Nick Dougherty Leads At The Trophée Hassan II
Nick Dougherty leads after round 1 of the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco after an opening seven under 66.
Level at the turn, Dougherty fired an eagle and five birdies on the back nine to come home in 30 shots.
Currently 120th in the World Rankings, Dougherty said: “I’ve been struggling so much I’m just trying to build some confidence and hit as many good shots as I can,” he said.
“Thomas Björn gave me quite a bit of help yesterday on the range, which meant the world to me obviously, but it’s a work in progress.
“Anything under par I would have been happy with, so I was delighted with that. I think seven under is a really, really good score round there.
“I putted fabulously and I’m delighted with my short game in general, but it’s the long game that’s concerning me. I’ve been battling with that for a long time now.”
Dougherty leads from Peter Lawrie, Stephen Gallacher, Francesco Molinari, S S P Chowrasia, Ricardo Gonzalez and Fabrizio Zanotti, who are all a shot back on 6 under.
It was also great to see Paul McGinley back playing professional golf after a sixth knee operation in November. Expectedly the Dubliner struggled, only managing a three over 76.
McGinley said “The knee is absolutely fine. I didn’t feel it at all, and although it’s a bit swollen now, it’s not giving me any pain. My round got away from me at the eighth and ninth when I missed a two foot putt and then hit one in the water. I played much better than my score suggests but my putting was terrible.”
You can view the live leaderboard here.
Pro Golf Tips: Brad Faxon and Brett Quigley
Titleist Tips From The Tour: Some great tips from Brad Faxon and Brett Quigley on how they play shots out of the rough around the greens.
Remember We All Teach Golf.
Tiger Woods To Return At The Masters
Tiger Woods has announced that he is to begin his 2010 season at the Masters from Augusta National in April.
“The Masters is where I won my first major, and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta.
“The major championships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it’s been awhile since I last played.
“I have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy, and I am continuing my treatment. Although I’m returning to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life.
“When I finally got into a position to think about competitive golf again, it became apparent to me that the Masters would be the earliest I could play. I called both Joe Lewis and Arnold Palmer and expressed my regrets for not attending the Tavistock Cup and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I again want to thank them both for their support and their understanding. Those are fantastic tournaments, and I look forward to competing in them again.
“I would also like to thank the Augusta National members and staff for their support. I have deep appreciation for everything that they do to create a wonderful event for the benefit of the game.”
You can read the full announcement on TigerWoods.com here.
Pro Golf Tips: John Merrick
Titleist Tips From The Tour: Some great tips from John Merrick on taking your range game on to the course.
Remember We All Teach Golf.
Ernie Els Wins The CA Championship At Doral
Ernie Els shot a final round 66 to win the World Golf Championships – CA Championship by four shots. Els’ flawless round included 6 birdies and no dropped shots.
Els and eventual runner up Charl Schwartzel were toe to toe the whole day until the par 4 14th hole when Els holed a 25 foot par putt to keep one shot in front, this turned out to be the decisive moment in the championship. After being dealt the blow, Schwartzel went on to bogie the 15th and 17th to allow Els a 4 shot victory.
Two years since his last win, Els showed great composure by playing the final 23 holes without a bogey on the TPC Blue Monster at Doral.
“This means so much,” Els said. “I didn’t think it was ever going to happen again. But I felt all week that the work that I did, that I finally had to trust it at some stage, and there’s no better day to really test yourself.
The win has taken the big easy back into the top ten of the world rankings in 8th place.
It was another good week for Europe’s elite with Martin Kaymer, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Alvaro Quiros and Paul Casey all within the top 10 for the championship.
You can view the final leaderboard here.
Pro Golf Tips: Ross Fisher
Titleist Tips From The Tour: Some great tips from Ross Fisher on changing club selection when playing in the wind.
Remember We All Teach Golf.
Els & Schwartzel Share 3rd Round Lead At Doral
South African’s Ernie Els and Charl Schwartzel share the 3rd round lead at the WGC – CA Championship from the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami.
Both players are placed at -12 after rounds of 70 and 67 respectively, one shot clear of Padraig Harrington after the Irishman’s third round 67.
There are plenty of Europeans in the top 20: Martin Kaymer is on -8, along with Paul Casey and Soren Hansen at -7, Alvaro Quiros at -6, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano at -5, and Graeme McDowell plus Francesco Molinari at -4.
You can view the entire live leaderboard here.
Pro Golf Tips: Rickie Fowler
Titleist Tips From The Tour: Some great tips from Rickie Fowler on alignment drills on the practice range.
Will Tiger Return For The Arnold Palmer Invitational?
Speculation is mounting that Tiger Woods is due to return for the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill on the 25th March.
I wrote last week (Jack Expects Tiger To Be Back At Augusta) that many are anticipating Tiger Woods’ return to the pro circuit will be at Bay Hill at the end of the month.
Woods has apparently been seen working with his coach, Hank Haney, fuelling rumours of his impending return.
The New York Post has reported that Woods has consulted Ari Fleischer, a former presidential adviser to George W Bush, on a strategy to manage his return to professional golf.
Ernie Els Holds Lead At Doral
Wow, where has this form come from? Ernie Els holds the lead at the halfway stage of the WGC – CA Championship after rounds of 68 & 66 for a -10 total, one shot ahead of Australian Robert Allenby.
Even though tee times were brought forward by 3 ½ hours due to bad weather, Els was in superb form showing form of old.
He later said: “I’m just pleased we got it done. The weather is changing a lot…I’m in pretty good shape. Halfway there and, you know, just got to keep it up.”
It is also good to see Padraig Harrington playing well, he currently sits at -6 after rounds of 70 & 68. Harrington has slumped to 13th in the world after not finishing better than 16th place in his first four events of 2010.
The next best placed Brit is Paul Casey on -6, followed by Lee Westwood on -2 and Ross Fisher at even par.
You can view the live leaderboard here.
