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Leisure Golf and Tournament Golf

Source: Chuck Evans @ Medicus Corporate

Playing golf with your Sunday group is a completely different animal then playing and preparing for golf tournaments.

First, there is no pressure when playing with your group of regulars. You generally shoot the same scores, have the same handicap and get out to enjoy the surroundings. If you miss a putt it may cost you some “skin” money or a beverage of choice but you will see these guys again next week.
Tournament play on the other hand is much different. Instead of three players trying to beat you, like your regular group, there are 154 players all trying to do the same thing — win the tournament.
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Product Based Website Aims To Improve Golf Swing Mechanics

Source: WebWire

The Golf Swing Help Site recently announced a new endorsement, the Dual Hinge Medicus 5 Iron Golf Swing Trainer, aimed at greatly improving the golf swing mechanics of its clients.
Nishal Singh, affiliate manager of the Golf Swing Help Site and experienced golfer, is excited about the wide range of products recommend on his site. He knows firsthand that the Medicus line of trainers are effective as his own handicaps were cut in half after using the Medicus golf clubs, particularly the Dual Hinge Medicus 5 Iron Golf Swing Trainer.

Ben Hogan once explained the reason for his slow motion practice swings by saying, “At this pace I can control the golf club and everything in my swing. Whenever I’m working on something I always do it in slow motion. That way I can monitor what I am doing.”
Likewise those using the Dual Hinge Medicus 5 Iron Golf Swing Trainer will quickly learn that it requires the golfer to move extremely slowly in order to identify the golf swing mechanics that need improvement. Any issue in tempo or plane will result in the club breaking, forcing the golfer to take the time to identify what aspect of the golf swing mechanics need improvement. With practice and patience the Dual Hinge Medicus 5 Iron Golf Swing Trainer can dramatically improve the golf swing.

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Anthony Kim to play on European Tour in 2009

Source: The Canadian Press

Anthony Kim has joined the European Tour for next season, leading what is expected to become a migration of high-profile American golfers to spend more time playing in lucrative tournaments overseas.

The 23-year-old Kim, who has shot up to No. 8 in the world rankings, paid the mandatory 2,000 British pound (C$3,998) fee for membership but will depend on invitations for any event he plays in, the European Tour said Wednesday. He is scheduled to play at the HSBC Championships in Shanghai from Nov. 6-9.

The tour said Camilo Villegas of Colombia had also paid the dues to become a member, meaning both players can feature in next season’s Dubai World Championships, a US$20-million tournament that will replace the Volvo Masters from 2009 as the season finale to determine the tour’s leading player.

“Anytime you get players from the calibre of Camilo and Anthony into the tour, it’s great. It’s an asset, it’s good for golf, it’s good for the European Tour,” Sergio Garcia said.

Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., and Phil Mickelson and have also talked about playing more in Europe next season, and Garcia said he expects several other PGA Tour players to seize on the moneymaking opportunities offered overseas.

“Some of the tournaments we play in the Middle East … are bigger than the ones they play in the U.S. You get good players there, so world rankings points increase,” Garcia said. “At the end of the day, that’s what the big players do it for.”

Over the last six months, Kim has emerged as one of golf’s brightest young prospect with victories in the Wachovia Championship and AT&T National at Congressional, along with a starring role in the United States’ victory at the Ryder Cup. Kim had begun the year at No. 75 in the world.

The 26-year-old Villegas is ranked seventh, meaning eight of the world’s 10 best players will feature in Europe in 2009.

“If you want the tour to grow and get to the level that it deserves, there’s no doubt that you need those big players,” Garcia said from the Volvo Masters.

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Kim and Villegas confirm plans to join Euro Tour next season

By: SkySports

Sergio Garcia has spoken of his delight at the fact that both Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas have agreed to join the European Tour next season.

Kim and Villegas have now confirmed their intentions to play on both sides of the Atlantic by paying their European Tour joining fees.

Garcia revealed he had played a part in convincing the duo to take up their membership and feels they will prove to be huge assets.

“It’s great,” said Garcia ahead of the Volvo Masters where he will be looking to add to his triumph at the Castello Masters last week – an event at which Villegas made his European debut.

“I think any time you can get players of the calibre of Camilo and Anthony into the Tour, it’s great.

“It’s an asset and it’s good for golf. It’s good for the European Tour and it’s nice to see those guys move around a little bit and not only play in the US.

“We’ll welcome them with open arms and we hope they can enjoy it as much as we do.”

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Weir finishes on positive note

By: Toronto Sun

There absolutely is no truth to the rumour that Mike Weir predicted a 58 in yesterday’s final round of the Frys.com Open at the Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor course.

That number would have put Weir into the history books and won him the tournament for the second year in a row. His lighthearted remark described the way he was feeling, combined with the spectacular conditions in the Valley of the Sun.

“I didn’t predict it,” Weir said with a grin. “I said: ‘I’m going to go after it.’ I didn’t predict anything, but I was going to try.”

Weir’s style all along never has had anything to do with boasts. When he has hit the peaks of his career, it’s always his clubs talking and they were doing just that after Weir came into the last round seven shots off the lead and tied for 24th.

Yesterday, he recorded six birdies and an eagle against just one bogey to finish with a seven-under 63. It wasn’t enough to successfully defend his 2007 Frys.com championship, but it was enough to send him into the off-season in a positive frame of mind.

“(Yesterday), the conditions were right to go after it. The greens were fairly soft. It was a day, from the position I was in, I really needed to try to attack,” said Weir, who tied for fourth.

“I had plenty of opportunities to even be lower. I missed probably four or five putts inside 10 feet. It really, really could have been a special round, but it was still a great round, a good way to finish on the last hole with a nice 25-footer (for birdie).”

Weir won’t play again until the Chevron World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods, just before Christmas.

“After this week, I’m off until Tiger’s event in California, but I’m just going to try to be at home,” said Weir, adding that he isn’t tempted to try one more event after the 63.

“I’m tired,” he said. “I put everything I had into this week and practised hard. I’m ready for a break and my family’s ready for me to be home for awhile.”

His performance yesterday did provide a spectacular finish, but not as spectacular as last year when Weir came down the stretch with a win against Woods at the Presidents Cup and the victory in Scottsdale, which ended a winless streak of three-and-a-half years.

“I think it definitely restored some confidence. I still was confident in my game and I was playing well,” recalled Weir, who had gone 87 starts without a win before tying the late George Knudson for most victories by a Canadian on the PGA Tour with his triumph in Scottsdale.

“When you’re able to do that, come through, it just reminds you that you can still do it when you need to and have to do it.

“It was a much nicer off-season, finishing with a win like that. I did go overseas and play and represent Canada in the World Cup in China last year, but outside of that, it was a nice, relaxing, very satisfying off-season with the way I finished the year with the Presidents Cup and winning here,” he said.

It appeared that Weir would bolt from the gate in 2008 when he finished fourth at the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua, but that was his lone top-10 until the beginning of June when Weir tied for second at the Memorial.

That finish illustrated that work on his short game was starting to pay off. While the latter stages of this year didn’t include a tournament win or a victory against the No. 1 player in the world, it was sprinkled with some sugar as Weir now has seven top-10s since the Memorial, including four in his last five events.

While the final stages of last season, when he recorded just four top-10s all year, was all about wins, the latter part of 2008 is all about consistency, especially in the FedEx Cup playoffs in which Weir tied for seventh at The Barclays, was runner-up at the Deutsche Bank and tied for sixth at the Tour Championship.

It’s enough to send him into the off-season into a positive frame of mind, especially since dialing in his wedges and improving his putting over the last few months of the season.

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Defending champ Mike Weir final around Frys.Com Open

By: Golf World: Week in Pictures

Defending champ Mike Weir tees off the par three 8th hole during the final round of the Frys.Com Open held at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Mark Weir in final round of the Fry's.Com Open

Mike Weir Miracle Golf Drive for Kids

The Mike Weir Foundation and Children’s Miracle Network supported by the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada have joined forces to create something never done before – a concerted national effort to raise $10 million for children’s health care through golf and related activities.

Become involved

PGA Tour Statistics

By: International Herald Tribune

1, Sergio Garcia, 69.12. 2, Phil Mickelson, 69.17. 3 (tie), Padraig Harrington and Anthony Kim, 69.28. 5, Camilo Villegas, 69.49. 6, Vijay Singh, 69.58. 7, Robert Allenby, 69.66. 8, Jim Furyk, 69.69. 9, Stuart Appleby, 69.73. 10, Justin Leonard, 69.77.

Driving Distance

1, Bubba Watson, 315.2. 2, Robert Garrigus, 311.9. 3, J.B. Holmes, 310.9. 4, Dustin Johnson, 309.9. 5, Steve Allan, 303.8. 6, Tag Ridings, 303.2. 7, Nick Watney, 303.1. 8, Adam Scott, 302.1. 9, Davis Love III, 302.0. 10, Charles Warren, 301.7.

Driving Accuracy Percentage

1, Olin Browne, 80.22%. 2, Mark Brooks, 74.83%. 3, Zach Johnson, 73.91%. 4, Omar Uresti, 73.90%. 5, Bart Bryant, 73.87%. 6, Heath Slocum, 73.59%. 7, Robert Gamez, 73.49%. 8, Scott Verplank, 72.94%. 9 (tie), Gavin Coles and Chez Reavie, 72.56%.

Greens in Regulation Pct.

1, Harrison Frazar, 70.81%. 2, Joe Durant, 70.61%. 3, Briny Baird, 70.37%. 4, John Huston, 70.05%. 5, John Riegger, 69.77%. 6, Kent Jones, 69.64%. 7, Hunter Mahan, 69.61%. 8, Robert Allenby, 69.47%. 9, John Senden, 69.08%. 10, J.J. Henry, 68.67%.

Total Driving

1, Jason Gore, 59. 2, Charles Warren, 73. 3, Nicholas Thompson, 88. 4, John Merrick, 92. 5, John Riegger, 98. 6 (tie), Joe Durant and Charley Hoffman, 105. 8 (tie), Mathew Goggin, John Rollins and Ryan Moore, 116.

Putting Average

1, Bob Tway, 1.716. 2, Ryan Palmer, 1.723. 3, Daniel Chopra, 1.725. 4 (tie), Padraig Harrington and Aaron Baddeley, 1.742. 6, Brian Gay, 1.743. 7, Nathan Green, 1.744. 8 (tie), Justin Leonard and John Mallinger, 1.747. 10, Shane Bertsch, 1.748.

Birdie Average

1, Ryan Palmer, 4.13. 2 (tie), Bob Tway and Robert Garrigus, 3.87. 4, John Huston, 3.86. 5, Camilo Villegas, 3.83. 6, Kenny Perry, 3.79. 7, Phil Mickelson, 3.78. 8, Jason Gore, 3.77. 9, Padraig Harrington, 3.76. 10, Rory Sabbatini, 3.70.

Eagles (Holes per)

1, Chad Campbell, 105.8. 2, Mathias Gronberg, 118.5. 3, Brenden Pappas, 120.0. 4, Will MacKenzie, 121.5. 5, Bob Sowards, 123.8. 6, Pat Perez, 127.4. 7, John Riegger, 130.0. 8, Matt Jones, 130.5. 9, Charles Warren, 135.0. 10, Nick Watney, 138.0.

Sand Save Percentage

1, Dudley Hart, 63.87%. 2, Corey Pavin, 63.11%. 3, Phil Mickelson, 62.50%. 4, Daniel Chopra, 62.25%. 5, Mike Weir, 62.09%. 6, Mark Wilson, 60.14%. 7, Tom Scherrer, 58.14%. 8 (tie), Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter, 58.06%. 10, Brian Davis, 57.89%.

All-Around Ranking

1, Pat Perez, 312. 2, Bob Tway, 357. 3, Anthony Kim, 384. 4, Phil Mickelson, 396. 5, Chad Campbell, 402. 6, Stewart Cink, 403. 7, Mathew Goggin, 415. 8, Camilo Villegas, 422. 9, Mark Wilson, 428. 10, Justin Leonard, 449.

PGA TOUR Official Money Leaders

1, Vijay Singh, (23), $6,601,094. 2, Tiger Woods, (6), $5,775,000. 3, Phil Mickelson, (21), $5,188,875. 4, Sergio Garcia, (19), $4,858,224. 5, Kenny Perry, (26), $4,663,794. 6, Anthony Kim, (22), $4,656,265. 7, Camilo Villegas, (22), $4,422,641. 8, Padraig Harrington, (15), $4,313,551. 9, Stewart Cink, (22), $3,963,661. 10, Justin Leonard, (25), $3,943,542.

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Tour Updates

Charismatic Colombian Villegas set to shake up Shanghai

Written by: EuropeanTour.com

Charismatic Colombian Camilo Villegas, one of the most exciting young talents in the game, will bring his own brand of swashbuckling golf to the fairways of the Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai from November 6 -9 when he lines up in the field for the HSBC Champions.

The 26 year old with the movie star looks will supplement the galaxy of stars already confirmed for the fourth staging of the US$5 million tournament which is co-sanctioned by The European Tour, the Asian Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, the Sunshine Tour and the China Golf Association.

It will not be Villegas’ first taste of the special HSBC Champions atmosphere, however, having made his debut in the tournament which heralded the start of the 2007 European Tour International Schedule, and where he finished in a tie for 23rd place in the event won by Korea’s Y E Yang.

“I know what to expect because I played in Shanghai two years ago,” he said. “But I am so glad that I didn’t miss out on it this year.”

The inclusion of Villegas in the field further strengthens what is already a superb line up; headed by defending champion and World Number Two Phil Mickelson of the United States and Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, a winner of two Major Championships in 2008. In addition, reigning Masters Tournament Champion Trevor Immelman will tee up alongside players of the calibre of Sergio Garcia, Anthony Kim, Geoff Ogilvy, Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson.

Villegas has, of course, already illustrated he is more than capable of winning in the most exalted of company having done just that on no less than two occasions in the United States last month.

There, he won the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club in Missouri before, three weeks later, he captured The Tour Championship presented by Coca Cola at East Lake Golf Club in Georgia. Those two events were, of course, the final two counting events in the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Series, victories which saw Villegas take second place in the Series behind Fiji’s Vijay Singh.

“I’m in the form of my life and I can’t wait to take on all the other top players in Shanghai, he said. “Obviously Phil Mickelson is there to defend his title but I’m definitely going there to win.”

Of course, the HSBC Champions also heralds the start of the inaugural Race to Dubai on The 38th European Tour International Schedule, a global journey which will comprise some 53 tournaments in 26 destinations before reaching a thrilling crescendo with The Dubai World Championship on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai in November 2009.

Playing on The European Tour International Schedule and, hence, vying for The Race to Dubai has captured the imagination of all the top players across the world and Villegas is no exception. “The Race to Dubai is going to catch a lot of players’ attention and it will be nice to see some of the US guys come across the Pond,” he said.

“I am joining The European Tour for the 2009 season because I’ve always wanted to play around the world but if you’re not in the top 50 (on the Official World Golf Ranking) then that is almost impossible.

“But I’ve had a great finish to the year and managed to crack the top ten and once you do that and are guaranteed a place in the Major Championships and the World Golf Championships, then the maths becomes a little easier. I haven’t mapped out my full schedule for the year just yet, I’m still working on that, but I’m looking forward very much to getting under way in China next week.”

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