Byron Meth from the USA and Cecilia Cho from New Zealand
The trophies for Byron and Cecilia are magnificent, however .....the best prizes for winning are invitations to the Mens and Womens Australian Open and..... the Australian JBWere Masters and the Ladies ANZ Masters .....Australia's premier championships.
Aaron rips one down the 1st........it's that easy !!!
Tuesday.
Tuesday was official practise and the players
love the course. A few comments....." best course I've played
on"..........." this course is sensational".............."
I can't believe I'm in China playing on what must be one of the best courses
I've ever played on". The players continue to make great reviews about the
course......it really is a great golf and country club. Best course of 2009 and
best clubhouse 2010, and we can all see why.
Aaron gave a clinic on how he prepares for a
tournament and how he goes about practicing making use of every minute he is at
the range. Many players had a lot of questions and Aaron stayed behind after
the clinic to help players and answer all their questions. It was a really good
time for the players to get the inside of what the pros do and what exactly
they do in preparing for tournaments through the year. Many lessons were
learnt.
Tuesday night we went on a Pearl River Cruise
for dinner and boat cruising......it is fantastic. All the lights of Guangzhou
are displayed on the buildings up and down the Pearl River for the Asian Games
and they where spectacular.......it was a great night.
Aaron conducting the Golf Clinic
Ready for action
Always a highlight....The " Face Off " performer. How does he do it.....we all ask !
Wednesday.
All the players were on the range this morning. The ABIJC players were the
first players to tee it up on the grass. The practise range grass has been
manicured for months and rolled with a greens roller........it was perfect.
The Lion Lake Country Club has excelled in every way to make this the best
tournament we have had. It is certainly fitting to be here for the 10th
anniversay of the ABIJC.
We have just finished the Press Conference with all the government
officials, TV and other media. All the players are out playing the Am/Am.
Wednesday Night.
What a night. Jake Higginbottom and his team won the Am/Am..........that's a
good start to the week. All the teams played well and thought the greens were
good. Entertainment was great......we had a magician, accrobats, the face off
man was back......food was great......this tournament could not be better.
Tommorrow is the day. Everyone is so excited to get the first round started.
They are all feeling very confident........players say the winning score will
be in the teens. I think so too. Let's see what happens.
Thursday.
The breeze was up early but scores were low. The boys were going low
but there was more to come. The breeze started to drop and the day was
getting warmer. The greens were getting faster, and puts started to drop. The
best was about to come...............
What a day this was. Just when it looked like Jake Higginbottom has top spot
secured with a low 67, Byron Meth shoots a sensational 66 which included an
eagle on the 17th. Byron drove the green and made a 10 footer.......great
playing.
There are 8 boys at even or better.......they are playing for a start in the
2011 Australian Open and the Australian JBMasters, the greatest prize in Junior
Golf in the World.
The girls are firing. Su-Hyun Oh, Cecilia Cho and Sarah Jane Ababa all
carded 73. They were playing great. Then in came a 72 by Dottie Ardina to take
top spot. Then.........Annie Choi carded another 72. Top 5 spots all within 1
shot.......this is going to be a hot tournament by the girls.
Friday
Who is going to catch Byron Meth.
Today was a little more difficult. Pins positions proved a challenge across
all players with generally higher scores being returned.
Overnight boys leader Byron Meth posted a solid score of 70 following
his first round 66.
Annie Choi sets the pace.
In the girls category, equal round 1 leader Annie Choi (72) backed up with a
consistent 73 today to lead Dottie Ardina (72, 74) by one
shot. This sets up a great run home with ideal conditions forecast
for the final two rounds. Good putting holds the key to holding the winners cup
on Sunday.
*We have found a star in the making*.
Have a look at who is leading the 15 years boys and just happens to be T4.
It is 12 year old Tianlang Guan from Guangzhou, China. I was impressed with
this young man last year and now this year he has risen to the next level.
Tianlang Guan just may be the first Chinese player to make a real presence in
the golfing world. Remember his name..........we are going to hear a lot more
from this talented young man.
Saturday
Look who carded a 70......you guessed it....12 year Tianlang Guan. 2nd best
score of the day. This young boy is going to be a super star. The more I see
him play, the more I am impressed. Keep watching this spot.
Is anyone going to run down Byron Meth ?
Well...........scores are coming in and the 3 leaders in the boys division
all shot 70. Byron Meth still holds a 4 shot lead........but, we are
moving the tee back on 17 tomorrow that brings a bunker into
play.......now it's not so easy.
So...........is Byron going to hang on ? The way he is going about his game,
he has every chance of taking out the championship. I spoke to Byron about his
last year of golf and asked him how he has taken his game to the next level and
here is what he said.............
" I started to take my golf very seriously this year and worked at my
game on the those parts that needed improving. I worked hard and started to see
improvements. It was those small things in my game that was holding me back and
the more I keep working on them, the better I get".
Well.......do I predict that Byron will win ? I don't know, but.........from
my experience the one thing that has improved Byron's game is his attitude to
his game.......that's why he has gone to the next level.
Annie Choi has a lead of 3 shots over Cecilia Cho......both are playing
great shooting 74 each today. Tomorrow is going to be tight.
Todd Sinnott has low round of the day.
The third round wasn't as easy as the players hoped for. With players
struggling to break 70, Todd Sinnott brings in a card for the scorers with 68.
That was a super round. Todd has been playing Aaron's tournament since he was
13 years old, played every tournament in Australia and played his way into the
Australian team by way of a 6 man play off. Nailed a birdie on the first
playoff hole. Todd really deserves to be on the team and is a key player for
the team. Watch him tomorrow.
Sunday
Big swing on the front nine.
Jake Higginbottom has made picked up 3 shots and Byron has dropped 2 shots
which places Jake 1 shot ahead. The play is hot as they go down the 10th.
Byron Meth takes out the Championship.
Byron went into the last round with a 4 shot lead, by the 9th he was 1 shot
behind. Got it back to even.....made birdie on the 17th with an unbelievable
bunker shot to 2 feet. Coming down the 18th left his 2nd shot short....made an
OK chip shot which stopped at 8 feet from the pin. A gutsy tough put gave him
the trophy. Byron is one great player to come back from a shaky front 9,
getting it all back together on the back 9, keeping his cool and never giving
up.
Playoff with the Girls.
There is a playoff between Cecilia Cho and Annie Choi.......this is a real
nail biter.
Cecilia Cho clinches the win with a 2 hole play off. Both made par on the
1st playoff hole and Annie made double on the 2nd to hand the win to Cecilia.
We can all start breathing again. Well done Cecilia.
