In this edition:

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The Week on the tours:

Stuart Appleby held off a late charge by 2003 money leader Vijay Singh, to capture the Mercedes Championship by one stroke in Hawaii. His putter won the tournament on the weekend while Singh struggled on the greens after a great putting round on Friday. Tiger woods and Davis Love III also finished in the top ten, indicating that the players who had strong years last year are ready to go for 2004.

Next week should be worth watching for more than the Hawaiin scenery. Fourteen year old Michelle Wie is going to tee it up with the men at the Sony Open. She will also appear on the LPGA Tour in March at the Safeway International.

In case you missed it, Mark Mcguire beat out some good PGA Tour players at the PGA Tour Skills competition during the off-season. He had to compete well in all areas besides the long-drive, and he did, showing well-rounded in all aspects of the game. Is he headed for a second career in golf?

Tour results:

PGA Tour:
Mercedes Championship:

1. Stuart Appleby -22 ($1,060,000)
2. Vijay Singh -21
3. Darren Clarke -17
T4. Tiger Woods -15
T4. Retief Goosen -15
6. Kirk Triplett -14
7. Adam Scott -13
8. Scott Hoch -12
T9. Ben Crane -11
T9. Davis Love III -11

For full field scores and stats on all the tours, go to PGA Tour.com.

This week:

PGA tour:

European Tour:

January 15 - 18
South African Airways Open
Erinvale Golf Club
Somerset West, South Africa

Champion's Tour:

January 23 - 25
MasterCard Championship
Hualalai Resort Golf Club
Ka'upulehu-Kona, Hawaii


Nationwide Tour:

February 5 - 8
BellSouth Panama Championship
Panama Golf Club
Panama City, Panama


LPGA Tour:

March 11 - 14
Welch's/Fry's Championship
Randolph Golf Course Complex
Tucson, Arizona

Golf Books and Magazines:

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Quote/Joke of the week:

"Golf and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at it." -Jimmy Demeret

Tip of the week:

Downhill lies tend to do the opposite, cause a low "push". The ball will also go farther and roll farther depending on the severity of the slope. Put the ball back in your stance so you don't hit it too thin, and aim for a push shot. Take a little less club and allow for more roll.

For sidehill lies remember the most important thing is keeping your balance. The ball will tend to go slightly towards the direction of the downslope, so play accordingly, but remember that balance is key and you can hit a pretty staright shot if you don't swing too hard and keep your balance.

For more golf tips click here.

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Subscriber feedback :

Do you have relevant questions, comments, or opinions about golf that you would like to be heard? Have any suggestions to improve this ezine? Please email them to sean@lowerscoregolf.com and we may post them in the ezine.

Season ending statistics:

Money list:

1 Vijay Singh $7,573,907
2 Tiger Woods $6,673,413
3 Davis Love III $6,081,896
4 Jim Furyk $5,182,865
5 Mike Weir $4,918,910
6 Kenny Perry $4,400,122
7 Chad Campbell $3,912,064
8 David Toms $3,710,905
9 Ernie Els $3,371,237
10 Retief Goosen $3,166,373

Good Golfing,

SEAN HARDER

sean@lowerscoregolf.com

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