for Hong Kong.”
HK Respectable at Queen Sirikit Cup Hong Kong, represented by Tiffany Chan, Stephanie Ho and Kitty Lam (seen here with Ladies’ Captain Margaret Hamilton), finished the Queen Sirikit Cup – the Asia-Pacific Ladies’ Team Amateur Championship – in ninth place out of the 12 teams competing early April. The teenage trio finished on a three-day total of 452 over the Hamilton Golf Club course in New Zealand, which was 32 strokes behind winners Korea (420). The host nation finished second (427), seven shots behind, with Australia taking third spot (430). Hong Kong finished ahead of Singapore, India and Malaysia. The highlight of the week was undoubtedly Chan’s brilliant final round of three-under-par 69, which helped move her into 14th place in the individual competition. “The girls did well against extremely tough opposition,” said National Coach Brad Schadewitz. 42
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hkga
Master Class Tiffany Chan romps to victory at the Ladies' Close Amateur Championship REPORT BY ALEX JENKINS PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLES McLAUGHLIN & KING LAI
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All smiles: A sparkling final two rounds earned Chan her first Ladies Close title...
...and a hug from 2009 winner Stephanie Ho
D
espite having been Hong Kong's most consistent female golfer in recent years, Tiffany Chan had never scooped the top prize in local ladies’ golf. That all changed however, thanks to a near flawless display over the scenic links at Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club. Quite frankly, the 16-year-old Diocesan Girls’ School student, who had Hong Kong international Steven Lam Tsz-fung caddie for her on the final day, was in a class of her own as she tacked on two sub-par rounds to an opening 72 to win the coveted title by a mammoth 14 strokes. Chan, who has won numerous junior titles at both home and abroad in recent times, carded an impressive six birdies in a twounder-par final round of 68 to seal victory over reigning champion Stephanie Ho in second place. Ever-improving Mimi Ho, who would go on to win the MacGregor Hong Kong Junior Close Championship over the same layout just three weeks later, placed third, a further two strokes adrift. “I’m very happy I finally won it,” beamed Chan, who has come close in the past two editions of the tournament. “All parts of my game were solid and thanks to Steven, who helped me read the greens, I putted much better on the final day. It’s been a very fun week.” Three solid rounds gave Franziska Hu top honours in the Mid Amateur division. Her three-day total of 238 was 12 strokes better than Sunny Kang who placed second. Ruby Yim claimed third spot on countback from Jane Lo. For the full results visit www.hkga.com HK LADIES CLOSE LEADERBOARD Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club March 17-19, 2010
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Tiffany CHAN Stephanie HO Mimi HO Isabella LEUNG Kitty TAM Michelle CHEUNG Kimberly WONG Cheria HENG Tiana Gwenn LAU
72-69-68 72-74-77 77-73-75 78-78-72 79-78-74 85-78-72 84-80-77 82-82-80 88-81-81
209 223 225 228 231 235 241 244 250
MID AMATEUR DIVISION ONE RESULTS 1 2 3 3 5
Franziska HU Sunny KANG Ruby YIM* Jane LO Felicia LOUEY
77-82-79 86-81-83 88-86-79 84-82-87 83-85-87
238 250 253 253 255
* Claimed third on countback
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Franziska Hu, the Mid Amateur champ, receives her prize from incoming HKGA president Ning Li
Kitty Tam unleashes a drive down the tenth
Michelle Cheung in action
Stephanie Ho lines up a putt on the back-nine
Mimi Ho ackowledges the crowd after her fine showing
Tiffany Chan contemplates her tee shot on the tough third
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junior close
Glory in the gloom (left): Terrence Ng and Mimi Ho show off their silverware following the final round of the MacGregor Hong Kong Junior Close Championship.
Battling the Elements Terrence Ng and Mimi Ho overcome atrocious conditions to claim their first wins at the MacGregor Hong Kong Junior Close Championship PHOTOGRAPHY BY KING LAI
I
t’s rather apt that the playing of this year’s MacGregor Hong Kong Junior Close Championship coincided with this Best of British edition of HK Golfer, because the conditions at Clearwater Bay early April were more akin to an autumn day on the North Sea coast than springtime in southern China. A cold front from the north brought mist, cool temperatures and near-constant lashings of rain to this normally most picturesque of venues, curtailing the event to 27 holes and leaving plenty of glum young faces in the clubhouse post-round. Not that Terrence Ng and Mimi Ho minded one bit. The duo handled the conditions better than anyone else to claim victory in their respective divisions. Ng, whose game has come on leaps and bounds of late, held off Liu Lok-tin and Shinichi Mizuno to win the Overall Boys' title by two shots. Carding a first round of 77, 17-year-old Ng posted a nine-hole score of 36 on the second day to claim his first win at the tournament. In the Overall Girls' Division, 14-year-old Ho took advantage of the absence of Tiffany Chan, Stephanie Ho and Kitty Lau, who were representing Hong Kong at the Queen Sirikit Cup in New Zealand, to win by two strokes from Isabella Leung. A spirited 82 in the dreadful conditions of the first round gave her a healthy lead heading into day two, and she was able to cling on to victory despite a late charge by Leung. Michelle Cheung placed third. 46
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Isabella Leung
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Shinichi Mizuno
Steven Lam
Liu Lok-tin
HK JUNIOR CLOSE LEADERBOARD Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club April 7-8, 2010 OVERALL BOYS' DIVISION
Terrence Ng
1 2 3 4 5 5 7 7 9 10
Terrence NG LIU Lok-tin Shinichi MIZUNO Steven LAM Ambrose TAM Linus LO Sebastian CHENG Marcus LAM Jackie CHAN Bibendum LEUNG
77-36 75-40 79-38 81-37 85-39 83-41 83-42 83-42 86-40 86-41
113 115 117 118 124 124 125 125 126 127
82-42 88-38 85-43 91-42 91-42 94-41 95-42 94-44 101-47 106-54
124 126 128 133 133 135 137 138 148 160
OVERALL GIRLS' RESULTS 1 2 3 4 4 6 7 8 9 10 HKGOLFER.COM
Mimi HO Isabella LEUNG Michelle CHEUNG Tiana LAU Michelle HO Kimberly WONG Carol HO Vivian CHU Veronica SZETO Phyllis TANG
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national squad
Team HK: Making a Move
Coach Schadewitz optimistic of future success after Hong Kong earn a share of first place at the All China Games
C
oming off the back of one of the most impressive results in recent years, national coach Brad Schadewitz believes Hong Kong has it what it takes to spring a few surprises at some of golf's most important amateur team events later in the autumn. In mid May, the men's team put in a gutsy display to share first place at the fourth edition of the All China Games in Anhui province. Spearheaded by 17-year-old Steven Lam, who claimed third spot in the individual event, Hong Kong finished the 36-hole tournament at Heifei's Yuanyi International Golf Club on seven-under-par, the same score as Yunnan and ahead of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanghai, the traditional powerhouses of Chinese golf. 16-year-old Liu Lok-tin, the reigning Hong Kong Close Amateur champion, Terrence Ng (17) and Anthony Tam (15) made up the youthful side, by far the youngest in the competition. To round off what was an excellent week for Hong Kong golf, the ladies' team, which comprised juniors Tiffany Chan, Stephanie Ho and Michelle Cheung, put in an uplifting performance to finish second behind Guangzhou, who fielded members from the China national squad. "It was a great achievement, one of the best we've ever had," said Schadewitz, who became national coach early last year after five years as national junior coach. "No-one really expected us to be factor, but the guys showed a lot of determination and spirit and it opened a lot of people's eyes to Hong Kong golf. To finish as the top region in China in the men's category and second in the ladies' is very satisfying. It bodes very well for future international events." The first of the major international tournaments that Hong Kong will compete at will be the South East Asia Golf Team Championship - otherwise known as the Putra Cup - which takes place in Kuala Lumpur at the end of September. That will be quickly followed by the Asian Amateur Championship, an individual event where the winner is given a berth at the 2011 Masters at Augusta National, and then the biggest of them all - the biennial Eisenhower Trophy, the world's foremost amateur team golf championship. 48
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"The kids have a lot of confidence, and when they play well they now know they can compete," said Schadewitz. "If we can get our guys clicking at the same time we have a chance to do very well and surprise a lot of the bigger golfing nations. Singapore has proved that a small nation can do well - they've won the Putra Cup in the past - and our guys will be really looking forward to the challenge." Aside from the emergence of a number of home-grown talents, Hong Kong will be buoyed by the return of 16-year-old phenomenon Jason Hak to the national fold. Orlando-based Hak, who, at the age of 14, became the youngest ever player to make the halfway cut at a European Tour event when he achieved the feat at the 2008 UBS Hong Kong Open, has enjoyed a stellar season in the United States - including notching up a win at the Florida Azalea Amateur in March - and has confirmed his availability for the Hong Kong team. "We've improved a lot and the number of potential national team members continues to grow, but it's important for us to continue to produce results," Schadewitz added. "If we can have five, six or even seven players doing well at the same time, their achievements will trickle down through to the rest of the squad. It encourages the younger players to see the teams doing well; the younger players look up to the team members as role models and they can learn a great deal from them. With hard work and perseverance, anything is possible." Leaders of the pack: the Hong Kong team of Steven Lam, Anthony Tam, Terrence Ng and Liu Lok-tin are flanked by HKGA Golf Development Manager Michael Ip and National Coach Brad Schadewitz; Lam (inset) was in particularly fine form, finishing the individual event in third place.
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junior golf
Ng Wins Nicklaus Junior Championship Terrence Ng continued his rich vein of recent form with victory in the Mission Hills Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship late May. After leading by one stroke overnight from fellow Hong Konger Liu Lok-tin, Ng recorded a final round of three-under 69 over the Jack Nicklaus-designed World Cup Course to finish on a total of eight-under 208. Liu finished two shots behind in second, with China’s Liang Zheng another five shots adrift in third place on one-under 215. As reward for the victory, Ng not only earned R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking points, which were offered at the event for the first time in 2010, but also a place in September’s Duke of York Young Champions Trophy in England. In addition, it was announced that Ng, plus the top three finishers in each age group, have secured a berths in the 17th Nicklaus Junior Championship that will be played in West Palm Beach, Florida in July. Hong Kong ’s Steven La m, t he 2009 champion, could only manage a closing 76 to finish in a tie for fifth. Mission Hills Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship Results 1 2 3 4 5=
Terrence NG LIU Lok-tin LIANG Zheng Intouch QIUPATTANAKIT JIAN Chuang-lin Steven LAM
HKG HKG CHN THA CHN HKG
68-71-69 70-70-70 75-67-73 71-73-73 73-72-74 75-68-76
208 210 215 217 219 219
results
Around the Clubs The Hong Kong Golf Club DWB Championship – Gross Section 11 April E Saxvik won the DWB Championship Gross Section played over two rounds with 116. C Halliday was the runner up with 119 on countback from DC Nimmo and A Osborn. DWB Championship – Nett Section 11 April L Lun won the DWB Championship Nett Section played over two rounds with 108 on countback from TR Linton. Duffers Plate – Gross Section 18 April MCK Wong won the Duffers Plate Gross Section played over the Old and Eden Courses with 70 points. K Inge was the runner up with 57 points.
Monthly Medal – Nett Section 8 May R Chipman won the Monthly Medal Nett Section played over the Old Course with a Nett 68.
Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club Ladies' Section
Intl Team Stableford May 12 Winners: M. Murayama, M. Maeda, M. Motogui & M. Kudo (120 points) May Stableford May 19 Division 1 Winner: Division 2 Winner:
L. Mak (36 points) F. Pavri (38)
Men’s Section
Chinese Cup – Nett Section 18 April MCK Wong won the Chinese Cup Nett Section played over the Old and Eden Courses with 70 points. D Wong was the runner up with 69 points.
Captain's Cup April 17 Gross Winner: Nett Winner:
T. Melloy (79) A. Murray (71)
Monthly Medal – Gross Section 8 May DC Nimmo won the Monthly Medal Gross Section played over the Old Course with a 73 on countback T Orgill.
Chairman's Cup April 17 Winner: Runner-up:
S. Chan (35 points) A. Wihlborn (33 C/B)
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tournaments
Gibson Claims HKPGA Leg 2 at Fanling Australian Grant Gibson fired rounds of 70 and 69 over the New Course at the Hong Kong Golf Club to win the second leg of the Fortis HKPGA Order of Merit at the end of May. Gibson, who now heads the standings by over 5000 points, pipped Dominque Boulet by a shot. Former Hong Kong international amateur player Jimmy Ko, who is currently enrolled on to the HKPGA Training Programme, placed third, a further stroke adrift. “It wasn’t easy,” said Gibson, who finished in a share of 14th spot in the first leg at Kau Sai Chau. “The greens were tough but I was able to hole a few long putts.” Hong Kong amateurs Martin Liu and Oliver Roberts also competed in the HK$70,000 tournament, the pair finishing in a tie for 12th and 44th respectively. RESULTS 1 2 3 4 5 5
Grant Gibson Dominque Boulet Jimmy Ko Tang Shing-chi Jovick Lee Sung Hang-man
70-69 69-71 72-69 71-71 67-76 70-73
HK Quartet Enjoy a Week to Remember Four amateur players from Hong Kong were able to reflect on the best golfing week of their lives after representing the territory in the WCGC World Final in South Africa. The WCGC (World Corporate Golf Challenge) is easily the largest and most high-profile intercompanies golf tournament in the world, with thousands of businessmen around the globe transferring their boardroom battles to the fairways each year. A total of 21 countries took part in the World Final, which was held over two rounds at the beautiful Fancourt and Oubaai Golf Clubs in South Africa's spectacular Garden Route region from 3-8 May. “The entire week was superbly organized, both on and off the course,” said Hong Kong team leader Simon Wait. “The golf courses were spectacular, the associated activities such as the gala dinners and cocktail parties were hugely enjoyable and the hospitality was overwhelming. It was the best week of golf any of us have ever experienced.”
139 140 141 142 143 143
Inaugural LCS Championship Tees of at KSC Hong Kong professional golf has received a boost with the announcement that the inaugural le coq sportif Championship will take place over the North Course at Kau Sai Chau from June 14-15. With a total purse of HK$800,000 - of which HK$100,000 cash and HK$50,000 worth of le coq sportif merchandise goes to the winner - the 36-hole event has attracted entries from professionals across Asia, including Hong Kong’s own Dominque Boulet, Derek Fung and James Stewart. Top amateur junior Steven Lam has also conf irmed h i s p a r t i c i p a t i o n . To further promote local golf, the sponsors will donate HK$200 for every birdie made during the tournament to the HKGA’s Junior Golf P r o g r a m m e . Fo r m o r e informat ion visit w w w. lcsgolfchampionship.com 50
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The tournament, which used a threequarter Stableford scoring format, was won by Portugal, who just pipped fast finishing India, with Australia third. The Hong Kong quartet – which also included company director Tony Bratsanos, finance industry executive Nick Mawdsley and HK Golfer editor Alex Jenkins – scored well on the first day before falling off the pace, eventually finishing 18th. Hong Kong were invited to take part in the World Final as special guests pending the launch of the WCGC Hong Kong tournament later this year. HK Golfer is the Official Golf Magazine of the WCGC Hong Kong event. HKGOLFER.COM
A charity golf day in support of the HKGA Junior Golf Programme
date 10am – 22 June 2010
an opportunity to play alongside junior golfers in hong Kong, with all proceeds going towards supporting the development of young golfing talent.
place Hong Kong Kau Sai Chau Golf Club flights : 20 A talented young golfer age
SponSorShip detailS For the charity golf day, there are four tiers of sponsorship available: Diamond Sponsors (limited to 2): HKD 200,000 – 2 x complimentary flights on golf day – Appear on all promotional material – 4 pages of adverts/editorial from Capital CEO magazine (special commemorative issues on the event) Gold Sponsors: HKD 50,000 – 1 x complimentary flight on golf day – 2 pages of adverts/editorial from Capital CEO magazine
(10-16) will play in each flight packages available – see below
About tHe eFG bAnK HKGA JunIor GolF ProGrAmme/ tHe eFG bAnK YounG GolFerS’ FounDAtIon At EFG Bank, we believe in identifying and investing in talent early. Last year, we announced that we had forged a partnership with the Hong Kong Golf Association (HKGA) to foster young golfing talent. In support of this, we have formally launched the EFG Bank Young Golfers’ Foundation.
Silver Sponsors: HKD 30,000 – 1 x complimentary Flight on golf day
The EFG Bank Young Golfers’ Foundation aims to pro-
Individual Sponsors: HKD 10,000 – Join with another 2 individual sponsors to participate in a golf flight
mote and support the development of young golfers in Hong Kong up to the age of 21. It supports young players competing overseas, provides scholarship schemes, and enables new tournaments to strengthen the base of younger players. In addition, funding will be available to
USe of donationS Funds raised will go to support all junior golfer initiatives of HKGA. In particular: – Main sponsor of HKGA Elite Young Golfers Programme – The provision of Golf Scholarships, together with HKGA – HKD 100 per birdie programme to motivate young golfer when representing Hong Kong
other organisations active in supporting young golfers in Hong Kong. Even if you are unable to come to the charity golf day, you are able to contribute directly to the Foundation. Every donation will go in its entirety to supporting junior golf, and will be added to the commitment of EFG Bank. Furthermore, the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department has granted charitable status to the Foundation, meaning that donations are exempt from tax under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Anyone interested in making a donation to the Foundation should contact Albert Chiu, Vivian Ha or Florence Ng:
t +852 2298 3000
e albert.chiu@efgbank.com
All donations are tax deductible in Hong Kong.
For more information on the Hong Kong Golf Association, visit www.hkga.com
Young Golfers’ Foundation
GOLF TRAVEL
A Player’s Guide
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As Good as it Gets Boasting some of the purest golfing terrain that Asia has to offer, two of Vietnam’s newest courses are set to make a name for themselves on the international stage, says Alex Jenkins PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM HARACK/MANDARIN MEDIA ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY BY CLAIRE WILEY
Eleventh Heaven: The par-three eleventh on the Dunes Course at Danang Golf Club is one of finest par threes anywhere.
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Sand and Sea: The Dunes' stunning parfour eighteenth (below) is a fitting conclusion to a brilliant test of golf; a military bunker dating back to the French Indochina War (right) lies beside the sixteenth hole, a beautiful par three.
F
orget Kunming. Bali? Not a chance. And you can stop thinking about Phuket. It might come as some surprise to learn that Asia's hottest new golfing destination is Danang. But it's true. Just down the coast from this central Vietnamese port city, amid the dunes of historic China Beach, where the first US combat troops landed in March 1965, lie two recently opened and contrasting courses that are sure to put this former war-torn country on the global golfing map. To mangle a phrase from the era: Charlie don't surf, but he sure will golf. And so should you. Situated only f ive minutes apart, yet providing totally different golfing landscapes, the Greg Norman-designed Dunes Course at Danang Golf Club and the Montgomerie Links Vietnam - the work, you guessed it, of eighttime European Order of Merit champion Colin Montgomerie - are a short drive from Danang's international airport and a number of hotels and resorts that have sprung up all along this stunning stretch of the coastline in recent times. And like all truly great courses, they use their natural terrain to the fullest.
DANANG GOLF CLUB, DUNES COURSE HHHHH We at HK Golfer aren't usually prone to hyperbole when it comes to describing courses, but it has to be said that Norman's Dunes is something else. Without doubt the most unique layout in Southeast Asia, the Dunes is a mesmerizing cross between a pure links and a sandbelt track. Rampaging through massive sand hills and framed
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by sparsely-vegetated scrubland, only the warm ocean breezes remind you that you're in the tropics. Put it this way, should Kingston Heath and Royal County Down ever settle down and decide to have offspring, this is what their beautiful firstborn would look like. It's jaw-dropping. Although not even a toddler – the clubhouse won’t open until March 2011 and it only started accepting fee-paying visitors at the end of April - this championship-calibre track is already playing like a much older vintage, which is to say, superbly. While the Great White Shark has been known to put his name to some extremely uncompromising courses (those who have played the Norman Course across the border at Mission Hills will know what I mean), the Dunes is a very different animal. With its artfully rugged bunkering, native grasses and beautifully-constructed greens incorporating swales and runoff areas, the course is a definite test for all. But here's the thing: it's not a brute. Decked out in a closely-mown strain of Bermuda grass, the course plays hard and fast, making its 7,000-plus yardage far more bearable than the scorecard might suggest. (With the breeze at his back, your average-hitting correspondent tackled the wonderful 437-yard eighteenth with a drive and eight-iron). Stray from the generally wide landing areas and your ball will come to rest in sandy scrub. You might not have a great lie - and nine times out of ten the best advice is to take your medicine and pitch it back to the fairway, rather than try anything too ambitious - but you will always have a shot. You really have to be pretty wild to lose a ball here, which is how golf should be.
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Faldo Joins the Party The Nick Faldo-designed Laguna Hue, an 18-hole layout about a 45-minute drive from Danang, is set to open its doors in early 2012, thereby adding to the playing options in the immediate area. Described by the six-time major champion as a “real hidden gem”, the course will incorporate sand dunes, rice-paddy fields, exposed rock formations and dramatic coastline. The course will be Faldo’s second in Vietnam, following Ocean Dunes Golf Club, a four-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City at Phan Thiet in the south of the country.
Monty's Signature: Eyepopping bunkering and excellent conditioning characterize the European Ryder Cup captain's first Asian course outside China.
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While any number of holes could have been chosen as the Dunes' signature - a modern-day term that riles with some of the purists out there - that particular honour goes to the sixteenth, a dainty par-three with a green perched just yards from the white-sand beach and crashing waves of the South China Sea. It really is a delightful spot - one that is sure to be photographed time and time again. But my personal favourite is the parfive tenth, a meandering three-shotter flanked by some of the tallest dunes on the course. This is closely followed by the eleventh, a stunninglybunkered par three played from an elevated, windswept tee to a shallow green. Hand on heart, I have never played a finer short hole. The Dunes isn't perfect - an assortment of rather nondescript holiday villas line a hillside overlooking the par-four seventeenth - but that really is nitpicking somewhat. The economic reality is that every new golf development has to incorporate a real estate component, and thankfully this one is generally very well hidden from the course. Quite frankly, in terms of a pure golfing experience, the Dunes really is as good as it gets in Asia.
THE MONTGOMERIE LINKS HHHH
The 2010 European Ryder Cup skipper teamed up with noted architect Brit Stenson at his first Asian course design outside China and the results, while not as dramatic, are nonetheless very impressive indeed. Far more modern in outlook - despite its firm fairways and the strong onshore winds that blow through, even Monty wouldn't claim this as a true links - the Montgomerie occupies undulating topography bestrewn with attractive casuarinas and features some of the most distinctive bunkering around. Both cavernous and plentiful, perhaps only Augusta National can compete in terms of gleam with the course's startling white-sand pits. The twelfth, a robust par five with a pushed-up green, is littered with seventeen of them and is best played in sunglasses and a fresh application of sunblock. In all seriousness, the course, which is carpeted throughout in hardy paspalum, has an excellent rhythm to its routing. Beginning in gentle enough fashion with a straightaway par five, the course extends its talons somewhat at
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Need to Know Danang Golf Club, Dunes Course Yardage: 7,160. Par: 72. Designed by Greg Norman. Green Fees: US$78-98 including caddie and taxes. Cart Fee: US$15 (per person). Contact: www.dananggolfclub.com Montgomerie Links Vietnam Yardage: 7,063. Par:72. Designed by Colin Montgomerie. Green Fees: US$73-93 including taxes. Cart Fee: US$30 (per cart). Contact: www.montgomerielinks.com
the sixth, where water protects the front and left portions of the green. This is immediately followed by two of the toughest par fours on the course - the exceptionally well-bunkered eighth and the ninth, where only the longest hitters will reach in regulation. As you might expect from a course bearing the Monty name, having a power fade in your arsenal is an advantage on the majority of holes; the exception being thirteenth, arguably the best on the course, where trouble lurks short and right of a green that has been cleverly tucked into the side of a hillside. A stylish clubhouse and superb practice area compliment what is undoubtedly a first-rate venue. Crucially, both Danang and Montgomerie Links belong to heavy-hitters of Vietnam's financial industry - VinaCapital, the country's leading asset management group, own the former, while IndoChina Capital, Vietnam's most established foreign investment firm, is the power behind the latter. I say crucially because, as with any new development, it's good to know that there's solidity behind the project. In other words, it's good to know that there's sufficient funding to keep the playing surfaces in shape and the mould from the shower stalls. And what's more, the two clubs sensibly take a unified approach to drawing in golfers. While the owners are rivals away from the fairways, each knows that for their own course to succeed, the other has to prosper too. Inbound golfers to Danang aren't going to play just the one course, after all. As a result, green fee rates are matched and the two are looking at working together to formulate marketing strategies. At the moment, getting to Danang from Hong Kong isn’t an entirely painless affair. The best option is to fly via Hanoi with Vietnam HKGOLFER.COM
Airlines, although the schedules often mean a fairly lengthy layover in the capital’s international airport, a fairly rudimentary hub that isn’t likely to earn any Skytrax awards in the near future. However, given Danang’s emergence as a fullyfledged tourism destination, not to mention its proximity to the long-popular traditional Vietnamese towns of Hue and Hoi An, rumours abound that Dragonair will resume its nonstop service in the near future. To be within a twohour flight of courses of this quality would obviously be a tremendous boon, so here’s hoping whoever is in charge of routes at the airline is a golfer. The decision then would be a no-brainer.
The Place to Stay Visitors are now spoilt for choice when it comes to accommodations in Danang, but why come all this way and not stay in arguably the finest resort in Vietnam? The Nam Hai (pictured), an oceanfront property just minutes from the two courses, opened in 2006 and has earned rave reviews ever since. Sprawled over 35 hectares, this splendid spa retreat, which like the Montgomerie Links Vietnam is owned by IndoChina Capital, offers 60 elegant villas and a further 40 pool villas each within landscaped gardens with unobstructed views of the South China Sea and the nearby Cham Islands. If you’re travelling with a loved one, this is the place to stay. Rates from US$600. Visit www.thenamhai.com.
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Pebble Beach How difficult is a doctored Pebble Beach Golf Links, site of this month’s US Open? HK Golfer contributor and 9-handicapper Scott Resch went on a quest to find out PHOTOGRAPHY BY COLIN RESCH
Monterey Majesty: The seventh at Pebble Beach is one of golf's all-time best short par threes; the writer on his way to a respectable bogey on the hole (inset)
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Welcome to paradise,” the starter said as I handed him our foursome’s proof of check-in. No one could argue. Not on this glorious Monterey Peninsula afternoon. The sky was blue, the wind was imperceptible, the temperature an ideal 18 degrees Celsius. SoCal conditions in NoCal. But I hadn’t flown 16 hours on Delta Air Lines from Asia - and then another two by car from San Francisco - to bask in the weather. I was here to find out how a 9-handicap game would translate at Pebble Beach 36 days before it was to welcome the world’s best golfers for the 110th edition of the US Open — the Toughest Test in Golf. The other three players in my group — Mike, a 1-handicap from Aspen; George, a 28 from Boston; and my brother Colin, a 12 who lives in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge — were keen to discover how they would fare, too… although not all to the same degree. 58
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Experiment
Those words rang loud in my head as I stepped over a 12-foot, downhill putt on the 376-yard, par-four opening hole. Fearing a comebacker of at least the same distance, I stroked it with all the force of drizzle. The ball stopped about a foot short of the cup. Interesting, I thought. Not national championship speed, after all. The previous day’s rain — an anomaly this time of year at Pebble — had made a noticeable impact. But the USGA is good at nothing if not implementing devilish cosmetic changes to an Open venue. And at the par-four third, a short dogleg left, one addition the organization is famous for — growing the rough up around bunkers — sank its claws into me. The knee-high fescue not only gobbled up my third shot, but also my fourth. I walked away with a triple bogey seven and a bigtime reality check after having eagled the second. At the daunting par-five sixth, it was Mike’s turn to feel the wrath of Davis & Co. After a pulled drive into the graduated rough, the thick blades strangled his hybrid, causing a knuckleball into the ocean. “Wow,” he said. “That was weird.” Even stranger: The fact that I’d made the turn in 41, after managing bogeys at the seventh, eighth and ninth — a trio of treacherous holes along the cliff. My mind started to race, and George’s caddie, Eddie, could tell.
“The knee gobbled up-high fescue not only also my fou my third shot, but with a trip rth. I walked away a big-time le bogey seven and reality che ck…”
“I’ll be happy to make a couple pars,” said George. “Heck, I’ll be happy no matter what. Isn’t this place wonderful?” The day before we arrived at the first tee of America’s most hallowed golf ground, Mike Davis, USGA senior director of rules and competitions, talked at length in front of a room full of media about how rigorous Pebble Beach would play come June 17. He was especially candid about the greens, which he called “maybe the scariest we've ever had for a US Open. They are absolutely the smallest greens in major championship golf.” HKGOLFER.COM
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Getting There Scott Resch travelled with the support of Delta Air Lines (www. delta.com), which flies between Hong Kong and San Francisco (via Tokyo) daily. International standard car hire is available at San Francisco International Airport (www.flysfo.com), approximately two hours from Pebble Beach Golf Links.
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“You’ve gotta keep your focus out here,” he said as we walked down the long par-four tenth, waves crashing below the crag to our right. “You can’t go to sleep and start staring at the views.” I heeded Eddie’s advice and stuck to my routine. I also leaned heavily on the knowledge of my brother — who played here the day before — at the fourteenth, a 572-yard par-five that is both long and tricky. “It’s one of the two toughest par-fives in the U.S. Open rota, along with twelve at Oakmont,” said Davis. “First of all it’s a blind tee shot. The second shot you've got to make sure you get it in the fairway because when you get to that third shot, I think it's definitely the hardest shot at Pebble Beach in terms of needing to be exact. The way that little green — at least the left side of it — sits up on a pencil… players are going to have issues.” Tour pro Paul Goydos already has. In February, during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, he took a nine there to fall out of contention. Mike carded the same number by failing to find the dance floor’s flat spot on three successive chips. “No wonder you applauded
my fourth shot to 20 feet,” I said to Eddie. “That green is nasty.” I stood seven-over for my round as I teed it up at 15, a rather short (396 yards) par four. I wasn’t only on pace to shoot my handicap, I was four closing pars from breaking 80. But a long, deep gully in front of the tee box and a yardage card illustrating a row of gnarly bunkers on the left side of the fairway can wreak havoc on a hack’s psyche. My drive was evidence — a soaring slice OB right that is most likely still in a ditch along 17 Mile Drive. The double bogey six erased any legitimate chance I had of a 79, but no matter — it’s how you finish that counts. I played 16 to perfection, then took advantage of a front right pin placement (read: accessible) on the 178-yard, parthree seventeenth, where Tom Watson famously chipped in for birdie to beat Jack Nicklaus in 1982. I knocked a 6-iron to the apron, ran the putt up to a foot and tapped in. “You’ll see a lot of the pros play it that way, too,” said Eddie. “The green is so shallow that if you go at the flag you risk being in either the front or rear traps.” At the final tee, we all convened to do what Eddie guarded against earlier — look at the views. How could you not, especially on a day like this? About 30 meters away, on the sand-colored boulders that separate fairway from ocea n, a clutch of sea ls lay motionless, their skin shimmering from the setting sun. The sky was still mostly clear. The breeze no stronger than when we started. Inspired, I unleashed my best drive of the day, just right of the two Cypress trees — another USGA addition — in In trouble at the middle of the fairway. The the ninth... ball ended up in a bunker, but at least I didn’t have to contend with those trees — I had a clear line to a comfortable lay-up area. I got it there with a flushed 5-iron, then drew an 8-iron over the front right bunker. My brother gave me one last read on a putt, which I left about an inch short. Never mind. It was a solid five. Good for a par, and a round of 81. Nine-over. Right on my number. It could indeed be done. At least in friendly conditions. And with a helluva lot of counsel. “But hey,” said Mark Lavin, a former teaching pro for Pebble Beach Company that I met for a beer afterward, “it’s still Pebble. You gotta play Soaking up the atmosphere smart, you gotta hit shots, you gotta get lucky. at the famous eighteenth Take [that score] and run!” HKGOLFER.COM
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A Week to
Savour
HK Golfer correspondent Lewine Mair reports from a memorable seven days at Augusta National
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY AFP
wenty years from now, Tiger Woods might well look back with gratitude to the Wednesday of the 2010 Masters when he was given a good old-fashioned dressing-down from the Augusta chairman. Rather more than a month in a rehabilitation clinic, Billy Payne’s words may have prompted a level of soul-searching which could prove pivotal in the player’s renewal. Yet, in a world where everyone is wary of telling anyone off for anything, it goes without saying that Payne’s very public admonition of the world number one had a mixed reception. Some thought him brave. Brave for saying what he said and brave for deciding that he was the one to say it. Others were less comfortable with such goings-on and, in particular, with the timing of the reprimand. In keeping with the endless analogies between Augusta and heaven, there was the entirely understandable view that anything the chairman wanted to say could have been said – and relayed to the world at large – before Woods passed through the club’s pearly gates. By leaving things till his Wednesday address, he rekindled the Tiger debate long after the player and his fellow competitors thought that the time had come when they could finally move on. Angel Cabrera had summed it up perfectly when, at the end of Tiger’s own press conference two days earlier, he came up with a feeling “Amen to all that….” To recap, the eloquent Payne gave due credit to Woods for
The Champions' Dinner As a way to welcome new members into their club, winners of the Masters get together for dinner Tuesday night before the tournament starts, with the previous year's champion getting to choose what goes on the menu. Following Sandy Lyle's choice of Haggis with Neeps and Taddies (1989), Nick Faldo's Fish and Chips (1997) and Tiger Woods' Cheeseburgers and Strawberry Milkshakes (1998), beefy Argentine Angel Cabrera put on an appropriately meaty spread, which, sources say, went down a treat. Here's what the 2009 champion served up: ∙ Beef Empanadas with Scallions and Olives ∙ Argentine Stew made from Corn, Beans, Bacon, Beef and Chorizo ∙ Grilled Meats (including Blood Sausage, Filet Mignon and Flank Steak) ∙ A choice of five salads ∙ Tocino del Cielo (Flan con Caramelo) ∙ Panqueque de Dulce de Leche All this was washed down with fine Argentinean Malbec. Grappa accompanied dessert. –Alex Jenkins
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having reached the point where he was being mentioned in the same breath as Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer before moving on to the down-side. Woods, he said, had somehow lost sight of the fact “that with fame and fortune comes responsibility, not invisibility… It is not simply the degree of his conduct that is so egregious here; it is the fact that he disappointed all of us and, more importantly, our kids and our grand kids. Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we saw for our children. “Is there a way forward? I hope so, yes. I think yes. But certainly his future will never again be measured only by his performance against par; but measured by the sincerity of his HKGOLFER.COM
efforts to change.” Tiger’s reaction to what Payne had to say? Hardly surprisingly, he did not want to discuss. He went no further than to mutter a brief, “I was disappointed in myself.”
Thursday
Finally something happened to balance the ledger. In the lead up to the 2010 Masters, everything was about Tiger. Now, to the relief of 99 per cent of the media, old golfing hands and new were making a good fist of chipping away at the world number one's headlines. 50-yearold Fred Couples led the way, handing in the
Fan favourite: Mickelson swipes one down the eighteenth enroute to a brilliant victory HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
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Old Master and Young Maestro (left to right): Perhaps not surprisingly, Woods, playing in the company of KJ Choi for four rounds, wasn't firing on all cylinders at Augusta; Manassero followed up his bright showing at Turnberry last year with another mature performance. He would turn pro just weeks later, signing up with IMG.
66 which left him one ahead of Tom Watson, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, YE Yang and KJ Choi. Couples, as per usual, was looking like a man plucked straight from the pages of a PG Wodehouse novel. Though he marches smartly enough between shots, there were all the usual yawns and stretches which can have him resembling a tired man out for a quiet nine holes. Again there were times when you half expected to see him pulling his clubs from a shabby leather pencil-bag. He was, of course, working his socks off – at least he would have been working them off had he not opted for no socks and a pair of sloppy black sneakers with slippery rubber soles. (Not, incidentally, by way of adding to the ‘Couples effect’ but with a view to trying to keep his old back injuries in check.) The 60-year-old Watson who had been openly critical of Woods’ errant ways, had a meagre 24 putts in returning his best Masters round in 20 years. He was responding to an instruction from his son Michael, who was carrying his bag. “Dad,” he had said, “show me you can still play this course.” Ian Poulter, round in the same 68 as Woods, might as well have been dressed in sackcloth rather than mint and pink for the amount of notice people took of him at the start. The mass of spectators cared only about getting
in position to watch Woods’ drives coming to ground. Poulter being Poulter, he adopted a propriatorial stance towards the multitude. “The buzz was terrific,” he said. If the mint and pink was not enough in itself to get him noticed, his assorted birdies eventually did the trick – three in the last five holes. Woods’ opening shot had been as interesting as any. Your correspondent was standing next to Hank Haney, his coach. “So, Hank, how’s he going to play?” queried the man on our left. “We’ll soon see,” came the coach’s wry response. When Woods bisected the fairway, Haney followed the f light better than most and accordingly provided the commentary. “One of the best shots I’ve ever seen him hit at this hole,” he said. Every newspaper and magazine had a correspondent who was under instruction to follow Woods and see if he was succeeding in his bid to be more fan-friendly. It has to be difficult to adopt a Mickelson-type smile overnight and, in any case, his mind was on the job. Certainly, though, he was acknowledging those who voiced support. “I never stopped saying ‘Thanks’”, he said. So why was the reception so good for a public figure whose behaviour had had so many up in arms? A New Yorker seemed to hit the proverbial nail on the head. “Where I come from, no-one gives a damn about his private life. If the wife sticks with him she sticks with him. If she doesn’t, she doesn’t. It’s their business, not ours…”
Friday
All week, Westwood was coming across as a player in perfect shape, mentally as much as physically. Today, though, there was a brief – and not unpromising – crack in the player’s general cool when he came in for the press conference which marked his share of the halfway lead with Poulter. An older statesman among the US journalists had asked if he and Poulter were serving up a reminder that the English could play a bit at this level. Lee’s tart response was that the pressman concerned had obviously not bothered to study his rankings. “There are three Englishmen in the world’s top ten and we’re not up there by mistake,” he snapped. One way and another, it was an incident to put people in mind of those occasions when Woods has used a perceived slight to his advantage. Take, for example, that never-to-be-forgotten day when he was due to play Stephen Ames in the Accenture after Ames had said that he thought he had a chance because Woods’ driving was a bit awry. Woods sloshed him to the tune of 9 and 8. 64
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Though this was only the second day, the Low Amateur award was decided when the 16-year-old Matteo Manassero – one of three Italians in the field – was the lone amateur to make the cut. Chang-Won Han, the Asian Amateur champion, and Byeong-Hun An, the US Amateur champion, had as hard a time of it as each other, both finishing at 13 over to Manassero’s three over for the two rounds. Golfing Italians are a changed breed. Just as KJ Choi had been talking of how travelling the Asian Tour had helped to prepare the Koreans for the world stage, so the Italians have done their share of learning across the years. Not too long ago, they would struggle to tear themselves away from home and home cooking, while they and their Mediterranean neighbours were not always blessed with the best of temperaments. Seve Ballesteros’s Latin ways worked for him but not a few of the Europeans were just too excitable for their own good. Chubby Chandler, who manages such as Westwood and Rory McIlroy, said the junior game in Europe had helped to make the difference. “These kids go from one land to another from a very early age and they soon get the message, "Excitable doesn’t work". “All the different countries,” he continued, “have been picking up tips from each other – and the only people being left behind are the Americans because they don’t want to go outside America.”
Saturday
When Greg Norman, at 53, came so close to winning the 2008 Open, plenty put it down to the championship coinciding with the best weeks of his brief marriage to Chris Evert. The Australian was wildly in love with the tennis player and his inner steel was reflected in his every shot. Saturday at the Masters brought forth a burst of brilliance – eagle, eagle, birdie - from Mickelson which just as surely came from the heart. At the start of the week, he had spoken of how, though his wife’s long-term prognosis for her cancer was good, she was suffering badly with the treatment. He was not sure that Amy and the children would be coming to Augusta but he was still hoping that they would be there for the par three curtain-raiser, “because it’s really a special time to have my kids caddie for me… We have pictures taken and do an annual collage for the wall at home. It makes for really cool memories.” The family came and they stayed. Amy was too poorly to be out and about but she watched TV back at the house they had taken in the town. HKGOLFER.COM
Westwood did not let the unmistakable roars that went with Mickelson’s five-under-par run – it was from the thirteenth to the fifteenth – dent his composure. “I can’t be worrying about what Phil is doing. I can only look after myself,” he said later. There had been an interesting chat with John Westwood, Lee’s father, going down the seventh… When Lee hit into the trees, John watched with interest to see what he would do. While Billy Foster, the caddie, was clearly suggesting his man should hip back on to the fairway, the golfer was just as obviously eyeing a gap through the trees. “He’s going to go for it,” said his father, without so much as a hint of alarm. After Lee had threaded the ball safely through the woods and landed it on the green, John, an erstwhile maths teacher, touched on the business of how his son had always been a risk-taker. HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
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“There have been plenty of occasions,” he recalled, “when Lee’s been in the hunt and has gone for the green at some par five and knocked his ball in the water. People would come up to me at school and in the supermarket and ask 'Why?' and every time I would tell them the same thing: that the reason Lee’s won as much as he has is because he is adventurous. If he pulls off the seemingly impossible one time out of three, it’s a pretty good success rate.” Tiger Woods, two off lead at the end of the day, chuckled when asked if he liked his position. “Yeah, I do,” he said.
Sunday
Play did not start until 10.40 but spectators could be heard leaving hotel rooms at 6 a.m. to get to the front of a queue which would not be allowed through the gates until 7.30. Why? It’s all to do with the little green stools you see everywhere. The idea is to place your seat – it must be a green Masters’ version - in the optimum position. Having pitched it, you can disappear safe in the knowledge that noone will pinch it – or move it – before you return in late afternoon. There is a regulation saying you may not leave it unattended “for any inordinate length of time” but that, of course, is meaningless. Presumably, it suits the members. For the press it is all about remembering to don your Masters’ credentials. This is one week when those who would normally put their socks on first thing in the morning change their routine. You put your badge round your neck – and you take off the pressure. Augusta is not the kind of place where you can make your way through security with a series of good excuses. The last-day leaderboard was as brilliant as any in the recent past, with Westwood a shot ahead of Mickelson and four clear of Woods and Choi, who were paired together for the fourth day in a row. Choi made three birdies over the front nine to go to 11 under. And another at the tenth to tie Mickelson in the lead at 12-under. At this point, would you believe, ESPN put out a radio bulletin in which they HKGOLFER.COM
mentioned Choi, Mickelson and the fast advancing Anthony Kim but dropped Westwood. At the time, he was still only a shot off the pace. Had he been aware of that little insult, he might well have found it in him to toss a few more birdies into the mix. The fourteenth spelt the end for Woods and Choi. Woods, who was poised to go to ten under, missed his six-foot birdie putt and then failed with the tap-in. He dropped back to eight under as Choi’s bogey had him slipping to ten under. It all happened after Mickelson had played a thriller of a thirteenth hole, one in which he looked in dire trouble one minute but redeemed himself the next… There was drive in among pine needles followed by a second through the trees which left him four feet from the flag. (The shot deserves a plaque). He missed for the eagle but his birdie took him to 14 under and two ahead of Westwood and Kim. Woods could not begin to feign a smile at the end of his 69 and 11 under tally. “I’m not going to be smiling, I’m not going to be happy. I entered this event and I enter events to win. I didn’t get it done.” Quite simply, his rustiness had shown down the stretch. Fairly or unfairly, Mickelson has often been seen as a tad phoney as he works to stay on the right side of his fans. When he won this third green jacket, no-one was thinking along such lines. On what was the first time in 11 months that his spouse had joined him at a tournament, he struck a chord with almost everyone out there when he said a quietly emotional, “It means a lot for us to share some joy.”
Risk and reward: (left to right): Mickelson plays the shot of the year at the thirteenth in the final round - a 6-iron off the pine straw to within four feet of the flag; Westwood played better than anyone from tee to green at Augusta, but it still wasn't enough.
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Marcus Fraser: 2010 Ballantine's Champion 68
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Fabulous Fraser Australian ends seven-year wait with gutsy win at the Ballantine's Championship on Jeju Island
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ustralia's Marcus Fraser won the Ballantine's Championship by four shots late April as a battling three-under-par final round 69 secured a wire-to-wire victory his first in seven years. The 31-year-old topped the leaderboard at 12-under-par after dropping just two shots in three rounds of the weather-affected 54-hole tournament at Pinx Golf Club. After erasing Fraser's one shot overnight lead at the turn Northern Ireland's Gareth Maybin faded down the stretch and lost out on sole possession of second place after a par putt at the last lipped out and a level par 72 dropped the 29 year old back alongside Australia's Brett Rumford (71). Fraser's only previous win on The European Tour had come at the 2003 Russian Open, and his comprehensive victory in Korea clearly meant alot. "It's unbelievable, I don't know how I did that today. It has blown me away," said an emotional Fraser, who lost in a play-off to Rod Pampling at the Australian Masters at the end of 2008. "I have had so many chances to win in seven years and you just don't know if it is going to be your day, and it was. I just can't believe it. "The second win is harder than the first one, it has just been so long. I have had so many chances to win over the last seven years and I haven't done it so to go out there and play how I did this week is a big lift." Fraser admitted that his i nabi l it y to conver t good performances into wins had HKGOLFER.COM
led to him doubting his future in the sport, and paid tribute to the uncle whose funeral he missed while attending last year's Ballantine's Championship. "Probably three or four years ago, I thought about giving it away," he added. "I was playing terrible. Golf swing wasn't improving and everything wasn't really getting any better. "I thought I was wasting my time and you really start to question yourself, whether you think that you should be out here or whether you deserve to be out here. I went through a patch like that and luckily I went back and saw my old coach that I used to see when I was an amateur, and we got things moving in the right direction. "It's been a lot of hard work over the last couple of years to get back to this position. My last win was when I was coached by Denis McDade, and I've had another win today, still being coached by him. So I think we've done a lot of things to keep things moving in the right direction. "I never thought I'd be in this situation again, so it's extra personal this week. At this time last year, I lost my uncle, who was also my Godfather and I missed his funeral because of this tournament. So to come back and win this week, that's definitely for him."
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Drink it in: Stenson, Els, Yang, Kim and McDowell say cheers to another successful edition of the Ballantine's Championship; despite some fine early play, Ernie Els slipped down the leaderboard after a final-round 74
Oliver Fisher (71) moved a step closer to reclaiming his European Tour card after posting a fifth consecutive top ten finish. Five shots off the pace, he tied for fourth alongside Maybank Malaysian Open champion Noh Seung-yul (68). "Playing next week, obviously if I have a
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good week there that will secure it for sure," said Fisher - who having moved into the top 30 on The Race to Dubai looks likely to finish in the top 115 that secure playing privileges for 2011. "I'm pretty pleased with that. I would have taken that come January. "I know I can play, I know the standard that I can play and it was a frustrating year for me last year but just a matter of ploughing on and keep grinding it out and not giving up. Hopefully it's starting to turn around, so I'm pleased." Last year's joint runner-up Robert-Jan Derksen (71), Welshman Jamie Donaldson (70), who finished fourth at last week's Volvo China Open, and Singapore's Mardan Mamat (72) finished tied for sixth at six under par. Defending champion Thongchai Jaidee (75) and Argentina's Tano Goya (75), who sat one shot adrift of Fraser heading into the final round, slipped down into a tie for ninth alongside Mikko Ilonen (69), Niclas Fasth (71) and World Number Seven Ernie Els (74) a further shot off the pace. Three-time Major winner Els had moved ominously within a shot of Fraser and Maybin at the turn with three birdies, but the World Golf Championships-CA Championship winner played his back nine in five-over-par including a double bogey. Fraser had been slightly disappointed with several missed close-range putts on the front nine of his second round 70, but he had no such troubles at HKGOLFER.COM
Home boy: YE Yang, the reigning PGA champion, who was born on Jeju Island, wasn't at his best during the week.
Ballantine's: The Championship Blend
the start of his third round with putts from inside six feet at the first and fourth maintaining his one shot lead early on the final day. In bright but breezy conditions, Maybin matched Fraser's start to takeover the chase from the struggling Jaidee and Goya before the 29 year old joined the Australian at the top of the leaderboard with a superb approach into the ninth green setting up a simple tap-in birdie. Fraser added a third birdie of the round at the tenth to regain the lead before again saving par a hole later with an eight foot putt after missing the green. The Australian was suddenly handed a three shot lead as Maybin began his trip home with two bogeys in three holes - hitting his approach into the bank bunker at the 12th green before two putting from inside six feet. Fraser was again forced to battle for par at the 16th after missing the fairway off the tee and the green with his third, but made another solid up and down with a four foot par putt maintaining the comfortable advantage with two holes remaining. "I led from day one and I don't think I would have enough in me for a fourth round, but I don't care," added Fraser. "I have worked hard this week and over last few years to get back into a position where I should be winning golf tournaments and it is a big reward." Maybin, who is still searching for his maiden European Tour title, added: "I didn't really come in here with a whole lot of form, so to finish second is a great result any time. "I didn't play the back nine great, to be honest - three over - so a few things there that need a bit of improvement but overall happy enough." HKGOLFER.COM
Two leading golfers, who won Ballantine’s Tournaments almost 50 years apart, met at the iconic Wentworth Club prior to this year's championship to put modern-day golf clubs to the test against equipment first used half a century ago, highlighting the evolution of the game. Neil Coles, Chairman of the European Tour Board of Directors and winner of the second Ballantine's Golf Tournament in 1961, played with Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, winner of the 2008 Ballantine's Championship. The pair first used Cole's original wooden clubs and 1.62'' balls and then compared them to the latest modern equivalents. The event was organised to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Ballantine's golf tournament and the launch of the 2010 Championship Blend. A priceless, limited edition Scotch whisky, the blend combines extremely rare grains and malts taken from the time of the first Ballantine's golf tournaments fifty years ago. The inaugural tournament, held at Wentworth Club in 1960 introduced the big ball to the game and attracted some of the most well respected players of the day. The creation of an exclusive blend has become an annual tradition ahead of Korea's biggest golf tournament. Of the precious 20 bottles made, one was presented to 2010 champion Marcus Fraser. A second bottle was auctioned for charity on the opening night of the tournament, raising an impressive $12,500 for local charity Community Chest of Korea. McDowell commented, "Celebrating the heritage of Ballantine's involvement in golf has been a fantastic experience. I have a lot of respect for Neil and his contemporaries as playing with his old MacGregor Tourney wasn't easy - I think I'll stick to my current day clubs. It was no surprise that the whisky was fantastic."
HK GolferăƒťJun/Jul 2010
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GLOBALTOURNAMENTNEWS PGA TOUR RESULTS QUAIL HOLLOW CHAMPIONSHIP
Quail Hollow Club, North Carolina, April 29-May 2 Rory McIlroy carded a course record 10-under-par 62 and won the Quail Hollow Championship by four-strokes over Phil Mickelson. It's hard to follow up a low round with another low round, but McIlroy did that in the final round. The young Northern Irishman made the cut on the number Friday night and then carded a 66 on Saturday to get into contention. He was only 1-under-par for the day going into the 7th hole, but the 20-year-old phenom then rolled off three birdies in-arow to make the turn with a share of the lead. On the back nine, McIlroy took the lead after Angel Cabrera bogeyed the 12th hole and then a remarkable run by McIlroy starting at the 14th hole of birdie-eagle-birdie gave him a dominating four-stroke lead. McIlroy almost made a 54-foot birdiebomb at the 17th hole, but he did reach 10-under-par at the final hole when he dropped a 42-foot birdie-putt to the roar of the crowd. The victory is the first career championship for McIlroy on the PGA Tour and only his second as a professional, following victory at last year’s Dubai Desert Classic. The win also put the likeable Hong Kong Open runner-up back inside the world’s top ten. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 7 7
Rory McIlroy Phil Mickelson Angel Cabrera Bredon de Jonge Bo Van Pelt Rickie Fowler Padraig Harrington Matt Jones Scott McCarron Jim Furyk
THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
72 73 66 62 70 68 71 68 70 67 73 68 70 73 70 66 65 76 71 68 73 70 71 67 72 72 70 67 74 71 69 68 70 75 67 70 75 65 71 71
TPC Sawgrass, Florida, May 6-9 Tim Clark no longer has to hear about being the best player to have never won on the PGA Tour. He settled that at the Players Championship by beating the best field in golf. Clark played the final 26 holes without a bogey and made an eight-foot par on the final hole for a 5-under 67 to win event with a record 36-hole comeback at TPC Sawgrass. "I did all I could there," said Clark, a 34-year-old South African. "That's as good as I could have played." He needed every shot on a course with greens that were crisp, firm and pale yellow. The average score was nearly three shots higher than it was for the previous three rounds. Clark, seven shots behind going into the weekend, made four straight birdies around the turn to take the lead, and no one could catch him. Robert Allenby had the best chance, but an 18-foot eagle putt on the 16th and a 12-foot birdie try on the island-green 17th came within a fraction of an inch from going in. Clark became only the second player to make the Players Championship his first PGA Tour victory. He had gone more than eight years and 204 tournaments with nothing more to show than eight runner-up finishes. 1 2 3 4 4 4 4 9 10 72
Tim Clark Robert Allenby Lucas Glover Ben Crane Davis Love Heath Slocum Lee Westwood Francesco Molinari Fredrik Jacobson
68 71 66 67 66 70 67 70 70 65 69 70 67 69 68 72 69 68 71 68 67 66 70 74 67 65 70 74 68 65 71 73 68 65 71 73
HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
272 273 274 276 276 276 276 277 279
$1,710,000 $1,026,000 $646,000 $358,150 $358,150 $358,150 $358,150 $275,500 $237,500
273 277 278 279 280 281 282 282 282 282
$1,170,000 $702,000 $442,000 $312,000 $260,000 $234,000 $175,946 $175,946 $175,946 $175,946
WORLD PROFESSIONAL GOLF RANKINGS As of May 29, 2010
1
Tiger WOODS
USA 10.60
2
Phil MICKELSON
USA 9.62
3
Lee WESTWOOD
ENG
4
Steve STRICKER
USA 7.76
5
Jim FURYK
USA
7.00
6
Ian POULTER
ENG
5.92
7
Ernie ELS
ZAF
5.81
8
Paul CASEY
ENG
5.66
9
Rory McILROY
NIR 5.32
7.76
10 Anthony KIM
USA
5.12
11 Martin KAYMER
GER 4.91
12 Robert ALLENBY
AUS
4.71
13 Luke DONALD
ENG
4.67
14 Padraig HARRINTON IRL
4.48
15 Camilo Villegas
4.35
COL
HKGOLFER.COM
GLOBALTOURNAMENTNEWS EUROPEAN TOUR – RACE TO DUBAI 2010 VOLVO CHINA OPEN
Jinli Lake International GC, Suzhou April 15-18 PGA Championship winner YE Yang needed just two final-round birdies to win the Volvo China Open by two shots at a damp Jinji Lake International Golf Club. PGA Championship winner YE Yang needed just two final-round birdies to win the Volvo China Open by two shots at a damp Jinji Lake International Golf Club. Yang, 38, held a oneshot overnight lead but a battling one-under-par final round of 71 was enough to top the leaderboard at 15 under ahead of Challenge Tour graduate Rhys Davies and former champion Stephen Dodd. Yang went 50 holes from Friday afternoon without dropping a shot, although the Korean was denied a bogey-free last round on the final green after finding sand off the tee. The win was Yang’s tenth as a professional and third on the European Tour, after landing the HSBC Champions in nearby Shanghai at the end of 2006. 1 2 2 4 4 4 7 8 8 8
YE Yang Rhys Davies Stephen Dodd Jamie Donaldson Johan Edfors Mikko Ilonen Oliver Fisher Nicolas Colsaerts Thongchai Jaidee Kim Do-hoon
68 66 68 71 73 70 65 67 69 71 66 69 66 68 69 73 68 71 68 69 68 67 68 73 73 65 70 69 69 72 68 69 64 70 76 69 64 69 73 72
273 275 275 276 276 276 277 278 278 278
BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Wentworth Club, Surrey, May 20-23 On a sun-baked final day on the controversial new West Course saw plenty of action, including a surprise win from the English outsider Simon Khan. Khan was only invited to attend the tournament by sponsor BMW three days before the tournament started, and ranked 471 in the world the 37-yearold Englishman from Essex was uncertain about his future in golf, having been back to the European Tour qualifying school last November. Khan managed to hold a 20ft putt on the last to post a 6-under-par finish, which would set a difficult early target for the rest of the field. For much of the four days, fellow Englishmen Danny Willett, Chris Wood and Luke Donald were at the top of the leaderboard but as they finished their final nine holes their scoring proved difficult. The 20-foot birdie putt on the last gave Khan the first prize of €750,000 by one stroke over Ryder Cup star Luke Donald and Swede Fredrik Andersson Hed. 1 2 2 4 5 6 6 6 6 10
€311,708 €162,441 €162,441 €79,424 €79,424 €79,424 €56,109 €34,857 €34,857 €34,857
Simon Khan Fredrik A’ Hed Luke Donald Stephen Gallacher Danny Willett Padraig Harrington James Kingston Paul Lawrie Chris Wood Ross Fisher
72 69 71 66 68 70 74 67 68 68 72 71 69 72 69 70 65 72 70 74 71 67 72 72 68 69 73 72 71 69 71 71 70 68 67 77 67 70 76 70
278 279 279 280 281 282 282 282 282 283
€750,000 €390,850 €390,850 €225,000 €190,800 €126,450 €126,450 €126,450 €126,450 €83,400
LPGA TOUR RESULTS KRAFT NABISCO CHAMPIONSHIP
Rancho Mirage, California, April 1-4 Yani Tseng eagled the second hole and pulled ahead of a star-studded field with a 4-under 68 to win the Kraft Nabisco Championship for her second major title, holding off Suzann Pettersen by one stroke. Tseng, of Taiwan, finished at 13-under 275 at Mission Hills. Two of her three LPGA Tour victories have been majors - she won the 2008 LPGA Championship as a rookie, outlasting Maria Hjorth in a four-hole playoff. Tseng started the final round tied with Pettersen (69), one stroke behind Karen Stupples, but chipped in for eagle on the 521-yard, par-5 second, one of the course's longest holes. Stupples also birdied the second, but Tseng took the lead with a birdie on the par-4 third that put her at 12 under, and hung on gamely until the end. 1 2 3 4 5 5 5 9 10
Yani Tseng Suzann Pettersen Song-Hee Kim Lorena Ochoa Jiyai Shin Cristie Kerr Karrie Webb Chie Arimura Inbee Park
HKGOLFER.COM
69 71 67 68 67 73 67 69 69 68 72 70 68 70 71 73 72 72 69 71 71 67 74 72 69 70 72 73 73 72 68 72 73 74 70 69
275 276 279 282 284 284 284 285 286
$300,000 $183,814 $133,344 $103,152 $64,408 $64,408 $64,408 $44,784 $35,544 HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
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final shot
Ryder Cup Q&A:
Colin Montgomerie The European skipper talks to HK Golfer ahead of October's showdown with the United States at the Celtic Manor Resort in Wales
W
hat would winning the Ryder Cup as captain, as opposed to winning it as a player, mean to you? The event has been a major part of my career and my life and if the result goes our way in October I would classify it as my own major, even though I wouldn't have hit a shot. But it would be the icing on the cake of my career. It would be my so-called major win. The way things are shaping up in the rankings, is this likely to be the strongest European team in the history of the event? I think currently, if everything goes to plan, it's potentially the strongest ever. You look at the players in the frame - the likes of Casey, McIlroy, Poulter, Westwood they're playing great golf. I'm very happy. I must be the happiest captain in many, many years to see what's been happening. It will be a difficult task, no question, especially given that the Americans are on something of a roll what with the last Ryder Cup and their win at the President's Cup. But it's looking good.
74
Tiger has obviously had his problems of late, but how important is it - for both you and Corey Pavin - that he's in the American team in October? Very. I'm certain Corey wants him on the team and I think any golf tournament with the world's number one player in becomes a bigger event. If we happen to win the Ryder Cup with him playing then I think it's a better win for us.
Talking of players, Ian Poulter looks to have booked his place thanks to a wonderful season so far. There have been reports in the press that you haven't always seen eye to eye with him. Is there any truth in that? Like everyone else I'm just really impressed with the way Ian has developed, and he's going to be a real asset. I admit I got it wrong at the Seve Trophy in the sense that I got on his case too publicly. [They fell out at the event in 2005, when Montgomerie told Poulter he should be watching his team-mates instead of practicing — and got an earful for his trouble.] We were trailing badly at the time, I wasn't happy, and there was a time afterwards that we didn't see eye to eye. Thankfully it's all in the past now. I've got the utmost respect for him for the way he is getting everything out of his game and he respects the position I am in as captain. It's never easy being a pick at the Ryder Cup but look at the way he totally vindicated Nick Faldo's decision to give him a wild card last time. Now he's going to be in the team on merit, and I'm very happy about that. My only worry is that I hope he doesn't mind that the uniforms all have a very classic look.
People will assume that because you're captaining the team this time around, you're not expecting to make the team again as a player. How true is that, and have Tom Watson's performances at the Open and the Masters altered the way you look at the situation? [Laughs] Thanks very much. He's only 14 years older than I am! But it's interesting. He's given us all food for thought, especially me. To be a putt away from winning the Open in his sixtieth year is one of the greatest sporting achievements we'll ever see. But there's nothing to stop me from playing my way onto the team in 2012 or 2014. No European has ever played in the Ryder Cup after being captain and I'll be trying my damndest to be the first.
Sam Torrance told me that the captain's picks created the biggest headache for him when he had the job. He only had two and you, through choice, have three. You don't agree? It'll be very difficult deciding, of course it will. But I like having options. The more options available the better. I'll be waiting until after the British Open before I decide. That's the third week of July at the earliest as I want to give everybody a chance of making the team.
So that rules yourself out of captaining the team again in 2012? Yes it does. I think you only do this once now. We've gone the American way of doing things and there are a lot of other contenders to fill the role in the future whether we win, lose or draw at Celtic Manor. –As told to Alex Jenkins
HK Golfer・Jun/Jul 2010
HKGOLFER.COM
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