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 Wednesday,
Aug 9 Headline News
Schedule of Events
Goose Feels Loose as Defender
From The Desk of Buddy Martin
Wednesday Pro-Am Pairings
Thursday Round 1 and
Friday Round 2 Pairings
 Goose
Feels Loose as Defender
By JOHN FINERAN
INTERNATIONAL Daily News
CASTLE ROCK, CO —In the previous 20 years of The INTERNATIONAL,
there have been multiple winners: Phil Mickelson in 1993 and ’97
and Davis Love III in 1990 and 2003. Never,
however, has a previous champion successfully defended his title
the following year.
South Africa’s Retief
Goosen knows the odds are long but he intends to pursue them when
the 21st INTERNATIONAL begins play at Castle Pines Golf Club, the
golf cathedral in the Rocky Mountain foothills founded by businessman-sportsman
Jack A. Vickers and designed by champion golfer Jack Nicklaus. “It’s
about making birdies this week and getting those points on the board,” said
the 37-year-old two-time U.S. Open champion who last year totaled
+32 points in the modified Stableford scoring system to beat former
Castle Pines resident Brandt Jobe by a point. “You can shoot
69 and the other guy can shoot 71, but he can have more points than
you because he’s made more birdies and eagles.
“Normally,” Goosen
continued, “the guy who wins here has putted very well. These
greens are as good as you can get them. So if your putter gets hot,
you can make a lot of putts. Goosen
hasn’t won this year but has played well in The PLAYERS Championship
(second), the Masters (third0 and the British Open (14th) to offset
a missed cut at the U.S. Open. Most of his problems have been with
the short stick.
“I’ve worked very
hard on my game before the British Open and through the British Open,” said
Goosen, who has earned over $2.1 million (16th on the money list)
and maintains the No. 5 ranking in the world. “I felt like
I was starting to hit the ball a lot better, just not quite making
the putts I need to.” But
Castle Pines’ immaculate, undulating greens can cure that in
a hurry.
“This week we’re
putting on perfect greens,” Goosen said. “So hopefully
I can make a few putts this week.” Goosen
says Castle Pines reminds him of the courses in his native land.
“It’s similar altitude
to what I grew up in,” he said. “So you know everyone
coming here this week, we feel like animals hitting the ball 330
yards comfortably. It’s amazing how far the ball can go over
here.” Like a lot of
other players, Goosen believes you play by feel, pick the club you
think will get you to the hole and hit it.
“Last year on the first
hole for the second shot, I had somewhere around 250 yards and you’re
hitting a 4-iron,” he reflected. “It’s hard to
believe sometimes the ball is going to go that far and get there.
You’ve just got to trust it that it’s going to go that
far.” Goosen brings
that trust with him this week.
“I probably feel a little
bit more confident coming in this year than last year,” he
said. “I’ve worked hard on my game.” Hard
enough to defend his title? Don’t bet against Retief Goosen.
 From
The Desk of Buddy Martin
Beware the Gator and his Claw
A
fellow Florida Gator fan encountered Chris DiMarco in the halfway
house after Tuesday’s practice round at Castle Pines and
said, “Hey, Chris, I’m picking you to win The INTERNATIONAL!
How are you putting?”
“Pick
me!” he responded. “I’m putting great.”
By the way,
the next time you poke fun at “The Claw” grip
which DiMarco and some others have popularized, keep in mind that
since he switched over to the unorthodox style, he’s won
more than $17 million.
The news
that DiMarco is putting well again could be bad for the other 143 players if
he picks up where he left off at Royal Liverpool a few weeks ago. Posting his
best 72-hole score in a Masters, U.S. Open, British Open or PGA (272), DiMarco
finished second in a major for the third straight year with blistering rounds
like the course record of 65 (7 under par).
Castle Pines
owes DiMarco. Twice he had one hand on The INTERNATIONAL trophy and let it
slip away. In 2004, he banked a whopping 31 points in the first 36 holes, only
to find every hazard possible and give it back in the third and fourth rounds
with -2 and -5. He tied for sixth.
In 2001,
DiMarco was in the hunt with 28 points after three rounds, but only managed
4 on Sunday and tied for third, earning $208,000.
Although
he hasn’t won this year on the PGA TOUR – an injury knocked him
out of commission for 12 weeks – DiMarco has one European Tour victory
(Abu Dhabi) in his pocket and one other goal all but accomplished. He wanted
to make the U. S. Ryder Cup team and, with a sixth place standing, has that
locked up.
Now if he can just figure out Sunday at Castle Pines.
The Short Game
It’s not uncommon to see such wildlife as wild turkey and deer, but when the black bear showed up Saturday by hole No. 2, it stirred up quite a commotion … Coloradoan Ron Levin will have caddied in all 21 INTERNATIONALs ... Despite what you may read elsewhere on these pages, Brett Quigley is NOT from Australia – he’s from Rhode Island … Aaron Baddeley, 25, spoke to a group of 300 men Tuesday at Cherry Hills Community Church about his faith and how it has helped him maintain balance on the PGA TOUR. “Awesome,” said Jerry Walters of KOA radio, who was in attendance … I keep hearing stories that the rough is so long in some places that Slugger White of the PGA TOUR got lost in it for two days …There are 42 foreign players in the field from 15 countries, with new ones from China, Norway and Colombia … New Colorado golf coach Roy Edwards was introduced to a group of fans and alums Tuesday at the ninth hole skybox.
And good morning…
... And happy birthday Jack Vickers, who turned 81 Tuesday, but
had to be reminded of it that morning by his wife Cally.
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