March/April 2010

It has been an interesting few months for me with some mixed performances and mixed results.  But this time I am not going to update you on my recent activities.  Instead, I think it would make for a nice change to hand the opportunity over my caddy Adam Marrow.  Adam recently began writing a blog for our sponsor Genworth Financial, and his humorous blog gives an insightful report on our recent adventures!

Over the Pond – Adam Marrow’s Blog for Genworth Financial:

I wish I could begin this article by describing how Ross Fisher won the Masters, accompanied by his ever loyal caddie... however, at least for another year, this has to remain a fantasy.  Fact-you can't beat watching the finale of the Masters late on a Sunday evening.  Not the case if you've been involved in the action, only to fall short of making the weekend - its torture!

I can't deny that I didn't enjoy watching Mickelson & co battling it out for the 'green jacket' but it just amplified the disappointment of not being there.  Well that's history now, Phil Mickelson is Masters champion for the third time around, leaving us to concentrate on the next stretch of our season.  But before that I'd like to reflect on the last 5 weeks...

Our US trip commenced In Orlando, at Ross's lovely home at Lake Nona, which provided an excellent base for a solid weeks practice, prior to our visit to Miami.  Admittedly there was one slight distraction, a very generous gesture from Ross, for my birthday he got us court side tickets to the Orlando Magic versus the Lakers.  Without sidetracking away from golf, let's just say it was an experience to remember and the Magic have certainly gained another fan. So onto the serious business, the CA Championship, 230 miles South of Orlando in the rather diverse Miami.  An event that in the past hasn't been overly fruitful towards us, so realistic expectations were set, a top-ten would be met with back flips! Unfortunately gymnastics weren't required, severely grainy greens, again, proved an absolute nightmare to master. Not only this but Doral is one of the most uninspiring golf courses imaginable, as one notable professional described it; "It's a field under a flight path". Green fees average between $200-$300 per round! Personally I'd prefer to seek some alternative thrills down towards South Beach!.

Next a welcome journey west to Tampa for the Transitions Championship at the Innisbrook Resort, a beautifully presented golf course with a real European feel and seemingly an opportunity to build on confidence. For 42 holes it was poetry in motion, flags were being peppered & putts were rolling in, all was looking rather cheerful.  When all of a sudden an errant tee shot crept in, then putts stopped dropping & frustratingly more errant tee shots followed.

It's horrible when this happens, for both player & caddy, Ross searching to rediscover his swing and then there's me trying to provide accurate yardages from opposing fairways, whilst at the same time remaining positive.  Occasions like these make my mind boggle.  In hindsight, upon Ross hitting an unexpectedly poor shot should I have stopped him in his tracks, identified the problem, thus gracefully continuing in our pursuit for birdies.

This all sounds well & good but at the same time this sort of reaction could easily create havoc with his mind. Firstly, in me attempting to identify a potential problem, I can just as easily create panic, not what you want mid-tournament.  Secondly, despite Ross valuing my opinion, should I be questioning the ability of the 30th best golfer in the world?  This in turn can create a negative. Having experimented with this over the last 5 years I've settled for the following few words of wisdom "come on Rossco, let's get stuck in". Short but sweet. Effective? Ask Ross....

Back to the increasingly familiar Orlando for a very relaxed display, the Tavistock Cup, played over two days between rivals Lake Nona & Isleworth, who this year played host. In preparation for the tournament Ross had taken me to play the course two weeks prior, my opening tee shot went 20 yards, so naturally I felt at ease in the beautiful surroundings of Isleworth. Day one wasn't exactly a day to remember, partnering Ben Curtis, we suffered a defeat to the slightly mature pairing of John Cook & Mark O'Meara. However day two brought more success, a really solid round from Ross, despite missing a rake a putts, contributing towards a Lake Nona victory. The victory capped a really enjoyable & relaxed couple of days (thanks Tavistock), with Ross's second round performance providing us with some real confidence heading into the Masters. So that brings us to the Masters, after a 10 day holiday, we both felt suitably refreshed and eager as ever to return to Augusta National.  We had a great debut together in 2009 that didn't quite end as we would have liked, but this time around we were hoping for better...

Sunday 4th April: We flew up from Orlando around lunchtime, arriving at the golf course mid-afternoon, in time to meet up with Ross's short game coach Mark Roe. It's always good to catch up with Mark, he has a very positive outlook.  In fact, he seems to act as an unofficial psychologist to Ross!  Match that with his ability to teach the short game, he's sure a great asset to the team. So the three of us spent a delightful evening wondering around the front 9 at Augusta, the tougher somewhat forgotten 9, hence our decision to devote our attentions toward it.

Monday 5th April: The gates now officially open, the patrons flocked in, not to mention the long awaited return of Tiger Woods, the atmosphere was electric. Unbelievable. We played the back 9, hitting it inside 4ft on the 12th making birdie, always nice...even in practice! The excitement & tension was already starting to build, a unique trait of the Masters. Truly fascinating!

Tuesday 6th April: Had another look at the front 9 today, everything seemed to be going according to plan, Ross was certainly in good form. So much so, if I was a betting man, I'd have considered backing him. Upon finishing our practice round Ross has a few media commitments to attend to, so I took the opportunity to sit under the famous oak tree & take in the surroundings. It then occurred to me just how special the Masters is and how fortunate I was to a part of it, excuse my philosophical views, but I'm getting old!

Wednesday 7th April: 24 hours to go. I took a saunter around the back 9 just to refresh the memory one last time. There was to be no practice round for us today, as Ross was playing in the par 3 tournament.  I got substituted for his close friend & sponsor Abdullah Alnaboodah, who very kindly gave me the afternoon off, as he caddied for Ross around the picturesque miniature course. Thursday 8th April: Time for action. Now I could finely dissect our round, but I'm not going too. In a nutshell we shot 77, taking thirty-six strokes with the putter alone.  It was crystal clear where we were struggling. Although there was a glimmer of hope on the 17th, as 20ft birdie putt found the hole, a birdie up the last could really turn things around. Unfortunately hopes of a birdie, were soon to be crushed with a bogey, courtesy of a missed putt from close range. This left us both feeling understandably disappointed but at the same time extremely frustrated.

Friday 9th April: Ok, the odds were stacked against us making the cut. However this didn't dampen our spirits, we had a job to do and a strong belief we could still feature in the tournament. Especially with the support of Genworth's Peter Barret, who loyally, attempted to create a Mexican wave to the left of the 14th tee box. Although, despite Peter's efforts, once again the putter failed to behave. It was apparent any challenge for the 2010 Masters was lost on the greens!

So the missed cut at the Masters concluded our five weeks in the US, now it’s time to set our focuses our next trip over to the States for the Quail Hollow Championship & The Players at Sawgrass.

After which we can look forward to our return to European soil for the first time since last October!   Our home event at Wentworth holds many good memories and having undergone a facelift the new look West course could provide an ideal setting for a victory.

Fingers crossed.

Adam