| TOURNAMENT NEWS
Hickory Hero Former Hong Kong international Rick Valentine claims World Hickory title with clubs his great grandfather made.
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Courtesy of the World Hickory Open Championship
ong Kong now has a world champion golfer – Rick Valentine, who won the World Hickory Open Championship, played at Monifieth and Carnoustie Burnside, Scotland, in October. Rick, who is the son of HKGA Chief Executive Iain Valentine and the grandson of Scottish amateur legend Jessie Valentine, carded an opening 75 before settling for an 81 to tie 2010 champion Perry Sommers on a two-day total of 156. With the light fading, Valentine defeated his Australian rival on the sixth hole of a sudden-death play-off thanks to a par. "The World Hickory is a great event and I have been involved from the start," said Valentine, who represented Hong Kong at international level and is now the director of golf at Loretto School Golf Academy in Musselburgh. "I have finished third on two occasions so to win this year is a great achievement." It turned out to be a successful championship for the Loretto Golf Academy because Valentine also teamed up with two of his pupils, 15-yearolds George Sutherland and John Dunn-Butler, to win the concurrent team prize. "Winning at Carnoustie was special as my grandmother Jessie Valentine also won the Scottish Ladies' Championship there in 1953," continued Valentine. "During the years I have played in the Hickory I have managed to learn a lot about the history of the game within my family." Rick's great grandfather was Joe Anderson, a well-known clubmaker from Perth. "With the help of the hickory enthusiasts I have managed to collect a full set of Joe Anderson clubs, which I used to win here," said Rick. The World Hickory Open Championship was inaugurated back in 2005 and has since become popular across Europe and the USA. This year, it attracted almost 100 amateurs and professionals from Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark,
Valentine, winner of the 2000 China Amateur, in action over the Carnoustie Burnside course during the final round of the World Hickory Open Championship in October; with the trophy (opposite) after winning at the sixth hole of a sudden-death play-off 46
HK Golfer・DEC 2012
HKGOLFER.COM
HKGOLFER.COM
“I think spending some time playing hickory clubs is great for your game as it re-focuses you on tempo and puts a premium on good ball striking.” the USA, Australia, South Africa, France and Poland as well as from the four home countries. Under the rules of the tournament, competitors are allowed to use modern balls but clubs have to have been made before 1935, or be replicas of clubs manufactured before that date. "I think spending some time playing hickory clubs is great for your game as it re-focuses you on tempo and puts a premium on good ball striking," added Valentine, who won the China Amateur in 2000. "There is a lot more flex and torque in hickory clubs so swinging fast and jerkily won't get you anywhere. You've got to learn to feel your way around the golf course and that's a skill that can help you when you go back to playing the modern game." HK Golfer・DEC 2012
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