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Europe need experience Fasth

Players - European Royal Trophy captain Jose Maria Olazabal has revealed the main reason why he picked Swede Niclas Fasth to be part of the 2009 team - his experience.

Fasth will accompany the likes of Pablo Larrazabal, Nick Dougherty and Oliver Wilson at the Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok tomorrow (Friday, January 9th) as Europe aim to beat Asia for the third time in a row.

Olazabal, covering for Seve Ballesteros in his role as non-playing skipper, says that old head Fasth, an endorsee of Callaway Golf, will blend well with the more youthful members of the European set up.

"Niclas is a great player and is a very strong addition to our European Team," he commented.

"He has the experience of performing under great pressure and the confidence of being a winner of multiple Tour titles. Niclas will be a great asset for Europe at the Royal Trophy."

Meanwhile, Thai Royal Trophy rookie Prayad Marksaeng has told Sindh Today that he wants to win the trophy in honour of his King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the man that donated the piece of silverware given to the winning side.

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Olazabal: Seve is improving

Players - Seve Ballesteros is making progress as he recovers from a series of operations after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.

That is according to Jose Maria Olazabal - Ballesteros's friend and compatriot has been to see the five-time major winner recently.

MacGregor's Olazabal was speaking ahead of the Royal Trophy, at which he is covering for Ballesteros in the role of non-playing captain.

He commented: "I've seen Seve a few times in the last few weeks. He's actually doing very well considering what he has gone through.

"His spirits are very high, he's really working hard at the rehab, he's trying to recover completely and he's getting stronger so he can get chemotherapy treatment and so on.

Ballesteros was the winning captain in the first two years that the Royal Trophy was held - 2006 and 2008.

Starting in Bangkok tomorrow (Friday, January 9th), the event will pit a young European team against a more experienced Asian line-up at the Amata Spring Country Club in Bangkok.

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Strong muscles 'help with posture for swing'

Golf Equipment - Muscle strengthening exercises designed to improve posture can ultimately lead to a better golf swing, according to one golf fitness expert.

Sean Cochran, a fitness instructor recognised by the PGA Tour, has recommended the use of regular routines such as bent knee marches in order to facilitate the correct posture needed for a text-book swing.

Cochran, who has worked with world number three Phil Mickelson in the past, said that the body must be prepared for the movement required to swing a club effectively.

In an article which appeared on Best Syndication, he explained: "Strength relative to the golf swing can be defined as the ability of your muscles to exert the required levels of force to perform the movements within the swing.

"If your body is lacking in the levels of strength required of the golf swing. The ability to maintain your spine angle and postural positions of the swing will be compromised."

Mickelson started a new fitness regime ahead of the 2007 season, incorporating martial arts and weight-lifting into his programme.

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Scott: 2008 was learning curve

Players - Adam Scott says he will take the positives out of a rocky 2008 which saw him slip out of the world top ten rankings.

The Titleist golfer had little to celebrate after taking the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in April, struggling with a recurring tonsillitis problem in the latter part of the year.

Now the 28-year-old is raring to go at the start of another US PGA Tour season, which will get underway with the Mercedes-Benz Championship at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii, tomorrow (Thursday, January 8th).

Looking back at the past 12 months, Scott said: "It was a good year for me to look back on and learn a lot out of it."

He went on to say that 2008 was "probably the first time there was a bump in the road for me," adding "before that, my career had just cruised along nicely".

Scott will be joined by his countryman Geoff Ogilvy at the Mercedes-Benz Championship - the Australian number one bagged the WGC-CA Championship in 2008.

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Archer ready for SA opener

Players - Philip Archer will play his first event of the year at the Joburg Open as the European Tour rolls into 2009.

The John Letters Tour Professional took most of December off but will spring back into action at the co-sanctioned European Tour event.

After making an appearance in South Africa, the Warrington Guardian reports that Archer will then head to the Middle East to play in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, Commercialbank Qatar Masters and Dubai Desert Classic.

Archer is now in 91st place in the Race to Dubai, the new European Tour format which has replaced the Order of Merit.

Richard Sterne took the title last year and is in red-hot form to defend his crown after winning the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the South African Open last month.

Another Sterne victory would make him the only player in history besides all-time greats Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros to take three tournaments in a row on the European Tour.

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European team pleases Olazabal

Players - Jose Maria Olazabal says that he is confident in the group of players that have flown out to Bangkok to compete in the Royal Trophy.

Olazabal leads a team including Brits Oliver Wilson, Paul McGinley, Nick Dougherty of Callaway Golf and Paul Lawrie against Asia, as Europe aim to claw back some pride following their disheartening defeat by the US in the Ryder Cup last September.

"I believe we have a very strong chance. I like my team, the Europeans are very strong and very skilled," the Spaniard, who is filling in for Seve Ballesteros, told Reuters in the run up to the contest.

He continued: "They may be a little rusty early in the season but we have a great mix of experience and youth."

Swedes Niclas Fasth and Johan Edfors, Pablo Larrazabal of Spain and Denmark's Soren Hansen make up the defending champions' party.

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Cleveland Golf pleased for Vijay

Players - Cleveland Golf has congratulated Vijay Singh for an outstanding year which saw the Fijian climb to fifth in the world.

Three-time major winner Singh walked away with the Fed-Ex Cup after winning The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship to cap off a fine end to the season.

The player's sponsor Cleveland Golf has been quick to pat its player on the back and point out that Singh's recent win at the Chevron World Challenge came with the help of the new Launcher driver.

Singh was happy with his win over a talent-packed field, which came by one stroke from American Steve Stricker.

He commented: "I played really well. I hit the ball very good off the tee, and I think the key for this golf course is keeping the ball in play.

"There's a lot of trouble around if you don't hit a good shot off the tee."

Singh, now aged 45, said after the victory that he wants to prolong his career by up to six more years after finding a rich vein of form of late.

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Boo going for Fed-Ex Cup and Race to Dubai

Players - Boo Weekley will fight a battle on two fronts this season after taking up membership of both the US PGA and European tours.

Colourful character Weekley is one of a group of players to be lured by the new Race to Dubai format now in place on the European Tour.

The prize money of over £5.2 million on offer at the end-of-year Dubai World Championship is thought to have been a major factor in the plans of Weekley, along with the likes of US PGA regulars Trevor Immelman of Nike Golf, Camilo Villegas and Anthony Kim.

Weekley said of the prospect of run-ins at both the Fed-Ex Cup and Race to Dubai: "Why not put yourself in the place where you've got the opportunity of trying both of them?

"If you don't succeed in one, at least you might have the opportunity to succeed in the other. It's there for us to try, so why not try?"

While Vijay Singh and Adam Scott will continue to play their trade on both sides of the Atlantic, world number three Phil Mickelson of Callaway Golf could not be tempted to join both tours despite having initially expressed an interest in the new format.

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Major winners saluted by Nike Golf

Golf Equipment - Nike Golf has drawn attention to its major winners in 2008 - Trevor Immelman and Tiger Woods.

Immelman captured his first major in the US Masters at Augusta last April, a tournament which saw Nike Golf players take the podium places with Woods runner-up and Stewart Cink in third.

According to the manufacturer, the presence of the forthcoming SQ DYMO STR8-FIT driver in the golf bag of Immelman played a part in his win.

Nike Golf took the opportunity to remind golfers: "The revolutionary SQ DYMO STR8-FIT driver features a choice of eight club head positions that can dramatically or subtly perfect ball flight."

The gallant efforts of Woods were also highlighted - the world number one picked up his 14th major after a nail-biting play-off round with Rocco Mediate, which went to an extra hole.

Victory Red irons and Nike ONE golf balls were picked out by Nike Golf as products which will be in evidence as the 2009 US PGA Tour gets underway.

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Former Masters champ looks to brighter future

Players - Mike Weir says he is trying to take the positives from a win-less 2008 as another US PGA season looms.

The Canadian TaylorMade Golf endorsee, who won the US Masters at Augusta in 2003, failed to add to his eight titles on the US PGA Tour, but registered no less than six top ten finishes in his last eight events.

Now Weir, who ended 14th on the end-of-season money list, is hoping to continue his heartening form in the new year.

He told Reuters: "You still want to win but I showed some great strides in my game. I played very consistent golf and when you do that you're going to win eventually.

"I've been knocking on the door and you've just got to have a few things go your way when you win. I just haven't quite gotten over the hump but I put myself there enough."

Weir picked out his improved short game as an area which is cause for encouragement, after working on his putting and use of wedges.

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Legs are vital to takeaway of swing

Golf Equipment - The legs are a vital component of any backswing, allowing the takeaway to initiate a shot in the correct manner, according to one top teacher.

Rob Stanger, Golf Magazine's 2007-2008 Top Teacher for the US's West Region, has highlighted the importance of incorporating the right leg movement into the start of a swing.

Stanger says he has noticed many high-handicappers putting too much emphasis on their arm power rather than letting the legs act as a trigger for the backswing.

Speaking to Palm Springs' Desert Sun he told players to "trigger your swing by relaxing your legs softly down and allow the arms to drift straight back along the target line".

Stanger added that the two purposes of a correct takeaway is to "store up power for the forward swing through the ball" and to "direct the golf club along the target line with a square clubface".

On the same subject, Californian instructor Bill Hulbert has told the Orange County Register that too many players move the club inside the "correct swing plane" in their takeaway.

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