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Jarro
8th February 2006, 06:14 AM
Array of stars Down Under
Monday, February 6, 2006 - 05:40PM
PGA Tour of Australasia

An array of the world’s best golfers will arrive in Australia this week as the PGA Tour of Australia’s 2006 schedule gets underway, beginning with the prestigious Johnnie Walker Classic at the Vines Resort in Perth, starting Thursday.

The Johnnie Walker Classic will be followed by the Jacob’s Creek Open, to be held at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club from February 13-19 and the ING NZ PGA Championship at the Clearwater Resort in Christchurch, New Zealand from February 20-26.

The Johnnie Walker Classic boasts a star studded international field including two-time US OPEN Champion Retief Goosen, 2005 European Tour Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie, 1995 JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSIC winner and past US Masters champion, Fred Couples, and 2005 US OPEN Champion Michael Campbell.

Leading the Australian charge is defending champion Australian Adam Scott. Despite strong winds causing a delay on Day 1 of the 2005 event held in Beijing, Scott strode ahead with a strong lead and despite challenges from Michael Campbell and Retief Goosen, secured a solid win.

Scott will be challenged by fellow countryman Robert Allenby who created history last time he was on Australian soil when he won the “Triple Crown” in 2005.

In three straight weeks spanning late November and early December, the 34-year-old Allenby won the MFS Australian Open, the Cadbury Schweppes Australian PGA Championship and the MasterCard Australian Masters - an unprecedented feat in Australian golf.

Other Australians challenging for the title are Nick O’Hern, who narrowly finished runner up at both the 2005 Heineken Classic and MasterCard Masters, two time Australian Open Champion Peter Lonard, US Tour winner Mark Hensby, 2004 MasterCard Masters winner Richard Green, 2005 Heineken Classic Champion Craig Parry, two time Johnnie Walker Classic Champion Peter Senior and two time Japan Tour winner Paul Sheehan. They are just a few names amongst a stellar field that also includes the best players from Asia.

KJ Choi, as the Korean number one and leading Asian player in the world rankings is more familiarly known to locals, and heads a strong Asian challenge in the US$2.1 million event.

Joining KJ in the 156-player field will be the Asian Tour’s number one, Thaworn Wiratchant, who leads a contingent of seven Thais including the Asian number two Thongchai Jaidee. The leading Indian player on the world rankings, Jyoti Randhawa, and his young compatriot Shiv Kapur, the winner of last December’s Volvo Masters of Asia, will also hope to do well in the first full field event of the year on the European Tour’s International schedule. Other Asian Tour players include the well-known Wang Ter-Chang from Taiwan and the legendary Filipino golfer, Frankie Minoza.

The 15th Johnnie Walker Classic begins on Thursday February 6 at The Vines Resort and Country Club, Swan Valley, Perth, Western Australia.

Eag's
8th February 2006, 06:40 PM
Great course the Vines, be good to see an Aussie do well here at home.

Jarro
8th February 2006, 07:25 PM
pity The Big Easy isn't coming :(

Grunt
8th February 2006, 07:36 PM
I thought he was :(

Jarro
8th February 2006, 07:48 PM
haven't heard his name mentioned Grant.

Grunt
8th February 2006, 07:50 PM
nah, me either. Just looked @ tomorrows tee slots, you are right I couldn't see his name.

McMw
11th February 2006, 03:22 AM
it'll be good to watch the final 2 rounds on telly to see the course back in action!!! will bring back memories on my rounds there for sure!!! :mrgreen:

was great fun watching the Vines/Heineken Classic when it was still on back then...

Jarro
11th February 2006, 04:45 AM
always looks in top nick that place 8) Greens look as though they're running at around 20 on the stimpmeter :roll:

Eag's
11th February 2006, 11:42 PM
Can Nick Ohern finaly break through here ??
I hope so, the bloke is the most consistant player on the planet and deserves a win like this :smt023

Moe Norman
12th February 2006, 12:03 AM
he's the most consistent loser.

I'd call Tiger the most consistent player!

Eag's
12th February 2006, 08:38 AM
he's the most consistent loser.

I'd call Tiger the most consistent player!

Well yes Moe, with the exception of the obvious :rolleyes:
I bet you wouldn't mind his bank balance mate :razz: I would not call someone ranked in the top 30 in the world a loser :smt002
His time will come, just hope it is sooner rather than later :)

Keza_G
12th February 2006, 02:07 PM
Nick has just stolen the lead.... c'mon Aussie...

Cheers

Keza

Grunt
12th February 2006, 02:19 PM
o'hern now 2 behind Stadler

Matt 3 Jab
12th February 2006, 02:23 PM
c'mon o'hern! stad's is starting to fall apart isnt he?

connico
12th February 2006, 02:24 PM
naa stads had three bogies but his come back and clamed..she should be right from here..

Matt 3 Jab
12th February 2006, 03:05 PM
whats the latest anyone, at work and i have the cricket on, so whos leading??

Keza_G
12th February 2006, 05:06 PM
Stad's has done it..... puttin in a stiff shot on the last and tappin in for eagle to take it out.... Nicko missed his eagle on the last but I'm sure walks away with quite a nice handy pay packet.

Cheers

Keza

Moe Norman
12th February 2006, 05:58 PM
his eagle putt failed to have any significance in the end, other than to the margin of victory.

Stadler played the 18th in -7 over the 4 days, not bad!

Grunt
12th February 2006, 06:47 PM
That shot by Stadler on the last was one of the best I have ever seen in Pro Golf. Talk about ballsy shot, if it were any shorter on the fly it was in the bunker and who knows what happens after that.

AndyP
13th February 2006, 11:47 AM
I called O'Hern's finishing 2nd, when he was on the front nine. He just doesn't know seem to know how to win.

Awesome shot by Stadler on the last.

McMw
13th February 2006, 12:25 PM
good to see O'Hern and R.Green starting the season well...

this "could" be the year for both of them to break thru with big wins on either tour...

fingers crossed anyway... :mrgreen:

Speirsy11
13th February 2006, 01:20 PM
I went out to the Vines on Sunday and watched the JW....Great event, if you are on BSG and feel like reading my little musing about it, check the link....I'm way too lazy to write it again

http://www.bombsquadgolf.com/invboard_release/upload/index.php?showtopic=103846&pid=1018489&st=0&#entry1018489

Speirsy

AndyP
13th February 2006, 01:50 PM
I'm way too lazy to write it again
..or to copy and paste.

Grunt
13th February 2006, 01:52 PM
is anyone a member of BSG, because I'm too lazy to join.

AndyP
13th February 2006, 01:58 PM
Oh yeah, I love the HO talk....

Not sure if I'm allowed to do this, but here it is (I'll remove it if requested).

Short and Fat Down Under....Long, but read the end


Bet you thought from the title that this was going to be like one of those e-mails you delete from your spam every day, didn't you........

Well, I was lucky enough to attend the final round of the J. Walker event in Perth Sunday, and noticed a few things.....

A lot of the players kick sand in the face of the idea that golf is becoming a game where everyone is fit and buff ala Tiger Woods. Stadler looks like he's smuggling pillows in his trousers, Craig Parry looks like a lunchbox with arms, O'Malley the same, and Angel Cabrerra is shaped like a mailbox. They also all hit it pure as anyone around.

Stadlers shot into 18 on the final day is the shot of the year thus far. Granted it was an easy hole, but he hit a 3 iron so high and straight it was sick. It never left the flag and honestly looked to be going in.....He actually was very impressive coming down the stretch, driving it really well despite being noticably nervous. Hats off to you Mr. Stadler. :toast:

It was darn hot in Perth, which makes it even more amazing that Stads came through....Looked a little warm for a lot of the guys out there.
The course was in great shape and is really quite a good modern design. HUGE greens with tons of rolls, excellent bunkering too. It's one of those courses that isn't really a top amateur course, or a major course, but is perfect for the average tour event. Lots of parking, lots of room for grandstands, toilets, etc...No pesky trees blocking views.......Stadium golf at its best....In great condition too....

Ian Poulter has the best clothes of anyone on any tour anywhere. The pants he wore yesterday, black with the Johnny Walker label in yellow on them, were brilliant. Add to that the attention to detail of matching yellow shirt, belt and socks.......Well thats just good style.....More on Poulter later......http://www.iseekgolf.com/images/players/isg_ianpoulter_jwcpants.jpg

Adam Scott hits it awesome. Better then you think he does actually. That being said, he really does struggle with the flat stick, which will keep him from winning a major in the foreseeable future. If Poulter putted for him, they'd win everything. He was hitting a 905R and just killing it, as well as a 3 wood that I hadn't seen before. He hit the 3wood on 10, about 20 yards past both his playing partners drivers.

Nick Flannagan was decked out all Nike, SQ everywhere, but hitting an Ignite with Diamana. Actually, lots of that shaft kicking around, but lots of Aldila and Grafalloy too. A few guys playing the Matrix stuff, but far more with the NV/NVS/Protopype which kinda surprised me. I was talking to a caddy or two that are locals and I know a bit, and one said that he had asked his guy why everyone had ProLites, NV, etc.....His player said that since they play the Euro Tour, they use stuff that keeps the ball down more then the stuff that's used in the States. A lot of them will play a higher launching shaft in the states, but stick with the low launch ProLites of the world when they play in Europe.

Phillip Archer hit two of the worst bunker shots I've ever seen. Both on the par 3 16th. First he hits it fat and leaves it in the bunker, then he tries to get really fancy and hit a high spinner that doesn't, it releases and almost ends up in the lake behind the hole.......Not pretty.....Angel Cabrerra (playing in the same group, and within 5 feet of him in the same bunker off the tee) hit his to 3 feet.....

A group that I followed a fair amount, and that I thought would be really good was Couples, Casey and Parry. Whle they were fun to watch, they all slashed it on Sunday. Couples still gets it out there in a hurry with tons of height and has one of the smoothest actions you'll ever see. It also appears that the ladies still love FC......There was more 35+ beave following Freddy then you'd ever expect to see. I'm sure they all dropped their kids off at the soccer carnival down the road, got their push-up on, jumped in their SUV's and headed out to watch the guy their husbands made them watch in the early 90's and that they all secretly pinned for. Red lipstick and hair-dye were everywhere.

Paul Casey hits it MILES. Thats about all I have to say about him, because he really didn't have his best stuff Sunday. He did keep his composure after a double, but thats about all I noticed.

Poulter is one of the best putters I've ever seen. He really looks like he was born to hold a putter. He also uses some wicked cool blades. Very traditional looking, no flash, no fuss, just nice traditional blades.....A stark contrast to his super-cool pants.....

Sung-Man LEE was some guy playing with Allenby who had a cool looking RAC utility club in his bag with an orange Matrix shaft. No idea what it was, and only saw it when he pulled it thinking he might hit it but didn't, but it looked cool.

Allenby is pretty impressive to watch on home soil. It's almost as if he comes here and expects to win, and his confidence just grows. His 18th hole was a thing of beauty; bomb a tee shot that never looked like it was anyting but perfect, knock it just right of the pin and drain the eagle putt to post -16 in the clubhouse. Lowest round (66) of anyone near the lead.....You just got the feeling that he ran out of holes.....Smashes that Srixon driver of his too......

Raphaël JACQUELIN wears cool pants. Not Poulter cool, but cool.
KJ Choi has a funny little hitch in his swing that is more obvious in person. That being said, he sure hits it well...Except on 10 when he hit the worst smother hook you've ever seen......

Angel Cabrerra melts it off the tee. Seriously, he was by far the longest guy out there this week hitting all PING (TiSi Tec FW) with Protopype in all.

I almost forgot to add this: If you bring a cell phone to a professional event, I hate you. If it rings and you are too stupid to put it on silent, then you deserve to be hit with a shovel. Same goes for bringing babies. As much as you want your 18 month old to enjoy golf, all it wants to do is scream and cry, especially when it's 35*C. Get a baby sitter, or stay home.

And finally this tidbit.......Natalie and I were standing at the range watching a few guy warm up when a caddy walks by. He looks at us, sees the BSG hat and says "Bombsquadgolf. You guys are everywhere" and starts to walk off.....I ask him how he knows about BSG and he smiles and says "My boss checks it now and again to see what everyone thinks of him" :lol: ....... :tup:

Anyway, thats all I can think of right now......I'll add to this if I can think of anything else.....
Speirsy11

Moe Norman
13th February 2006, 02:30 PM
i've tried ti sign up for BSG hundreds of times, but the confirmation e-mail thing must be broken.

BrisVegas
13th February 2006, 02:35 PM
i've tried ti sign up for BSG hundreds of times, but the confirmation e-mail thing must be broken.

no, it's because I tipped em off about you! :smt002 :mrgreen:

Jarro
13th February 2006, 08:42 PM
Speirsy ... can you tell me if Freddie was using the R510 ????? looked like it on the coverage that i saw.

;)

Speirsy11
13th February 2006, 09:55 PM
Speirsy ... can you tell me if Freddie was using the R510 ????? looked like it on the coverage that i saw.

;)

Sure looked like it to me too. I really didn't stand too close to him when he was hitting tee shots, but it certainly wasn't BStone.....I'm 95% sure it was a R510DF/TP

Jarro
13th February 2006, 09:59 PM
man if that's the case, he's had one in the bag on and off for a looooong time ;)

8)

nice post by the way.

McMw
13th February 2006, 10:03 PM
nice post...
I know Poulter is donning Cobra...but what is his setup??? all titleist???

Speirsy11
14th February 2006, 11:25 AM
nice post...
I know Poulter is donning Cobra...but what is his setup??? all titleist???

V-Steel FW, Cobra 454 driver (I think, not 100% sure), Cobra blades (Sooooooooooo sweet.....but obviously only for excellent ball strikers, hacks need not apply here), Scotty putter.......

McMw
14th February 2006, 10:10 PM
cheers...

I saw the titleist driver in his bag when he was on telly for the UAE tournaments...maybe he's switched after JB's run with the 454... :lol:

Speirsy11
15th February 2006, 08:54 AM
Spiersy,
What do you think of the course ?
The course was in great shape and is really quite a good modern design. HUGE greens with tons of rolls, excellent bunkering too. It's one of those courses that isn't really a top amateur course, or a major course, but is perfect for the average tour event. Lots of parking, lots of room for grandstands, toilets, etc...No pesky trees blocking views.......Stadium golf at its best....In great condition too....

I was actually a pretty big fan of it. I wouldn't want to play it every day, I just prefer more traditional designs (you can read that as American traditional if you want) but it seems like a great course to hold a TOUR event at.

McMw
15th February 2006, 04:14 PM
pics I just saw has Couples with the 300 irons, and bridgestone wedges...
AND the S2H2 3wood...

love the look of Poulter's blades!!!