After a nine year hiatus, the £1,250,000 Johnnie Walker Classic returns to the holiday island of Phuket and the spectacular Blue Canyon Country Club, and while recollections of 1998 may be fading, Retief Goosen will be tapping into much fresher memories as he looks to win the title for the second time.
Goosen finished third on The European Tour’s last visit to Phuket in 1998, one shot shy of the play-off which saw Tiger Woods beat Ernie Els, but the World Number Eight returned to Blue Canyon two years ago and finished joint winner of a Tiger Skins game.
“I have good memories of the course,” said the South African, winner of The Commercialbank Qatar Masters in January. “When we have played the skins game we have had a lot of people come and watch so I would imagine that with the tournament there itself there will be good support.”
In 2005 Goosen, playing against Thomas Björn, Colin Montgomerie and Grace Park, birdied the last two holes in the skins format to finish joint champion with Björn. That experience has led him to believe the par threes on the back nine of the Canyon Course, and particularly the spectacular 14th with its island green, will be key to success this week.
“If the breeze blows there (at the 14th) you can be hitting a five iron in and it can be a tougher green to hit than the 17th at Sawgrass,” he said. “The 17th is also a very tough par three.”
The short par four 13th, with its drive over the canyon, is another feature hole while the 18th provides a challenging finish, says Goosen. “Overall the whole course is good. It is a good driving course.”
Goosen won the Johnnie Walker Classic in 2002, after leading by a record 13 strokes after 54 holes at Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Australia, and will be aiming to match fellow South African Ernie Els and Woods by becoming a multiple winner of the event. And Goosen’s victory in The Commercialbank Qatar Masters, sealed with a stunning eagle putt on the last which was voted European Tour Shot of the Month for January, shows he is on top of his game.
“It would be nice to add the Johnnie Walker title to the skins I won at Blue Canyon,” he said. “I had a chance to win the Johnnie Walker again a couple of years ago when Adam Scott won. I was playing with Adam in the final group and just didn’t make any putts. I ended up finishing second, so it would be nice to have another crack at the title.”
World Number Six Els, winner in 1997 and 2003, returns to Blue Canyon looking to erase the memories of nine years ago when he lost to Woods in the play-off.
Also competing from the world’s top ten is Australian Adam Scott, the World Number Four and winner of the Johnnie Walker Classic in 2005 at Pine Valley Resort in Beijing, while Canadian left-hander Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters Champion, will be making his debut in the event.
Paul Casey of England showed great form in reaching the quarter-finals of last week’s World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play and, having already won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship this year, will be looking for a second Johnnie Walker title to sit alongside the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles he won last season as he continues his push towards the world’s top ten.
Asia’s leading golfers are also in action with the local Thai players, notably Thongchai Jaidee, Thaworn Wiratchant and Prom Meesawat, all hoping to claim a memorable home triumph.
Cradled in a secluded, verdant valley against a magnificent backdrop of the majestic Phang Nga Mountains and Andaman Sea, the Blue Canyon Country Club is one of Asia’s most sought after golfing destinations. Carved out on an old tin mine and rubber plantation, the Canyon Course, which will be used for the Johnnie Walker Classic, was designed by Yoshikazo Kato and opened in 1991 with the Lakes Course added in 1999.
The Canyon Course has twice hosted the Johnnie Walker Classic, in 1994 when Greg Norman triumphed and again in 1998, but significant upgrades have been made to ensure the course will once again be a stern test for the modern professional. This has stretched the tournament yardage from the 7,099 yards played in 1998, when the winning score was nine under par 279, to 7,189 yards for 2007.
The changes will be evident from the opening drive as the first hole has a new tee which toughens the angle of the tee shot without adding any length. The third hole also has a new tee adding about 15 yards to the hole.
Some 20 yards have been added to the fifth with its new tee, while the eighth has been extended by 36 yards, bringing the existing bunkering back into play.
The championship tee was not used in 1998 on the feature 14th hole as the tee was too low for a proper view of the green and the surrounding lake. This tee has now been elevated and will be used for the first time, which at 194 yards will make this a very tough hole that will no doubt generate some drama in the tension of the final day.
On the 17th hole, another dramatic par three over water at 221 yards, the back tee has again been elevated to afford a better view of the green.
Many other tees, such as the fourth, sixth, ninth, 13th, and 18th, have been reconstructed in an effort to enhance the overall presentation of the course.
The Johnnie Walker Classic, co-sanctioned by The European, Asian and Australasian Tours, carries a prize fund of £1,250,000 with £208,330 going to the winner.
