Tom Watson accepts invitation

to play in Omega Dubai Desert

Classic early next month

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE EUROPEAN TOUR

Eight-time Major Championship winner and World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Watson will headline a star-cast at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at the Emirates Golf Club from February 1 - 7.
The 60 year old American will make a rare appearance among The European Tour’s leading players as he looks to rekindle the magic that saw him finish runner-up to Stewart Cink in The 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry.
Watson showed he can still give the big-hitting younger generation players a run for their money when he led The Open Championship going down the last hole at Turnberry but a closing bogey prevented him from becoming the oldest winner of The Claret Jug at the age of 59.
Cink went on to win the ensuing play-off and deny Watson a record-equalling sixth Open Championship, at the venue of his epic “Duel in the Sun” with Jack Nicklaus in 1977, but Watson’s performance will live long in the memory.
From the time he won the Kansas City Match Play championship aged 14, Watson went on to win The Open Championship five times; the Masters Tournament twice, and the US Open Championship once. He led the PGA Tour in wins six years, in money five years, in scoring three years. He was PGA Tour Player of the Year six times.
He will look to write another piece of history around Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis course when he attempts to become the oldest winner of the huge Omega Dubai Desert Classic trophy, replacing Mark O’Meara who took the title in 2004, aged 47 years and 54 days.
Watson is already looking forward to what could be an intriguing battle in the sun.
He said: “I am anxious to visit Dubai since I have heard so many good things about it. Additionally, I am looking forward to playing in a city that seems to be making good progress as a golfing destination, possibly due in part to the success of the Dubai Desert Classic.
“I am very appreciative of the invitation to compete in this tournament. The tournament has attracted some of the best golfers in the world and the winner’s list is quite impressive. I would be very proud and pleased to be able to add my name to that list. Again, my thanks to the organisers of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and the sponsors for giving me the opportunity to compete.”.
Mohamed Juma Buamaim, vice chairman and CEO of golf in DUBAi, the promoters and organisers of the $2.5 million event, said: “We are indeed delighted to have a player of the stature and calibre of Tom Watson in the field. His presence will be a source of inspiration for many youngsters who aim to take up golf as career.”
“Tom is a great player we all know, and if you look at his work in raising funds for ALS-related causes and other charities it shows he is an even better human being. I wish Tom a pleasant stay and hopes he returns home with fond memories of the city.”
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Grant Waite switches to putting left-handed in bid

to save career from total eclipse

FROM THE STUFF.CO.NZ WEBSITE
In a last-ditch effort to save his career from total eclipse, former US PGA Tour winner Grant Waite has decided to putt left-handed.
His new style will be on display this month at the New Zealand PGA Championship in Christchurch and the New Zealand Open at The Hills course near Queenstown after the US-based Kiwi was given much-needed invitations to both events.
He has also been given an exemption into next month's Moonah Classic in Australia. That event, like the New Zealand Open, is joint-sanctioned with the Nationwide Tour, the tier below the US PGA Tour.
Waite, 45, finished 134th on the Nationwide moneylist last year with just $US31,445 ($43,200). He also picked up $US6756 in two starts on the PGA Tour.
It's a long way down from his career zenith in the early 1990s when he won the New Zealand Open in 1992 and the US PGA Tour's Kemper Open in 1993.
His last big moment on the US PGA Tour came in 2000 at the Canadian Open when he finished runner-up to Tiger Woods, beaten by a single shot after Woods produced a miracle fairway bunker shot on the 18th hole in the final round.
Because of his low ranking, Waite has no official status on the Nationwide Tour and is no longer a member of the Australasian Tour, so would not have qualified to play at either the Open nor the Moonah Classic.
Good results in New Zealand and Australia might be just the thing to kick-start his career.
"He needs this to re-establish his credentials," said Bob Tuohy, the promoter for the NZ PGA Championship and NZ Open.
"He needs badly to have a couple of nice weeks in Queenstown and Moonah Links to get his year going."
But if Waite is truly to realise his dream of playing again on the PGA Tour, the switch to left-handed putting will be the key.
Waite has long been regarded as one of the best ball-strikers in the game but putting has been his ball and chain.
The irony is that he is a natural left-hander and ended up playing golf right-handed only because of a lack of left-handed equipment when he was learning.
Former professional Craig Perks, writing in this month's New Zealand Golf Magazine, revealed Waite's decision to switch.
"It has been the short stick that has been Grant's major source of frustration throughout the years and has actually culminated in the reality that he has decided to take this last shot at saving his career by putting left-handed," he writes.
"Grant has tried to improve his putting with every method known to man, from putting cross-handed to using the belly putter. He started playing golf as a lefty ... to this day, anything that involves touch, feel and distance recognition, Grant performs left-handed, so it seems a no-brainer to try putting left-handed."
Last year at the New Zealand Open Waite was tied for second going into the last day. However, as he put it, "horrendous putting killed any chance of winning. The weakest part of my game is the most important".
Tuohy revealed another boost to the Open field with news left-handed Kiwi Tim Wilkinson will be coming back to New Zealand for the event.
Wilkinson will play the Sony Open in Hawaii the week ahead of the Open and will make a hit-and-run trip to Queenstown before returning to Los Angeles the following week for the Northern Trust Open.