WGC – HSBC Champions
For the Blog this week there really is only one place that we can start and that is by congratulating Ross Fisher on a massive win at the Volvo World Match Play Championship last week. This is unquestionably the biggest victory of Ross’ career and is just reward for a season of great consistency. Ross has the lowest score of any player in the world across this season’s four major championships and, almost without exception, has played great all season long. Victory has Ross well in contention for the Race to Dubai and up to a career high 17th position in the Official World Golf Rankings. Well done “Fish”!!!!
Titleist Tour Representative Phil Dimmock caught up with Ross and caddy Adam Marrow in Shanghai on Wednesday and, as you can imagine, both player and caddy were in great spirits following their victory last week. That said, Adam was understandably a little jaded having carried Ross’ Titleist Staff Bag 126 holes during last weeks event, not to mention a thirteen hour flight to Shanghai (although as you’ll see from this week’s slideshow, Adam did get a little help this week!!!)
Click here to view the slideshow
Regular visitors to the Tour Blog will remember that Ross decided on a change of driver a couple of weeks back at the Portugal Masters. It’s fair to say that the switch has paid off as the driver made an invaluable contribution towards his victory at Finca Cortesin last week. Ross commented on his new 909D3 this week in Shanghai and feels it is 10-15 yards longer versus his previous driver. During last weeks semi-final match against Masters Champion Angel Cabrera (Pro V1x), Ross was keeping up with, or even out-driving the big hitting Argentinean. In addition, those of you that watched television coverage of the event will tesify that Ross was as straight from the tee and he was long; a pretty formidable combination!!
Alongside his new driver, Fisher has also put the new Spin Milled C-C (Condition of Competition) wedges in the bag in preparation for the new groove regulations being introduced in early 2010. Victory last week for Fisher would indicate that he has acclimatised to the new wedges without too much difficulty and feedback from other players is also suggesting that the impact of the groove regulations is not going to be as severe as many predicted. Titleist Ambassador Scott Strange, for example, actually commented that he is able to judge trajectory and spin more effectively with the new C-C wedges versus the original Spin Milled groove. It will be interesting to watch this story unfold and guage the reaction of players when they get to venues where heavy rough and/or hard-pan conditions are a factor. Watch this space!!
Ross Fisher
Model: 909D3 8.5°
Shaft: True Temper Project X 7A3 X-Flex
Length: 45”
Grip: Lamkin Crossline Cord Black (+1/64”)
Swingweight: D4.5
Model: Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C – Tour Chrome Finish
Loft / Bounce / Grind: 48.06, 54.10, 60-T Grind
Length: +1/2”
Lie: 2° Upright
Grips: Lamkin Tour Full Cord Black .580 Round (+1/64” & Reversed)
Swingweights: D5
Another player to arrive in Shanghai fresh from victory is Titleist Pro V1 loyalist Ian Poulter. The flamboyant Englishman last week claimed the Barclays Singapore Open in wire-to-wire fashion for his first European Tour title since 2007. The victory moves Poulter inside the top 10 on the Race to Dubai rankings and has him in confident mood as we move towards the season ending Dubai World Championships. Congratulations to Poults, it’s good to see him back in the winner’s circle.
With the European Tour far a field there was once again no Titleist Tour Support Vehicle (TTSV) on site at the event. Following a season without any clubs being broken in transit we have now had two incidents in the past two weeks. We told you about Soren Hansen’s broken driver at last week’s Singapore Open and this week Titleist Amassador Gaganjet Bhuller from India was the one to suffer the misfortune of a broken driver shaft. With no TTSV to call on Gaganjet was fortunate that there was a small workshop on site where the driver could be repaired and even more fortunate that the UST representative had a shaft available for the driver. The Titleist Tour Team set to work and the 909D2 was soon back in the bag and ready for tournament play.
Gaganjet Bhuller
Model: 909D2
Loft: 8.5°
Shaft: UST Mamiya Attas 7 X-Flex
Length: 45”
Grip: Tour Velvet .580 Ribbed (+1/32”)
Swingweight: D3
That’s all from the Blog for this week. The HSBC Champions promises to be a fascinating event as proven tournament winners from across the world’s major Tours go head-to-head. Titleist Ambassador Nick Watney from the USA has a share of the lead at the halfway stage, but with the world’s #1 and #2 players for company at the top of the leaderboard, Nick is going to have to produce his very best over the weekend to lift the title and claim the €800,000 first place cheque.
Next week we are in Hong Kong for the UBS Hong Kong Open, the final leg of the European Tour season before the Dubai World Championship finale. With so many players in contention for the inaugural Race to Dubai and a number of players hitting form at just the right time, the climax to the season looks set to be a fascinating one. We’ll be back as usual at the same time next week with more from inside the ropes on the European Tour.
Add comment November 6th, 2009
