GolfShot for Golf News

Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson are going to be taking a one-shot lead as they move into the last round of the Northern Trust Open. Pebble Beach last week was won by Mr Mickelson who remains in front of the current PGA champion, Mr Bradley.

Bryce Molder, Pat Perez and Jonathan Byrd, who are all from the US finished at six under, while Justin Rose from England came in at just two under. Mr Mickelson has commented, “I have been leading all the way so far and this is very much how I would like to finish. I’m certainly going to be playing at my very best and I really hope that I can pull off a victory.”

Mr Mickelson, who plays left-handed, is 41 years old and is hoping to achieve his 41st tour title. Unfortunately he has been struggling to keep up with Mr Bradley due to rather poor form on his driving which has made him scramble to keep his lead. About this he commented, “I was certainly having to work hard and it is very important that I make par otherwise I will have to be playing catch up a great deal.”

Mr Mickelson continued by saying, “Usually when I win a round I win the next one, after that I tend to have a couple of rounds with less good form and then go back to a couple of winning games. I know that yesterday I wasn’t playing my best but I was fairly close to it. I was playing too defensively and I’m going to have to change this as we move into the next game.”

He has won four major titles and says said that he was pleased to be able to make the par save on the 10th where he ended up with his ball behind a tree. Mr Bradley has commented, “Phil is a fantastic player and he has helped me so much with my golf. Obviously I would like to win tomorrow, but if I don’t then I would be delighted to see the title go to him.”

Mr Bradley, who is 25 years old, met Mr Mickelson in 2011 at the Houston open and since that time the older golfer has offered his help to the younger. Mr Bradley commented, “Phil plays astounding golf and he is a player that I really look up to. When I was growing up I used to watch him playing golf on Sundays and to have him pass on some of his extraordinary knowledge to me is an honour and I feel as if I’m in a very privileged position indeed.

“Furthermore, I simply enjoy playing with him. As a general rule, if you are playing with Phil then you are playing at a high level, so this just adds to the experience. I am working on my patience in my golf game and I realise that I cannot force a victory, I’m just going to have to wait and hope my golf is up to scratch.”

When Johnny Miller arrived at the LA Open in 1980 with an innovative idea that he hoped would end his putting woes, the golfing world stopped and stared. He could clearly hear the sniggers on the practice green when he pulled out his long putter, which was a flat stick to which he has attached a shaft that was abnormally long. Miller remembered those times earlier this year and said that all the pros had laughed, how times have changed.

The long putter is now an accepted sight on the green, but it was thrust into the limelight again this week when Keegan Bradley became the first winner of a major to use one when he triumphed at the PGA Championship. He was in a 3 hole playoff against Jason Dufner, and Bradley used an Odyssey White hot putter measuring 46 ¾ inches to sink 3 birdies, which included a 35 ft putt on the par 3 17^th.

Bradley, who hails from Vermont but now lives in Jupiter, Florida, said afterwards that he finds it a much easier way to putt. He added that he found it very comfortable to use and the length of the shaft was particularly useful when the nerves kicked in. There are various lengths of long putter available, so players can anchor the shaft wherever they find it most comfortable, be it their belly, chest or chin.

This means that the hands are effectively eliminated from the stroke, and a pendulum motion is encouraged which minimises miss hits that can be caused by both nerves and mental strain. Despite once being viewed as acts of desperation, and being considered possibly illegal, the long putter has gradually become widely accepted, and extremely successful.

There have been 5 wins on the PGA Tour by players who use a long putter; Bradley has won 2, and Adam Scott, Brendan Steele and Martin Laird have won one apiece. Despite being a terrific ball striker, 31 year old Scott perfectly fits the profile of the professional on the tour who turned to the long putter to try and solve his putting problems. Last year, he was routinely missing putts of less than 3 ft, now he’s a champion.

He admits that at first he was probably one of those who thought they should be banned, but they are within in the rules and it was one of the best decisions he ever made when he changed to a long putter.