Tiger Woods undergoes reconstructive knee surgery

Tiger Woods had reconstructive surgery on his left knee Tuesday in Utah to repair a torn ligament, and doctors said it was “highly unlikely” there would be any long-term effects.

It was the second time in 10 weeks Woods had surgery on his knee, this time on his anterior cruciate ligament.

“We were confident going into this surgery, and I am pleased with the results,” Dr. Thomas D. Rosenberg said in a statement released by IMG, Woods’ management company.

“There were no surprises during the procedure, and as we have said, with the proper rehabilitation and training, it is highly unlikely that Mr. Woods will have any long-term effects as it relates to his career.”

The surgery came one week after Woods went 91 holes at Torrey Pines to win the U.S. Open in a playoff over Rocco Mediate, revealing later that he also had a double stress fracture in his left tibia.

The surgery, performed by Rosenberg and Dr. Vernon J. Cooley in Park City, was the fourth time Woods has had surgery on his left knee. He had a benign tumor removed in 1994, and he had benign cysts removed in 2002, along with fluid around the ACL.

Woods said he tore his ACL while jogging last year after the British Open, but tried to make it through the end of this season without surgery. Two days after his runner-up finish at the Masters, he had surgery to clean out cartilage in his left knee.

The world’s No. 1 player announced last week that he would miss the rest of the season, which includes two more major championships and the Ryder Cup.

“It was important to me to have the surgery as soon as possible so that I could begin the rehabilitation process,” Woods said in a statement. “I am very appreciative of Dr. Rosenberg and Dr. Cooley and his staff’s guidance and look forward to working with them through the necessary rehabilitation and training.

“I look forward to working hard at my rehabilitation over the coming months and returning to the PGA Tour healthy next year.”

He did not say when he would start his rehab or any timetable for his return.

June 25, 2008

Tiger Woods aiming to be a greedy host

It’s not often that a player is bold enough to challenge Tiger Woods on the golf course. Rarer still is when it happens during a pro-am round from one of his amateur partners.

“That still puts me 1 up,” Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said to him Wednesday morning.

“Does it, now?” Woods replied, not sounding the least bit concerned.

The world’s No. 1 player then smoked a fairway metal down the 17th at Congressional Country Club. Romo, a scratch player who asked to play from the championship tees, followed with a 3-wood that traveled about a yard farther.

On the par-3 second, Romo appeared to have the edge when Woods bladed a bunker shot over the green and into the gallery. He didn’t finish out the hole, and when Romo three-putted from the fringe, the quarterback said, “You wouldn’t have made 4 from there.”

They didn’t mention the stakes or how many shots Woods gave Romo—if any— although it had a familiar conclusion.

“He contributed to my spending fund, which is nice,” Woods said later on his Web site.

The bold move by Woods was playing with the Cowboys’ quarterback in Washington Redskins country, and while it attracted a large gallery for the 6:30 a.m. tee time, the cheers and jeers were relatively tame.

“How about an autograph?” one fan said to Romo. “I’ve got a Tony Romo jersey on and I’ve already been in three fights.”

Romo kept walking.

“Jason Campbell signed it,” the fan called to him.

Campbell, the Redskins quarterback, played in another pro-am group, while Woods and Romo were joined by House Minority Leader John Boehner, who spent most of his day picking up his ball before he reached the green.

There was plenty of star power at Congressional, even during the opening ceremony when Jessica Simpson sang the national anthem.

When the AT&T National gets under way Thursday, the biggest star will be the tournament host.

Woods missed his own tournament last year, which was played a week after he had season-ending knee surgery. He had to watch from his couch as Anthony Kim closed with a bogey-free 65 for a two-shot victory.

“I thought he was here last year,” Kim said. “His name was all over the place.”

It is everywhere but the trophy.

One obscure piece of trivia that could come out of this tournament is a chance for Woods to match Jack Nicklaus by winning his tournament on the second try. Nicklaus won the Memorial in 1977, the second year of the tournament.

The only Nicklaus record that matters to Woods is 18 professional majors, and that’s on his mind, too.

Woods is playing for the first time since he failed to defend his title in the U.S. Open at Bethpage, largely due to his putting. Next up is the British Open in two weeks at Turnberry, a links course he has only seen on television.

For now, he is intent on being a “greedy host.”

He wants the 120-man field at Congressional to have a great week, as long as he goes home with the trophy.

“I always put in as much as I possibly can to win an event,” he said. “It is fun winning your own event.”

He has won the Chevron World Challenge, his charity tournament in California, four times. Woods also is going for a hat trick of sorts by trying to win three tournaments in one year hosted by PGA Tour players, having previously won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and the Memorial, which Nicklaus runs.

Strangely enough, both those tournaments were his final events before a major.

And the majors haven’t worked out for him so far this year.

In both majors he tied for sixth, four shots out of the lead. He hit the ball poorly at the Masters, but knew Augusta National well enough and made enough putts to at least give himself an outside chance Sunday. He hit the ball beautifully at Bethpage Black, only to fail miserably on the greens.

“Just like all major championships, you have to have all the pieces going,” Woods said. “You have to hit the ball well, chip well, putt well, think well. And that’s the whole idea of majors. Every single facet of your game is tested. And it just didn’t work out.

“Looking forward to the next two.”

Preparations for Turnberry really won’t start until he arrives, although he can start by making sure his game is sound on a Congressional course that will host the U.S. Open in 2011.

The field features U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh from the top 10 in the world ranking.

“It’s a place that I would always put on my schedule because I think the world of the golf course,” Furyk said. “I’ve played very well here the last couple years, so I’ve got some good memories.”

July 2, 2009

Anthony Kim hoping troubles behind him

Anthony Kim pressed a cell phone against his ear as he listened to Tiger Woods, the tournament host of the AT&T National, congratulate him on another impressive victory that seemed to mark the arrival of America’s next great golfer.

That was one year and 25 tournaments ago.

Kim has yet to pose with another trophy he could call his own. Remember, the Ryder Cup is an exhibition, and no matter how thoroughly the 23-year-old dismantled Sergio Garcia in the leadoff singles match, it was a team effort.

Over the last year, Kim has made news for not remembering how many majors Woods had won, not being fully aware that the automobile industry was hurting, not realizing Colin Montgomerie had been selected Ryder Cup captain for Europe or not knowing Congressional once hosted a U.S. Open or two.

Trouble is, he has not made news for what matters.

Kim started the season with a runner-up finish at Kapalua. He has not finished in the top 10 anywhere in the world since. So perhaps it was not surprising Tuesday when someone asked him the best thing that has happened to him this year.

He thought about this briefly, then smiled.

“I made it to my 24th birthday,” he said.

His age should count for something. When he unleashed a bogey-free 65 in the final round at Congressional last year for a two-shot victory, Kim became the first American under 25 since Woods to win at least twice on the PGA Tour in the same year.

Woods, who was home in Florida recuperating from reconstructive knee surgery, told him that day to keep working hard and there would be no limits on what Kim could achieve. And it appeared that Kim was headed in that direction.

He was in the mix Sunday at Royal Birkdale, his first taste of links golf. He was in the final group at the Canadian Open until he kept his foot on the accelerator through one too many construction zones, as Kim is prone to do. He was a birdie putt away from joining the playoff at the season-ending Tour Championship.

And there was that week at the Ryder Cup, where Kim was the life of the party in so many ways.

Still, celebrations for his golf have been rare.

Kim has dealt with more nagging injuries than he can recite, whether it was his jaw from a horseback riding in New Zealand to the most recent setback, an injury in his left thumb that kept him from making an aggressive pass at the ball.

He had to stick with fairway metals at long and soggy Bethpage Black, and he was pleased to finish tied for 16th with those kind of restrictions. He made 11 birdies in the second round at the Masters when he shot 65, but he didn’t break par the other three rounds.

“It’s probably been my toughest year on tour, the fact that I’ve had these little injuries that have held me back,” Kim said. “But I’m learning more about myself when I’m not playing well. I’m learning how to play this game. I’m learning how to approach different situations when you’re not playing you best, and it’s going to help me when I do start hitting the ball well, and do start putting well, when my game comes together.”

Kim isn’t the only player who has struggled this year.

British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington has missed his last four cuts. Adam Scott had a hard time breaking 80 a few months ago. Ernie Els hasn’t won in 16 months and has fallen out of the top 20.

The fact Kim has gone an entire year without winning is a reminder that winning is never easy on the PGA Tour.

“We live in the era of Tiger Woods, who makes winning look ridiculously easy,” Paul Goydos said last week. “The more I think about it, the more I feel Tiger Woods is the most underrated player on this tour. You guys have no concept of what he accomplishes on a weekly basis when he plays. It’s ridiculous how good he plays.”

Even with 67 career victories and—pay attention, Anthony—14 majors, Woods conceded that it’s never easy.

“I certainly have won my share of tournaments, but I’ve lost more than I’ve won,” he said. “And that’s the nature of our sport. We do lose a lot of events.”

Having turned 24 a few weeks ago, time is on Kim’s side.

He is the defending champion at Congressional—remember, Anthony, it will host the U.S. Open in 2011—and winning again will be more difficult this time with his health just now returning and Woods at full strength.

It would be easy to speculate that Kim is enjoying fruits more than labor, although only he knows how hard he is working. At least his objectives have not changed.

“I want to win golf tournaments. I’m here to do that,” he said. “But at the same time, I have so much to look forward to. I heard you don’t hit your peak at golf until 31, 33 years old. So I have a long way to go. I have a long career ahead of me. And as long as I stay positive and keep working hard, I should be in pretty good shape.”

July 1, 2009

Tours to proceed with groove change

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem didn’t have to spin this one. He made it clear Tuesday that the tour will go along next year with a new rule that changes the grooves in irons and wedges.

The U.S. Golf Association and Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced last year that effective Jan. 1, the dimensions in grooves—from the 5-iron through wedges—would change to create less spin when the ball was struck. The idea was to make shots out of the rough more difficult, putting a higher premium on driving accuracy.

Finchem was under increasing pressure from players and some equipment companies to postpone by one year the new rule, allowing for more research in what amounts to the first rollback in golf equipment since World War II.

But after a spirited discussion by the PGA Tour policy board, Finchem decided to stay the course.

“I think that we’re late in the process,” Finchem said. “I think there’s been a lot of reliance on the schedule by individuals, by equipment manufacturers, by other tours, by other golf organizations in taking steps to prepare for this schedule. We got a couple of requests to consider a delay, and we challenged whether that was a problem. And we concluded that it was.”

Grooves previously were U shaped with sharp edges, allowing high-skilled players to generate enormous spin. The USGA was concerned that players were able to spin the ball out of the rough, allowing for shots to stop more quickly on the green. It felt that players no longer were penalized severely for missing the fairway.

“I think it’s great,” Tiger Woods said. “We’ve had plenty of time to make our adjustments. All the companies have been testing and getting ready for this, and the guys will make the changes.”

Woods said players likely won’t be able to control the ball out of the rough with smaller grooves, and it could change the way they attack par 5s or short par 4s that can be reached off the tee. Missing in the round spot could mean a player “is obviously going to pay a little more of a price.”

Golf’s governing bodies announced in August last year that the grooves rule would take effect Jan. 1 for major championships and tour events around the world. However, each tour has a “condition of competition” clause that allows it to decide whether to follow USGA rules.

USGA president Jim Vernon said two weeks ago that the U.S. Open would follow whatever the PGA Tour decided.

Golf officials said recreational players could continue using irons that were manufactured through 2010, and the new rules would not apply to them until at least 2024. Also, the grooves rule would not apply for events like the U.S. Amateur until 2014.

Acushnet Co., parent company of Titleist and Cobra, had asked that the rule not take effect until Jan. 1, 2011 to align with the date manufacturers are required to ship products with the new groove dimensions.

Otherwise, the company said it would create “bifurcation,” which means not every golfer will be playing under the same rules.

“That disconnect is also unprecedented,” Acushnet said in a statement.

John Solheim, chairman and CEO of Ping, had said Monday evening the company has been opposed to the rule all along, and that postponing the date it becomes effective was not the point.

“The new groove rule harms the game and golfers and should be dropped,” Solheim said. “The recent uproar about it from PGA Tour players demonstrates this fact.”

The nine-member policy board—four members are PGA Tour players—did not vote on the postponement. Rather, it deferred to Finchem and his staff because it was not policy, rather a “condition of competition.”

“I concluded that delaying at this point in time probably was not in our overall best interests,” Finchem said. “But the good news is that there continues to be wide support for the rule itself.”

He said the tour would make available nearby courses at various tournaments later this year for players to test irons, specifically the wedges. Finchem also said there would be a “full-court press” to make sure players and equipment companies are up to speed as the new season—and new rules—nears.

Why not wait one more year?

“We thought that the bulk of the preparedness issue with the delay would be shifted to next year,” he said.

July 1, 2009

Tours to proceed with groove change

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem didn’t have to spin this one. He made it clear Tuesday that the tour will go along next year with a new rule that changes the grooves in irons and wedges.

The U.S. Golf Association and Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced last year that effective Jan. 1, the dimensions in grooves—from the 5-iron through wedges—would change to create less spin when the ball was struck. The idea was to make shots out of the rough more difficult, putting a higher premium on driving accuracy.

Finchem was under increasing pressure from players and some equipment companies to postpone by one year the new rule, allowing for more research in what amounts to the first rollback in golf equipment since World War II.

But after a spirited discussion by the PGA Tour policy board, Finchem decided to stay the course.

“I think that we’re late in the process,” Finchem said. “I think there’s been a lot of reliance on the schedule by individuals, by equipment manufacturers, by other tours, by other golf organizations in taking steps to prepare for this schedule. We got a couple of requests to consider a delay, and we challenged whether that was a problem. And we concluded that it was.”

Grooves previously were U shaped with sharp edges, allowing high-skilled players to generate enormous spin. The USGA was concerned that players were able to spin the ball out of the rough, allowing for shots to stop more quickly on the green. It felt that players no longer were penalized severely for missing the fairway.

“I think it’s great,” Tiger Woods said. “We’ve had plenty of time to make our adjustments. All the companies have been testing and getting ready for this, and the guys will make the changes.”

Woods said players likely won’t be able to control the ball out of the rough with smaller grooves, and it could change the way they attack par 5s or short par 4s that can be reached off the tee. Missing in the round spot could mean a player “is obviously going to pay a little more of a price.”

Golf’s governing bodies announced in August last year that the grooves rule would take effect Jan. 1 for major championships and tour events around the world. However, each tour has a “condition of competition” clause that allows it to decide whether to follow USGA rules.

USGA president Jim Vernon said two weeks ago that the U.S. Open would follow whatever the PGA Tour decided.

Golf officials said recreational players could continue using irons that were manufactured through 2010, and the new rules would not apply to them until at least 2024. Also, the grooves rule would not apply for events like the U.S. Amateur until 2014.

Acushnet Co., parent company of Titleist and Cobra, had asked that the rule not take effect until Jan. 1, 2011 to align with the date manufacturers are required to ship products with the new groove dimensions.

Otherwise, the company said it would create “bifurcation,” which means not every golfer will be playing under the same rules.

“That disconnect is also unprecedented,” Acushnet said in a statement.

John Solheim, chairman and CEO of Ping, had said Monday evening the company has been opposed to the rule all along, and that postponing the date it becomes effective was not the point.

“The new groove rule harms the game and golfers and should be dropped,” Solheim said. “The recent uproar about it from PGA Tour players demonstrates this fact.”

The nine-member policy board—four members are PGA Tour players—did not vote on the postponement. Rather, it deferred to Finchem and his staff because it was not policy, rather a “condition of competition.”

“I concluded that delaying at this point in time probably was not in our overall best interests,” Finchem said. “But the good news is that there continues to be wide support for the rule itself.”

He said the tour would make available nearby courses at various tournaments later this year for players to test irons, specifically the wedges. Finchem also said there would be a “full-court press” to make sure players and equipment companies are up to speed as the new season—and new rules—nears.

Why not wait one more year?

“We thought that the bulk of the preparedness issue with the delay would be shifted to next year,” he said.

July 1, 2009

LPGA Tour loses Hawaii tournament

Organizers of the LPGA Kapalua Classic have pulled out of a four-year deal to host the tournament through 2012 and will not stage the event in October as planned.

The 1.5 million-dollar event was set for October 15-18 at Lahaina on the island of Maui. The backers are a subsidiary of Maui Land and Pineapple, which lost 70.6 million dollars in the last three months of 2008.

Libba Galloway, LPGA deputy commissioner, said in a statement Tuesday that the tour is "extremely disappointed" and that the LPGA will try to enforce legal options under their contract.

The Hawaii event, won by American Morgan Pressel last year, was just ahead of an Asian late-season leg of the LPGA Tour with events in China on October 23-25, South Korea from October 30 to November 1 and Japan from November 6-8.

July 1, 2009

Greg Norman returns to the Australian Open

Greg Norman will play the Australian Open for the next three years, including this year’s event at New South Wales Golf Club in Sydney.

Tournament officials made the announcement about Norman on Monday.

The 54-year-old Norman is a five-time Australian Open champion. He last played the Australian Open two years ago, finishing tied for 26th behind winner John Senden at Royal Sydney.

The former No. 1-ranked Norman has been in Australia for about three weeks with his wife, former tennis star Chris Evert.

The two toured bushfire areas of Victoria state on Sunday, their first wedding anniversary, and spoke to some of the survivors of the Feb. 7 fires that killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.

June 30, 2009

Tiger Woods favourite at PGA National

Two years after pulling together the first PGA National on short notice, top-ranked Tiger Woods is back in the shadow of the US capital for his least-heralded golf role - tournament host.

Woods will be the main attraction and his foundation the chief organizers when the six million-dollar National, a key tuneup event two weeks before the British Open, tees off Thursday at Congressional Country Club.

Don't imagine that 14-time major champion Woods, who missed last year's event due to left knee surgery, is not hungry to swipe the one million-dollar top prize from his 119 invited rivals just because he's hosting the party.

"Last year I was on the couch wanting to be here," Woods said in an April promotional appearance. "I can't wait to get out there. I'm looking forward to playing and hopefully winning."

Woods joins legends Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus in hosting a PGA event two weeks before a major and could complete a mini-slam of sorts by capturing his own tournament this year over the US Independence Day weekend.

Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, taking his first title since returning from an eight-month layoff ahead of a shared sixth-place finish at the Masters.

In early June, Woods won the Nicklaus-hosted Memorial ahead of a sixth-place effort at the US Open.

Woods, whose late father Earl was a member of the Green Berets, will honor the US military all week. Proceeds benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation, which has had an impact on more than 10 million youth since being founded in 1996.

Tough economic times have hit several PGA events but sponsor tents and solid support for Woods are seen all across the 7,255-yard par-70 course, which will play host to the 2011 US Open.

"The financial climate, it makes things a little more interesting," Woods said. "But we have gotten just a tremendous amount of support."

The National will move to suburban Philadelphia in 2010 and 2011 so Congressional can prepare for and host the 2011 US Open, but the tournament will return to Congressional from 2012 to at least 2014.

"We want to come back and play at Congressional as long as Congressional wants us," Woods said. "It's a very historic golf course and one that players love. If you have a great course the players will come."

New US Open champion Lucas Glover will play his third week in a row at Tiger's event with plans to start next week in Illinois and the following week in the British Open at Turnberry.

"I'm going to keep those commitments. I feel that's the right thing to to do," Glover said. "Just because I won a golf tournament doesn't change anything. I'm going to honor that commitment.

"I've got to use it as a springboard. I don't want to fizzle out after one big win. I want to use that as motivation to keep getting better and back in that situation."

Defending champion Anthony Kim shared second in the season-opener at Hawaii but has not cracked the top-10 since. The US standout of Korean descent has shown signs of improvement with a share of 11th last week at Hartford.

"This year has been very frustrating," Kim said. "Definitely was looking for far bigger and better things this year and it hasn't turned out that way. But I'm getting back into good shape."

Kim has struggled with shoulder, ankle and thumb injuries this season.

"The biggest thing was the fact that I wasn't completely healthy and I'm almost there. I've gotten over all those little injuries so now it's just time to work on my swing a little bit more, and start making a couple more putts."

Others in the field include England's Paul Casey, three-time major winner Vijay Singh of Fiji, 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir of Canada, 2003 US Open winner Jim Furyk, 2009 US Open co-runner-up Ricky Barnes, New Zealand teen standout Danny Lee and 2009 US college champion Matt Hill of Canada.

June 30, 2009

Turnberry - Hole by Hole

#1 AILSA CRAIG : 354 YARDS, PAR 4

Fairway bunkering is now one Turnberry’s major strengths, as this view of the 1st hole – a relatively
gentle opener at 354 yards – confirms, with new bunkers added at 280 and 300 yards from the tee

======================

#2 MAK SICCAR : 428 YARDS, PAR 4
Running back parallel with the first, the par-four second again requires careful navigation through a
series of traps

==============================

#3 BLAWWEARIE : 489 YARDS, PAR-4
The Championship tee at the 3rd has been extended by 27 yards, turning what was an inviting four into
a tough two-shooter. Swales about the green do, however, feed-in approach shots and so, in favourable
conditions, a genuine birdie chance

========================

#4 WOE-BE-TIDE : 166 YARDS, PAR-3
The first of Turnberry’s four short holes, the 4th is played to a raised plateau green. A classic
one-shotter that remains unchanged. The beach, incidentally, is an integral part of the course

====================

#5 FIN ME OUT 474 YARDS, PAR-4
An old back tee has been brought into play at this swinging right-to-left dogleg, lengthening the hole by 33
yards. Two new bunkers have also been added on the right of the fairway (at 290 and 320 yards), catching
the ‘bail-out’, but the real danger lurks on the green itself, a perilously quick surface that slopes back to
front

========================

#6 TAPPIE TOORIE : 231 YARDS, PAR 3
No changes have been made at the 6th – ‘cos none were needed. At 231 yards, this is a brute of a par
three, with a steep bank awaiting to the right, a string of three traps catching anything left. In the far left of
the photo is the extended tee at the par-five 7th

=============================

#7 ROON THE BEN’ : 538 YARDS, PAR-5
Assuming a good drive across a ridge, those who do make it ‘Roon the Ben’ to find the safety of this 7th
fairway will be thinking in terms of reaching in two. One of only two parfives on the course, this is a hole
that should yield plenty of red figures

====================

#8 GOAT FELL : 454 YARDS, PAR 4
From the 8th, Turnberry begins to bare its teeth. This is a gentle right-to-left dogleg, with fairway bunkers
devilishly placed to catch out anything but a sure-footed tee shot. The green comprises two levels, a back
pin only compounding the complexity of the matter

===================

#9 BRUCE’S CASTLE : 449 YARDS, PAR 4
Following a semi-blind tee shot from a tee that is basically set on a ledge above the rocks, the hog’s back
9th fairway sets up this view of the approach to this par four – and not a bunker in sight!

===============

#10 DINNA FOUTER : 456 YARDS, PAR 4
Turnberry’s unmistakable signature hole, the 10th is one of the world’s great par fours. The Championship
tee has been moved back and now sits (formidably) atop the rocks, demanding a good drive to find the
safety of the fairway, which has been mowed a little closer to the beach. A donut-shaped trap sited in the
fairway 80 yards or so short of the green can play tricks on judging the right club for the shot in

================

#11 MAIDENS : 175 YARDS, PAR 3
The serene beauty of Ailsa at dusk, as lenghtening shadows cross the 11th green, Ailsa Craig silent away in
the distance

===============

#12 MONUMENT : 451 YARDS, PAR 4
A new bunker has been added to the right of the fariway at 320 yards from the tee, but otherwise this hole
remains as was – a tough par four to a slightly raised green that sits in the shadow of the Monument

======================

#13 TICKLY TAP : 410 YARDS, PAR 4
Drive has been made a little tougher with the addition of a new bunker down the left, while a ridge has been
created in the rigth rough. Again, a raised plateau green

===================

#14 RISK-AN-HOPE : 448 YARDS, PAR 4
A tee on the neighbouring Kintyre Course will be used here to give a better view of the fairway at this
straight-away par four

======================

#15 CA CANNY : 206 YARDS, PAR 3
This is a view from the left edge of the green at this magnificent par three, sure to be a pivotal hole come
Sunday – as it was in 1977 when Tom Watson tumbled in an unlikely birdie putt from off the green, well to
the right of this bunker

====================

#16 WEE BURN : 455 YARDS, PAR 4
The 16th hole has been transformed since the Open was last here in 1994. A new tee has been added
and the fairway rerouted, creating a gentle left-to-right dogleg. At 455 yards, the difficulty remains on
negotiating the burn – even more so now as the approach is more across from a left-hand angle.
The new flight of tees at the 17th (extending the par five by some 60 yards) can be seen to the left

=====================

ANGWHANG : 559 YARDS, PAR 5
The realignment of the 16th tee making way for a new flight of tees that have lengthened this hole by 61
yards. It will still be reachable for the bigger hitters, setting up the opportunity of eagle, Nick Price style

============================

#18 DUEL IN THE SUN : 461 YARDS, PAR 4
Perhaps the least picturesque of Turnberry’s Ailsa Course, but a challenging par four that will no doubt
prove the scene of some drama. A new back tee has added 29 yards, and, with a third bunker added to
the left of the drive zone, the difficulty is in threading a tee shot into the narrow neck of fairway

For the love of his links

George Brown is preparing for his third and final Open Championship as head green keeper and estates manager at Turnberry.

He spoke to Andy Farrell.

This is your third Open Championship. What have been the challenges of this one, 15 years after the last? Anything different about this year?

No, except that the players seem to hit the ball further every year so we felt we had to lengthen the golf course – not dramatically but enough. But the other thing is that Turnberry had only 66 bunkers for the previous Opens, which when you compare to other Open venues is not a lot, so I thought we were under-bunkered.

We have an additional 21 fairway bunkers and that’s going to put more of an emphasis on accuracy. They are quite penal; the players won’t like them. Then the biggest change is the 16th, which was my baby. We wanted to move the 17th tee back and were trying to work out how to do that. We thought about moving the 16th green but then had the idea of moving the fairway at the 16th to the left so it played as a dogleg.

When I was preparing to tell my boss, I wrote down six positives about the idea and couldn’t come up with a single negative. Then we went to the R&A and worked with [architect] Martin Ebert on it. I don’t pretend to be a course architect but I have a passion for golf and I know what works from a players’ point of view and it was nice to be involved.

You arrived here in January 1986, just six months before the Open. That must have been quite an experience?

My predecessor died suddenly and I got the call to come up, I was at Broome Park in Kent at the time. I came and saw the course and stayed in the hotel. I looked out of the window in the dining room and thought, ‘This will do me.’ I didn’t take much persuading. But there was a lot to do ahead of the Open. We had a young, inexperienced crew and there wasn’t a lot of money about for capital expenditure or machinery. It was tough.

You grew up playing at Prince’s, Royal St George’s and at Deal in Kent. Did that experience help in suddenly having to prepare an Open course? I’m biased. People up here tend to think the only links courses are Scottish courses but you go to the Birkdale area and there are all these lovely golf courses and also on the Kent coast. There are some gems down there and so I knew what I was looking for, what the R&A were looking for.

I knew Sir Michael Bonallack, who was the secretary, and it was Jim Arthur, their agronomist, who recommended me for the job, so was we all in the same boat and knew what we wanted. I’ve worked with the R&A for over 30 years and always got on well with them, the same with the PGA, the European Tour and promoters like IMG, working on all the tournaments we have had here over the years. And I have been lucky not to have to work for lots of club committees, but for a hotel general manager who trusts you to do your job. Like anything, it is about common sense and keeping your feet on the ground. It’s not rocket science.

What were the main challenges for the preparation of the ’86 and ’94 Opens?

In ’86 it was the wind and the rough. But a few days before the Open, I remember walking from the clubhouse, there was not a breath of wind but there was a tropical dampness, my feet were soaked before I got to the first tee. I remember Seve, after a practice round on the Wednesday, saying to me: “The course is good, the fairways are good, the greens are good, it’s going to be a good Open.” Around about midday on Thursday, someone pulled a switch and the wind got up, the rain came in sideways and the next day in the papers it was “the course is impossible, it’s a joke”. The man upstairs has an awful lot to do with it. It’s in his
hands and we just have a work with him. The same in ’94. When they were building the tented village there was a dust storm, it was so dry.

I played on the Friday before with Sir Michael Bonallack and the chairman of the championship committee. We walked onto the 8th green and the spikes were crunching and the surface was shiny and Sir Michael said: “Do you think we will up the water, George?” and I said, “Well, we’ll see.” That was Friday night. Saturday we had 17 mm of rain, Sunday we had 9 mm, then 8 mm and then 9 mm. By Thursday it was an oasis, not soft but receptive. It took a couple of days to dry out. So you think you’ve got it somewhere near right and then something like that happens. That’s links golf.

You were not here in 1977 – the Duel in the Sun – but what are your memories of that encounter?

Well, It was a classic. I never tire of watching the video, which is always playing on the TV outside the pro shop here. What I like about the course, I think Turnberry is one of the fairest golf courses. You get what you see. I don’t think it is any coincidence that in ’77 you had two of the best golfers of the time battling it out, in the mid-’80s Greg Norman was one of the best golfers and in the early to mid-’90s Nick Price was one of the best. I think that says a lot for the course.

There has been some criticism that the scoring can be too easy here at times. Do you agree?

Any links, Birkdale or St Andrews or wherever, if they get calm, balmy days, they’ll shoot 12 under or perhaps even lower, and what’s wrong with that? But if the wind gets up, especially here, they will be nearer 84 than 64. Last year at the Amateur Championship, all four days the wind was from a different direction. That was wonderful. You had four different golf courses. You can’t plan to have four 69s. You have to take what you can get, whether 84 or 64.

The course has been closed over the winter. Are you pleased with its condition at the moment?

I’m delighted and that’s without having any growth yet. The soil temperatures are still low, but it will come in the next week or so. We have all the ingredients on the stove, just simmering away and hopefully we can bring it to the boil a week or two before the Open.

There must be an excitement each time, wondering what the players are going to do – we’ve got Tiger for the first time here this year?

Of course. Wherever the Open is each year, I always have a challenge to myself to make a concerted effort to make the Ailsa as good as possible, so it is as good as at the Open.
Obviously, when you know you have the Open, it’s another matter. The goalposts change each year. Last year at Birkdale was wonderful, the year before at Carnoustie was in fantastic condition. So that’s what we have to produce this year. There are new owners of the hotel, a lot of money is going in, so my head is in a noose. Expectations are going to be high.

Was it frustrating that Turnberry was off the rota for reasons which were nothing to do with the course?

No, that’s right but we are quite commercial here and we have been busy with three or four Amateur Championships, the Seniors Open a few times, the Ladies Open. There aren’t many years we have not had something. But the Open, there is that extra responsibility but it’s great for the boys on the crew. They put so much into it. Many of them are still with me from ’86 so they are very experienced now. They know the standards we are looking for so I’m not worried.

Was it a difficult decision to step down after the Open?

Yes. I’m delighted in one sense as two weeks after the Open I’ll be 71 and I’ve been working since I was 14, 15. My wife is going to be pleased and I’m going to have time to do what I want to do. But I will miss it. It’s my life. Euan Grant, who was at St Andrews, is taking over and he is very switched on and will do a brilliant job. The future for Turnberry is exciting with the hotel being refurbished. The new owners are investing heavily on golf course equipment – it’s a shame they did not come along a bit sooner…

Reproduced with kind permission of Golf International.

The Ailsa bites back

Mark Alexander talks to architect Martin Ebert about the key changes he has made to strengthen Turnberry's Championship credentials

In terms of Opens, it always seems too long, between visits to Turnberry. The last time the claret jug was raised on the west coast links was 15 years ago, when Nick Price triumphed with a blistering final round of 66. Before that, Greg Norman won his first major in 1986 and nine years earlier the triumphant Tom Watson overcame the gracious Jack Nicklaus in the fabled Duel in the Sun. All brilliant spectacles played on a remarkable course.

But things have changed since the Ailsa Course last hosted the grandest major of them all, and the course has been asked to follow suit. To combat advances in technology, and the silly distances players hit the ball these days, six new championship tees have extended the course by 250 yards, while a total of 23 bunkers have been added to place greater emphasis on strategy. But simply stretching the links and adding more sand would do little to avoid the trouncing the course took on its last Open outing, when Turnberry won the dubious honour of recording the greatest number of rounds under 70 in the modern era (albeit a slightly skewed fact given the par of 70). As well as more traps and added length, the course needed tweaking.

Enter Martin Ebert, an English architect with a track record of fine-tuning Open Championship venues. His CV boasts the reworking of Royal Liverpool, Royal St George’s, Royal Lytham and now Turnberry, which although beautiful clearly needed its teeth back.

"The Ailsa is one of the most scenic Open venues, but there was some concern about how well it would stand up and the focus had to be shifted to make sure the players were tested and had to make the right decisions," says Ebert. "We started working at Turnberry with Donald Steel on the Kintyre course, but in 2003 we were commissioned by Turnberry, in conjunction with the R&A, to write a report on the Ailsa Course."

Like many great links courses, Turnberry suffers from climatic anomaly that means when the wind drops below a teeth-chattering squall, the course rolls over like a kitten. Calmer conditions effectively extend the target areas in the wide, open fairways to such an extent that pars become bogeys, and with only 65 bunkers and greens that collect rather than repel balls, the course needed something else.

"Turnberry’s courses and estates manager, George Brown, made the point that compared to other links courses, quite a lot of Turnberry’s greens do help to gather rather than deflect the ball," says Ebert. "From that respect it was important to tighten the course in other areas without resorting to changing the greens."

You’d have to say that’s a big ask – and one that comes with the added pressure of tinkering with a course initially laid out by Willie Fernie in 1901 and subsequently redesigned by Cecil Hutchinson and Mackenzie Ross, with greater accolades each time.

"It’s a great honour to work on any course," says Ebert, "but especially one with the standing and the fame of Turnberry. It was nerve-wracking. Working on the 16th and deciding to strip away an entire area of fairway and use modern machinery to create something that looks as natural as possible was a nervous time. When you start off with a relatively flat piece of fairway and try to turn it into something that people naturally believe the hole doglegs around, it is tricky. In fact, it was only as the project progressed that we became confident of the results." The modern-day 16th is a risk-and-reward hole where driving the ball as close to the right-hand side of the fairway will open up an approach shot to the raised green which is protected by a moat-like burn. Ebert and his design partner, Tom Mackenzie, have complicated matters by moving an existing fairway bunker to the right of the landing area and creating ball-swallowing crater in the nearby dune system. The result is that a tough hole is now a whole lot tougher, and one that will almost certainly prove pivotal come the closing stages of the championship. The changes at 16 are some of the most dramatic at Turnberry but they are by no means alone. As Ebert explains, to force players to consider their strategy more carefully, wholesale changes were required elsewhere especially in respect to tee shots. "Fairway bunkers need to fit into the terrain that surrounds them, which often defines where they are located," says Ebert. "Obviously, placing them at the right distance from the tee is key if you’re going to challenge the golfer to carry them or flirt with them as closely as possible to get the best line into the green. We certainly didn’t want to take the driver out of the players’ hands, but we also wanted to make sure the driver wasn’t always the best option." The new-look 17 has also seen changes, although not as dramatic as those on 16. A new championship tee will stretch the hole to 560 yards, making it a proper par-five according to Ebert. "It’s become more of a three-shotter," he says. "Not only has 60 yards been added to the tee but the old drives used to land on a downslope, so effectively it’s now 100 yards longer. It will be interesting to see how aggressive the guys are off the tee because the shape of the fairway will throw the balls towards the existing fairway bunker. It should be fascinating." Perhaps the most telling change is at the 10th (pictured). The aptly named Dinna Fouter (Don’t Mess About), the hole loops around the craggy coastline to a sheltered green. Looking back, the scene is framed by Turnberry’s wonderful lighthouse and Ailsa Craig, but don’t be fooled by the picture-postcard vista. New fairway bunkers and a stunning new tee will make this one of the sternness tests on the course. "Taking the tee over to the rocky shoreline has created a spectacular drive compared to the old line, which looked spectacular but when you stood up on the tee you didn’t really get an impression of the coastline to the left of the hole," says Ebert. "We had to make it sensible for the old and new alignments which led us to putting in two central bunkers and one on the right-hand side. It really challenges the players to decide whether they want to take the fast route down the left-hand side between the bunkers and the coast, play up short or flirt with the bunkers down the right-hand side, which could leave them 150 yards to the pin. If they’re brave, they could get to within 100 yards of the green off the tee, but they’ll certainly have to take some risks to do that." Reproduced with kind permission of Golf International.