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Weekly Ezine May 17/04 |
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The Week on the tours:
Sergio Garcia got his first win in a couple of years at the Byron Nelson Championship. He was in a three way playoff with Robert Damron and Dudley Hart, both of whom made mistakes on the first playoff hole giving the title to Garcia. Tiger Woods finished one stroke back as did Duffy Waldorf and Tim Herron who both shot 6 under par on Sunday. Some notable observations are that it was the second week in a row that the leaders barely made double figures under par (very rare in regular tour events), and Phil Mickelson missed the cut.
Lorena Ochoa finally got her first LPGA win after some close calls. Ochoa became the first Mexican player to win on the LPGA tour, with her win at the Franklin American Mortgage Championship. This week also marked the first time in many weeks that a Korean woman has not been in the top five. However, there were three in the top ten.
PGA Tour:
2004
EDS Byron Nelson Championship:
*Garcia wins on first playoff hole
1 Sergio
Garcia -10
T2 Robert Damron -10
T2 Dudley Hart -10
T4 Tim Herron -9
T4 Duffy Waldorf -9
T4 Tiger Woods -9
T7 Nick Price -8
T7 Shigeki Maruyama -8
T7 Ernie Els -8
T7 Stephen Leaney -8
T11 Mark O'Meara -7
T11 Deane Pappas -7
T11 Jerry Kelly -7
European
Tour:
2004 BMW Asian Open click
here for results
Champion's
Tour:
No event
scheduled click
here for results
Nationwide
Tour:
No Event
Scheduled click
here for results
LPGA Tour:
2004 Franklin American Mortgage Championship . . . click
here for results
For full field scores and stats on all the tours, go to PGA
Tour.com.
This week:
PGA tour:
|
2004
Bank of America Colonial |
TV
Coverage: |
European Tour:
2004 Deutsche
Bank-SAP Open TPC of Europe
May. 20 - 23
Golf Club St Leon
Heidelberg, Germany
Defending: Padraig Harrington
Purse: $3,101,586 ($516,937 to winner)
Champion's Tour:
2004 Allianz Championship
May. 21 - 23
Glen Oak Country Club
West Des Moines, Iowa
Defending: Don Pooley
Purse: $1,500,000 ($225,000 to winner)
Nationwide Tour:
2004 Henrico County Open
May. 20 - 23
The Dominion Club
Richmond, Virginia
Defending: Mark Hensby
Purse: $450,000 ($81,000 to winner)
LPGA Tour:
2004 Sybase Big Apple Classic Presented by . . .
May. 20 - 23
Wykagyl Country Club
New Rochelle, New York
Defending: Hee-Won Han
Purse: $950,000 ($142,500 to winner)
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"I'm only scared of three things -- lightning, a side-hill putt, and Ben Hogan."
-Sam Snead
Judging your distance on long chipshots
One of the places where the pros badly outclass even some of the better amateurs, is on long chip shots. There are basically two approaches to these. Some guys like Phil Mickelson, use the same club no matter what. He uses his sand/lob wedge on every shot around the green no matter what the distance. Others use different clubs so they can hit the same kind of shot every time letting the club dictate how far the ball will go.
The latter approach requires a lot more practice so you can get an idea of how far each club goes. This approach usually involves keeping the ball mostly on the ground, so there can be problems if you are off the green more than a few feet.
I personally believe that using the same club for all shots is a better solution especially for people who don't get to practice their short game much. The only time I use the other approach is when the green is severely undulating. It is sometimes hard to judge how the ball will react when it hits a severe slope, and often you have land the ball in an exact spot using the sand wedge. I prefer to hit more of a putt-chip where I can read the green and let the ball along the path. This is where distance control is very difficult if it is a longer shot.
When you use the sand wedge for all shots, you can basically use the same swing, just adjusting the length of the swing for varying distances. With this approach a rule of thumb I usually use is to land the ball about half way to the hole. If my lie is tight off the fringe or fairway, the ball tends not to role as far so I may land the ball closer than half way. You would also adjust as necessary whether you are hitting uphil or downhill. The best thing about this approach is that you can maximize minimal practice time. You can basically sit with a bunch of balls in one spot on the practice green and hit to various lengths. You will very soon get comfortable with how much swing it takes to go various distances. It also makes for less decision making on the golf course.
If you use this approach, it is very important that you hit down on the ball so you don't blade it or hit it fat. If this is difficult for you, the keeping it on the ground approach with different clubs may be more suitable for you.
For more
golf tips click
here.
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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
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Top Ten PGA Tour money winners:
Through Byron Nelson Championship:
1
Vijay Singh 14 events $4,409,137
2 Phil Mickelson 12 events 4,134,100
3 Tiger Woods 9 events 2,494,583
4 Stuart Appleby 11 events 2,177,120
5 Ernie Els 7 events 2,126,125
6 Davis Love III 10 events 2,058,253
7 Adam Scott 7 events 2,025,000
8 Sergio Garcia 9 events 1,637,141
9 Jonathan Kaye 12 events 1,554,975
10 Stewart Cink 12 events 1,551,053
Good Golfing,
SEAN HARDER