A massive month ahead

WITH the European Tour now moving back to mainland Europe this is the time to hit my best form with so many Order of Merit and Ryder Cup points available. We haven’t gone overboard on the playing schedule so far so, all being well, I will be fresh for the summer and what lies in store over the coming months.

No doubt you will have heard or read about the transformation Mark Roe has made to Lee Westwood’s short game over the past 10 months or so. Therefore I’m pleased to report that I have also now started working with ‘Roey’ over the past couple of months.

The partnership came about when he approached my caddie Adam to say that he thought he could maybe help with my pitching and chipping. So I got his number, gave him a call and we agreed to give it a go.

Mark, to my mind, has been one of the best exponents of the short game and he and Brett Rumford have always stood out among all the fabulous chippers on tour. Also, having played with Westwood a couple of times earlier in the season it was obvious how polished he has become around the greens so it wasn’t a difficult decision to make.

At the time of writing we have had three sessions together, one before Doral in March and two since, and we’re both pleased with the progress being made. There were a couple of things on my technique which he wasn’t overly keen on so he adjusted the ball position and set-up a little, nothing too major, and the changes have been easy to make.

With the new technique I have been amazed at how much more aggressive I can be, knowing that I’m going to get a good quality of strike on a consistent basis, and the confidence and belief that I have gained from that has been great. On a personal basis Roey’s also been tremendous.

He is so enthusiastic and makes you feel so good about yourself when you put the changes into place so now I can’t wait to get out there and, if I am in a position to challenge and have to show off the short game, then I would look forward to it.

Tournament-wise I spent two weeks in China in April and, although I arrived at the China Open with my game not in the best of shape, I managed to make it through to the weekend. The real positive of Beijing was how strong I was mentally. I wasn’t hitting it very well at all but managed to grit it out.

The last day was particularly difficult in the wet and windy conditions, very similar to the final round at Wentworth last year, and it wasn’t made any easier still having to play off the very back tees and having the pins tucked away. Another aspect that wasn’t too appealing was the smog-like conditions. I’m not too sure how different it will be in September for the Olympic Games but you didn’t want to wander too far as you felt like you had just smoked 20 cigarettes after finishing a round!

The week after, in Shanghai, for the Asian Open was much more pleasant, both on and off the course. I felt like my game was improving all the time and things were looking quite promising until I bogeyed the last three holes on the Saturday. At the end of the week, having hit the ball pretty well, it was frustrating to finish up five over but sometimes the scores don’t
tell the whole story and I came away feeling fairly upbeat about things.

Another boost for the year ahead is a new sponsorship deal that I have just signed with Genworth Financial. It is a genuine honour to represent the company and I feel very privileged to be representing them, particularly with their links with the European Tour.

I know a lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes and I’ve already spent a day with them and I can’t wait to get to know the people involved with the company as well as doing some charity work. All being well I’ll get them plenty of exposure in the coming weeks and if things go to plan, either on the tour or at the 36-hole qualifying at Walton Heath, I could be lining up in my second Major, the US Open at Torrey Pines in California.

Among other things I look forward to bringing you up to speed with events from my home track Wentworth and another crack at the BMW PGA Championship, probably my favourite event of the year.