Golf Academy Tip of the Week

Breathing

Something as simple as breathing can have an enormous effect on your state and subsequent ability to perform. If you are feeling a little tense or annoyed, try some long, deep breaths, emanating from the stomach and try to exhale a little of the tension each time you breathe out. Notice how your body relaxes and returns to its peak performance.


Tour Results

EUROPEAN TOUR: HSBC Champions
With 11 holes to play Phil Mickelson held a 5 shot lead and looked like on his way to a comfortable victory, but over the next couple of hours everything seemed to happen. Mickelson started to drop shots with penalty shot after penalty shot and when he reached the 18th hole he was 1 back of England’s Ross Fisher. Sitting in the clubhouse at 10 under-par 278 was Lee Westwood who had come from 12 back at one point to come home in 30 and be only 2 shots behind Fisher. Even he though could not predict what was about to happen. Mickelson went for the par 5 in two but found the water and with Fisher sitting green side in the rough in 2 it looked all over. Fisher though from a bad lie pitched the ball into the water and eventually made double bogey 7, which left Mickelson with a putt for par to win out right, but that stayed above ground and amazingly there was a three man play-off. All three men birdied the 18th the first time around and so in fading light went back to the 18th hole again, this time though, Westwood found the water, Fisher the greenside bunker and Mickelson the back fringe. With Westwood out of it Mickelson pitched down to 6 feet and when Fisher failed to get up and down from the bunker, Mickelson rolled in the 6 foot birdie putt to claim victory.

EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR: The Kingdom of Bahrain Trophy - Seniors Tour Championship
In the final event of the 2007 European Seniors Tour it was Italian Costantino Rocca that came away with the winner’s cheque. Rocca came to the final hole tied with England’s Nick Job after both men birdied the 16th and 17th holes and when both men found the green in regulation a play-off looked likely. Rocca though was able to 2 putt for his par, but from 25 feet away Job raced his first putt past and when he failed to hole the return putt, Rocca was the champion. The win also secured Rocca the prize of European Tour Rookie of the Year.

LPGA TOUR: Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions
American Paula Creamer ran away from the field this week to record a very comfortable 8 shot victory from Korean Birdie Kim. Creamer had birdied the final 7 holes during the first round and had opened up a 5 shot lead after a second round 65, never looked like being challenged over the final holes and so it was. Creamer who was playing with a Pink ball went 62 holes with out a bogey during the event and after recording her second successive round of 4 under-par 68 for a 20 under-par 268 total had her second win of 2007.