Bangkok--19 Jan--124 Communications
2 South African pros all set for the “15th Johnnie Walker Classic” at Blue Canyon Country Club Phuket, Thailand during March 1-4, 2007 Ernie Els anticipates to win the tournament for third time Compatriot Retief Goosen sets goal for double wins
The popular South African Ernie Els is determined to produce the best golf of his career in 2007. He hopes to regain his form and become the first golfer to win Johnnie Walker Classic for a third time after the long, hard and soul-searching recovery in 2006 from a serious knee injury.
“I am looking forward to 2007,” he says. “I am working on the weaknesses I have had in 2006 and I have just got to keep building up and keep on playing. I want to get to the point where I am even better than I was two or three years ago, and somehow give Tiger a run for his money over the next four or five years.”
“I am still very hard on myself and that's never going to go away. But in terms of reaching top form sometimes I need to be reminded that I need to crawl before I can walk. It is just that as a competitor you want to be there, you want to be in the mix all the time. It's been hard to be patient.” adds Els.
And what better way to get his confidence and career back on track by setting himself apart from any other golfer to have contributed to the rich history and prestige of the Johnnie Walker Classic. The list of past winners includes Woods, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Ian Woosnam, Retief Goosen and Adam Scott, yet no-one has ever won Asia’s most important event three times, and that is what Els could do at Blue Canyon, Phuket, in March after wins at the event in 1997 at Hope Island on Australia’s Gold Coast and in 2003 at Lake Karrinyup in Perth, Western Australia.
“The Johnnie Walker Classic has always been one of the highlights of my schedule and I can’t wait to get back to Blue Canyon,” says Els. “A lot of the people who run the tournament have been there since day one and they set up a great event. It is always played on fantastic golf courses and I have also enjoyed some great dinners and parties. I have known the Johnnie Walker people for a long time and there is always a friendly atmosphere.”
After winning the Johnnie Walker Classic at Lake Karrinyup in Perth, Australia in 2002, double US Open winner Retief Goosen will be playing in his 7th Johnnie Walker Classic in 2007. If he can win the Johnnie Walker Classic at Blue Canyon, Phuket in 2007, he will join a super-elite band of golfers to have achieved the ‘Johnnie Walker double’: Tiger Woods and Ernie Els.
Goosen talks about the forthcoming season and how he would love to triumph in the 15th Johnnie Walker Classic that he has not been playing well and he has not putted as well as he usually does but he has not been hitting the ball well enough either. That is why he has started working with a coach for the first time in nine years, Gregor Jamieson. “The work with my swing coach is starting to pay off and I can feel my game improving,” says Goosen.
“I'm very much a feel player, I just feel my way through the swing, but there are a few technical faults we need to work on. Last year has been difficult on the golf course and I want to sort it out in the next four or five months so that when the 2007 season really kicks off I want to be back into the groove. I am looking forward to a great season next year.” He furthers.
The 15th Johnnie Walker Classic is a tournament he very much looks forward to as he won the tournament in 2002 and there is a chance to win this year. The Johnnie Walker Classic, moreover, is a tournament that has always been good to him and has always been good for golf — Johnnie Walker supports the Tour very well.
Johnnie Walker Classic Tournament
The JOHNNIE WALKER CLASSIC was the first and only event to be tri-sanctioned by the European, Asian and Australasian PGA Tours. Uniquely, the location for the tournament changes every year as the event moves from one exotic location to another. It has been held in Hong Kong, Thailand, China, Singapore, Australia, Philippines and Taiwan. The tournament attracts crowds of up to 60,000 people and hosts over 300 local and international media.
The tournament also attracts one of the best fields of players assembled in the Asia Pacific region every year, drawing from the best players in Europe, Asia and Australia. They compete for what has been one of the biggest prizes in Golf in the region, with a total purse in 2006 of ?1.25m and a winner’s cheque of ?208,333.
For more information
Visit www.johnniewalkerclassic.com
Or Chaiwat Simawattana / Kachaphob Sanguanwong
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