Want to recieve exclusive news, videos, tournament highlights, golf important tips and more ?
Want to recieve exclusive news, videos, tournament highlights, golf important tips and more ?
Pearls of wisdom from his mother Claudia and reigning Open champion Shane Lowry will be fresh in his mind when David Micheluzzi steps out against some of the world’s best at this week’s Saudi International.
The European Tour event has attracted world No.1 Brooks Koepka, 2016 US Open champ Dustin Johnson and other major champions such as Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson and the newest member of golf’s most exclusive club, Irishman Shane Lowry.
In what has been a whirlwind start to his professional career, Micheluzzi’s past two starts came in South Africa and Singapore and he received an invitation to play this week courtesy of his management company, Lagadere Sports and Entertainment.
Having narrowly missed out on securing a full European Tour card towards the end of 2019, Micheluzzi’s schedule is something of an ever-evolving puzzle, the win by close friend Lucas Herbert just last week in Dubai a reminder of what playing well at the right time can do for your career.
While his mother regularly reminds Micheluzzi to do the best he can and take a lot of photos – “I never do because I’m always at golf” – it is the advice Lowry shared at the opening ceremony on Tuesday night that the 23-year-old will endeavor to heed.
Introduced to Lowry by members of the European Tour’s player liaison team, Micheluzzi dug deep into Lowry’s Open triumph before the Irishman gave the Victorian rookie words of encouragement around what it takes to be successful.
“He knows quite a lot of the amateurs in Ireland who I’m friends with so we got to chatting and he gave me some awesome advice,” said Micheluzzi, who turned professional last October.
“Just really believing in yourself and not putting too much pressure on yourself. When you turn pro there is a lot of expectation and he just said to me that if I’m good enough, it will come.
“It could be a year, it could be 10 years, it could be six years, but just keep working at it and be patient.
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself. Don’t feel pressured to prove to people that you should be on the tour because they think you should be on the tour.
“It was pretty cool to hear it from a guy who has won a major and who has also won quite a few events.”
With only limited Challenge Tour status, Micheluzzi is in a position where every tournament invitation is warmly received, his status as the No.2-ranked amateur in the world prior to joining the professional ranks a handy introduction to tournament organisers.
It has meant that he has been away from his home in Melbourne for 12 of the 17 weeks that he has been a professional and opened his eyes to what life on tour is really like.
“This is definitely the longest stretch of golf I’ve ever had,” said Micheluzzi, who will play the Vic Open and then attend Asian Tour Q School in the coming weeks.
“You don’t really get that as an amateur. The tournaments are scattered. There might be four or five events and then a month off and you don’t really get those consecutive weeks like I’ve had the past few months.
“That’s been the big learning curve along with listening to the body. Walking a practice round rather than playing, having a day off if you need it, I’ve learnt quite a bit about myself in that respect.
“I came to the pro ranks with no status so I had no idea what I could get into.
“I just had to play everything.”
Competing against Koepka, Johnson and Lowry remains something of a novelty for now but the Metropolitan Golf Club member says the higher stakes are already helping to elevate his game.
“The scores probably haven’t shown it in the past three or four months since I turned pro but I feel like my game has definitely improved since I was an amateur,” said Micheluzzi, who has been trawling through the expansive Marvel cinematic universe as he criss-crosses the globe.
“Every shot counts now. If you’re coming 20th in an amateur event it doesn’t really matter how you finish whereas here on the European Tour with the Race to Dubai points, literally every shot matters.
“Just learning how to squeeze everything out of a round when it’s not going so well, that’s been the biggest learning curve.”
As for his former Victorian teammate, Micheluzzi said he was yet to have the chance to congratulate Herbert in person.
“I heard he had a big night Sunday night,” Micheluzzi offered.
“I think he only got in on Tuesday night so I haven’t had a chance to catch up yet. If it doesn’t happen this week I’ll see him at the Vic Open.
“I’ve been on junior state teams and mens state teams with Lucas, travelled heaps together and played Aussie Open with him last year so I know him pretty well.
“It was very cool to see him get over the line.”
If Lucas Herbert needed further convincing that his breakthrough European Tour win in Dubai last week had changed his status in world golf, a quick glance of the Round 1 tee times of the Saudi International should be proof enough.
Now ranked 79 in the world, the Dubai Desert Classic champion has been paired with world No.30 Abraham Ancer and world No.37 Matt Wallace for the opening two rounds at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
In the group behind him is major champions Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson along with Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship winner Lee Westwood, the man from whom Herbert cheekily sought hangover advice in the wake of his emotional victory at Emirates Golf Club.
Westwood’s reply?
“Electrolytes, water, Nurofen, fry up. Not necessarily in that order! Congratulations,” the Race to Dubai leader wrote on Twitter.
Fellow Aussies in the field in Saudi Arabia are tournament invitees Min Woo Lee and David Micheluzzi, Hong Kong Open champion Wade Ormsby, Scott Hend and Kiwi Ryan Fox, world No.1 Brooks Koepka and major champions Johnson, Stenson, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry, Ernie Els and Martin Kaymer adding considerable star power to the tournament.
All told there are 19 Australasian players in action this week in Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Panama, South Africa and Phoenix as the global golf calendar nears top gear.
Sony Open champion Cameron Smith leads the Australian contingent at the Waste Management Phoenix Open that also includes 2007 champion Aaron Baddeley, the Korn Ferry Tour returns to a Thursday start in Panama where Mathew Goggin is a two-time champion while the Champions Tour breaks new ground in Morocco where Rod Pampling, Stephen Leaney and David McKenzie will be hoping to extend the recent run of Aussie success.
Round 1 tee times (AEDT)
European Tour
Saudi International
Royal Greens G&CC, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia
3.55pm* Lucas Herbert, Abraham Ancer, Matt Wallace
4.35pm David Micheluzzi, Faisal Salhab, Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez
8.15pm* Scott Hend, Jamie Elson, Steven Brown
8.35pm* Wade Ormsby, Ryan Fox, Richard McEvoy
Round 1 live TV coverage: 7pm Thursday Fox Sports 503
Defending champion: Dustin Johnson
Australian winners: Nil
Top Aussie prediction: Wade Ormsby
Challenge Tour
Limpopo Championship
Euphoria GC, Modimolle, South Africa
8.30pm* Deyen Lawson, Clinton Grobler, Juran Dreyer
Defending champion: JC Ritchie
Australian winners: Nil
PGA TOUR
Waste Management Phoenix Open
TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona
12.20am Matt Jones, Sean O’Hair, Tom Hoge
12.50am* Cameron Smith, Gary Woodland, Xander Schauffele
1.30am Greg Chalmers, J.B. Holmes, Luke Donald
4.35am* Aaron Baddeley, Danny Lee, Harry Higgs
Round 1 live TV coverage: 7am Friday Fox Sports 503
Defending champion: Rickie Fowler
Australian winners: Bruce Crampton (1973), David Graham (1981), Aaron Baddeley (2007)
Top Aussie prediction: Matt Jones
Korn Ferry Tour
Panama Championship
Club de Golf de Panama, Panama City, Panama
9.50pm Mathew Goggin, Dawie van der Walt, Mike Weir
10.00pm Steven Bowditch, Jason Millard, Grant Hirschman
10.40pm Brett Drewitt, Brian Richey, Shad Tuten
11.10pm Ryan Ruffels, Jordan Niebrugge, David Lipsky
4.00am Harrison Endycott, Tom Whitney, Taylor Pendrith
Defending champion: Michael Gligic
Australian winners: Mathew Goggin (2011, 2015)
Top Aussie prediction: Ryan Ruffels
Champions Tour
Morocco Champions
Samanah GC, Marrakech, Morocco
10.03pm* Stephen Leaney, Bart Bryant, Tommy Armour III
10.47pm* Rod Pampling, Dudley Hart, David Frost
11.09pm* David McKenzie, Larry Mize, Steve Pate
Round 1 live TV coverage: 1.30am Friday Fox Sports 503
Top Aussie prediction: Rod Pampling
* Starting from 10th tee
Two-time Australian Open champion Aaron Baddeley has dug deep into his stockpile of memorabilia to put together an auction item to raise funds for bushfire disaster relief.
Playing in this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale – the site of his second PGA TOUR title in 2007 – Baddeley has donated a signed driver, cap, glove and photo along with a ‘Badds’-stamped Vokey wedge, promising to personalise the photo from his 2016 Barbasol Championship victory specifically for the highest bidder.
One of a number of lots being auctioned by Fundraising Auctions under the #SportTheFireCrisis banner, after four days the highest bid on Baddeley’s collectibles stands at $1,100 with all proceeds to go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.
Given the recent wins by Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman in the wake of their efforts to raise funds to support people affected by the bushfire crisis in Australia perhaps Baddeley’s act of generosity will serve as a good omen at a tournament where he boasts an impressive record.
A resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, Baddeley required a sponsor’s exemption to contest his 17th consecutive Waste Management Phoenix Open in 2019 and will extend that streak to 18 this week having regained his card last year by finishing inside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup.
Although he missed the cut last year, Baddeley has accrued $US1.34 million in prize money in this event alone and comes in having finished tied for 64th at last week’s Farmers Insurance Open.
Greg Chalmers will once again use his major medical extension to endeavour to earn his full card back with Sony Open champ Cameron Smith, Australian Open champion Matt Jones and New Zealand’s Danny Lee also in the field, Lee and Baddeley paired together for the opening two rounds.
To bid on Baddeley’s auction item click on the link in his Instagram bio here.
It’s a piece of history 18 years in the making and the parallels to the past are eerie.
Winning on either the European Tour or the PGA TOUR is an accomplishment to be celebrated in and of itself but it is rare that two Australians achieve both on the same date on the calendar.
That Victorian products Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert did so on Australia Day in California and Dubai just hours apart will etch them into Australian golf folklore forever.
When Herbert dropped a shot on the opening hole of his final round he was sitting seven shots from the top of the leaderboard yet he fought back to shoot 68 and post a tournament total of 9-under, a total that would lead to a breakthrough European Tour title at the second hole of a playoff.
Nine hours later and four shots back when he began his round, Leishman completed the double with a one-stroke victory at the Farmers Insurance Open, the fifth PGA TOUR title of his career.
Coming just a fortnight after Wade Ormsby and Cameron Smith won on the same day on the Asian Tour and PGA TOUR respecively on opposite sides of the globe, the last time two Aussies won concurrent events on golf’s two largest tours was August 25, 2002.
On that day a precocious 22-year-old talent by the name of Adam Scott claimed his third European Tour title at the Diageo Scottish PGA Championship while veteran Craig Parry shot 65 on the final day – the same score as Leishman in California – to take out the WGC-NEC Invitational at Sahalee Country Club in Washington.
Shortly after taking possession of a trophy that he has been eyeing off ever since attending the Callaway World Junior at Torrey Pines as a 17-year-old, Leishman spoke of his admiration for Herbert’s win and how Aussie success dating back to Scott’s Australian PGA Championship win provided additional motivation to win himself.
“I saw Lucas won this morning when I woke up. Really happy for him, he’s a great player and I’m sure he’ll be over here soon,” said Leishman, recording his first win since the CIMB Classic in October 2018.
“Obviously excited for myself, it’s a tournament I’ve wanted to win for a lot of years. There are so many great names on that trophy and I’m pretty proud to be one of those now.
“I’m great friends with both of them (Adam Scott and Cameron Smith). Seeing them lift a trophy, it makes you want to work harder and have it be you.
“Glad it’s two weeks later after Cam and I’m sure this will give him some motivation to want to do it again too.
“Hopefully we can drag each other along this year and win a few more.”
Top five in three events in his European Tour rookie year in 2018, Herbert was almost in shock at joining a growing list of Aussie winners in 2020.
“If I’m part of that club, that’s a pretty good club to be a part of,” said Herbert, projected to rise some 140 spots to around 80th in the world with his Dubai title.
“We’ve got some great players obviously playing and we are pretty well populated on tours around the world.
“It’s always great to see us Aussie guys succeeding, playing well, winning.
“We all get behind each other so I’m glad I could add to that list.”
Although it’s taken close to 20 years for Australians to win PGA TOUR and European Tour events on the same day, there is a history of Aussies winning in bunches.
In 2016 four Aussie men won six tournaments in the space of six weeks, the extraordinary run of green and gold dominance starting with Marcus Fraser’s victory at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia on February 21.
A week later Adam Scott secured the first of back-to-back wins at The Honda Classic, Scott Hend won the European Tour’s True Thailand Classic on March 13 and Jason Day then got in on the action, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational and WGC-Dell Match Play in consecutive weeks.
And it didn’t end there, Minjee Lee claiming her second LPGA Tour title at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii three weeks later.
Two years earlier John Senden (Valspar Championship), Karrie Webb (JTBC Founders Cup), Steven Bowditch (Valero Texas Open) and Matt Jones (Shell Houston Open) delivered Aussie victories in four straight weeks while in 2010 Fraser sparked another flood of Aussie success when he claimed the Ballantine’s Championship in Korea on April 25, Scott and Day winning the Valero Texas Open and Byron Nelson Invitational in successive weeks from May 16.
2020 Aussie Honour Roll
January 12 Wade Ormsby Hong Kong Open (Asian Tour)
January 12 Cameron Smith Sony Open (PGA TOUR)
January 26 Lucas Herbert Omega Dubai Desert Classic (European Tour)
January 26 Marc Leishman Farmers Insurance Open (PGA TOUR)
Daniel Gaunt’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic playing partner Raphael Jacquelin is closing in on €12 million in career earnings; the London-based Victorian is trying to raise £15,000 so that he can simply play on in 2020.
Gaunt has played just one European Tour event in three years but joins the list of Australians in the field this week at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai by virtue of finishing second on the 2019 MENA Tour Order of Merit, a Middle East mini tour that plays in locales such as Jordan, Oman, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.
That he is playing professional golf at all is a lesson in patience and perseverance.
Despite the unwavering support of his wife Caroline, Gaunt quit professional golf at the end of 2017, conscious that his family of four children now aged between three and 16 needed a greater level of certainty from their father’s profession.
He took on a greenkeeping job at Burhill Golf Club near Woking in south-west London where he was a member but a combination of 5am starts and the torment of watching his mates practice on the course he had helped prepare drove Gaunt to give golf another go.
“I quit at the end of 2017 because I had no money and had lost the love. I just wanted to be home with a regular job and get to see the family a bit more,” revealed Gaunt, whose only European Tour appearance since 2016 was a missed cut at the Made in Denmark tournament last May.
“The money for the job was nowhere near what you would call a living wage but I loved being able to have a hand in making the golf course look good for the members.
“But it did motivate me, seeing my friends out there. I was cutting greens for my friends and making them nice and fast, rolling them out. My friends were out there every day and I was getting it prepared for them.
“So that was a big motivation for me to get back out playing.”
A personal sponsor provided the funds that the 41-year-old needed to relaunch his career at the start of 2019; a win second start back at the Al Zorah Open in the UAE in February the confidence to push on even after the sponsorship ended suddenly mid-year.
“At that point I didn’t know whether I was going to go back out and play,” said Gaunt, once ranked as high as 151st in the world.
“But because of where I was on the MENA Tour rankings I had to go because I had a big opportunity to finish high up.
“After asking the wife whether I had enough money on the credit card to pay the entry fee I entered a Jamega Tour event and won that – which was £3,000 – and that paid for the rest of the season.”
By finishing second on the MENA Tour moneylist Gaunt was granted entry into this week’s Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament that carries just under €500,000 in prize money for the winner.
Describing the GoFundMe page he started earlier this month as a “spur of the moment thing”, Gaunt has so far raised just £275 of the £15,000 he needs to continue to cover the costs associated with life on tour.
He’s spent a 20-year career relying on no one but himself to provide the money he needs to keep playing and knows that his aspirations for a more regular return to the European Tour hinge on one good week.
“I’m literally taking it week by week at the moment,” said Gaunt, a two-time Challenge Tour winner who was third at the 2010 Australian Masters.
“This week could change a lot. It takes one good week and I could fast-track myself back onto the tour or I could be back at home trying to plan how to get to the next tournament.
“I’ve had to pay my way every year that I’ve been on tour. I’ve never really had a major sponsor or anything so what I win is what I use to go to the next event. To do what I’ve done over the past 20 years that I’ve played professional golf, I’ve been able to block that pressure out pretty well.
“It’s one week where I have to be on my game, have everything go right and we’ll see at the end of the week what the rest of the year brings. That’s where it lies at the moment.”
But regardless of how the week mixing with millionaires in the Middle East pans out, Gaunt knows that being back amongst golf’s elite is only possible due to the genuine belief of his wife Caroline that this is where he belongs.
“She’s my rock,” said Gaunt.
“She’s never said not to play golf. She’s always wanted me out here and she’s got the belief in me to go out and win and do well.
“If that was any different – if she knew that I couldn’t win or couldn’t compete – she might put her foot down and say, ‘It’s time.’
“But she knows I can still win and the support from everyone is amazing to have.
“I know I’ve got the ability to be in this situation and play at this level. Playing on the main tour for all those years and coming back, seeing all the friends that I used to play with, it’s almost feeling like I’ve come home and I’m back to where I belong.
“Hopefully I can repay them in a big way and they can all come out and celebrate with me.”
If you would like to contribute to Daniel’s GoFundMe campaign CLICK HERE.
Tiger’s back, Jason’s back is good to go and the desert swing goes up a notch as the PGA TOUR and European Tour arrive at two events with great historical significance
There could be few more appropriate venues for Tiger Woods to commence his 2020 campaign than Torrey Pines in California, a course he grew up playing on and which has been nothing short of his personal playground in his professional career.
Seven wins in previous Farmers Insurance Open tournaments in addition to his extraordinary 2008 US Open triumph at Torrey ensures Woods starts this year with perhaps greater expectation of his own chances to win than he has in recent injury-plagued seasons.
Speaking of injuries and our own Jason Day returns after an eight-week layoff with a back injury that cruelled his chances of playing in both the Australian Open and Presidents Cup.
A two-time winner, Day has been paired with defending champion Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth in one of the marquee groups while Sony Open champion Cameron Smith will spend the first two rounds in the company of Rory McIlroy and Brandt Snedeker.
Only one Aussie has ever won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in its 30-year history, Richard Green defeating countryman Greg Norman and Ian Woosnam in a playoff in 1997.
Hong Kong Open champion Wade Ormsby leads a small Aussie contingent at the Karl Litten-designed Emirates Golf Club with Scott Hend hoping to build on his top-25 finish from last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Round 1 tee times AEDT
European Tour
Omega Dubai Desert Classic
Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, UAE
2.10pm* Scott Hend, Ahmed Marjan, David Lipsky
2.50pm Wade Ormsby, Paul Lawrie, Mikko Korhonen
3.10pm Ryan Fox, Steven Brown, Shubhankar Sharma
3.40pm* Lucas Herbert, Søren Kjeldsen, George Coetzee
6.40pm* Daniel Gaunt, Raphaël Jacquelin, Grant Forrest
6.50pm* Jason Scrivener, David Drysdale, Zander Lombard
TV: Live on Fox Sports 503 from 3pm Thursday
Australian winners: Richard Green (1997)
Top Aussie prediction: Jason Scrivener (T6 in 2018, T7 in 2019)
Farmers Insurance Open
Torrey Pines Golf Course, San Diego, California
Torrey Pines South
3am Danny Lee, Fabián Gómez, Robert Streb
3.40am* Matt Jones, Luke List, Sam Burns
3.50am* Cameron Davis, Zack Sucher, Scott Harrington
4.10am Aaron Baddeley, Rory Sabbatini, Roger Sloan
4.10am* Cameron Percy, JJ Spaun, Trey Mullinax
4.20am* John Senden, Beau Hossler, Bronson Burgoon
4.30am Jason Day, Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth
Torrey Pines North
3.20am* Tim Wilkinson, Graham DeLaet, Jamie Lovemark
3.30am* Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Brandt Snedeker
4.30am* Marc Leishman, Pat Perez, Jimmy Walker
4.50am* Rhein Gibson, Robby Shelton, Ryan Brehm
TV: Live on Fox Sports from 7am Friday
Australian winners: Jason Day (2015, 2018)
Top Aussie prediction: Cameron Smith (T9 in 2019, T20 in 2018)
It was the Sunday flex that propelled Team USA to Presidents Cup glory but Tiger Woods’ heroics at Royal Melbourne Golf Club could also help in his quest to capture yet another record in PGA TOUR history.
Woods is making his first appearance for 2020 at this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, a venue where he has won eight times previously, most famously at the 2008 US Open when he bested Rocco Mediate in an 18-hole Monday playoff.
Save for a hit with his son Charlie on his birthday on December 30, Woods kept his clubs at arm’s length in the wake of a Presidents Cup campaign in which he not only served as captain but returned a 3-0 record as a player, including an inspirational win over Mexican Abraham Ancer first out on Sunday.
For much of the past decade Woods’ first tournament of the year has come with questions about physical fitness and expectation but as he sets sights on snaring win No.83 the 15-time major champion says his end to 2019 provided the opportunity to enjoy a rare stress-free break from the game.
“I feel like I ended the year on a good note and I felt like my game really didn’t need a whole lot of kind of dusting,” Woods explained.
“I did play on my birthday. That was the only day I touched a club since the Presidents Cup. Just wanted to get away from it. I was a little bit fried physically, mentally, emotionally and just wanted to
have it all end.
“I played on my birthday with my son and we had a great time. Very similar to what I used to do with my dad on each and every one of my birthdays when my dad was still alive.
“I may hit balls here or there with my son in the backyard, nothing serious. Then I started to grind up the process of putting, chipping, pitching, wedging, working my way throughout the entire bag.”
Although not normally an avid Presidents Cup watcher, defending champion Justin Rose tuned in during his off-season, the lure of one of the game’s greats plotting his way around Royal Melbourne enough to turn the Englishman into a golf fan at least for one week.
“I thought it was quite compelling actually,” Rose offered.
“One, I enjoy watching Royal Melbourne. I think it’s such an incredible golf course and every shot you could tell the guys had to be on point. And I thought Tiger was amazing from that point of view as well in
terms of being a tactician on a golf course.
“I really enjoyed watching how he went about playing Royal Melbourne.”
When Woods triumphed at the ZOZO Championship in Japan in October he joined Sam Snead with 82 PGA TOUR wins.
On the back of a two-win season including The Masters and now 44 years of age, it is a matter of when, not if, Woods wins No.83 and sets a new benchmark that may never be bettered.
Customarily playing down any consideration of a crowd circling the 18th green on Sunday to rival that of 12 years earlier, Woods acknowledged how difficult it is to win beyond 40 and keep up with the growing band of kids taking the game by the scruff of the neck.
“When I was younger I had more good days than bad feeling-wise. Now at 44 I feel more bad days than I do good days,” Woods conceded, drawn to play this week with Collin Morikawa, the phenom who wasn’t even born when Woods turned professional.
“That’s the hardest part about being an older athlete. You see it all the time at the Masters. You see it every single year, either Fred (Couples), (Bernhard) Langer or somebody’s up there for two to three days, then they fade. It’s hard to put it together for all four days as you get older. It’s just harder.
“That’s one of the things that I’ve noticed, it’s just harder to do, it’s hard to recover now.
“But I’ve been able to have won a few tournaments since I’ve made my comeback and hopefully I
win some more.
“Trying to get to 83, I really don’t think about it because I have to think about all the things I need
to do to win the golf tournament.
“There are so many different shots I have to play and strategy and thinking my way around the golf course that I’m more consumed in that.”
Jason Day will rely on previous winning feelings and muscle memory at this week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines as he comes to terms with a dramatically reduced practice regime forced upon him by ongoing back injuries.
Day was a late withdrawal from both the Australian Open and Presidents Cup over the summer due to the back complaint, describing his feelings of anger and frustration at having to watch the International team fall just short against the Tiger Woods-led US team at Royal Melbourne.
The 32-year-old has not played since the Mayakoba Golf Classic in mid-November and has spent the past eight weeks building up to a return to tournament golf at a venue where he was won twice previously in 2015 and 2018.
During Tuesday’s press conference Day spoke of his frustration at a 2019 season where he had just one top-10 finish post The Masters and shuffled through four different caddies including a short-lived stint with Kiwi looper Steve Williams.
The 2015 US PGA champion also revealed that he had two epidural shots in an effort to try and relieve the pressure on his back last year and that his pre-tournament preparation has had to change markedly.
“The gist of it is my rib cage is kind of out of alignment and starts to pull on certain things and certain muscles,” Day explained.
“A bent over position and things start to tighten up. If I don’t get that stuff kind of loosened out
and get a little bit of mobility in there, that’s when things start to… It’s not so much the actual
swing itself, I’ll just go bend over and pick something up, my back will go out and then I’m
done for two weeks.
“I can only putt for 30 minutes a day. I’m typically putting two-and-a-half hours a time every day in my off weeks so obviously I’m a little bit behind schedule.
“But I feel pretty good about how things have progressed. I was obviously on a ball count last
week. I started at I think 50 balls and moved myself into the 100s, so I’m quite pleased with
how things are progressing.
“I’m coming off eight weeks of rehab and very little practice, so am I expecting a lot? I don’t know. We’ve just got to go in there and see how it goes.”
Now ranked No.44 in the world, the former world No.1 was criticised for not returning to Australia to aid the Internationals’ cause but said that having to watch from his home in Ohio was just as painful as the back injury that stopped him from making the trip.
“Every time I would watch the Presidents Cup coverage, I was angry,” said Day.
“I had to go up to the barn to kind of either ride or do some sort of exercise to get some frustration out
because I really wanted to be there.
“I was very disappointed that I couldn’t be there, especially throughout the whole week, playing, being in the singles matches, at least putting some points on the board, but I haven’t had the best record in Presidents Cup. So with that being said, it was nice to be able to see them put up a good fight.
“It was fun to watch, but I was quite frustrated sitting on my backside watching it.
“But the rehab that I needed to do, I needed some time off. Unfortunately, my back went out four or five times last year so it was nice to be able to take that time off and get ready for this season.”
Day is one of nine Australians in the field this week and will start his campaign on the North Course at Torrey Pines partnered with Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth.
Twelve former champions have signed up to have another tilt at the ISPS HANDA Vic Open at 13th Beach Golf Links on the Bellarine Peninsula next month.
Eight male winners are on the field list, including last year’s dramatic winner, Scotland’s David Law.
The women’s winner, Frenchwoman Celine Boutier, is back to defend the first title of her LPGA Tour career, as well as two-time winner Minjee Lee from Perth, the world No. 9.
The field is a resounding endorsement of a tournament that, with its mixed format and informal ‘no-ropes’ atmosphere in a regional location, has won plaudits around the world for innovation.
The men’s past winners teeing it up are: Law (2019), Simon Hawkes (2018), Dimi Papadatos (2017), Richard Green (2015), Matthew Griffin (2014), Jason Norris (2010), Ash Hall (2009) and Gareth Paddison (2004)
Four of the past five women’s winners – Boutier, Lee (2014 and 2018) England’s Mel Reid (2017), and Barwon Heads-based Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord (2015) – are playing at 13th Beach in the groundbreaking event.
On the men’s side, the 28-year-old Scotsman Law won his first European Tour title at 13th Beach last February with an eagle at the 72nd hole and it set him up for a consistent year on tour. Australian Hawkes, who won in 2018, also won with his own heroics on the final green.
Papadatos, the 2017 winner, has been playing nicely in Europe and Matthew Griffin, the 2014 winner, is becoming a prominent player on the Japanese tour.
The ISPS HANDA Vic Open is a unique concurrent men’s and women’s professional tournament. It is jointly sanctioned by the ALPG, LPGA, ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and European Tour and features equal prizemoney for men and women, totalling $3 million.
Entry is free to all Victorian golf club members and all CFA volunteers, emergency workers and their families, but other tickets are on sale through oTix and remain some of the best value in elite sport at $10 per day, $30 for a season pass. Children under 18 and those with a Seniors Card are free. See vicopengolf.com/ticketing for details.
The ISPS HANDA Vic Open is proudly supported by the Victorian Government. The tournament is sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and ALPG Tour (Women’s) & European Tour and ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia (Men’s).
Over 60 Australian golfers, including eight former champions, are heading across the Tasman in force for the 101st New Zealand Open in Queenstown and it may be a South Australian that attracts much of the attention at the tournament on 27 February to 1 March at Millbrook Resort and The Hills.
Wade Ormsby has today confirmed his entry to the New Zealand Open, after he blasted his way into 2020 with a brilliant victory at the Hong Kong Open, for the second time in three years, holding off the likes of Open champion Shane Lowry and PGA star Tony Finau on the way.
Ormsby has seen his ranking rise inside the top 150 in the world after claiming the co-sanctioned tournament with the European and Asian Tours.
“I am excited to return to play the New Zealand Open next month,” said Ormsby. “It has been a great start to the year winning the Hong Kong Open and hopefully I can continue that form in Queenstown.”
Ormsby has been close to winning the Open, finishing in a share of runner-up behind compatriot Nathan Green in 2002 at Gulf Harbour. He also finished tied for fifth behind winner Mahal Pearce at Middlemore in 2003 and in a share of seventh in 2004 at The Grange, won by Terry Price.
His career, mostly on the European Tour, has had its ups and downs with Ormsby forced to return to qualifying school of five occasions. He showed his resilience to regain his playing rights on each occasion.
His first victory came in the Indian Open in 2013 before his European Tour breakthrough in winning the Hong Kong Open in 2017, which he recently repeated.
“I was proud of the way I played and it was nice to get 2020 off to a flying start,” said Ormsby.
He came into the tournament in good form after finishing in a share of third at the Australian PGA, three shots behind winner Adam Scott.
He won’t have it his own way around Millbrook Resort and The Hills, even from his fellow Australians.
They will include defending champion Zach Murray who heads the group of previous winners from over the Tasman comprising Daniel Nisbet (2018), Jordan Zunic (2015), Dimi Papadatos (2014), Jake Higginbottom (2012), Brad Kennedy (2011), Peter O’Malley (1995) and Peter Fowler (1993).
Added to that are a group of Australians with experience in Queenstown and success in 2019 including Brendan Jones, Josh Younger and Andrew Dodt who were all tournament winners in 2019.
“Our relationship with Australia goes back for most of the 100 years that this Open has been played and they continue to support this event with good grace, as well as being highly competitive,” said Tournament Director, Michael Glading.
“In fact, Australians have won the Open 42 times, one more than New Zealand players, which is bound to provide a bit of spice to the competition.
“We are thrilled to have so many Australians support the tournament, many of them who come back year-after-year, including former winners, and the likes of Wade Ormsby, who is making his first visit to New Zealand in a decade. He is one of the in-form players around the world right now.”
