Goosen defends title at PGA champs

CASTLE ROCK – South African Retief Goosen was focused on defending a title and preparing for next week’s PGA Championship when the 5.5 million-dollar PGA International began yesterday.

But the stakes will be much different for US and European Ryder Cup hopefuls fighting over the final guaranteed spots on the squads that will meet next month at the K Club in Ireland. Goosen, trying to be the first back-to-back champion, looks forward to the only US PGA event that uses the Modified Stableford scoring system, a points format that rewards attacking play more than the typical par system.”I’m very comfortable with the course.I really like my game,” he said.”I’ve worked very hard on my game through the British Open, and felt like I was starting to hit the ball a lot better, just not quite making the putts I need.”We’ll be putting on perfect greens so hopefully I can make a few putts this week.”Golfers here this week will receive eight points for an albatross, five for an eagle, two for a birdie, zero for par, minus-one for a bogey and minus-three for anything worse.”It’s all about making birdies this week and getting those points on the board,” Goosen said.”You can shoot 69 and the other guy can shoot 71 but he’ll probably have more points than you than because he’s made more birdies or eagles and things like that.”You lose less points for making bogeys than what you gain for making birdies.That’s probably why it hasn’t been back to back.It could be the format.”Normally the guy that wins here this week has putted very well.If your putter gets hot, you can make a lot of putts.Probably coming back the next year, you’re not making as many as you made the year before.”While the battle for Ryder Cup points will be settled at next week’s PGA Championship, US players can make a gain this week to ease the worry at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago.World number one Tiger Woods has clinched a berth and will be shooting for back-to-back major titles after winning last month’s British Open.Phil Mickelson won this year’s Masters and last year’s PGA and along with Jim Furyk has also clinched a US berth.Chad Campbell, David Toms and Chris DiMarco also figure to be unassailable for spots on the American team.Woods will be absent but 51-year-old Australian legend Greg Norman will make his season US PGA debut after knee surgery earlier this year.At the bottom of the points list are a host of newcomers, including Vaughn Taylor, J.J.Henry, Zach Johnson and Brett Wetterich, who is taking the week off.All will try to hold off a late charge by John Rollins, Lucas Glover or Jerry Kelly, who is taking the week off to focus on the PGA.Davis Love and Fred Couples are 14th and 15th on the points list but within reach and both offer experience in global team events, making them potential picks of US captain Tom Lehman.”I’ve gotten to the points where the easiest thing to do is decide which guys I wouldn’t pick,” Lehman said.Rollins will have the edge of playing alongside Lehman for the first two rounds.England’s Paul Casey and Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal are looking to solidify places on the team.Britain’s David Howell has been in a slump but has worked on his problems.”The main thing has been my swing, and that’s been a bit harder to put into place than I thought,” Howell said.”I was starting to stand over the ball very still for two or three seconds, very tense, especially my right arm, and it cropped up again at the US Open, even though I played well that week.”I set to the task to try to change it and it proved very difficult.”Ryder Cup pressure will add to the stress and tension of the situation.”The Ryder Cup is just so pressurised, and that was causing me more problems,” he said.”I need to get rid of as much tension from the swing as possible and I feel like it’s accomplished and I can just move on.”I’m feeling really confident again, delighted with the way things are going and looking forward to another good stretch of tournaments over here in America.”Nampa-AFPGoosen, trying to be the first back-to-back champion, looks forward to the only US PGA event that uses the Modified Stableford scoring system, a points format that rewards attacking play more than the typical par system.”I’m very comfortable with the course.I really like my game,” he said.”I’ve worked very hard on my game through the British Open, and felt like I was starting to hit the ball a lot better, just not quite making the putts I need.”We’ll be putting on perfect greens so hopefully I can make a few putts this week.”Golfers here this week will receive eight points for an albatross, five for an eagle, two for a birdie, zero for par, minus-one for a bogey and minus-three for anything worse.”It’s all about making birdies this week and getting those points on the board,” Goosen said.”You can shoot 69 and the other guy can shoot 71 but he’ll probably have more points than you than because he’s made more birdies or eagles and things like that.”You lose less points for making bogeys than what you gain for making birdies.That’s probably why it hasn’t been back to back.It could be the format.”Normally the guy that wins here this week has putted very well.If your putter gets hot, you can make a lot of putts.Probably coming back the next year, you’re not making as many as you made the year before.”While the battle for Ryder Cup points will be settled at next week’s PGA Championship, US players can make a gain this week to ease the worry at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago.World number one Tiger Woods has clinched a berth and will be shooting for back-to-back major titles after winning last month’s British Open.Phil Mickelson won this year’s Masters and last year’s PGA and along with Jim Furyk has also clinched a US berth.Chad Campbell, David Toms and Chris DiMarco also figure to be unassailable for spots on the American team.Woods will be absent but 51-year-old Australian legend Greg Norman will make his season US PGA debut after knee surgery earlier this year.At the bottom of the points list are a host of newcomers, including Vaughn Taylor, J.J.Henry, Zach Johnson and Brett Wetterich, who is taking the week off.All will try to hold off a late charge by John Rollins, Lucas Glover or Jerry Kelly, who is taking the week off to focus on the PGA.Davis Love and Fred Couples are 14th and 15th on the points list but within reach and both offer experience in global team events, making them potential picks of US captain Tom Lehman.”I’ve gotten to the points where the easiest thing to do is decide which guys I wouldn’t pick,” Lehman said.Rollins will have the edge of playing alongside Lehman for the first two rounds.England’s Paul Casey and Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal are looking to solidify places on the team.Britain’s David Howell has been in a slump but has worked on his problems.”The main thing has been my swing, and that’s been a bit harder to put into place than I thought,” Howell said.”I was starting to stand over the ball very still for two or three seconds, very tense, especially my right arm, and it cropped up again at the US Open, even though I played well that week.”I set to the task to try to change it and it proved very difficult.”Ryder Cup pressure will add to the stress and tension of the situation.”The Ryder Cup is just so pressurised, and that was causing me more problems,” he said.”I need to get rid of as much tension from the swing as possible and I feel like it’s accomplished and I can just move on.”I’m feeling really confident again, delighted with the way things are going and looking forward to another good stretch of tournaments over here in America.”Nampa-AFP