In the morning, the golfers were greeted with rain and wind.  many notables who teed off early face challenges in the first round.  Early casualties include Phil Mickelson who tee off early in the morning.  Struggling to get the ball going where he wanted to go, Phil was at one stage 6-over par after 6 holes.  He ended the first day at 9 over par, tied 123th position. 

Other notables at +10 are Vijay Singh and Ernie Els.

KJ Choi, the top asian player, played a good round of golf early in the day.  He managed to control and play with the wind and rain and maintained a consistent round.  He is now at 2 over par, tied at 15th place.

Sergio also played a very consistent and controlled round of 2 over par.  He bogied the first, sixth and tenth hole with Bridie at the fifteenth.  A round of 14 pars.. Well, Sergio is still in the hunt for the title which he lost last year.

The Shark, Greg Norman, which I thought was playing on the Senior Tour was very impressive in the first round.  A round of 14 pars and tied 4th place with a score of even par.

After the first round, the leaders are Rocco Mediate, Graeme McDowell and Robert Allenby at one under par.

Given the conditions, scores can swing drastically within one round so I think the title is still open to all players.

Dont miss the 2nd round……

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Now that Tiger is not playing, the competition is basically quite open.  Is it ?  I am not sure…  Many golfers will be eyeing for the title without Tiger there hogging to the top spot.  But who will succeed or will it be dominated by the world number 2 ?

Phil Mickelson would definitely be eyeing for the title.  But his inconsistency so far may not be helping him although he is playing much better relative to the previous year.  Phil did not do well over the weekend at the Barclays Scottish Open and did not finish within the top 20.  How are his chances at the British Open ?

Ernie Els fair slightly better at the Scottish Open last weekend coming into the Bristish Open this week.  He finished tied at 19th place with a score of -7.  Els will also be working hard to come back at the British Open.

Others that have been performing well.  Sergio Garcia has been doing quite well over the past months.  he has been playing quite a consistent game and is putting well. 

Well, who would take this opportunity without Tiger Woods to take the British Open Championship title ?  It is really hard to tell at the moment.  It is still wide open, and I forsee a very exciting and closely fought British Open this week.

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Anthony now becomes the youngest player (25) to win two PGA tournaments in a year.  Other than Tiger Woods himself, of course.  He won earlier this year at the Wachovia Championship.

Tiger Woods who hosted this tournament, was not around to witness the win by Anthony Kim.  He is still resting and recuperating from his knee surgery which will see him out for the rest of the season.

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This feel is not something that you can learn from a golf “how to” booklet.  It must be learned by instinct and then practiced over and over again.

Importance of speed in putting

As a beginner, you may be tempted to make your ball into the hole when facing a long putt shot of 8 feet or longer. Of course knocking the ball into the hole from a long putt shot is definitely a good thing.  But the truth of the matter is that the last thing you want to do is mess up your shot to the point where you have to make the ball in the hole with the dreaded 3-Putt shot.

So many beginner players and amateur golfers go through such an experience. They have a ball sitting 15 to 20 feet away from the hole and they put too much speed and distance on it.  The next thing they realize, they have taken 5-6 shots in order to finish a par-3 hole.

Lagging

Great golfers realize that it’s best to lag the ball so that it gets as close to the hole as possible, thereby leaving themselves a very easy shot with only 2 - 3 feet of distance.

Your job is to become a master the art of getting a perfect lag on a ball when shooting a long-distance putt. This is so you can create a situation where the ball will always land safely near the hole, regardless of whether it breaks too early or too soon. You will know that wherever the ball lands, it should be a simple hit to finish the hole on the next stroke.

Putting Exercise

As with any maneuver, practice makes perfect when learning to determine the feel for speed and distance on the green. A simple exercise that you can practice in order to become a better long-putt shooter is to place four to five balls approximately 10 feet apart from each other, evenly distributed to the hole.

Basically, you will have a line of balls, evenly spaced between each other, all leading to the hole, starting at about 40 to 50 feet out. Now start the exercise by making your swing with the ball closest to the hole. Simply work your way back to the farthest ball. In order for this exercise to work, you must mentally place yourself in a real playing scenario.

The funny thing about such practice techniques is that because you know it’s not a real game, you are more loosened up and are not really stressed about making the lag shot work.

Can you guess what happens? You play well! That is the ironic part about golf.  When you are in the middle of a good game, worry and doubt tend to tense your muscles up, thereby causing poor shots to be made. The real key is to take your practice mindset with you when playing a real golf game.

Let me know if this putting tip helps in your game….  Thanks

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There are of course many other importance factors in helping you become a better golfer and also experience fun and enjoyment in the game.  Other factors can be patience, fitness, practise and even golf equipments. Personally, I think the most important aspect of golf that will help you become a skilled golfer, while at the same time having as much fun as possible is: Confidence.

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There are often situations where you will have to take into consideration the different terrains of the golf course.  Many greens may be more difficult when making your approach shot and some are more forgiving.  The following are some of the factors that may affect the behaviour of the green and thus your approach.

1. Greens that are considered fast due to extremely short-cut grass. This type of terrain tends to send the ball rolling into the fringe.

2. Greens can be hard from maintenance work or lack of rain. This may cause the ball to land and bounce over.  Whereas, greens after rain are slower.

3. Greens that have severe moguls or undulations. This terrain can be tough to hold the ball because of all the angles that it encounters when it lands on the slopes and rolls forward.

4. Greens that are crowned, which have slopes on each side and from every angle. This can make it very difficult to hold the ball in the area.

Happy Golfing…..

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It is a good shot to have in your “golf shot portfolio” and this shot can help in many situations. However, for beginners or high handicappers, I would advice that you focus on getting the ball to the green and learn how to land the ball softly first. Even without knowing how to do the backspin, one can still achieve good scores.

For those who really want to learn this shot, I have embedded the following video who provides a good guide to the execution of the backspin.

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The only time I do not enjoy as much of the landscape is when my ball lands in one of these areas, playing it through can be an excruciating experience, frustrating even for the most calmest of golf players. 

Nothing is more depressing than watching your tee shot soar through the air and become buried within a tangle of tree branches, tree trunks, or worse, a thick wiry brush. Should this happen to you, the key is to stay calm and learn how to get yourself out of the situation with as little penalty strokes possible, preferably none!

So long as the ball stops on top of a decent lie, there is still hope to move forward without gaining too many penalty shots.

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Phil Mickelson eventually emerged the winner of the tournament on the second playoff hole. He takes home $833,330 purse money to mark his fourth win this season.

“It feels amazing,” Mickelson said. “I don’t know how it happened. The whole day was a whirlwind, but what a fun day.”

It was an exciting final day I would say. Mickelson look set to win the tournament after the first nine. At the 11th, he was three up from the field. However, boogies on 12th, 13th and 15th did not help at all. Then on the last hole, he needed to make a 10 foot putt to win the tournament after hitting into the water. Unfortunately, he missed and that leads to the playoff.

On the first playoff hole, all 3 players had birdie attempts to win the tournament. Fisher got the shortest of them all but missed. Off they went to the second playoff hole. Westwood was out at this hole when he send his ball into the water. Mickelson then made a 6-footer birdie to win the HSBC Champions.

Kevin Stadler was one stroke behind the 3 at -9. Vijay Singh and Padraig Harrington at -8 for the championship

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Mickelson played a fantastic round comprising of 6 birdies and 2 bogeys for a round of 68.  Two strokes behind Mickelson is a young golfer by the name of Ross Fisher from England.  He also card a 68 for the 3 round.

The best round, however, belongs to Paul Casey who shot a brilliant 6 under-par 66 round. Casey finished the round with 6 birdies.  This puts him in third place at 11 under-par for the tournament.

Phil Mickelson said “It’s going to be a tough day tomorrow, but certainly I would rather be in front than trying to make up ground.”.  I am sure he is in a good position now going into the final round.

Vijay Singh shot even par today to stay at -7 for the tournament.  Ernie Els is slowly climbing up the leader board at -2 for the tournament.  He played a 75, 69, 70 for the 3 rounds.  He can challenge Mickelson provided he plays a remarkable game tomorrow. Otherwise, Els is too far from Mickelson to catch him.

Stay tuned for the final round.

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