HOME PLAYERS RULE ON DAY 1 OF AUSTRALIAN MASTER OF AMATEURS CHAMPIONSHIP

Queensland's James Gibellini has an early lead at Royal Melbourne. Picture: Derwin Elise Source: News Limited

 

Queensland and Australia's love affair with Royal Melbourne continued today with another dashing performance on the world golf stage.

Just six weeks after Queenslanders Jason Day and Adam Scott powered their way to World Cup glory at the same venue, their fellow "Maroons" James Gibellini and Simon Viitakangas leapt to the top of the Australian Master of the Amateurs scoreboard after round one.
Joining them at two-under-par 70 on the West Course at Royal is Victorian Frazer Droop, of Yarrawonga, who overcame an early double-bogey on the par-three fifth with a late eagle on the 15th to join the lead.
But on a jam-packed leaderboard, the top 30 are all within four strokes, including defending champion Viraat Badhwar another Queenslander, on 73.
Capping a great day for the host nation, Australia's two-man team of Taylor McDonald (74) and Lucas Herbert (70) have gone into the early lead of the World Cup competition against players from eight other nations.
The pair's total of two-over 146 gives them a one-shot edge over the highly fancied American team, with Mexico and China a further two shots adrift.
England's representatives did not have a very good day.
Best was Ryan Evans with a 74, followed by Harry Casey on 78 and Seb Crookall-Nixon on 80, the third worst score in the elite field of 54 players, 51 of whom are world-ranked amateurs.

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THREE SCOTTISH LINKS FIGURE IN WORLD'S TOP EIGHT - GOLFER'S DIGEST

Royal County Down Golf Club's links is the best golf course in Europe, according to a poll by Golf Digest Magazine. Pictured above is the imposing clubhouse at the Newcastle, Northern Ireland venue. Picture by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

Neither Augusta National, the home of the Masters, nor the Old Course at St. Andrews, the home of golf, took top honours in a recent ranking of the world's 100 greatest courses.

The exclusive Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey came in at No. 1 on Golf Digest's list, with Cypress Point and its magnificent views of the Northern California coast near Pebble Beach ranking No. 2.

Augusta National was third while the Old Course at St. Andrews rated seventh. Royal County Down (Northern Ireland) was fourth, Shinnecock Hills on Long Island was fifth.

Of the courses from Nos. 6-10, three -- St. Andrews, Muirfield and Oakmont -- all host major championships while a fourth -- Royal Melbourne -- recently held the World Cup of Golf and includes the Presidents Cup in 2011 on its résumé.

Forty of the top 100 courses are in the U.S. The panelists, according to the magazine, included more than 800 "knowledgeable, well-travelled" golfers.

Here's a list of the top 10 courses:

• No. 1 Pine Valley Golf Club (Pine Valley, New Jersey.)

• No. 2 Cypress Point Club (Pebble Beach, California)

• No. 3 Augusta National (Augusta, Georgia.)

• No. 4 Royal County Down (Newcastle, N. Ireland)

• No. 5 Shinnecock Hills (Southampton, New York State)

• No. 6 Royal Dornoch (North of Scotland)

• No. 7 St Andrews Old Course (Fife).

• No. 8 Muirfield (Gullane, East Lothian)

• No. 9 Royal Melbourne West (Australia) 

• No. 10 Oakmont (Oakmont, Pennsylvania)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Not a mention of any courses in England, even though the Open is played at Royal St George's, Royal Lytham and St Annes, Royal Liverpool and Royal Birkdale.

Nor do any courses on the Continent figure.  Which suggests that the  800 "knowledgeable and well-travelled" panellists should get out and about more.

    Royal Dornoch's sea of golden broom at a particular time of the year.

TIGER MADE $83million LAST YEAR ON AND OFF THE GOLF COURSE

Tiger Woods raked in $31 million more than any other golfer in 2013, according to a report in the February issue of Golf Digest. 
No surprise, Woods, a five-time winner last year, topped Digest’s annual money list, with $83 million ($71M off the course, $12M on). 
That was decidedly more than Phil Mickelson ($52M), Arnold Palmer ($40M), Jack Nicklaus ($26M), Henrik Stenson ($19M) and Rory McIlroy ($18M).
Remarkably, Woods’ 2013 haul pushed his career total past $1.3 billion – about 88 percent of which (or $1.16 billion, according to Digest) came from endorsements. 
In 2009, Forbes reported that Woods was the first athlete to reach $1 billion in earnings. Assuming he stays healthy, the 38-year-old Woods has the potential to cross $1.5 billion in earnings by the time he turns 40.

 TIGER'S 2014 DEBUT AT TORREY PINES
Woods will again make his US PGA Tour seasonal debut in the Farmers Insurance Open from January 23 to 26  at arguably his favourite golf course, Torrey Pines in California.
Tournament organisers have confirmed that the world No 1 and Phil Mickelson will be teeing up at the San Diego venue, where Woods has enjoyed phenomenal success in his career.
Woods became the first player in US PGA Tour history to win eight titles at the same venue last year, winning the event for the seventh time in addition to his memorable US Open victory in 2008.
The 38-year-old has won on five of his last six visits to the south California lay-out, while his epic play-off win over Rocco Mediate five years ago remains his last major championship triumph.
Woods won five times on the US PGA Tour last year to take his career tally to 79 - just three behind the all-time record of Sam Snead.
The 14-time major champion will defend his title at the end of the month before heading to the United Arab Emirates to play in the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic.
Local resident Mickelson was victorious at Torrey Pines way back in 1993 and has lifted the title three times overall, and this year's event will also mark his first start of 2014.
Woods took control of last year's tournament with a second-round 65 as he cruised to a four-shot win over Brandt Snedeker and Josh Teater, while Mickelson failed to break 70 and finished 14 shots off the pace.
LIVE coverage of the Farmers Insurance Open starts at 8pm on Thursday, January 23 on Sky Sports 4

GOLF STARS SHOW THEIR SKILL IN SOUTH AFRICAN FOOTBALL STADIUM

Left to right: Former South African cricketer Shaun Pollock, Louis Oosthuizen, Padraig Harrington, Branden Grace, former Springbok captain John Smit, and radio presenter Darryn Maule in the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban

FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Defending champion Louis Oosthuizen, 2012 winner Branden Grace and three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington took part is some target practice with a difference inside Durban’s spectacular Moses Mabhida Stadium ahead of this week’s Volvo Golf Champions Tournament.

The trio, who were also joined by former South African cricketer Shaun Pollock, hit shots from the top tier of the 2010 football World Cup stadium to a bull’s-eye target 155 yards away, approximately 65 yards below on the pitch. 

All three players will be taking part in the US $4million ‘tournament of champions’ at Durban Country Club, where they will be hoping to start the 2014 golf calendar year with a victory.

The 54,000 capacity Moses Mabhida Stadium, which overlooks the course, hosted seven matches during the World Cup and provided the stunning backdrop for the fun challenge, with all three players successfully hitting the target.

Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion at St Andrews, said: “I actually felt quite nervous in front of everybody. It was good fun but it was difficult because you didn’t know what the wind was doing.

“The conditions were completely different to what we are used to but that made it fun. I like the way Volvo try different things. It makes it very interesting. It didn’t quite get the rust off though – I think I need another practice round.”

Compatriot Grace also enjoyed the contest ahead of the real challenge of trying to regain the Volvo Golf Champions title from Oosthuizen.

“That was great fun,” he said. “Hitting between two Major Champions – I will take that as a warm- up any day. It was fantastic to be in this spectacular stadium where so much sporting history was made, and to hit at the target under completely different circumstances.”

Grace will be looking to continue his fine record in Volvo sponsored events, having won this title two years ago when the event was played at Fancourt and also the Volvo China Open the same year.

He finished tied seventh at Durban Country Club 12 months ago and is looking for another strong performance this week. 

“I don't know what it is, but Volvo keep choosing golf courses I like playing,” said Grace. “And when they choose courses I haven’t played, I like them by the end of the week.

“This event is a great way to start the year, and I had a good week last year. This year with the heat, it's going to play a lot firmer and faster and I'm sure by Thursday, it's going to be something completely different to what we expect.”

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

RICKIE FOWLER HIRES BUTCH HARMON TO OVERHAUL HIS SWING

FROM Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.Com
Without a coach since Barry McDonell passed away in 2011, US PGA Tour player Rickie Fowler has hired Butch Harmon to overhaul his swing, according to GolfDigest.com.

The two have been working together since December when Fowler (pictured) tied for eighth in Thailand.
"We've shared video (since then)," Harmon told the website. "He's done good work to clean up things in the swing mechanically."
Fowler has one win in 107 starts on the US PGA Tour and will make his 2014 debut next week at the Humana Challenge.

"I love the kid," Harmon (pictured left) added. "The thing I like is he's been saying 'I want to be known more for my golf than my clothes and my hat. I want to contend in majors." 

ENGLAND SEND FOUR TO SOUTH AMERICAN AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

European amateur champion Ashley Chesters (Hawkstone Park) has the chance to conquer another continent later this month. The 24-year-old has been selected along with Paul Howard (Southport and Ainsdale), Nick Marsh (Huddersfield), and Jimmy Mullen (Royal North Devon) to contest the South American amateur championship at Barranquilla Country Club in Colombia from January 22 to 25. Chesters (image copyright Tom Ward Photography) won the European title by one stroke from Spain’s David Morago at El Prat last August.   His selection means the England international, who finished eighth on the Titleist/FootJoy England Golf Order of Merit last year, has the chance to emulate Callum Shinkwin, now a professional, who brought the South American crown back to England a year ago. Howard made his full England debut in last year’s winning Home Internationals team at Ganton, which capped a successful 2013 for the 23-year-old. He finished fifth in the Welsh Open stroke-play championship and equal ninth in the St Andrews Links Trophy and helped Lancashire lift the English men's county championship by winning five of his six games. Marsh also made his full England debut at Ganton, having reached the quarter-finals of the British amateur championship and finished tied fifth in the Chiberta Grand Prix in France. The 19- year-old also finished runner-up in the North of England youths and the Welsh open youths championships and was ninth on the England Golf 2013 Order of Merit. Mullen, 20, was another England debutant at Ganton in a season in which he lost a play-off for the Bernard Darwin Salver, finished tied third in the Brabazon Trophy (achieving a hole-in-one during the final round) and equal fourth in the South-east of England links championship. Like Howard, he won five of his six games representing Devon at the English men's county championship finals at Minchinhampton. The South American amateur championship is a 72-hole stroke play event. Press Office England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 01526 354 500

TIGER'S GIRLFRIEND UNFIT TO COMPETE IN NEXT MONTH'S WINTER OLYMPICS

GolfTalkCentral

'Devastated' Vonn unable to compete in Sochi

FROM GOLFTALK CENTRAL WEBSITE
By RYAN LAVNER

Tiger Woods likely won’t be heading to Russia next month.
Woods’ girlfriend, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, announced today that she will be unable to compete in the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi because of a knee injury. She will undergo another surgery to repair an MCL sprain in her knee.
“I am devastated to announce that I will not be able to compete in Sochi,” Vonn wrote on her Facebook page. 
“I did everything I possibly could to somehow get strong enough to overcome having no ACL, but the reality has sunk in that my knee is just too unstable to compete at this level. I’m having surgery soon so that I can be ready for the World Championships at home in Vail next February.
“On a positive note, this means there will be an additional spot so that one of my teammates can go for gold. Thank you all so much for all of the love and support. I will be cheering for all of the Olympians and especially team USA!”
Vonn spent much of 2013 rehabbing from a crash in February in which she tore both the ACL and MCL in her right knee. She had recovered well enough to compete in an event this fall, but she crashed during a training run and sprained her MCL. 
In December, when asked whether he would travel to Sochi to watch Vonn compete, Woods said: “I think that’s just day-to-day. We just don’t know how her leg’s going to be. We’ll just take it day-to-day, race-to-race.”
This news likely means that Woods will be able to compete in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, which begins on February19 in Arizona. 

GRAEME McDOWELL GETS USA AWARD FOR BEING ACCOMMODATING TO THE MEDIA

FROM THE GOLFTALK CENTRAL WEBSITE

Ken Duke, Rhonda Glenn and Graeme McDowell have been honoured by the Golf Writers Association of America for their various contributions to the sport.

Duke won the Ben Hogan Award for remaining active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness (scoliosis). Duke, who still has a 16-inch metal rod attached to his spine, won his first US PGA Tour event last summer at the Travelers Championship. 
Glenn, 67, was named the winner of the William D Richardson Award for consistently making outstanding contributions to golf. 
For 47 years, she served in the communications department at the USGA. In 1981, she was the first full-time national TV network female sportscaster when she began broadcasting at ESPN. 
McDowell, pictured, meanwhile, won the ASAP Sports/Jim Murray Award for being accommodating to the media.
“I take my relationship with the media very seriously,” McDowell said. “I’m pretty honest to a fault at times. It’s very important to me. 
"You guys give us exposure globally. You’re a very important cog in the whole golf – and sports – machine. It’s important – good, bad or ugly – to give you an idea of what’s going on in my head and with my game.”
Duke, Glenn and McDowell will be presented their honours on April 9 at the annual GWAA Awards Dinner in Augusta, Georgia. 

TORPHIN HILL GOLF CLUB CLOSES ITS DOORS - AND COURSE - AFTER 120 YEARS

Torphin Hill Golf Club was founded almost 120 years ago in 1895. Picture: Ian Rutherford

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE

By MARTIN DEMPSTER

THERE were no tears. In fact, it was more like a celebration than a wake. Yet this was the day that a band of golfers, male and female, gathered to say farewell to an “old friend”.
Founded in 1895, Torphin Hill Golf Club is now officially closed, a valiant effort by a dwindling membership over the last few years having failed to stop it slipping into administration and being wound up.
It’s a sad tale, one that has come on the back of near neighbour Lothianburn also being forced to shut its doors, but the Torphin Hill die-hards, many of whom had been members for 30 years or more, were determined to use a valedictory event to remember the good times.
“We are here to say goodbye to a dear old friend, one that has given us so much pleasure over the years,” said Christopher Davies, the club secretary. “Torphin Hill does not rank as a prestigious club, but it ranks in the Super League when it comes to people – their emotional loyalty to the club is exceptional.”
Ticking along nicely when it had close to 500 members in 2006, the total had fallen to just over 320 last June, when the ‘ordinary’ membership, the figure that really matters, was only 124. 
Described by one member as a club that had been “limping along in difficult and horrible times,” annual running costs were slashed from just over £200,000 to under £130,000. But, despite the introduction of an “affordable golf” concept, it simply proved to be a losing battle.
“It’s been tough going for the last six years and if it hadn’t been for the hard work by members, both on the course and in the clubhouse, then we wouldn’t have lasted as long as we have,” admitted Vincent Robinson, a member for 36 years and serving his second stint as club captain.
“That effort makes what has happened all the more sadder as it has been to no avail.
“When I was captain first time around in 1988-89, things were good. We had about 400 members back then. You need 300-400 members to keep a club like this going but, unfortunately, we’ve fallen below that in recent years. We’ve been able to get new members, but the problem has been keeping them.”
The disappearance of waiting lists at most capital clubs has contributed to that. So, too, according to both Robinson and Ian Hislop, a member for 40 years and a former club champion, is Torphin Hill’s terrain, with the future use for the land now in the hands of an equestrian company that owns it.
“What I think it boils down to is that people don’t want to play golf on a hill these days and also don’t have to any more,” said Hislop.
Ian is also a member at both Dunbar and Whitekirk and, in recent times, has headed up to Torphin Hill only to play in either the club championship or Senior League matches.
“I think it’s general rather than an age thing. People don’t have to join feeder clubs any more. They can almost get straight into the club of their choice. If you get strangers up to the top of the hill here, they rave about it – it’s getting up there that’s the problem!”
Though now close by, Hislop lived in Leith when he made his first foray to the club that sits on the Pentland Hills.
“I didn’t even know where Torphin was,” he added. “I only knew it was the terminus for the No 10 bus, so I got that up.”
 It’s a journey many have taken over the years but no longer to play golf.
Swanston New, which had its own problems a few years back but has been turned around thanks to a fresh new management approach, is believed to have gained the biggest chunk of former Torphin Hill members. Others are heading for the likes of Baberton, Gogarburn and Kingsknowe.
“It is mournful but, at the same time, a lot of the people here today have enjoyed themselves up here over the years,” said Robinson, who is also a member at Ratho Park. 
“There was a great camaraderie. You never saw anyone standing on that first tee on their own very long. If they were a new member, someone would soon come long and ask if they wanted a game.
“We reduced our prices but it was to no avail, unfortunately. I think it’s a game that is more facility conscious these days than price conscious.
“I know that Ratho have introduced special deals for people under 35 and other clubs have to do similar things. What we’ve found is that it has become increasingly difficult to get people aged between 25 and 40 to join the club.”
Asked to share their memories of the club, it was left to Bobby Henderson, a member for just under 30 years, to hammer home the point that Torphin Hill’s fate certainly wasn’t sealed by a lack of spirit.
“It will live whenever and wherever we – the folk who played on the Hill – meet,” he declared.

ZACH JOHNSON WINS US PGA TOUR YEAR OPENER ON HAWAII

 

Zach Johnson with trophy - and a Hawaii garland - after his victory.   Picture from the US PGA Tour website 

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
 In the final round of the 2014 Hyundai Tournament of Champions, Zach Johnson shot a 7-under 66 to win by two strokes at Kapalua, Hawaii.  
Johnson is taking his place among the big boys in golf with two of the shortest clubs in his bag. On a Plantation Course that should be paradise for the game's longest hitters, Johnson chipped in for his opening birdie and then hit four exquisite wedge shots on the back nine Monday to rally from two shots behind, close with a 7-under 66 and win the $1,140,000 first prize.

HYUNDAI TOC

Final leaderboard
Results, points 
Johnson's finish
TOUR Report notes
Leaders' stat summary
FedExCup standings

"I just picked it apart," Johnson said.
That was pivotal on the back nine, where five players had a chance to win. Johnson ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch, all of them with a wedge in his hand, none of the shots particularly easy.
 He wound up with a one-shot win over Jordan Spieth, the perfect way to start a new year.
Especially after he ended the old one with a win.
Johnson didn't need any heroics this time, not like last month in California in an unofficial event, the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge, when he holed a shot from the drop zone -- with a wedge -- on the final hole and wound up beating Tiger Woods in a play-off. Kapalua was mainly about chipping and putting, and Johnson is among the best.
"Getting the ball in the fairway and giving my wedges a chance was crucial," he said. "It's about plotting my way, putting myself in a yardage spot that I know is going to give me an opportunity."
Johnson, starting his 11th season on the US PGA Tour, won for the 11th time in his career and moved to seventh in the FedExCup standings. 
Since his rookie season in 2004, only Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh have won more on the US PGA Tour.
 It also was Johnson's third win in his last six starts, dating to the BMW Championship outside Chicago in September that qualified him for this winners-only tournament in Kapalua.
Spieth, who earned $665,000 for the runner-up finish, had a one-shot lead going into the back nine and thought only of making three birdies. He started way too late, losing three good birdie chances in the soft, middle portion of the back nine and then finishing with two birdies that only gave him a runner-up finish. He closed with a 70.
"I was very pleased with the finish, being able to birdie the last two holes and at least have somewhat of a chance on 18," said Spieth, who had a 100-foot eagle putt just off the front of the green to force a play-off. 
"But ultimately, 14, 15, 16 really kind of hit me hard in the middle of the back nine."
He made par on all of them, twice missing putts from about 6 feet.
That's where Johnson thrived.
He caught Spieth for the lead with a wedge from 83 yards to about 2 feet for birdie on No. 12.
 Johnson laid back with a 3-wood on the 14th hole and hit wedge to about 8 feet below the hole for birdie and the outright lead. Perhaps the most daunting shot came on the par-5 15th, up a steep slope to a green with a false front. The grain from the fairway and on the green was against him.
"If you just missed it a little bit, it's come back at you," he said. "I hit a great shot."
He followed that with a wedge to 5 feet and a tough, downhill putt that broke sharply toward the ocean that he made for his final birdie.
Webb Simpson, tied with Spieth and defending champion Dustin Johnson to start the final round, never caught up and closed with a 70. Simpson tied for third with Kevin Streelman, who had a 67. With his finish, however, Simpson moved to the top of the FedExCup standings.
Jason Dufner was four strokes back in fifth after a 69.
Dustin Johnson made three bogeys before making his first birdie. He shot 73 and tied for sixth.
Spieth was playing in the final group for the first time and looked poised as ever. With birdies on both par 5s on the front nine, he had the outright lead and looked as though he might become the youngest player with two PGA TOUR wins since Ralph Guldahl in 1932. The signature shot was from a bunker short of the 14th green. He blasted out to 6 feet above the hole for a chance to match birdies with Zach Johnson, in the group ahead.
Except that he missed it.
And then he had to scramble for par on the 15th when what he thought was a perfect shot rolled down the slope 45 yards away. "Yes!" Spieth said when the ball was in flight. But when he saw it land softly and tumble down the hill, he followed that with, "You've got to be kidding me."
It took two chips to reach the green, and only a 10-foot par putt kept him in the game.
Spieth missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the 16th, and the two birdies at the end at least gave him a good start to his new year. He earned 300 FedExCup points to move to 11th in the season-long race.
Simpson, who received some encouraging news about the newborn of caddie Paul Tesori before starting his round, also found the wrong gear with consecutive bogeys early in the round and spent the rest of the day trying to catch up. He birdied three of his last five holes, but that wasn't enough to keep pace with the leader.
Masters champion Adam Scott got within one shot of the lead with an eagle on the 15th hole, only for his wedge to hit the flag on the 16th. He had to settle for par, and he closed with a bogey to finish in the tie for sixth.
Martin Laird earned $87,000 for a 20th place finish with rounds of 71, 72, 70 and 70 for a nine-under-par total of 283 over the par-73 course.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 292 (4x73)
Players from USA unless stated otherwise
273 Zach Johnson 67 66 74 66 ($1,140,000).
274 Jordan Spieth 66 70 69 69 ($665,000)
275 Kevin Streelman 67 71 70 67, Webb Simpson 66 71 68 70 ($382,000 each)
277 Jason Duffner 67 72 69 69 ($276,000)
278 Billy Horschel 72 72 68 66, Matt Kuchar 68 68 75 67, Adam Scott (Australia) 70 70 69 69, Dustin Johnson 70 66 69 73 ($198,750 each).
279 Ryan Moore 67 71 72 69 ($170,000)
280 Harris English 70 71 70 69, Brandt Snedeker 70 69 69 72 ($155,000 each).
SELECTED TOTAL
283 Martin Laird (Scotland) 71 72 70 70 (20th) ($87,000).

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