Woosie sets sights on US Open glory in Colorado

Tag : Round Over Bit

THE British Senior Open title may have proved beyond him, but IanWoosnam is all geared up for success on American soil this week.
It is more than 17 years ago that Woosie slipped into the famousgreen jacket at Augusta having claimed the Masters crown, a featwhich saw him climb to the very top of the official world rankingswhere he stayed for 50 weeks.
And today, the diminutive Welshman stands head and shoulders abovethe rest of the European Seniors Tour after a fine first fourmonths on the circuit.
His tied-13th finish on four over par at Royal Troon – whereAmerican Bruce Vaughan triumphed over compatriot John Cook after asudden-death play-off – may have been his lowest-placedfinish this year.
But Woosnam saw enough in his final-round 69 to give him hope aheadof Thursday’s US Senior Open in Colorado.
Woosnam said: “I drove the ball well, which was pleasing, andI managed to alter my game-plan halfway round to good effect.
“I tried to play a bit too aggressively on the front nine andit didn’t come off.
“So I just tried to go down the shaft a little bit and swinga bit easier.
“That seemed to have been the secret.
“Now it’s a matter of going over there, playing thesame and holing a few more putts.
“I couldn’t hole a sausage today, but the rest of mygame is in pretty good shape.”
Having turned 50 in March, Woosnam announced his arrival on theSeniors Tour in style.
Wins at the Russian and Polish Opens, as well as runner-up spot inthe Ryder Cup Wales Senior Open at Conwy, have made him the man tobeat, but he says his success has been no surprise.
“Without sounding arrogant, I haven’t exceeded myexpectations,” he said.
“I haven’t felt that good with my back problem, butI’ve still done OK.
“If I was really fit, I could really do well.
“I’m not too bothered about being number one on theOrder of Merit, to be honest.
“Much more important to me is being able to play golf at themoment.
“After the injury and my ME, I’m not taking the gamefor granted.”
The majority of the 10,000-plus crowd on the iconic South Ayrshirelinks were in no doubt who they wanted to see lift the replicaClaret Jug.
Perennial favourites Tom Watson, Greg Norman and Bernhard Langerwere all in contention going into the final day.
But it was the hitherto relatively unknown Vaughan and Cook whoproved too hot to handle in the glorious sunshine.
It was inevitable that Norman would command the biggest galleryafter his exploits at Royal Birkdale a week ago, especially whenMrs Norman – Chris Evert – was following his everyshot.
And for a while, it looked as though the Great White Shark wasgoing to chew up the rest of the field and spit them out.
Seven shots adrift at the start of play, he had moved from one overto four under after seven holes, and the leaders were lookingnervously over their shoulders.
But as it had on Saturday, his putter failed to fire, and the53-year-old had to settle for a share of fifth place alongsidefellow Watson and Gene Jones on two under.
“I enjoyed it every step of the way,” said the Aussie.“But not from a scoring standpoint.
“It was like Birkdale – the golfing gods weren’ton my side.”
Watson, looking to retain his title and lift the trophy for arecord fourth time, also found himself four under on the frontnine, but some wayward iron shots saw his challenge fade.
It was left to Langer and Eduardo Romero to pile on the pressure,and with the final pair both suffering mid-round crises, it lookedlike a more famous name would be lifting the trophy.
Vaughan, having reached seven under, dropped strokes on the 12thand 14th before rallying with a birdie at the par-three 17th.
But Cook’s collapse was painful to watch.
The 50-year-old has unfortunate form in throwing away final-dayleads in Majors.
This was the man, remember, who stood on the 17th tee at Muirfieldin the 1992 Open with a two-shot lead, only to choke and gift thetitle to Nick Faldo by one shot.
There seemed little sign of a repeat performance as Cook raced intoa four-shot lead at 10-under by the turn. But his ghosts returnedto haunt him.
A double-bogey on 11 and a bogey at the next rocked the man fromOhio, but with Vaughan equally profligate, he still had two shotsfor the title from the edge of the final green.
Putting from the fringe, he left the ball woefully short, and whatshould have been a tap-in was suddenly a nervy ten-footer.
Unsurprisingly, he failed to hole it, opening the door for Vaughanto force a play-off with the pair on six under par.
His compatriot needed no second invitation, and with Cook stillreeling as they headed back up the 18th, Vaughan played threeperfect shots for a birdie and his first European Senior Tourvictory – and with it a cheque for almost £158,000.
Langer and Romero, meanwhile, were left kicking themselves.
The German, playing alongside Norman, stormed to a flawless sixunder with two holes to play.
Pars on 17 and 18 would have seen him snatch a place in theplay-off, but two bogeys left him in outright third place on fourunder.
Romero, too, was on six under at the last.
But his approach leaked right of the green, rebounding off thetable housing the trophy, and he failed to get up and down.
Six weeks ago, Vaughan’s mother was killed in a road trafficaccident, and the champion struggled to contain his emotions afterhis win.
“It’s been a horrible, hard time,” he said.
“But I kept it together – just – and played mybest golf of the week on the play-off hole.
“That putt was 20-odd foot, but I just aimed at the top ofthe cup, as I’ve been trying to do all week, and it wentin.”
Cook, once again, was left wondering how the title had slippedthrough his grasp.
“I didn’t ease off on the last two holes,” hesaid.
“You can’t afford to do that here, so I did attackthem.
“Bruce played his heart out, and that’s just the way itis, I guess.”
It’s enough to drive a golfer mad, but hopefully Cook retainshis sense of humour ahead of this week’s US Senior Open.
The venue? Broadmoor.