18A4765D9DE golf: 2013

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Olazabal calls on European Tour to back Royal Trophy

December 21, 2013 6:30 AM

Spanish golfer Jose Maria Olazabal acknowledges the audience's applause after receiving the 2013 …

(Reuters) - Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal has criticized the European Tour's decision to launch the EurAsia Cup team match play event next year and said they should have re-established ties with the Royal Trophy.

Olazabal is captaining Europe in the seventh edition of the ongoing Royal Trophy matchplay event, which was launched in 2006 by his former Ryder Cup team mate and compatriot Seve Ballesteros and is backed by the Japan Golf Tour and China Golf Association (CGA).

The European Tour supported the venture before dropping it and then opted to launch a similar tournament in Malaysia next year with the Asian Tour, which used to host CGA tournaments before the Chinese opted to side with the rival OneAsia Tour.

"I know the European Tour sanctioned this event for two years and then a split occurred for some reason," Olazabal said in a statement released by the Royal Trophy on Saturday.

"But I do think they must sit down with the Royal Trophy people and work out their differences because it is such an important issue.

"The Royal Trophy will continue even if it is not sanctioned by the European Tour because it has great support from the Japan Golf Tour, the China Golf Association, and other important parties in Asia.

"But I know the organizers are keen to resolve this issue, and I would call on both sides to sit down and sort this thing out."

The Royal Trophy is being staged in China for the first time after Brunei hosted it last year and Thailand for the first five.

While the inaugural Royal Trophy boasted famed major winners Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam as well as then world number 12 David Howell, Swede Henrik Stenson and Ireland's Paul McGinley, the current edition lacks the same gloss.

Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee is the best ranked player competing in China at world number 46, while Howell is back but now number 93. Spaniard Alvaro Quiros is the worst ranked of the 16 players at 278.

Thongchai will be team captain for the inaugural EurAsia Cup in March, but Olazabal thinks the new tournament is not necessary and European Tour chief George O'Grady should focus on finding new full field strokeplay events instead.

"We do not need another Asia v Europe match involving a maximum of twenty players when we already have a well-established Royal Trophy," said the twice U.S. Masters champion.

"But we do need more full field events, and I know other players feel the same way," he added.

The biennial EurAsia Cup will be held over three days at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur from March 27-29 with Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez playing and captaining Europe.

Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell and world number 26 Jamie Donaldson of Wales, Frenchman Victor Dubuisson ranked 32 and Spain's world number 35 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano have already committed to playing.

Four more players will qualify for the European team via the world rankings, while the Asia side will feature Thongchai and the leading four players from the Asian Tour order of merit, the top three available from the world rankings and two captain's picks.

"Our relations with players from Malaysia, China, India, Thailand, Korea and Japan have been important to us for many years," O'Grady said last month at a promotional event for the new tournament which has been backed by the Ballesteros family.

"We see the development of the EurAsia Cup as a further commitment by us to assist in the development of golf throughout the region and to strengthening one of The European Tour's most important partnerships."

(Writing by Patrick Johnston, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Skier Vonn's knee fails number one fan Tiger Woods

By Luke PhillipsDecember 21, 2013 12:02 PM

Val-d'Isère (France) (AFP) - American speed queen Lindsey Vonn failed to put together a winning run for onlooking boyfriend Tiger Woods on Saturday as her unstable right knee gave way halfway down the course.

Vonn insisted the incident would not have major ramifications, saying she would race a maximum of two more events before heading to Sochi to defend her Olympic downhill title in February.

But the manner in which her knee failed to provide any stability on a turn coming out of a compression will have worried not only her but the US ski team.

Vonn sustained the injury to her knee in a horrific crash in last February's World Ski Championships in Schladming.

With reconstructive surgery and 10 months out, it surprised some that she even made it back to competitive skiing this season.

"Unfortunately I have no ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and it just gave out on me," Vonn said, with Switzerland's Marianne Kaufmann-Abderhalden going on to win the downhill.

"It was a small compression and it was fully loaded on the right ski and my knee just completely gave out. I tried to pressure the ski again and it gave out again.

"I'm going to be as safe and smart as I can and give myself as much time as I can give myself to really get as strong as I can."

Vonn added: "I have no ACL, so unless I get surgery there's not anything really magical I can do to make it better. I can just get my leg and muscles stronger to try to support it more, but that has a small impact.

"My knee is loose and it's not stable and that's the way it's going to be from here on out, I just have to get used to it."

But she insisted that her morale remained high and that Sochi was firmly in her sights.

"My goal is the Olympics. I'm not winning any World Cups this year, any titles, as long as I'm skiing well and I have good confidence that's all I really need," she said.

"I just need to be careful about how many races I do. I'm at risk of doing more damage to my knee and my meniscus and things like that.

"So I'm going to play it safe and race minimal races, probably maybe one or two, before the Olympics just so I can get the confidence and the timing and the feeling of racing again."

The onlooking Woods, whose relationship with Vonn was revealed in March, featured regularly on the big screen in the build-up to his girlfriend's run.

In brilliant sunshine, the world's number one golfer positioned himself in the team area at the bottom of the slope and kept his eyes straight ahead.

When French racer Marie Marchand-Arvier suffered a brutal crash, he visibly flinched and rocked up on his toes.

With Vonn in the starting gate, Woods remained stock still, hands dug deep into his jacket.

As she failed to come out cleanly from that compression and missed a gate, there was no reaction from the golfer despite the gasps from the spectators, the giant screen showing a close-up of Vonn slumped on the side of the slope, crying.

"He was nervous," was Vonn's explanation of the statuesque pose taken on by Woods, with camera crews jostling to get a shot of the 14-Major winning golfer.

"He's very supportive and it's really fun to have him. This is his first World Cup and he's a little more nervous because of me, he's worried about me but he's happy to be here and I'm happy to have him.

"I love having him around and the more races he can come to, the better. But I'm not really racing much this year unfortunately so you probably won't see both of us around very much.

"He likes skiing and he wants to understand my sport more and he's interested in what I do because he loves me and wants to support me."

Vonn said she had felt less pressure with Woods watching on.

"Just having someone support you always makes you feel better," she said.

"I didn't feel any pressure, I'd had two really good training runs and I felt really confident today and I'm just disappointed because my knee didn't hold up like I was hoping it would."

Europe complete epic comeback to reclaim Royal Trophy

December 22, 2013 4:56 AM

(Reuters) - Europe won five of the last six singles matches for a stunning 8.5-7.5 comeback win over Asia to reclaim the Royal Trophy in China on Sunday and give captain Jose Maria Olazabal his first success in the team matchplay event.

Trailing 5-3 ahead of Sunday's eight singles matches, Europe looked set for a record defeat when Kiradech Aphibarnrat beat Paul Lawrie 3&2 and Thai compatriot Thongchai Jaidee overcame another Scot, Stephen Gallacher, 4&2 to make it 7-3.

With victory in sight, the pressure appeared to hit the holders at the Dragon Lake Golf Club in Guangzhou as they painfully surrendered their strong position built up over the opening fourball and foursomes matches.

Japan's Ryo Ishikawa, who had been two up after seven holes of his singles match, shanked a chip across the green en route to bogeying the 18th which allowed Scotland's Marc Warren to win one up with a par on the last.

That made the score 7-4, with three more European wins coming in a matter of minutes as Thorbjorn Olesen beat Wu Ashun 3&2, David Howell edged Kim Hyung-sung one up and Bernd Wiesberger overcame Hiroyuki Fujita 3&2.

Kim's loss was particularly painful with the South Korean three up on the 15th tee only to three-putt the last to allow the Englishman to snatch the match one up when he got up and down from the greenside bunker on 18.

COLSAERTS WINS IT

Spain's Alvaro Quiros could also only three putt the tricky undulating green at the par four last to toss away a one up advantage and halve his match with South Korea's Kim Kyung-tae.

That left the scores tied at 7.5-7.5 with only Nicolas Colsaerts and Liang Wenchong on the course with the Belgian protecting a one up advantage after 16 holes.

Both holed tricky putts on 17 for par with Colsaerts then calmly getting up and down from the right of the 18th green to seal the match and trophy after Liang also three-putted.

It was a fifth win for Europe in seven edition with Olazabal, who led Europe to a sterling Sunday fightback win in the Ryder Cup against United States last year, having presided over their two defeats last year and in 2009.

"I want to thank these fantastic eight guys who did something extraordinary today," the Spaniard said before being presented with the trophy on the 18th green.

"It is something, to be honest, I had a few doubts (about), especially through the round. Thank-you very much for your contribution."

Asian captain Yang Yong-eun lamented his side's costly errors on a sloppy Sunday for his charges.

"Unfortunately we had a shocking loss and hopefully next year we will learn from the mistakes we made and come back stronger," the Korean said through a translator.

(Writing by Patrick Johnston; Editing by John O'Brien)

Golf-New Zealand prodigy Ko splits with coach

December 22, 2013 7:30 PM

Dec 23 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Lydia Ko has split with long-time coach Guy Wilson, who started working with the golfing prodigy as a five-year-old novice and helped take her to number four in the world 11 years later.

Ko was given the green light in October to become a full member of the LPGA Tour from the start of the 2014 season after the governing body waived the 18-year-old age limit clause.

Ko, who was born in South Korea and has already won five professional titles, four as an amateur, became the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour when she captured last year's Canadian Open at the age of 15.

She signed up with management company IMG earlier this month.

In statement to Fairfax media, Wilson said he was "incredibly disappointed" that their partnership had come to an end.

"We've spent a lot of time together over the past decade and during that time I've become very close to Lydia and her family. While I'm incredibly disappointed that our 11-year partnership is over, I respect Lydia and her team's decision," Wilson said in the statement.

"When I first met her the golf clubs were taller than she was and she didn't know the first thing about a driver or a putter but now she has one of the most envied swings in the women's golf world."

Media reports suggested Ko would now be coached by David Leadbetter in the United States.

Wilson began coaching Ko at six, where they were initially restricted by language difficulties as she had not yet been immersed in New Zealand schooling at that stage.

Ko had up to four lessons a week with Wilson, working from about 50 metres away from the green because anything else would have been too daunting, and he was amazed at the youngster's focus, motivation and ability to keep working at her game.

Wilson had told Reuters in October that Ko would not be out of place on the LPGA tour despite her youth.

"She is better than most of the people on the LPGA Tour. Her age does not match her skill set," he said.

(Writing by Peter Rutherford in Seoul, Editing by Gene Cherry)

Teen golfer Lydia Ko splits with coach of 11 years

December 23, 2013 3:07 AMAP - Sports

Lydia Ko of New Zealand plays on the first hole during the third and last round of the Evian Championship women's golf tournament in Evian, eastern France, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- Teenage golf star Lydia Ko has split with the only coach she has had since she took up the sport as a 5-year-old.

Ko told Television New Zealand on Monday that she was sad to have ended her partnership with Guy Wilson, whom she called a great coach and friend. But she said she and her family had decided it would be impossible to continue the relationship because she will be based in the United States and he in New Zealand.

''It doesn't really work, him being here and him coming on the weeks that I'm not playing a tournament means I'll only see him like 10 times a year, and to me that kind of situation didn't work out,'' Ko said.

Wilson, who worked with the 16-year-old Ko for 11 years, issued a statement saying he was ''incredibly disappointed'' the partnership is over.

Michael Yim, her agent at IMG, said Monday that Ko worked with various teachers at the Leadbetter Academy in Florida before going to Taiwan for the Swinging Skirts tournament, an event she won two weeks ago in her second start as a professional. Kim said Ko plans to meet with other teachers before deciding on a full-time coach.

Ko has won five professional tournaments - four as an amateur - while coached by Wilson, who said it had ''been an honor to help develop Lydia into the No. 4 golfer in the world.''

''When I first met her the golf clubs were taller than she was and she didn't know the first thing about a driver or a putter, but now she has one of the most envied swings in the women's golf world,'' Wilson said.

Born in South Korea and raised in New Zealand, Ko won the Women's Canadian Open at 15 last year to become the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history and successfully defended the title this year.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Olazabal calls on European Tour to back Royal Trophy

Related Stories

Skier Vonn's knee fails number one fan Tiger Woods

Related Stories

Europe complete epic comeback to reclaim Royal Trophy

Golf-New Zealand prodigy Ko splits with coach

Teen golfer Lydia Ko splits with coach of 11 years

Related Stories

blospot