8
Local club results
17
Our Town’s Super Bowl – Part II
38
Scottish Senior Open leaves town
39
The First Day
41
Instruction from Garry Forrester of St Andrews Golf School
50
Locals Road to The Open – Josh Jamieson
56
Joburg Open review
67
Bradley Neil Interview
Editors:
72
Don’t forget about Bubba
Matt Hooper
73
Can Matsuyama fulfil Eastern promise?
Colin Donaldson
74
The challengers to McIlroy LPGA editor: Cristina Panama
Images ©:
58
Grand Slam, the five men to have won it and those got so near, yet so far from achieving golf’s greatest feat
61
McIl-slam, Rory Slam, Grand Slam? Rory bids for the crowning glory at the scene of his greatest defeat
Rolex, St Andrews Golf Club, G1 Group, Garry Forrester, R&A, Northwestern Athletics, Joburg Open, ESPN Images, PGA of America, Kevin Kirk Photography, Dan Perry, Lisa Peck, OMEGA, PGA Tour Media, Royal County Down Golf Club and Woburn Golf Club
77
Irish Open new sponsor
80
British Masters returns
83
Cadillac Championship review
84
RBC Heritage preview
85
Ryder Cup bids under the microscope
89
ANA Inspiration preview
©St Andrews Golf Magazine Ltd 2015 info@standrewsgolfmagazine.com www.standrewsgolfmagazine.com
The sun is trying to peak itself out between the clouds on the Fife coast at the moment, the clocks have sprung forward and now we are just 22 days away from the official start of the golf season in St Andrews. With spring in the air Golf’s First Majors are not far away and this month we bring you an extensive preview to both The Masters and the ANA Inspiration. At Augusta Bradley Neil will make his Masters debut as the Amateur champion and we have the most comprehensive interview of any magazine with Scotland’s rising star. Rory McIlroy is attempting to claim the career grand slam at Augusta and we look at the history of the grand slam and spell out why McIlroy can achieve golf’s greatest feat. McIlroy isn’t the only star at Augusta though and we look at the group of challengers to the world number one in the year’s first major.
Our countdown to The Open continues with the Locals Road to The Open, Josh Jamieson aims to continue his rise and qualify for both the US Open and Open. Andy Sullivan won the Joburg Open, the third Open Qualifying Series event of the year and we look back to a dramatic week. In the second part of our major investigation into what the businesses of St Andrews are doing to try and take advantage of hosting The Open this summer, we focus on the restaurants and bars. We bring you all the results from the St Andrews Golf Club, New Golf Club, Thistle Golf Club and St Regulus Golf Club.
On April 20 St Andrews Golf Magazine will be celebrating #TheFirstDay of the golf season with comprehensive coverage of the day across our social media pages and standrewsgolfmagazine.com Our Masters coverage on standrewsgolfmagazine.com begins on April 1 with the first of a special series of articles leading up to full coverage of the tournament, which will include a Masters special Google Plus hangout on Masters Sunday. Subscribe to St Andrews Golf Magazine at standrewsgolfmagazine.com or by visiting our Facebook page and clicking on the sign up tab.
The infrastructure build for The Open in St Andrews begins this month and we will be keeping you abreast of all the developments on stanrewsgolfmagazine.com and in future editions of St Andrews Golf Magazine.
Co-editors Matt Hooper
Colin Donaldson
Thursday Medal No. 3
3rd Class Mr C G Fleming Monthly Medal No 2 Eden Course
CSS
15/03/2015 72
1st Class Mr R J May
68 -4
=
64
Class Winner & Lowest Gross Mr Douglas Allan
77 -8
=
69
Mr T Faja
74 -5
=
69
Mr T Clark
78 -9
=
69
Mr B D Henderson
74 -5
=
69
2nd Class Mr J M Jenkinson
83 -13 =
70
80 -10 =
Old Course
CSS
Mr T Marr
Class Winner & Lowest Gross
73 72 -6
=
66
Mr S Fox
90 -17 =
73
Winner
Mr Jim Wilson
97 -20 =
77
Mr R L Crane
77 -9
=
68
Mr S J Wood
94 -17 =
77
Mr G D McManus
74 -5
=
69
Dr M R Dickson
69 - -2 =
71
Lowest Gross
New Course
CSS
73
Mr S Andrews
80 -12 =
68
Mr N Crate
79 -9
=
70
Mr H Niall Scott
82 -11 =
71
Mr C J Donaldson
70 - -1 =
71
70 Eden Course
Lowest Gross Mr C Russell
71
Lowest Gross
Class Winner (bih) Mr A M O'Loughlin
86 -15 =
19/03/2015
81 -10 =
71
Mr F L Stephen
CSS
73 85 -13 =
72
Mr R T Jones
82 -9
=
73
Lowest Gross
United Services Cup & Medal 14/03/2015 Jubilee Course CSS
75 77 -6
Jock Hutchison Cup 2nd Round & Ancient City Medal for Juniors 21/03/2015 New Course
Mr J Mallon
89 -15 =
74
Mr Geo Christie
Mr M D Malloy
85 -9
=
76
Cup Winner
Mr A K Lumsden
82 -6
=
76
Mr A Cunningham
84 -11 =
CSS
74
71 Mr D J Jamieson
73 -5
=
68
Mr D J McSweeney
84 -15 =
69
Mr J C McBride
78 -8
=
70
Mr A W Houghton
81 -11 =
70
Mr P McBride
79 -8
=
71
Mr D J Bathgate
77 -6
=
71
Mr C R Blair
83 -12 =
71
Mr J W Mitchell
75 -3
=
72
Mr N H M Beattie
72 - -1 =
73
73
Medal Winner
Lowest Gross
Jubilee
=
CSS
75
Mr S J Wood
88 -17 =
71
Mr A J Gardiner
75 -4
71
=
Mr P Martin
83 -10 =
73
Mr S Singer
74 -1
73
=
Lowest Gross
Lowest Gross Dr G P Smyth
84 -11 =
73
Mr S Richardson
91 -18 =
73
(Lowest Gross)
Forbes Stephen had a 72 and Roger Jones a 73.
March 2015 Competition Results March Medal 5th March - There was a tie in the 1st Class with Mark Dickson scoring a 77 on the Jubilee and Neil Ronaldson with the same score on the New, both scores being +1 to CSS. The play off will take place in the Club Championship qualifier on the Jubilee on the 23rd April. The 2nd Class was won by John Cunningham with a fine 72, in very high winds, on the New. Due to the high winds, there were no other notable scores. Argyle Brewery Shield 12th March on the Jubilee - This stableford competition was won by Neil Ronaldson with 40 points, with Ian Forbes and Joe Noble close behind with 39 and 38 points respectively. Neil Westwood Cup 19th March - We have a play off in this competition as Laurie Crane had a 68 on the Old, as did Simon Andrews on the New, both scores being -5 to CSS. The play off will be played in the Power Vase on the New on the 14th May. Other notable scores were Mark Dickson with a 71 and Trevor Trangmar and Steve Race with 73's on the Old, Paul Ellison, David Watson, Johm MacLeod and Neil Beattie all with 74 on the New, Jim Knox with a 74 on the Jubilee and on the Eden,
Five Club Trophy on the 26th March on the Strathtyrum - Was won by Graham Taylor with a score of 60 with a better inward half than Gilbert Fraser on the same score. Both Joseph McMillan and Gerry Wilson shot a 62, with Jim Smith and Ian Law shooting a 63. WINTER MEETING – OLD COURSE 7-03-2015 CSS 76 Par 72 1 Mr Keith Sturton
76 - 4c = 72 3.7
2 Mr James Mason
82 - 9c = 73* 7.9
3 Mr G L Morrison
93 - 19c = 74* 18.4
4 Mr Cameron J Campbell 77 - 3c = 74 AWAY 5 Mr Michael Valente
95 - 20c = 75* 19.3
6 Mr Ronald Fowler
86 - 11c = 75 11.1
7 Mr Joseph Paterson
80 - 4c = 76 4.1
8 Mr Alan W Swann
86 - 10c = 76 9.7
9 Mr John Paterson
79 - 3c = 76 2.7
10 Mr E Shannly Lowest Gross
75 - -1c = 76 AWAY
MEDAL 5- NEW
Class 2 (13 and above)
12-03-2015
1 Mr G Neil M Bell After Count-Back
MEDAL 6 - NEW 88 - 14c = 74 @ 13.6
Class 1 (12 and below)
14-03-2015 Class 1 (12 and below)
CSS 74
Mr E Lawlor Lowest Gross
Par 71
After Count-Back
1 Mr Andrew Stamm
81 - 11c = 70*@ 10.0
2 Mr Ben Hutton
79 - 6c = 73 6.2
3 Mr Stan Scott
82 - 9c = 73 AWAY
4 Mr Peter Higgins
83 - 10c = 73 10.1
5 Mr Sam Heggie
84 - 9c = 75 8.5
6 Mr A S Preedy
87 - 12c = 75 AWAY
7 Mr Andrew W Kyle
77 - 2c = 75 AWAY
8 Mr Colin Loveday Lowest Gross
76 - 0c = 76 0.3
9 Mr D Binyon 10 Mr F McCue
87 - 13 = 74 13.0 CSS 73 Par 71 1 Mr Andrew Stamm
77 - 10c = 67* 8.8
2 Mr Calum Bisset
75 - 7c = 68 AWAY
3 Mr G Hotson
80 - 8c = 72 AWAY
4 Mr D Binyon
82 - 10c = 72*@ 9.3
5 Mr Mark R Dickson Lowest Gross
70 - -2c = 72 -1.7
6 Mr Luke McCartney
77 - 4c = 73 AWAY
7 Mr Michael Clark
83 - 10c = 73 9.5
8 Mr Robert Glashan
85 - 11c = 74 10.7
87 - 10c = 77 9.7
9 Mr Kenny Lindsay
84 - 10c = 74 9.8
85 - 8c = 77 @ 7.7
10 Mr Norman Macleod 79 - 5c = 74 AWAY
3 Mr Andrew Proctor After Count-Back
95 - 21c = 74 @ 20.5
4 Mr Alan I Lee
91 - 15c = 76 15.1
5 Mr Graham Watson
94 - 15c = 79 AWAY
Class 2 (13 and above) 1 Mr A I V Robinson Lowest Gross 2 Mr Glenn P Millar
85 - 13c = 72 AWAY
STABLEFORD - JUBILEE
STABLEFORD - STRATHTYRUM
21-03-2015
26-03-2015
CSS 75
CSS 65
Par 72
Par 69
87 - 13c = 74 AWAY
3 Dr Allan Taylor
95 - 16c = 79 16.0
4 Mr T Harrison
99 - 18c = 81 AWAY
5 Mr Peter Ferguson
102 - 21c = 81 AWAY
6 Mr Michael Laws
104 - 20c = 84 19.9
1 Mr Barrie F Moran
39 12c * 10.6
1 Mr Drew Renwick
43 11c 10.7
2 Mr Joe Myles
36 14c * 12.6
2 Mr Douglas C Scott
42 17c * 15.9
3 Mr Andrew Stamm
35 9c * 8.4
3 Mr Kenny Lindsay
41 10c 9.7
4 Mr John Kiernan
34 12c * 11.4
4 Mr Alec Clark
41 13c 12.6
5 Mr A I V Robinson
34 12c AWAY
5 Mr J D Logie
41 15c * 14.4
6 Mr John R McLay
34 6c 5.6
6 Mr T Harrison
40 18c AWAY
7 Mr James Woods
33 -1c -0.6
7 Mr Graham Jack
40 21c 20.7
8 Mr Angus K Graham 33 11c 11.4
8 Stuart Gilmore
40 11c AWAY
9 Mr G J Orr
32 22c 21.7
9 Mr Bruce Clark 40 18c 17.6
10 Mr Sam Heggie
32 9c 8.5
10 Mr David Bateman 40 14c 14.2
Next Month March Silver Medal - Jubilee Course 1st
Irene Morrison (9) net 77 (bih)
2nd
Anja Clark (13) net 77
3rd
Irene Ray (20) net 78
March Bronze Medal - Eden Course 1st
Angela Forster-Rainey (35) net 67
2nd
Chris Randerson (27) net 76 (bih)
3rd
Moira Duncan (34) net 76
Spectators visiting The Open Championship in 2010 spent £5,859,112 in Fife on Food and Drink, and with the number of eateries increasing notably since the last Open Championship in St Andrews that amount seems certain to increase in 2015. The average daily number of spectators who came to The Open here in St Andrews in 2010 was 9,500 people on the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday practice rounds, increasing to 40,750 people on the days of the championship proper. Of course many of these spectators will spend most of their money on-site and much of it will go on Food and Drink. It is the job of the local businesses, media and government to encourage these potential customers to spend their money in the town in addition to on the course. Members of the media (£208,039), Event staff (£782,577) and Players and entourage (£171,054) contributed to an overall Fife-wide
spend on Food and Drink of over £6million during the 2010 Open Championship. In the period since St Andrews last hosted The Open Rascals Bar, Ham’s Hame, Mitchell’s Deli, Forgan’s, Prezzo, Pret-A-Manger, Domino’s, Josper Bar and Grill, St Andrews Brewing Company, Rocca Deli, Café in the Square, Black Horn, The Adamson, Mr Milano’s, Cromar’s, Rector’s Café, St Andrews Country Kitchen and Nando’s have opened their doors in the town centre. Our town centre has over 70 places to eat and drink and it is vital that during the evenings of Open Championship week that as many of the visiting golf fans find their way to these, as well as retailers. St Andrews is at the heart of the Fife coast which is renowned for Sea Food and restaurants have become an overwhelming part of the town’s economy in the five years since the last Open.
Last month St Andrews Golf Magazine contacted the following restaurants and bars, asking what plans each business had for Open Championship week this July:
Zest Forgan’s Mitchell’s The Vic Doll’s House Grill House Glass House The Blue Stane Greyfriars The West Port
We received replies to our inquiry from:
Zest Forgan’s Mitchell’s The Vic Doll’s House Grill House Glass House
Six of the above businesses in the town are operated by G1 Group (Forgan’s, Mitchell’s, The Vic, Doll’s House, Grill House and Glass House), the Glasgow-based company manages over 40 restaurants, bars, clubs, cinemas and hotels throughout Scotland.
We also contacted the following retailers and businesses in the town as part of our ongoing investigation into how St Andrews’ businesses intend on taking advantage of the influx of golf fans into the town in the third week of July.
Fraser Gallery Scotland’s Secret Bunker Johnstone’s of Elgin Auchterlonie’s St Andrews Golf Company Byre Theatre Waterstone’s Toppings Books
We will be contacting other businesses in the town over the coming weeks and the upcoming editions of the magazine will feature Independent Retailers (May) and Museums, Galleries and attractions (June). Many of the businesses which got back to us are opening earlier and in some cases slightly later, and are focusing on giving people the opportunity to watch the coverage on the television on their premises. While this is very welcome in exposing more people to the game of golf, it isn’t necessarily going to attract people to spend their money in the town as the vast majority of visitors during The Open will actually be on the Old Course watching the action live with the ticket they have purchased.
‘The Vic’ is St Andrews’ largest bar/restaurant/club/entertainment venue and is extremely popular with students, locals and visitors alike. It is located in St Mary’s Place on Market Street, opposite the Student’s Union. The Vic is split into two distinct sections, firstly the Pub/Kitchen which is open throughout the day and evening, and secondly the Social Club which is open during the evenings on busy nights and especially at weekends or when the students are in town.
The Pub/Kitchen run a number of regular social events throughout the week from Bingo to Ping Pong and Cocktail nights to Wii Golf Competitions, as well as serving a variety of food for lunch and early evening dinner. The Social Club stages club nights each night of the week catering for different clientele and opening and shutting at 2am on 6 days of the week.
Like many venues in St Andrews ‘The Vic’ relies heavily on students but during the summer it still is very popular because it isn’t quite as busy. The Open will be a huge week for The Vic and its sister venues in St Andrews, all hoping to capitalize on the increased number of visitors.
Mitchell’s Deli is a restaurant and deli located in the former Murray Mitchell Butcher’s building on Market Street. During The Open they will be Serving Brunch until 12pm Monday 13th to Sunday 18th and until 4pm on Sunday 19th July, the final day of The Open. Live Music will be played from 9pm-11pm on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th July.
There will be a Set Menu for dinner costing £25.95 and is available all week during The Open.
Adjacent to and behind Mitchell’s Deli is Forgan’s. Opening in 2012, this restaurant is named after an iconic golfing figure from St Andrews’ golf history. The site used to be a Cleek Factory owned by Robert Forgan, and during the renovation of the site golf clubs from were found, delaying the construction project. Forgan’s is famous for its Ceilidhs and live music, as well as good quality food with multiple menus. Live music will be performed from 9:30pm-11:30pm from the 14th-16th July and Ceilidhs from 10:30pm-1am on the 17th and 18th and 10pm-12am on the 19th. They will be running a set menu for lunch £24.95 and a set menu for dinner £34.95, both available all week during The Open. Forgan’s is extremely popular with locals, students and visitors alike. But it could be said that during The Open, despite their offering be attractive to many, Forgan’s had the opportunity more than any other venue in St Andrews to try something original. With its golfing history and being named after Robert Forgan, the venue could have hosted an Open Championship party, inviting players, members of the golf industry and highlighting their golfing heritage, as well as showcasing their food, live music and ceilidhs. A unique feature of Forgan’s are the Bothies.
Bothies can be hired out as private dining spaces and we are offering a range of day and night packages. The four bothies can seat up to 12 people and can be combined for conferences and private dining for up to 40 people. Forgan’s will be open until 2am on Friday and Saturday and 1am on Thursday. More information can be found at forgansstandrews.co.uk From our investigation it does seem that many St Andrews businesses are not really doing anything original to attract customers during The Open, and encourage repeat business in the future from the visitors to The Open. There is almost an attitude of taking it for granted that it will just happen because of the increased number of visitors. A major problem with that attitude is that The Open is not being played on Market Street, North Street and South Street, it is being played on the Old Course. Once a spectator has entered the Old Course with their ticket there is a no return policy, if a person leaves the venue then they must pay for another ticket. The enormous tented village will offer a wide range of hospitality options catering for every taste and most budgets.
In 2014 the G1 Group, owners of Mitchell’s, The Vic and Forgan’s, acquired the Grill House, Doll’s House and Glass House. The Grill House is located in St Mary’s Place on Market Street, and is due for renovation in the coming months. The Grill House was born from a Mexican restaurant previously occupying the building, which is shared with the St Andrews Tourist Hostel. Mexican food is still on the menu but there is now a much wider selection of food on offer. Its location as the first specific restaurant on Market Street helps it attract golfers and tourists who have come into the town centre from the hotels near the Old Course and the Bus Station. The restaurant has three distinct dining rooms which can be hired by prior arrangement. The plans for both The Vic and The Grill House were still to be confirmed when our investigation was undertaken. Once we receive these and plans from other restaurants and bars we will include them in future editions. Four of G1’s St Andrews venues are on Market Street, but if you venture a little bit further away you won’t have to look far to find two other unique venues which we are sure will be full to bursting during The Open.
The Dolls House is centrally located in Church Street behind Holy Trinity Church and was recently refurbished by its new owners, the G1 Group. The restaurant opened in 1995 and offers a wide range of food on its menu. During The Open they will serve a lunch menu costing £30 per person for a 3-course lunch between 10am and 4pm each day. From 4pm to 11pm The Open dinner menu offers a 3-course dinner from £45 per person. The Eden Mill Private Dining Room is upstairs and available all day throughout The Open, it includes a set 3-course menu and a Doll’s House Gin for £50.00 (A minimum number of 14 guests are required to reserve the Private Dining Room) All of the G1 Restaurants and Bars offer venue hire for private events, something which they can use to tap into the event staff market, players and guests and the media during The Open. Much of the focus will be on the spectators at The Open, but in 2010 members of the media (£208,039), Event staff (£782,577) and Players and entourage (£171,054) spent over £1million on food and drink across Fife during The Open. This market is something which all of our restaurants and bars should be looking to capture.
The Glass House is a restaurant located on North Street with stunning views of St Salvator’s Tower at the heart of the University of St Andrews. Part of the selling point of the Glass House is its composition and location, their website says “Located in a former Salvation Army church hall opposite the historic university quad, the sleek glass structure and open layout makes the perfect setting for any occasion.” The Glass House also has an outdoor patio for dining, and they will certainly be hoping for traditional July weather this year during The Open. The Glass House stays open from 12pm until 11pm, and its location may help it to become one of our town’s most in-demand restaurants during The Open. Throughout the week they will be offering a Set Menu for lunch at £17.95 and dinner at £25.95. G1 Group should have a very successful Open week, given that they can promote their collection of bars and restaurants to customers across the 6 venues. Other eateries need to be smarter and target a specific market, as it seems Zest are doing.
The only non-G1 Group owned eatery to get back to us was Zest. Zest is an independent café in the heart of St Andrews, with a presence on South Street and Market Street. The owner, Lisa Cathro was kind enough to detail her plans during the week of The Open. “Zest Cafe on South Street will be opening one and a half hours earlier at 6.30am for the Open week. We can also do breakfasts for larger groups of up to 20 with notice the day before if needed. We have a Breakfast Special for £7.95 which is a Full breakfast (bacon, sausage, haggis, eggs, beans, tomato & toast) with a tea, fresh brewed filter coffee, or freshly squeezed orange juice. Zest Salad Bar on Market Street (opposite Subway) will be open from 7.30am and will have a packed lunch deal on. 1 x Regular Salad, 1 x snack (crisps/cake/nut bar) and 1 x bottle of water for £5.99 (which would usually cost £7.75 purchased individually). The salads are high quality and freshly prepared on the premises every day, and they can choose all of their own ingredients.” Zest is trying to catch the morning wave of Open spectators who are living, working or staying in St Andrews during The Open. With play beginning at 6.30am on Thursday and Friday of the championship Zest, and most businesses in St Andrews will miss out on the commuter spectator. It is those spectators
which St Andrews needs to catch and encourage to stay in St Andrews for at least one evening after play has finished. The economic impact assessments of The Open in 2005 and 2010 have shown a significant increase in spending on Food and Drink in Fife by spectators. In 2005 £1,470,000 was spent on Food and Drink in Fife during The Open Championship. As we mentioned earlier in the investigation £5,859,112 was spent on Food and Drink across Fife during the 2010 Open. With the additional number of bars and restaurants opening in St Andrews it is assumed that this number will increase dramatically again. St Andrews has a wide range of restaurants and bars, and there is little doubt these will be full during the week of The Open. But who will it be filling these venues? Will it be the locals who already live and work in the town? Will it be tourists who are in the area on holiday, not specifically here for The Open? Or will it be the golf fans who have come to St Andrews for The Open? The visitor, from outside Scotland had a daily spend of between £59 and £66 in Fife during The Open in 2010, so it is clearly vital for our restaurants, bars and other businesses to
attract these visitors to come to The Open and stay in the town during the evenings. Perhaps a way of doing this is by running a free taxi service from the business premises to major destinations such as Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow if a customer spends a certain amount in your bar or restaurant. This will negate the problems of visitors being discouraged from eating and drinking in the town during the evenings of The Open because of drink-driving. It will also encourage the visitor to spend more money, because they don’t have to cover the cost of their journey home or journey to a major transportation hub. This is perhaps a scheme which could be run collaboratively by the restaurants, bars and taxi companies. Aside from the restaurants and bars under the G1 Group banner, the majority of businesses of St Andrews seem to be working individually, rather than collectively. Each Super Bowl host city/state has a Super Bowl Host Committee, which brings together organisations and businesses across the host city and region. “The mandate of the Host Committee is to galvanize local stakeholders in a united approach to hosting the largest single-day sporting event by maximizing positive media exposure, fuelling the economic engine of Arizona and leaving a lasting legacy long after
the Big Game. The Host Committee serves as liaison between the NFL and all regional efforts.” Visitors of Super Bowl XLIX & Verizon Super Bowl Central: Additional service will be provided in Glendale on Pro Bowl and Super Bowl game days. Certain local and Express/RAPID bus routes will be extended to support latenight festivities. The extended Express/RAPID service will activate eight, regional park-and-rides, providing greater parking options.
A potential St Andrews Open Championship Host committee could feature: The St Andrews Links Trust, University of St Andrews, ICLC (Inter-club liaison committee of Local Golf Clubs), The St Andrews Partnership, Fife Council, St Andrews Hotel and Guest Houses Association, Fife Chamber of Commerce and Industry among others. This would help to organise our town’s activities during The Open, work together to engage with visitors to The Open, and increase the economic impact of the event in the town. A recently formed body which is attempting to improve the economy of St Andrews is the BID St Andrews. BID stands for Business Improvement District, and over the coming months businesses in St Andrews will be asked to vote on whether the BID should happen. A Business Improvement District involves businesses working together and investing collectively in local improvements, in addition to those delivered by the statutory authorities. These improvements will benefit the businesses involved whilst contributing to the wider aspirations of the local residential community and the growing local economy. A BID, which is funded by the private sector, allows a partnership working with statutory authorities to deliver a wider variety of projects and services to improve the local economy. It also gives local businesses a unified voice and provides an arena for businesses and local
authorities to increase their understanding of each other’s priorities.
Companies and businesses represented: The Adamson
The St Andrews BID website claims that a BID can cover almost any project or service that local businesses agree would be of benefit, as long as these are additional to services provided by the statutory authorities.The vote on whether the BID is successful has been moved back to October in order not to clash with the UK General Election this May.
Fife Cottages Castlemount B&B St Andrews Coach Houses Thorntons Luvians Bottle Shop
But they are still developing potential ideas around this July’s Open Championship, and St Andrews Golf Magazine will keep you updated on their plans to engage with the visitors to The Open, and encourage them to spend their money in the town once the golf is over.
Boots Hardies Bonkers Gifts Fraser Gallery
The BID, although not yet an official body prior to the vote, is in many ways what a St Andrews Open Championship host committee would look like. Organisations and Institutions represented: University of St Andrews Fife Council
Jannettas Ryman The Seafood Restaurant The overall aim of the BID is to encourage more tourists to spend money on our streets, not just in the bars and restaurants, but in the shops and stores.
St Andrews Links Trust St Andrews Partnership Merchants Association
It is certain that this Open will be successful for our bars and restaurants, but it could be even more successful if they work together. However the story hasn’t been the same for
retailers in past Open’s and in May’s St Andrews Golf Magazine we will be featuring the retailers of St Andrews. For the restaurants and bars The Open actually to some extent plays into their hands, helping to create a ‘festival of the night’ but for the retailers The Open will be a much harder week. We will investigate how they intend on getting a slice of The Open Championship pie.
Jubilee course, showcasing the other great links courses in St Andrews. The event could have galvanized the senior golfing community in St Andrews, involving the senior sections of the St Andrews Golf Club and New Golf Club.
Last month it was confirmed by the European Tour that the SSE Scottish Senior Open was to be played at Archerfield Links in 2015, bringing to an end the six year association with the home of golf and the Fairmont St Andrews. Glenn Ralph, Barry Lane, Anders Forsbrand, Santiago Luna and Mark Davis won over the Torrance Championship Course between 2009 and 2014. The venue was synonymous with its incredible views over the town of St Andrews, and high winds which made scoring very difficult. The Fairmont St Andrews is some 2 ½ miles South East of the town centre and unfortunately because of this never really fulfilled the potential it had by being played near the home of golf, Whenever a significant professional event is played in St Andrews it is played on the Old Course, but the Scottish Senior Open could have been played on the New Course or
The Scottish Senior Open could have offered an invitation to the winner of the St Andrews Senior Open, which is played each summer and hosted by the New Golf Club. The New Course has arguably the best mix of beauty and difficulty of all the courses within the town, and has the Links Clubhouse as the backdrop to a fantastic final hole. The event would have inevitably attracted more spectators due to its accessible location, and perhaps a sponsor who would have invested more money to help attract the stars of the Champions Tour. However the chance to do this and more has now gone, and while the six years at the Fairmont were a success, there will always be a feeling of missing an opportunity to create something truly special. The Scottish Senior Open will take place at Archerfield Links from 27 to 29 August 2015.
By Matt Hooper.
This month the golf season officially begins in St Andrews and St Andrews Golf Magazine will be bringing you a unique day of coverage across our social media channels and standrewsgolfmagazine.com. In our May edition we will bring you the best of the day and preview the first major event of the calendar at the home of golf – the St Rule Trophy.
Key dates in the 2015 St Andrews golfing calendar:
R&A Foundation Scholars’ Tournament – April 6 19th Hole Golf Club Spring Meeting – May 2 R&A Spring Meeting – May 4-7
The 2015 season officially begins on April 20. St Andrews Golf Magazine’s Matt Hooper will be in the ‘queue’ in the wee hours of the morning, as golfers from around the world attempt to secure a tee-time on the Old Course on the first day of the 2015 season, and caddie John Boyne will recount his first day of the season.
New Golf Club Spring Meeting – May 9 R&A Local Club’s Gold Medal – May 17 Thistle Golf Club Spring Meeting – May 21 St Rule Trophy – May 29-31 St Andrews Links Trophy – June 4-7
We will also be speaking to members of the golf industry in the town including hoteliers, barkeepers, shopkeepers and PGA Professionals among others as the town begins the final countdown to The Open returning in July.
Rotary International Golf Tournament – June 8-11
Watch for details on our Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus pages.
St Andrews Boys and Ladies Junior Open – August 6 Eden and Strathtyrum Tournaments – August 9-11 Thistle Golf Club Autumn Meeting – August 13 New Golf Club Monthly Medal’s Final – August 15 St Andrews Senior Open – August 17 New Golf Club Autumn Meeting – August 22 St Regulus Golf Club – September 5 R&A Calcutta Cup and Sydney Plate – September 7-11 UK Public Courses Championship – September 12-13 Bing Crosby Tournament – September 18
New Golf Club Summer Meeting – June 13
The Town v The R&A – September 19
St Regulus Golf Club Ladies Open – July 4
R&A Autumn Meeting – September 21-25
Faldo Series – July 6-8
Alfred Dunhill Links Championship – October 1-4
THE OPEN – July 12-19 Boyd Quaich – July 21-23 St Andrews Golf Club Autumn Meeting – July 25
Thistle Golf Club Medal Finals – October 8 St Andrews Golf Club Medal Finals – October 10
Okay, with ‘The Masters’ coming up I feel it’s a perfect opportunity to go through a topic you don’t read very often and presumably don’t practice either. That fruitful topic in question is sloping lies, they include:
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Ball above your feet
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Ball below your feet
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Uphill lie
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Downhill lie
The reason I bring this topic up in time for this annual event at Augusta National, Georgia is there is not a flat hole on the course. I have never been fortunate enough to play Augusta (it’s on my bucket list!!!) but I do appreciate how undulating the course actually is after watching The Masters a couple of years ago on a 3D television. In fact I was overwhelmed at the severity of the slopes on the course, something you don’t appreciate on regular television!!!
So, moving onto the ‘how to’ when we have an uneven lie, firstly I’m going to discuss is the uphill lie. When approaching different lies the first thing to think about is ‘how will the ball be affected by this lie?’ With uphill the main change in the ball flight is the height which depending on the severity of the slope will increase. As the height increases the distance is reduced, for example a 7 iron will perform like an 8 iron, this means we have to take more club. Your spine angle at address is perpendicular to the slope with the weight feeling more on your lower foot (see photo).
Ball position is centre or slightly forward of centre because when you swing it is quite difficult to complete your swing as normal with your weight remaining predominantly on your lower foot (see photo). The feeling of the swing is more arms and we want to encourage the feel of swinging up the slope!
The next lie I’m going to discuss is what I think most golfers will regard the most challenging of lies and that’s the ‘Downhill’. The reason most find it challenging I feel is the difficulty in not only getting a solid strike but getting the ball airborne! Conversely to the uphill lie the height of the ball flight is greatly affected which leads where this leads to a much lower ball flight. Because of this the ball will run more so the first decision is to take a more lofted club. When you take your setup the ball position will be further back in your stance with again your weight predominantly on the lower foot (see photo). What this produces is a steeper angle of attack to help connect with the ball more solidly.
The key in this is to keep your body weight on the lower foot during the swing especially when coming in to impact. Most golfers because of the lack of height in the ball flight fall backwards onto the higher foot which results in mishits either by thinning/topping or hitting it fat (*see photo). You might also see the shape of ball flight fade slightly too.
The ball above your feet will produce a draw. Why? If you didn’t know, when you change the lie angle of the club the face aim of the club changes, in this case the clubface will close. This also depends on which club you are using ie the more loft a club has (pitching /sand wedge) the more the face aim is affected. This means we aim our body accordingly.
Your swing shape will also be affected swinging flatter than normal. The clubface closed to the flatter swing naturally shapes the ball with a draw spin (right handed golfer). Grip the club shorter, legs slightly straighter and position your weight slightly towards your toes.
This counterbalances the affect the slope has and should help maintain good balance during the swing.
Conversely to the ball above your feet, this lie angle creates an open clubface. This along with the shape of the swing naturally steeper will create a fade spin.
To get the ball to target we have to change our body aim to accommodate, in this instance we aim slightly left of target (right handed golfer).
A common flaw with the ball below your feet is to either lose balance towards your toes or conversely your body lifts when striking the ball. Maintaining your spine angle and balance (which you would put slightly on your heels) is key to good striking from this lie.
Uphill Lie: •
Ball flight will be higher select a longer club
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Spine angle perpendicular to the slope
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Body weight on the lower foot
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Ball position centre or slightly forward in your stance
Downhill Lie:
Aim left of target to accommodate the fade/slice ball flight, also more knee flex.
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Ball flight will be lower, select a shorter club
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Spine angle perpendicular to the slope
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Body weight on the lower foot
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Ball position centre or slightly back in your stance
Ball Above: •
Ball above changes lie angle of club and creates a closed clubface at setup.
• Swing shape will naturally be flatter and ball flight will draw/hook • Aim your body right of target (right handed golfer) •
Grip the club shorter
• toes
Legs straighter, weight slightly towards
•
Ball position generally centre in stance
• Maintain good balance and spine angle during the swing
Ball Below: • Ball below changes lie angle of club and creates an open clubface at setup. • Swing shape will naturally be steeper and ball flight will fade/slice • Aim your body left of target (right handed golfer) •
Hold the club at full length
• heels
More knee flex, weight slightly towards
•
Ball position generally centre in stance
• Maintain good balance and spine angle during the swing
Finally, as mentioned earlier when you practice it’s usually at the driving range or practice ground and play is usually from a flat lie. If you practice these four different lie angles you will be surprised how much better understanding and ‘feel’ you have for a standard lie!
In the second part of our series on local golfers attempting to qualify for The Open at St Andrews we focus on a young rising star who is aiming high.
In many ways Josh Jamieson was destined to be a golfer; he grew up in St Andrews, the home of golf, with a wealth of golf available on his doorstep unlike almost anywhere else on earth, and he has ancestral ties to a great golfing family. Josh was born in Dundee in 1993 and cites his father as the main inspiration behind him taking up the game. “I started golf pretty much as soon as I could walk! My Parents would take me down to the Balgove with my older brother with these plastic clubs and we'd hit it around. I guess living in St. Andrew's really lends itself to playing from a really young age. My dad had a very solid game when I was very young and remember wanting to hit it like him. As I say, he would take us down to knock it around and I'm certain if it weren't for him I wouldn't be playing Golf so it's all down to him.� “I have an older brother, Ben who is a good player. Somehow he plays 7 times a year and
beats me who plays 7 times a week. I guess that's what big brothers are there for” Josh’s path into golf wasn’t solely down to his parents, his grandparents and ancestors’ status in the game means the 22-year-old is a part of the golfing fabric of St Andrews. “My Grandmother was Helen Ayton, the sister of Laurie Ayton Jnr, and the Daughter of Laurie Ayton Snr. I take great pride in being a part of the Ayton family- even if it does belittle any achievements I may have!” Laurie Ayton Jr was a successful junior and amateur golfer before turning professional, he went on to qualify for the 1949 Ryder Cup for Great Britain, but did not play in the matches. He played 21 times in The Open Championship, with a best finish of a tie for 15th in 1947. His father Laurie Ayton Sr. played in 7 Open Championships and 6 PGA Championships, finishing in the top ten on 5 occasions. Ayton Sr. was a descendent of William Ayton, one of the eleven founders of St Andrews Golf Club in 1843. Laurie Ayton Sr. and his brother Alex were among the St Andean’s who emigrated from Scotland to the Northeast of the United States in the early 1900’s (1918).
Laurie went on to become professional at Evanston Golf Club near Chicago and Alex became his assistant, the course and club would play a major part in the emerging career of Josh Jamieson nearly 100 years later. Josh has been a member of the New Golf Club since his junior days and he played an active part in the junior competition schedule, winning three successive Junior Championships at the club. He also played in junior open’s around Fife and East Lothian, and was also a member of North Berwick Golf Club. Josh says “The New Club have had a number of good Junior Convenors who have all been helpful for Junior’s coming through and I enjoy being a part of the club. It was good I played in a few of them (Junior Championships) that had really good fields I remember, and I just wanted to get my name up there once. Then I think I lost the Juvenile Club Championship final once, then lost the Junior Club championship final the year before But I was fortunate enough to win the 3 times! The final was always a lot of fun on an evening on the Old Course playing in front of all of the other finals (Club Championship, Salver and Medallion)”. Being a junior golfer in St Andrews is like a young Tennis player living on the grounds of
Wimbledon. They are blessed with having access to some truly great courses and worldclass practice facilities, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted that a junior from St Andrews will be a great golfer without hard work. “I'd say growing up in a place like St. Andrews with all the great courses and practice facilities on offer. Combined with the great coaching I received from SGU coaches Spencer Henderson/Neil Marr growing up, and Parents who understand the game and my enjoyment of it. I think that all I needed to do was stay interested and work hard. The circumstances really force you to improve, so I wouldn't say I did anything out of the ordinary. I don't think I'm inherently talented, I just enjoy it and work hard� Josh said. In 2011 Josh claimed the biggest title of his young career by winning the Scottish Boys Strokeplay Championship. He birdied the final five holes to win by a single stroke, a true sign of something special. For a promising young golfer in the UK the options of combining competitive golf and a higher education are limited, although improving with the help of places such as Myerscough College, Cornwall College, Birmingham University and Elmwood College. It is still the case that many talented youngsters from Europe look towards the United States.
In 2012 Josh was taken on a golf scholarship by Northwestern University, in Chicago. The University has famous golfing alumni such as Luke Donald and David Lipsky. “I was speaking to my Coach Neil Marr about my plans after school” said Josh. “And he said he'd been in touch with David Inglis (the Northwestern Coach) and David was wondering if Neil knew anyone interested in going to the States. I never put much thought into it and just exchanged emails with David, primarily just to get a feeling for college golf in general, not with any view to go to Northwestern in particular. However, we continued to talk and a place came open at Northwestern and I was fortunate enough to be offered it! From there it was an easy decision.” I would have just gone to University in Scotland - Edinburgh/St. Andrew's/Glasgow or Stirling if the offer had not come from Northwestern. It was the easiest decision I've ever made to accept the offer - it seemed perfect. Northwestern is in a Suburb of Chicago called Evanston where my Grandmother grew up and her father was the club pro of the local Country Club for 15 years (Evanston Golf Club- the club we play and practice at once a week).The academic opportunities at Northwestern are world class and getting an education was always important to me and my parents, and the golf programme is great. We have the best
coaches in the US, of that I'm certain. I felt Coach Pat Goss could help my weakness (short game) as he is a world renowned short game coach- which he has.” “I also felt Coach Inglis could help as he too has been through the same process as I have. As a Scottish guy going through College Golf in the States and staying out there. Seeing a player like Luke Donald going through Northwestern and achieving the success he has, and has achieved whilst staying with Coach Goss surely helped me decide.” Josh says that it hasn’t taken that long to adjust from playing on links courses to predominantly playing on inland layouts. “The biggest difference was the change in green speed. Greens in Scotland are considerably slower and I struggled a lot out here at first, and also thick bent grass around greens where you have to pop it out of the rough with soft hands- I could never had played that shot were it not for my coaching here. As simply, you never face them in Scotland.” Josh’s play has developed and his results have continued to improve each year since joining the programme at Northwestern. His average score is now 72.55, some 2 strokes lower than his freshman year in 2012-13, and his current handicap is +3. “This year I've had 2 6th place finishes- Erin Hill Intercollegiate (Marquette's Tournament)/ Jones Invitational
(Pepperdine's tournament) and a top 5 my freshman year” Josh said. Josh really first came to our attention last summer at the Fairstone Scottish Amateur Championship at Downfield. Jamieson made the semi-finals in a memorable week which included a fine victory over The Amateur Champion Bradley Neil in the Quarter-Finals. “I'd never gone past the first round before and I felt it was a good measure of how far I'd come as a player under Coach Goss and Inglis. Not that there was much doubt in my mind before that, but it gave me extra confirmation that was I was doing was correct- which is nice. I felt all my results last summer confirmed to me that I have improved and matured” said Josh. This summer Josh hasn’t just got qualifying for The Open at St Andrews on his mind, he is also entering US Open qualifying for the championship at Chamber’s Bay. “I've got a number of College events before the US Open qualifiers - Stanford, Ohio State, Purdue, Big Ten Conference Championship, and then NCAA Regionals. Then I'll play the British Amateur at home then the Open Qualifier! It would be unbelievable to qualify for either, you grow up watching them on TV and they are the pinnacle of the game, especially to play one in St. Andrew's would be surreal. As long as I play my best and have fun, that's always a success- the results take care of themselves if you do that.”
Playing the Old Course for many years gives our local golfers the insider’s knowledge on the world’s most famous course, and Josh has already tasted championship success over the links. “In one of the Junior Club Championship finals I won 4/2 and was around 9 under through 16, so that'd the best I've played out there, but I haven't played many competitive rounds on the Old Surprisingly, so I'd say in Strokeplay around 69. And in non-competitive rounds I've shot a few 66s and 67s. I think” said Josh. Josh is in little doubt about his favourite hole on the Old Course “17! Requires 2 good shots, and sometimes that isn't enough. The wind can change the hole so much that sometimes bogey is a decent score. The Green is as good as you'll get in golf as well, and so tricky with the road past it. You can have any kind of short game shot around that green also, it's never the same.” Should Josh’s form continue the upward curve and finish the NCAA season well he may well find himself teeing it up in front of hundreds of friends and his family. The journey which has taken in a course of historic significance to his family could well end on a course with historic significance to the game, and Josh Jamieson could write another chapter to the Ayton family’s golfing history. Words by Matt Hooper with Josh Jamieson.
Andy Sullivan will be playing in his first Open Championship this July after winning the Joburg Open last month. The event played at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club is the third of 14 Open Qualifying Series events. David Howell and Anthony Wall also qualified for The Open to be played here in St Andrews. The win is Sullivan’s second of 2015 and second in South Africa, following his defeat of Charl Schwartzel in a playoff for the South African Open Championship in January. A final round of 66 saw the man from Nuneaton triumph by 2 shots over five players including David Howell, Anthony Wall, Wallie Coetzee, Kevin Phelan and Jaco Van Zyl. The next Open Qualifying Series events are played from 28-31 May, the Mizuno Open in Japan and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in Northern Ireland.
2014 was a year never to forget for Bradley Neil; he won The Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush, he was part of the Scottish team which won the European Nations Cup and on the Great Britain and Ireland team which won the St Andrews Trophy. Then in September Neil completed his junior career by playing for Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup on his home course, the Rosemount course at Blairgowrie Golf Club. His Amateur Championship victory enabled him to make his Open Championship debut, at Hoylake last July, and later this year he will travel to Chambers Bay for a first appearance in the US Open Championship. But arguably the greatest prize for winning The Amateur Championship is an invitation from The Augusta National Golf Club to participate in The Masters Tournament. The year’s first major, more than any other, encourages, rewards and honours amateur golfers and keeps the spirit of its founder, Bobby Jones, alive. Recently I caught up with Bradley, here in St Andrews, to discuss his Masters debut and the road towards turning professional. Image: Kevin Kirk Photography
You must have been looking forward to this week ever since you qualified last June at the British Amateur. What did you feel like when you received the invitation? “Yes, when the invitation came there was actually a great sense of relief. By tradition you do get an invite but you don’t want to get your hopes up too much just in case they decide not invite the British Amateur Champion! When I received the invite of course I was excited and started to think ahead to this April, and planning when to go over and started mentally preparing for the experience.” You recently visited Augusta for the first time, what did it feel like driving down Magnolia Lane and was it as good as everyone says it is? “It was better than the expectations I had, the closest I have been to it before was seeing pictures and it’s the closest most people think they will ever get to it. Even at that time of year it was very beautiful, not everything is in bloom yet but it was still immaculate.”
Who did you play with and how many times did you get to play the course?
onto the course, and each hole I will never forget it.
“I was there at the end of January and I played two days in a row. It was a part of a 12-day trip to the US, I spent a few days in Atlanta then travelled up to Augusta for two days then went across to Sea Island for the Jones Cup.
I wasn’t really focussed on scores, the purpose of the two days was hitting shots to certain places, making notes and doing a lot of work on the greens. It took about 6 hours to get around because we were doing such thorough preparation for The Masters.”
I played by myself for the two days, unless you are a member’s guest competitors play on their own. I had a local caddie but Phil McKenna, who will be caddying for me in The Masters was there as well.” How was the first tee-shot? (Laughter) ”I didn’t hit it too well, but it was good to imagine how it will be during the tournament, with crowds and how much tighter it will be. It was good to picture what everything will be like and hopefully I will do better next time!” In general how do you feel about the first experience of the course, which holes do you like and which are going to be a real test for you? “To be honest the whole way around I was pretty excited, especially on the first day. I couldn’t get it out of my head that I was actually playing on one of the world’s best courses. I will never forget my first steps
What would be success for you at The Masters? “Playing all four rounds and making the cut and/or to be low amateur.” Will you be staying in the Crow’s Nest? “I will stay there one night, probably on the Monday night. I have a lot of friends and family going over so I will be renting a house for the week, I would rather share that experience with the people who have helped me get to this stage than sharing a room with amateurs which I don’t know really well. The great thing is I will be leaving the golf course once I have finished my round and range work. If I am staying in the Crow’s Nest I will have the urge to go out and watch or practice.”
When will you go to Augusta? “I will meet my caddie just before the Georgia Cup then travel up to Augusta.” The Georgia Cup is a match between the US Amateur Champion and British Amateur Champion, played at the Golf Club of Georgia on Tuesday March 31. When did you first watch The Masters on television and who was the inspirational figure for you? “The oldest memory I have was of Mike Weir winning in 2003, I don’t remember a shot he hit or anything of the tournament. The earliest vivid memory was obviously Tiger Woods’ chip-in on the 16th in 2005. I have watched all the official films and I have a really good idea of the history of the tournament. Tiger is the main figure of inspiration, and he has been there as an amateur like I will be.” Do you have any practice rounds lined up with top players? “I know I will be playing with Justin Rose on the Tuesday of Masters Week, I have had guys like Tiger and Rory say they will play nine holes but you cannot really book
a practice round. It is down to who is there at the time really.” Your coach is Kevin Hale, based here in St Andrews. How often do you work with him and how regularly do you come through to St Andrews? “I won’t get to see him again until Masters Week really, as a rule we would see each other once or twice each week but we are always in contact. I send him videos every week and I am always working on something, he is always available to speak to wherever he might be.”
Maybe the last amateur event I will play in is the Men’s Area Teams Championship, which ironically is played at my home club at Blairgowrie. It is strange how it has worked out how the last junior event and last amateur event of my career are played at my home course.” When will you get to look at Chamber’s Bay for the first time? “Probably in the week following The Memorial Tournament after a few days relaxing.” When do you aim to turn professional?
After The Masters which events can we expect to see you playing in? “I will probably play Lytham Trophy as the first big event, and I will likely use the Battle Trophy at Crail as the build-up to the Lytham Trophy. It will help me readjust to events with less spectators and links conditions. Then I will probably look at going across to Royal Dublin for the Irish Amateur, and then from there I am not that sure. I won’t be playing in The St Andrews Links Trophy this year as I have had an invite to play in The Memorial Tournament, which is two weeks before the US Open.
“I have two dates set in my mind. It could potentially be after the US Open or it could be after the Walker Cup. It is something you cannot really predict in terms of when you will be ready to turn professional. I want to be the right mind-set. There isn’t a rush, I am only 19.” Your fame has increased over the last few months after being nominated for the many awards, how are you coping with the extra spotlight? “I have always had a good team around me but last year I got the people I wanted around me and that I knew. The good thing is that it has been a progression, it hasn’t
happened all at once. I have always felt I have been able to cope with it. It comes with success. If you can’t deal with it then you are in the wrong job.” It is quite clear that Bradley is taking success and failure in his stride, at times since the British Amateur he has had disappointing results among many other positive ones. But his focus remains on performing to the highest level he can, and this rounded young man looks like he can cope with anything that is thrown at him. Last December he made his first cut in a European Tour event, at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa, and this year the spotlight increases even more. Nowhere else will the spotlight be greater than at Augusta National. But as he has done before I am sure he will take to it like a duck to water, and with that attitude more success is surely not far away. 8 years ago Rory McIlroy burst onto the scene at Carnoustie, now he has four majors and is going for the career grand slam at Augusta. Maybe in 2023 we will be looking at Bradley Neil, 4-time major champion.
By Matt Hooper with Bradley Neil.
Image: Kevin Kirk Photography
World Number Three bids to join Nicklaus, Faldo and Woods as a repeat champion
All the hype is about Rory McIlroy coming to Augusta this month, so much so it could be easy for most golf fans to forget about the current Masters Champion. Bubba Watson claimed an emotional but convincing second win in The Masters last April, and he has had a good start to the year in 2015. In November he produced a stunning victory at Sheshan International in the WGC-HSBC Champions and he is ranked third in the world at the time of publication. All the talk is about the McIl-slam or the Rory Slam, but what about the Bubba Slam? The major calendar of course begins at Augusta National, and Bubba has won twice here already.
Then in June the US Open is played at the unusually wide-open Chambers Bay, and The Open is coming to the equally wide-open Old Course this July. Then in August the PGA Championship returns to Whistling Straits. In 2010 Watson was defeated in a playoff by Martin Kaymer at the Wisconsin venue. The courses fit his eye, he has had success of sorts at two of them and the others are certainly courses you would anticipate Bubba loving, as long as the wind does not blow. The eyes of the world might be fully on Rory McIlroy right now, but it wouldn’t surprise many if they started to wander to the 2012 and 2014 Masters Champion soon enough.
4 to 5 years ago all the hype was about a young Japanese golfer by the name of Ryo Ishikawa, he became the youngest winner of an Official World Golf Ranking event and recorded a round of 58 among his 10 wins as a teenager on the Japan Golf Tour. Ishikawa could not replicate his form at home on the global stage in Europe or the United States, and is currently ranked 134th in the world. In 2009 Augusta National Golf Club and the R&A established the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, creating a pathway to The Masters for the best amateur in the region. In 2010 and 2011 the tournament was won by Hideki Matsuyama, who was aged just 18 and 19 respectively. The wins guaranteed him invitations to the 2011 and 2012 Masters Tournaments and he made the most of his opportunity, earning Low Amateur honours in 2011.
The Asian Amateur victories and experiences at Augusta kick-started his career and he went on to win as an Amateur on the Japan Golf Tour at the Taiheiyo Masters in November 2011. He turned professional in 2013 and soon was winning with great regularity on the Japan Golf Tour, lifting four trophies in 2013 on the way to being leading money winner on the Japan Golf Tour in his rookie season. His total of ¥201,076,781 was the most earned on the tour since 2001 and only the fourth season ever that a player earned over ¥200million. His performances as a non-member earned him a PGA Tour card for 2014, he finished in the top 25 in six of seven counting events including a tie for 6th at The Open in 2013. Then in June of 2014 he broke through on the PGA Tour with a spectacular playoff victory in The Memorial Tournament. Matsuyama is now a fixture in the world’s top 20 golfers and his performances have been consistent, unlike the much hyped Ryo Ishikawa. The three most famous Japanese golfers of all-time are Jumbo Ozaki, Tommy Nakajima and Isao Aoki, all of which performed well at Augusta but never seriously contended to win.
Despite combining to win 193 Japan Golf Tour events the big three of Japanese golf only won once on the PGA Tour, and only finished in the top ten of 14 majors. Matsuyama, as a full-time PGA Tour member and winner of one of the premier events outside the majors, has shown more than talent. He has shown a winning mentality outside of his home country. Winners at Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village have a history of good performances at Augusta and there is every chance that Hideki Matsuyama can continue that tradition this month.
Chris DiMarco, Phil Mickelson and David Duval all figured in the title equation over the week, with Mickelson and Duval very much in the thick of things on the second nine on Sunday.
Fifteen years ago Tiger Woods won his second PGA Championship, third major in succession and the world of golf had some 8 months to look forward to The 2001 Masters. That week Woods had the opportunity to win a fourth successive major and become the first player in history to hold all four majors at once. The anticipation reached fever pitch after he won The Players Championship and Bay Hill Invitational and pretty much nobody else was talked about in terms of winning The Masters. But three players did emerge as serious challengers to Woods for the green jacket.
Duval even tied Woods for the lead on the 15th hole but Woods held on for victory, birdieing the final hole for a two stroke win. It was a thrilling Masters, with the expected outcome. This time McIlroy heads to Augusta with the aim of completing the career grand slam and is the overwhelming favourite. But there are a group of players which will fancy their chances of contending for the title themselves. Martin Kaymer, winner of 2 Majors including the 2014 US Open by 8 shots, is looking to complete the set of all four of the United States’ big four tournaments (The Masters, The Players, US Open and PGA Championship). Jason Day has come close before, notably in 2011, when Charl Schwartzel was victorious.
Rickie Fowler finished in the top five of all four majors in 2014 and will be confident his remodelled swing can stand up to the pressure. Louis Oosthuizen came oh so close in 2012, his final round featured an albatross on the 2nd and he lost on the second extra hole to the extraordinary Bubba Watson. Adam Scott became Australia’s first Masters Champion 2 years ago and will no doubt feature again. Justin Rose will also look to win a second major and has shown form around the course in previous Masters Tournaments. Henrik Stenson is one of the leading players never to have won a major and the world number two came close to victory at Bay Hill last month. Jordan Spieth finished in a tie for second in 2014 and has since won three times around the world. The hype may be all about McIlroy, but if the rest of the cast can keep pace with the leading actor then this Masters may well be the best picture in major championship golf.
The PGA Tour visits Harbour Town Links this April for the RBC Heritage
The global appeal of the world’s number one golfer and host of the 2015 Irish Open, Rory McIlroy, has helped the national open land a major international company as title sponsor for the event at Royal County Down next month.
The championship was played at some of Ireland’s premier inland courses such as Mount Juliet, Druids Glen and Fota Island, as well as the iconic Ballybunion in 2000. The 1999 event saw Sergio Garcia claim his first ever win, at Fota Island.
The Irish Open has had a colourful history of sponsors and in more recent times struggled to attract and keep a sponsor for a significant enough time to build the event into what it was the 1980’s.
Nissan stepped into the breach in 2003 and took the championship back to Portmarnock, with Michael Campbell lifting the Waterford Crystal trophy. The championship remained on the links in 2004, this time at County Louth. In 2005 and 2006 the event was hosted by Carton House Golf Club, the new home of the Golfing Union of Ireland.
Upon the revival of the Irish Open name in 1975 Carroll’s, one of Ireland’s leading cigarette manufacturers, sponsored the event, overseeing the greatest period in Irish Open history. Under their sponsorship the championship was played at Portmarnock and Royal Dublin for 15 years, and was won by Ben Crenshaw, Ken Brown, Mark James, Sam Torrance, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam and Jose Maria Olazabal.
last year the Tour announced that Rory McIlroy and the Rory Foundation would host the event in 2015. Whilst the championship has shown glimpses of its potential, becoming the first ever sold-out European Tour event in 2012 at Royal Portrush, the 2015 edition at Royal County Down has the chance to be the dawn of a new era for the championship which was first played in 1927. Last month Rory and the European Tour announced that Dubai Duty Free would take up the role of title sponsor.
Adare Manor hosted two editions of the tournament in 2007 and 2008 and assumed the title sponsors role, overseeing the first Irish win in 24 years, when Padraig Harrington claimed the title.
Rory said: “its great news that Dubai Duty Free has come on board as the title sponsor for this year’s Irish Open. Dubai Duty Free is a strong global brand with great experience in sports sponsorship through golf, tennis and horse racing.
Carroll’s and the European Tour moved the event inland in 1991, with Nick Faldo claiming an historic hat-trick of wins at Killarney and Mount Juliet.
In 2009 Mobile phone network 3 assumed title sponsorship, providing the biggest purse in Irish Open history. The event was played at County Louth (amateur Shane Lowry won in 2009) and Killarney (Ross Fisher) for two years before 3 ended their contract early.
The European Tour and I both have strong links to Dubai, and I am sure Dubai Duty Free will bring a lot to the event and add to its already great prestige.”
Upon the ban on advertising and sponsorship for tobacco brands in the early 1990’s Carroll’s was replaced by Murphy’s Irish Stout as title sponsor.
Failte Ireland took up sponsorship of the Irish Open in 2011, dramatically reducing the prize fund. From 2012-2014 the European Tour underwrote the event to keep it going. Then
One of the world’s leading airport retailers with a turnover of US$1.9 billion in 2014, Dubai Duty Free is already associated with The European Tour as sponsors of the DP World
Tour Championship and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Dubai Duty Free’s golf portfolio also includes the Dubai Ladies Masters, as well as a series of high-profile events including the annual Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup, Dubai Duty Free UAE Nationals Cup, Dubai Duty Free Golf Cup and Dubai Irish Golf Society tournament. Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free said, “Sports sponsorship plays a huge role in our overall marketing strategy, it fosters goodwill and allows our brand to travel all around the globe. We are delighted to become the title sponsor of the Irish Open hosted by The Rory Foundation. The tournament has a tremendous history and is the flagship golf event in Ireland providing thrilling golfing action for spectators, golf fans and television viewers around the world. This year’s tournament features a fantastic line up and we are very much looking forward to working with Rory McIlroy and his Foundation, The European Tour, Tourism Northern Ireland and the members and management of Royal County Down on this prestigious sporting event.” Northern Ireland’s Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Arlene Foster, said: "I welcome the announcement that Dubai Duty
Free is to become title sponsor of the Irish Open. The partnership with Dubai Duty Free will further raise the profile of the tournament when it takes place in Northern Ireland this year, and again in 2017, and will help to increase our reputation as a fantastic golfing destination. This sponsorship announcement is further proof that we are establishing Northern Ireland as the home of great events with which world class brands wish to be associated.” George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dubai Duty Free as a title sponsor on The European Tour and look forward to expanding our partnership with another powerful global brand which has vast experience in the sports sponsorship market. “By becoming the title sponsor to the Irish Open, Dubai Duty Free is making its mark on golf’s world stage and further showcasing the close collaboration that exists between so many of Dubai’s leading companies and The European Tour. With many of the game’s biggest names competing on the iconic links of Royal County Down, we believe the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by The Rory Foundation will deliver superb value to Dubai Duty Free and all of our event partners.” Dubai Duty Free joins Moy Park, BMW, Emirates Airline, Heineken and Tourism
Northern Ireland as sponsors of the 2015 Irish Open. Padraig Harrington will join Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and Lee Westwood at Royal County Down for this May’s Irish Open, the 2007 champion confirmed his entry last month. Cadillac Championship winner Dustin Johnson is rumoured to be considering entering the Irish Open too, he played in the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down. The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is an Open Qualifying Series event on the Road to The Open, here in St Andrews this July. As part of our extensive Open Championship coverage we will bring you a preview to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in May’s edition, full coverage on standrewsgolfmagazine.com and a review in our June edition. We will of course have an exclusive interview with Rory McIlroy ahead of the event and his defence of the Claret Jug in St Andrews.
After an absence of 7 years it was confirmed last month that the British Masters will return to the European Tour schedule. The tournament was one of the longest running and prestigious in European golf after The Open, and has a history to rival any tournament outside the majors. First played in 1946, the tournament was the first to use the ‘Masters’ moniker after the Augusta National Invitational became The Masters in 1935. Bobby Locke, 4-time Open champion, tied for the first title with Jimmy Adams in 1946 and the tournament has continued with iconic winners throughout the years. Norman Von Nida, Harry Bradshaw, Dai Rees, Max Faulkner, Christy O’Connor Junior, Bernard Hunt and 5-time Open Champion Peter Thomson were among the winners in the first 20 years of the event. Then in 1967 future Open and US Open champion Tony Jacklin was victorious at Royal St George’s and recorded the first televised hole-in-one on British television at the 165yard par three 16th hole En route to the title.
Then in the 1980’s the tournament went to the next level with Bernhard Langer, Greg Norman, Ian Woosnam, Lee Trevino, Seve Ballesteros, Sandy Lyle and Nick Faldo won the title, combining for 8 wins in 9 editions.
Fresh off signing an historic deal to broadcast The Open from 2017, Sky Sports have stepped up their investment in the British game by becoming presenting sponsor and supporting partner of the British Masters.
In the 1990’s newcomers like Robert Allenby, Peter Baker and Bob May were crowned the British Master, along with the European Tour’s dominant figure of the decade, Colin Montgomerie.
Sky Sports will work with The European Tour and its leading players to engage and excite new and existing golf fans through its on-air coverage, promotion and staging of the event.
The highlight of the first decade of the new century came in 2002 when Justin Rose and Ian Poulter, in their early years on the tour, duelled at Woburn for the title. Rose won by a single shot at Poulter’s home course. The tournament’s final three years were staged at The Belfry and Lee Westwood won in 2007 before losing out in a playoff against Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in 2008. ISM took up management of the event from 2003 until the landscape of professional golf changed with the PGA Tour introducing the FedEx Cup, and the event struggled to attract the once stellar field it had regularly in the 1980’s. Now, with the help of four star British golfers and the leading golf broadcaster in the UK, the British Masters is set to return this October.
Ryder Cup players Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood will each take it in turn to host the prestigious tournament and will help to select the venue each year. This is the second prestigious event from yester-year to return to the European Tour, after the announcement the European Open will be played in Germany this September. Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: “As the home of televised golf, we are proud to take our commitment to the next level by bringing back the British Masters. We hope that the support and investment of Sky Sports will make the tournament popular with new and existing golf fans both at Woburn and at home.”
Three-time European Tour winner Nick Dougherty has agreed to become an Ambassador for Sky Academy, and will help engage young golfers across a range of different activities, including working with Sky Sports Living For Sport. The support of Sky Sports for the British Masters is another landmark for the broadcaster, becoming the first US or UK broadcaster to sponsor a leading event on either the European or PGA Tours. This adds another event to an already strong autumn on the European Tour, starting at the European Open in Germany this September. The European Open also has a strong history on the Tour, and is followed by a second visit of 2015 to the home of golf, with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The British Masters is the final event on British soil before the tour heads to Portugal and Hong Kong ahead of the Final Series. With Poulter, Rose, Donald and Westwood almost guaranteed to be in action at Woburn it does remain to be seen just how many other stars of the game touch down just north of London this autumn.
With The Presidents Cup being played in Korea in the same week, almost all of the leading Americans, South African and Australian players will be unavailable, but other stars could be enticed to return to the UK.
Anirban Lahiri, winner of the Maybank Malaysian Open and Hero Indian Open, was named European Tour golfer of the month for February. His victories have all but assured him an invite to his first Masters this month.
Rory McIlroy will likely play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which follows the PGA Tour FedEx Cup Playoffs, so may not play. The likes of Ernie Els, Angel Cabrera and Retief Goosen are currently outside the qualifying mark for the International team and Dustin Johnson, Billy Horschel, Webb Simpson, Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Nick Watney, Brooks Koepka and Keegan Bradley are all outside the top ten for the US team too.
Graeme McDowell, winner in 2013 and 2014, will attempt to become just the second player in the 109-year history of the Open de France to win three successive titles. The 2010 US Open champion confirmed his participation in the tournament at Le Golf National last month.
16-19 April – Shenzhen International 23-26 April – Volvo China Open
After 6 months in the wilderness, or leave of absence, Dustin Johnson has returned to the winner’s circle with a spectacular victory at Doral in the WGC-Cadillac Championship. A final round of 69 was good enough to secure a 1 stroke victory over JB Holmes; Holmes led by 3 strokes overnight, but stumbled to a final round of 75. Johnson was understandably delighted with his second WGC title. "It means everything," Johnson said. "It's been a tough road but I played really good. It feels awesome to get that W. I played great today." "Obviously, it's one of my biggest wins," Johnson said. "I've been working hard on my game and been working hard on me, and so it means a great deal to have some success right out of the gate. It gives me a lot of confidence, too."
The week following The Masters can be like letting the air out of a balloon, but the RBC Heritage embraces its position as the first PGA Tour event after Golf’s First Major. The course is a perfect stage and contrast to the beast dressed in a beauty’s clothes at Augusta. Harbour Town Links has hosted the tournament since its inception in 1969. The event is organised by the Heritage Classic Foundation, and since 1983 has traditionally been played in the week after The Masters. The tournament has a rich history with Arnold Palmer, Hale Irwin, Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus, Hubert Green, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller, Bernhard Langer, Sir Nick Faldo, Davis Love III, Greg Norman, Payne Stewart, Bob Tway, Nick Price, Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard, Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell all winners among others. Aaron Baddeley, K.J. Choi, Retief Goosen and Charl Schwartzel will all compete in South Carolina’s signature golf event, April 13-19 over the famed Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island.They are joined by defending champion Matt Kuchar and past champions Graeme McDowell, Stewart Cink, Glen Day, Jim Furyk, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III, Carl Pettersson, Brandt Snedeker, Tom Watson and Boo Weekley. Other notables committed are Luke Donald, Ernie Els and Brian Harman.
Ryder Cup 2022 race intensifies as bid inspections begin
‘History, certainty and passion’ were identified as the principal cornerstones of the Costa Brava-Barcelona 2022 Ryder Cup bid during Ryder Cup Europe’s evaluation visit of Spain’s candidacy. The two-day trip consisted of a tour of the iconic cities of Barcelona and Girona, as well as the proposed future host venue, PGA Catalunya Resort. Ryder Cup Europe were also briefed on the transport, security and accommodation solutions Costa BravaBarcelona would, if selected, implement in order to host golf’s biggest global event in Catalunya in 2022.
During their stay, Ryder Cup Europe were also advised on the operational, commercial and legacy proposals of Spain’s bid, and had the opportunity to meet the bid’s most senior sponsors, including both political and business leaders. The trip concluded with a formal reception with the Mayor of Barcelona and a visit to one of Catalunya’s unique attractions, which saw members of Ryder Cup Europe hit some golf balls on the hallowed turf of FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium. Spain’s bid enjoys support from the highest levels, including from His Royal Highness King Felipe VI, who has accepted the Honorary Presidency of the Costa Brava-Barcelona 2022 bid for The Ryder Cup. Gonzaga Escauriaza, President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation (RFEG), said: “It was with great pleasure that we welcomed our good friends from The European Tour and Ryder Cup Europe to Costa Brava-Barcelona. Our bid is centred on three concepts – History, Certainty and Passion. No other country in mainland Europe has contributed more to European and Ryder Cup golf, and our proposed venue is one of the finest and best linked in Europe.
Furthermore, our bid sponsors share a unified passion to bring one of the world’s biggest sporting events to Catalunya in 2022.” Ivan Tibau, Secretary General for Sport for Catalunya, said: “I am delighted that we were able to share with The European Tour and Ryder Cup Europe our vision for The 2022 Ryder Cup Match. In Catalunya, we have a unique offering which comprises two iconic gateway cities in Barcelona and Girona, the beautiful Costa Brava and the Pyrenees, as well as extensive and recent experience of delivering some of the world’s largest sporting, corporate and commercial events.” Denis O’Brien, owner of PGA Catalunya Resort, said: “From its inception, our Stadium course was designed and built to host the world’s largest events – and hosting The 2022 Match will be the realisation of this vision. This bid has our full commitment.” The European Tour will announce the successful host nation for The 2022 Ryder Cup in autumn 2015.
was known as the Colgate-Dinah Shore tournament then became the Nabisco Dinah Shore Invitational. By 1983 the name changed yet again and was celebrated as the Nabisco Dinah Shore, name that continued for 16 years (1999). After seven tournaments played around North America and Asia in their 2015 season, Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) will have its first Major of the year, the ANA Inspiration. The event has been renamed and now bears the initials of its newest sponsor, the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways. The Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California will once again host the tournament from April 2 thru 5. The history of this tournament began in 1972 when David Foster and the American singer Dinah Shore founded the yearly event. Shore was a long-time supporter of women's golf and contributed to the creation on the event. In 1994 Dinah was in fact elected as an honorary member of the LPGA Hall of Fame in acknowledgment to her contributions to golf. Throughout its 43-years the tournament has various incarnations in name. It began as the Colgate-Dinah Shore Winner's Circle when it was established. By the early 80’s the event
During 2000 the event had a new modification in its name and was then titled as the Nabisco Championship. The name didn't last long and by 2002 it was adapted to Kraft Nabisco Championship, as it was known until just last year. The event is full of traditions like the celebration of the winner jumping into the lake at the 18th hole known as Lake Champions or "Poppie's Pond.” The three-time winner of the event Amy Alcott was the first to celebrate with a leap into the lake in 1988. But it was embraced as a yearly tradition in 1994 with the Donna Andrews jump. One of the most significant changes also made for this year’s edition is the prize for the winner. In 2014 the purse was $2 million, this year it will be $2.5 million with great prospects of increasing in the coming years.
The Dinah Shore Tournament Course was the first of three courses built in the Mission Hills Country Club; it was designed by Desmond Muirhead and first opened in 1972. The 18th hole is a 646-yar d par 5 with an island green facing the clubhouse and it’s one of the most characteristic holes on the course. We can recall how in 2009 Brittany Lincicome eagled this same hole walk off with the Championship title, which meant her first career Major. This was the only time in history one of golf’s Majors was won on the final hole with an eagle. Mission Hills also has an emblematic bridge over the 18th green on which you can see a plate with each of the winners who have lifted the tournament trophy. There we can find names as Lorena Ochoa, Morgan Pressel, Yani Tseng and Karrie Webb. The ANA Inspiration will be played with a 6,769 yardage and as par 72. The course has nine par-4, four par-3 five and par-5 in which the players could get some eagles. This considering that best ranked driving distance players on tour registers about 277 yards from off the tee.
This course is one of the most recognized in the state of California and has had the distinction of being the ranked No.1 in the Coachella Valley for several years. The Major is also the second oldest golf tournament continuously held at the same course.
The defending champions are always one of the favorites to win the tournament even if they haven’t shown their best performance throughout the season. This year it will be American Lexi Thompson who'll be trying to defend her title. Thompson won in 2014 with a convincing 14-under par after an entertaining battle on the course against her countrywoman Michelle Wie. Lexi has improved her game throughout the season, her top ten at the Pure Silk Bahamas tournament with an 11-under par has been one of her best finishes. Thompson has also managed to be once again among the top 10 players of the world in the Rolex Rankings after finishing tied for 12th place at the HSBC Women's Champions.
Winning her first title of the season in Singapore also makes Inbee Park a favorite in this year's ANA Inspiration. In a thrilling final round with the top three players in women's golf: Park, Stacy Lewis and Lydia Ko fought for the title of the HSBC Women's Champions. But it was Inbee who won after the last 18th holes and a 15-under par. The South Korean player completed the tournament without recording a single bogey to claim her 13th LPGA title. Certainly among the already mentioned players we can’t avoid having Lydia Ko, the 17-year-old who remains as the worlds No.1 player in women's golf. After reaching the highest position in the rankings Ko won the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open. A week later in her home country she conquered the ISPS Handa New Zealand Women's Open trophy and shot a course-record of 61 in her second round.
Personally one of my favorites to win the tournament is Suzann Pettersen, the Norwegian player changed coaches and starting this season is working with Butch Harmon. When a golfer works with Harmon we can’t expect other than good results and tournament after tournament we’ve seen the progress Suzann has made with her new coach. In 2014 Pettersen couldn't play in the event due to the back injury she suffered after the JTBC Founders Cup, which made her miss three tourneys. She’ll certainly seek for her 15th LPGA title in this year’s edition. The ANA Inspiration is one of the most prestigious events on the LPGA and one of which the ladies always look forward to have on their titles list so we’ll have to stay tuned and see who will be taking a leap into Poppie's Pond this year.