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| November 20, 2002 | Wednesday | Ramazan 14, 1423 |
Olazabal looking to turn back clock
TAIPEI, Nov 19: Spain’s Jose-Maria Olazabal will hope to go one better than he did last year when he tees off in the $1.5 million Asian Open Thursday.
The twice major champion finished joint runner-up at Ta Shee Country Club on the outskirts of Taipei before claiming his second win of 2001 at the Hong Kong Open a week later.
It also signalled the start of a rich vein of form which the Spaniard carried into 2002, culminating with a victory at the Buick Invitational in America.
By mid-April he had notched a further six top-10 finishes from nine events on the U.S. PGA Tour, including fourth at the U.S. Masters, before losing his way for the remainder of the season.
Spaniard also hopes a recent session with Tiger Woods’s former coach Butch Harmon will pay dividends at Ta Shee.
Olazabal will be up against three of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team this week in Irish duo Padraig Harrington — second on the European order of merit — and Paul McGinley, as well as captain Sam Torrance.
Also in action will be twice major champion John Daly, who withdrew from this tournament last season owing to the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Likely to be leading the Asian challenge this week is the in-form Thai Thongchai Jaidee, runner-up with Olazabal in 2001 and second to Colin Montgomerie in China last week.
Thongchai’s joint second finish last year secured him the 2001 Asian order of merit title in what was only his third season as a professional.
He tops the money list again this year but will need to continue his recent form in both Taiwan and Hong Kong if he is to stay ahead of second placed Arjun Atwal of India.
The Asian Open is joint-sanctioned event between the Asian PGA Tour and the European Tour and is the region’s richest golf tournament outside Japan.
It also represents the first leg of the 2002/2003 European Tour. The 2001 Asian Open was won by Sweden’s Jarmo Sandelin.
MELBOURNE: US PGA champion Rich Beem says he has no idea how he will fare in the Australian Open which starts Thursday.
The former mobile phone salesman, who inspired weekend golfers around the world with his one-stroke win over fellow American Tiger Woods at Hazeltine in August, is ranked 27th in the world.
Only Australia’s Robert Allenby (20th) is ranked higher in this week’s field but the 32-year-old Texan is unsure about his title chances at the Victoria Golf Club.
“I have no idea where I’m at right now,” a relaxed Beem told reporters upon arrival in Melbourne on Tuesday.
“At the moment I don’t know anything about anything, I don’t feel anything, I don’t know what to expect. I’m hoping to play well, I’m swinging well, but I have no idea.”
Beem said his game had room for improvement and indicated his enthusiasm for golf had not been blunted by the grind of touring.
“Everywhere I go guys come up to me and tell me they were inspired by what I did and that makes me pretty proud,” he said.
“I don’t have to think too hard to remember what it was like to have to do something else to stay alive.”
Beem, seventh on the U.S. PGA Tour’s money list this year, had only aimed to finish in the top 125.
“I’m not really thinking about wins in majors or anything like that. Right now I’m thinking about where my game will be in January next year,” he said.—Reuters
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