The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Relaxed Mickelson aims to halt appalling results on British soil
- Masters champ Schwartzel happy to be given underdog tag
- Rory wants to emulate Tiger’s feat of winning British Open after US triumph
| Relaxed Mickelson aims to halt appalling results on British soil Posted: 13 Jul 2011 06:33 PM PDT PHIL Mickelson plans to relax and enjoy the British Open this week and, judging by his appalling 20-year record in the sport's oldest Major, it seems as good as an approach as anything he has tried before. Mickelson is undoubtedly one of the best players of the modern era and but for the presence of Tiger Woods, would have won considerably more than the near-50 tournaments on his already impressive stat sheet. The American can still point to three Masters wins, a US PGA, five second or joint-second places in the US Open and more than US$62 mil in prize money, not to mention eight appearances for his country in the Ryder Cup. Yet when it comes to the British Open, the graceful left-hander with a touch of genius in his wedge is somehow transformed into a Sunday morning hacker. In 17 Opens, Mickelson has finished in the top 10 only once, third at Troon in 2004, and has had only five finishes inside the top 25. At St Andrews, his roll of dishonour reads 40th, 11th, 60th and (last year) 48th. He failed to make the cut at his two Carnoustie Opens while his only previous appearance at Royal St George's in 2003 produced a 13-over tie for 59th. "I'm entering this year kind of like a fresh start," Mickelson told a news conference after a breezy morning practice round on Tuesday. "I'm not going to worry about past performances and I'm going to try to learn and enjoy the challenge of playing links golf and I'm having fun doing that. "I'm trying to pretend like it's my first time here. I'm trying not to dwell and don't want to look back on my past performances that haven't been what I expect. I'm not trying to fix any past poor play. Mickelson, whose first crack at the Open came when he tied 73rd as an amateur at Birkdale 20 years ago, said he had been working hard to identify why he has consistently struggled. "Learning some of those nuances of the course is something I'm trying to do a little bit more effectively now, so that I can make better decisions while I'm out playing." Mickelson, a deadly putter on the PGA Tour but regularly off-beam at the Open, said his experience on the sodden links of the Scottish Open last week had helped convince him he was finally making progress on that aspect of the game. "I feel very confident heading into this Open Championship on the way I'm going to read and putt the greens." – Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Masters champ Schwartzel happy to be given underdog tag Posted: 13 Jul 2011 06:33 PM PDT BOASTING a record in this year's Majors that's the envy of most of his peers, Masters champion Charl Schwartzel should be regarded as one of the favourites for the British Open. The 26-year-old South African possesses a decent background in links golf and has enjoyed three weeks of ideal preparation in dry, windy conditions for the year's third Major, which starts today. However, he is as long as 50-1 by some British bookmakers to win at Royal St. George's and continue his impressive run of results in 2011, which includes that memorable victory at Augusta as well as a joint-ninth finish at last month's US Open. Not that he's bothered. "In a way, I've always liked playing the underdog and then surprising people," Schwartzel said. "I'm out there to give it my best and see if I can win this tournament. "Whether my odds are 200-1 or 12-1, it doesn't make any difference to me." Maybe it's his disappointing record in previous British Opens that's putting off the bookies. A tie for 14th at St. Andrews last year is his best result on these shores. The seven years before that, he failed to qualify twice and missed the cut four times. One of those missed cuts was at Royal St. George's in 2003 when, as an 18-year-old player in his first season out of the amateur ranks, he found himself atop the leaderboard early in the first round. "My first British Open was here - I remember, I think I led after three holes and got such a fright when I saw my name on the leaderboard that was all I can remember," Schwartzel said. "After that, it was a bit of a blur. "It's what, eight years later. I think I'm a bit more mature and understand the game a bit better." That development was demonstrated at Augusta in April, when he took advantage of Rory McIlroy's meltdown on the final day to emerge from the pack and win his first Major, by two shots. His closing 66 included birdies on each of his last four holes to become the third South African to win the Masters, after two-time winner Gary Player (1974,78) and Trevor Immelman (2008). With Louis Oosthuizen the defending British Open champion, South Africa currently hold two of the four Major titles, helping the sport blossom in the country. "There's lots of youngsters out there that all of a sudden have a really big interest. I'm sure it's made a big difference to South African golf," Schwartzel said. – AP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Rory wants to emulate Tiger’s feat of winning British Open after US triumph Posted: 13 Jul 2011 06:32 PM PDT RORY McIlroy will try to emulate Tiger Woods at Royal St George's this week by winning the British Open four weeks after winning the US Open. Woods was the last to achieve that rare feat in 2000 when he staggered the golf world by winning the US Open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes and then taking the British equivalent by eight strokes at St Andrews. The American was 24 when he achieved that feat, two years older than McIlroy, who lifted the first half of the double by demolishing the field to win the US Open by eight shots at Congressional Country Club outside Washington. Sadly, Woods will not be on hand to challenge golf's new superstar as the fallen idol continues to battle the serious leg injuries that have cast doubts on the rest of the 35-year-old's career. And with Phil Mickelson rarely a serious contender on links courses, the US threat looks distinctly threadbare with the world's top three players – Englishmen Luke Donald and Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer of Germany – all joining McIlroy atop the betting charts. The Ulsterman took three weeks off after Congressional, but played two practice rounds at Royal St George's last week before heading home again and only returning on Tuesday. Asked if the pressure and expectations on his shoulders would be all the greater for having won his first Major at the US Open so handsomely. McIlroy replied: "It's nice to get that first one out of the way and focus on getting more." "It has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders." The same cannot be said about Donald and Westwood, the two top ranking players in the world. Both of them are seeking their first Major titles. Donald, who won the Scottish Open last week for his third title of the year, is aiming to become the first English winner of the Open since Nick Faldo in 1992 and the first British winner since Scotland's Paul Lawrie in 1999. Despite a miserable Open record with just one top 10 finish in 10 attempts, he believes that his game is primed to smash his duck in the Majors. "This is the best I've played," he said of his current purple patch. "I had a solid year in 2006, won over in the US and ranked up a bunch of Top 10s, but this is the most consistent I've been, I think, throughout my whole game." Westwood has the best record in the Majors of any player over the last three years, including a third place in the 2009 Open at Turnberry, where he missed a putt at the last hole to get into a playoff with eventual winner Stewart Cink and Tom Watson, and a runner-up slot last year seven strokes adrift of Louis Oosthuiszen. "Hopefully it's a mathematical progression, third, second, obviously I'm hoping for a first," he said. – AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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