Stenson And Karlsson Confirm Mission Hills World Cup Defence


London (June 12): Defending champions Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson of Sweden have expressed their desire to return to China to defend their position as world champions at the 2009 Omega Mission Hills World Cup which will be staged at Mission Hills Golf Club from November 26–29. Karlsson, the current holder of the Harry Vardon Trophy as Europe’s number one in 2008, and Stenson, winner of the Players Championship on the US PGA Tour in May, hope that they can be driven to victory once again by their pride in representing Sweden and by the enduring friendship they forged in winning the 2008 Omega Mission Hills World Cup. They reflected on their World Cup experience in a recent interview. “It was a great week, we had a lot of fun and it was a great experience for Robert and me because we bonded well together for the first time,” said Stenson.

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The Answer To Your Putting Woes! TaylorMade Unveils Rossa Monza Spider Balero


San Diego (June 11): TaylorMade Golf has introduced a new addition to its popular line of Rossa Monza Spider putters, called the Monza Spider Balero, a large mallet that combines the forgiveness and feel of the Monza Spider with a uniquely shaped head that makes it dramatically easier to aim the clubface correctly. "We spend a lot of time studying putting and the reasons why most average golfers don't putt as well as Tour pros do," said Bill Price, senior director of Rossa. "One in-depth analysis we conducted focused on putts of 14 feet and less. That's a range where pros convert a relatively high percentage of the time, but amateurs don't. Why? One of the reasons is because, according to our data, the amateur aims the putter face poorly 64.4 per cent of the time. Meaning that on two out of every three putts, the player mis-aims."

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Asian Expansion Sees Champions Tour Heading For Seoul


Seoul (June 11): The PGA Tour has announced that a multi-year agreement has been reached to bring the Champions Tour to Asia for the first time with the debut of an official tournament in the fall of 2010. The tournament will be played at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Songdo International Business District (IBD), located 40 miles west of Seoul in the country’s largest current economic development project. Songdo IBD is being developed by Gale International, a New York-based real estate development and investment firm. Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea is being co-developed by Gale International and Kitson & Partners, a leading golf community and club development company.

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Charged-Up Tseng Ready To Launch Bulle Rock Title Defence


Maryland (June 10): Chinese Taipei's Tseng Yani returns to Bulle Rock Golf Course this week hoping to channel memories that will lead to a successful title defence at the 55th edition of the US$2 million McDonald's LPGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola. It was not an easy victory in 2008 as it took Tseng four holes of a sudden-death play-off with Maria Hjorth, of Sweden. Becoming a 2008 Rolex first-time winner was a milestone for Tseng, but a victory that remained her only one until last month's LPGA Corning Classic. Since Tseng's last visit to Havre de Grace, she has carded 12 top-10 finishes in 27 starts, including four runner-up finishes. She enters this week ranked second on the Rolex Rankings - a significant jump over the 25th spot she had moved into one year ago.

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Terrific Tiger Setting Out To Reinforce His Lofty Goals


Fort Worth, Texas (June 9): In every sense, Tiger Woods' performance in winning The Memorial Tournament was simply sensational. To coin a phrase from the manufacturers whose products he used to such devastating effect: 'He just did it!' While the majority of players crumbled under the strain at the Muirfield Village course in Ohio, world number one Woods swept to a victory that took the breath away and ensures there will be no more talk of him being past his prime following the knee surgery that kept him out of action for the best part of eight months. The bare facts are these. It was his 20th career final round comeback; his 67th PGA Tour career victory and his fourth Memorial Tournament title. No wonder he's odds-on favourite to retain his US Open crown next week.

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Past Champion Ogilvy Predicting Tough Open Test


Ohio (June 7): You don't have to be a rocket scientist to predict how the Bethpage Black course will be set-up for this month's US Open. All the same, Geoff Ogilvy wanted to go and see for himself. And guess what? The Australian was not surprised by what he saw. The man who already has one US Open title to his name said: "The set-up is predictable. They've got that kind of graduated rough again. The rough is very thick. But the first bit of longer stuff, 15 feet or so, it's not that long, and it's not going to be a very good spot to be." However, following a stunning 63 in the third round at The Memorial Tournament on Saturday, Ogilvy has good cause to approach the 2009 US Open with considerable belief and confidence.

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