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World Super 6 favourite battling illness

Thomas Pieters hopes a good night sleep will help him overcome sickness in time for his opening round of the World Super 6 Perth tournament on Thursday.

By Justin Chadwick, Australian Associated Press
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Tournament favourite Thomas Pieters says he feels "absolutely crap" after being laid low by sickness on the eve of the World Super 6 Perth golf event at Lake Karrinyup.

Pieters is one of the headline acts at the hybrid event, but he arrived in Perth on Monday night feeling worse for wear.

The world No.79 hopes he will feel much better when his first round tees off on Thursday, and concedes just making it to the starting line will be a mini feat in itself.

"I arrived Monday night and I feel like absolute crap," a forthright Pieters said.

"Normally I'm decent with it, but I got off the plane and I felt sick. I can't sleep. I took a lot of medication last night, and as you can hear I don't feel quite right.

"I felt perfect before I got on the plane. It's just a bad environment on a plane. There are lots of people on there who are maybe sick.

"You can catch something really quickly. It's happened before. It hasn't stopped me very often from playing good golf. I guess having less expectations is sometimes good."

The tournament suffered a blow on Tuesday when drawcard Andrew Johnston pulled out for personal reasons.

It leaves world No.55 Tom Lewis, 2006 US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy, Victorian Lucas Herbert, West Australians Jason Scrivener and recently turned professional Min Woo Lee plus Kiwi Ryan Fox as Pieters' biggest challengers.

Pieters, who won the World Cup of golf in Melbourne in November, last played in Perth in 2014.

Although he missed the cut at the now-defunct Perth International on that occasion, he feels he's a much better player now.

The World Super 6 is a different format, with three rounds of traditional stroke play to be followed by a Twenty20-style final round.

The top 24 players will go head-to-head in a series of six-hole elimination shootouts on Sunday, with the last man standing crowned the winner.

If a shootout is tied at the end of six holes, a 90m shootout hole will decide the winner of that duel.

Pieters is a fan of the format, having helped launch a similar event in Belgium.

WORLD SUPER 6 PERTH

Prize money: $A1.6 million

Course: Lake Karrinyup Country Club

Sanctioned by: The European Tour, Tour of Australasia, and Asian Tour

Past winners: 2017 - Brett Rumford; 2018 - Kiradech Aphibarnrat

TAB Betting odds (Only for leading player after 54 holes, before the final round shootouts)

$13: Thomas Pieters, Jason Scrivener

$15: Lucas Herbert

$17: Ryan Fox, Tom Lewis

$21: Justin Harding

$26: Jazz Janewattananond, Min Woo Lee


Lee, Webb eye Aust Open women's golf crown

Minjee Lee and Karrie Webb are eyeing off the women's Australian Open golf crown in Adelaide.

By Steve Larkin, Australian Associated Press
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Karrie Webb wants to wind back the clock. Minjee Lee hopes her time is now.

Both local golfers enter the women's Australian Open, starting on Thursday in Adelaide, desperately seeking their national golfing crown.

The 22-year-old Lee will tee off at the Grange Golf Club as Australia's top-ranked golfer - world No.7.

Webb, twice Lee's age, has slipped to world No.211 as she becomes a bit-player on the LPGA Tour.

But the veteran has issued a pre-tournament warning: don't write me off just yet.

"I'm very honoured to have my name on that trophy five times and, hopefully, I'm about to add another time," Webb told reporters on Wednesday.

But herein lies the rub for Webb: in last week's VicOpen, she shot 65 in the second round, then carded 82 in the third.

"I won't be out here if I don't think I'm competitive," she said.

"But obviously, there's playing and then there's playing tournament golf and just the little things that need to go into playing well for all four days.

"I think that I'm quite capable. But it's a bit more of a lottery than when I was thinking it about 365 days of the year."

Webb is the sole Australian to win the national open multiple times - her last triumph was in 2014.

But if not her again, Webb wants another Australian to win.

"I would rather see an Australian flag at the top of the leaderboard than any other flag," she said.

Lee shapes as the best local hope despite, like Webb, missing the cut for the final round at the VicOpen.

Lee - equal fifth in last year's Australian Open; tied third in 2017; tied seventh in 2015 - said she's ready to carry the prospects of a home-nation win.

"I'm not sure if you want to call it a burden but, obviously, there's some expectation," Lee said on Wednesday.

"I want to play well because it's my country's open. But it's probably more expectation on myself more than anything.

"It is different because, obviously, I'm Australian and a lot of the local crowds come to watch ... but I like that. I like how everybody comes out and supports - it's a really great feeling."


Ogilvy predicts big things for Min Woo Lee

Min Woo Lee is only three events into his professional golf career, but 2006 US Open winner Geoff Ogilvy predicts the 20-year-old will become a top-10 player.

By Justin Chadwick, Australian Associated Press
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Former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy predicts Min Woo Lee has the tools to crack into the world's top 10 - as long as the rising golf star doesn't get bogged down by mental "scar tissue".

Lee is only three tournaments into his professional career, but has already recorded a fourth-placed finish in a star-stacked European Tour event.

The 20-year-old West Australian will be one of the drawcards at this week's World Super 6 Perth golf event at Lake Karrinyup, where Ogilvy will also play.

Ogilvy has seen plenty of talent across his 21-year professional career, and he likes what he sees from Lee.

"He's got all the tools," Ogilvy said.

"If he can take all these tools and learn the craft of the game a little bit, there's no reason he's not a top-10 player in the world. He really looks that good.

"You develop scar tissue as a professional golfer as you go along, because bad things happen, unlucky things happen, and it's a tough sport to play.

"So if you can have more good things than bad things happen and beat the scar tissue thing ... he'll get in a big tournament one day and win a big tournament, and then you're away."

While Lee's career is just getting started, Ogilvy is winding his own one down as he attempts to spend more time with his family.

Ogilvy moved back to Australia early last month, and predicts he will play between 10-15 tournaments in 2019.

"I just want to do the school run, the footy coaching, all that sort of stuff," said the father-of-three.

"I want to be Australian for a while. Play golf selectively, and work on my game."

Last year was a horror one for the 41-year-old, who missed 14 of 16 cuts on the US PGA Tour.

It was during that stretch that Ogilvy realised it was time to move home.

"It was August, and I missed my third cut in a row and I wasn't sad about it. That was a bad situation," Ogilvy said.

"I'd always been completely apocalyptic when I missed the cut. You couldn't come near me. I couldn't handle it.

"And then last year in the middle of the year I was missing them and I was like, 'I get to go home'.

"There was no sadness at all. And then that's when I thought this is not right."

Ogilvy says he's more motivated than ever to improve his game, "but I've never been less motivated to run around with a suitcase and go to strange places and leave the family".


Golf must lose stuffy traditions: Webb

Australian great Karrie Webb says golf must lose its stuffy traditions that young players find intimidating.

By Steve Larkin, Australian Associated Press
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Karrie Webb is appealing for Australian golf clubs to relax stuffy traditions which scare off young players.

Australia's most-successful golfer says "intimidating" club rules risk the future of the sport.

Webb still remembers, as a teenager, having to pick at the hem to lengthen her golf shorts to comply with one of many stickling rules at golf clubs.

"It can be a very intimidating place for young boys and girls," Webb told reporters on Wednesday in Adelaide.

"They have got club rules - tuck your shirt in, take your hat off in the clubhouse, that sort of stuff.

"I think we have to soften a little bit in golf to encourage kids to play ... golf needs to get out of these traditions.

"I grew up in north Queensland so I didn't see a lot of that until I started travelling away and playing in the bigger cities.

"(I) had to unpick the length of my hems so my shorts were long enough one day ... all those things need to go out the window and we need to modernise."

Webb worries about golf's ability to attract young female players given the renewal of other women's sports such as cricket.

"There's no time like the present for us to be concentrating on that (modernising) because there's so many other sports in Australia that are," she said.

"And if we don't, we'll be lost and the growth won't continue at all ... it is definitely urgently needed."

Webb, a 41-time winner on the LPGA Tour, herself feels rejuvenated by her transition to a part-time golfer.

Last year, she played just eight LPGA tournaments and won only $US 65,000 ($A91,500) - a mere drop in her career prizemoney pool of more than $US20 million ($A28 million).

But Webb believed she could have been lost to the sport entirely if she hadn't backed off from playing full-time.

"It made me not really like golf that much - and I didn't ever want to feel that way about golf because it has been so great to me," she said of the full-time grind.

"Last year was successful in the fact that I got some love back for golf.

"I probably would have liked to have played a little bit better. But I didn't hate it at the end of the year.

"I spent four-and-a-half months in Australia last year which is more than double of any year for the past 23 years so, yeah, it was a good year."


Baddeley keeps LA Open streak alive

Australia's Aaron Baddeley gained entry to the LA Open via Monday qualifying eight years after winning the PGA Tour event at Riviera Country Club.

By Evin Priest, Australian Associated Press
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When Aaron Baddeley was overlooked for a sponsor's invitation to the LA Open he decided rolling his sleeves up for Monday qualifying was better than complaining if he was to keep his perfect appearances streak alive.

Currently without a hat or shirt sponsor, 2011 LA Open winner Baddeley drove one hour inland and fired a five-under-par 67 at Industry Hills Golf Club, snaring one of the last four spots in the Genesis Open field at Riviera Country Club.

"It was interesting to be there," Baddeley said of Monday qualifying.

"I wouldn't say it's stressful; it's just a case of go out there, do your best and let the chips fall where they do because there is not much else you can do."

Baddeley's last-minute effort ensures a 17th consecutive appearance at one of the most prestigious events on the PGA Tour, now hosted by Tiger Woods to benefit his TGR Foundation.

"It is nice to keep the streak alive. I haven't missed this event since I first came on to the tour in 2003," said Baddeley, who was in final-round contention at Riviera last year and finished tied 14th.

In 2011, Baddeley defeated great Vijay Singh at Riviera by two shots and collected a $US1.2 million winner's prize.

But he was not eligible for the Genesis Open this year as he failed to retain exempt status on the PGA Tour last season and is now playing on the circuit via conditional status.

Tournament organisers gave out six sponsor's invitations, including to major winners Fred Couples and Jim Furyk, but 37-year-old Baddeley was not among them.

"I was disappointed not to get an invite, but the guys they gave invites to are really good players," said Baddeley.

"It's totally the tournament's decision because invites are hard to come by, but it worked out.

"I'm glad to be here because I've played good (here) multiple times and won. To know you play well at a course that suits you inspires confidence and hopefully I can feed off that this week."

Fellow Australian Curtis Luck matched Baddeley's 67 in Monday qualifying to earn his debut at Riviera.

Other Australians in the field include Marc Leishman, Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Rod Pampling, Cameron Davis and John Senden.

Headlining a star-studded event is defending champion Bubba Watson, 2017 winner Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and 14-time major champion Woods.


Couples among Tiger Woods' Cup assistants

American skipper Tiger Woods has selected Fred Couples, Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker among his assistants for the Presidents Cup in Melbourne in December.

By Evin Priest, Australian Associated Press
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Tiger Woods has bolstered his Melbourne-bound Presidents Cup support staff with major winners Zach Johnson and Fred Couples in a move Woods says will help his quest to become a rare playing captain.

On Tuesday, American skipper Woods announced fellow Masters champions Johnson and Couples, as well as Steve Stricker, as three of his assistants for the biennial teams event at Royal Melbourne from December 12-15.

Woods can also name a fourth assistant prior to the event.

Rather than filling his support team with only golfers in line to eventually take over the American captaincy, Woods has included former Presidents Cup skippers Couples (2009, '11, '13) and Stricker (2017).

The selections are designed to give the team experienced leaders should Woods qualify to become just the second playing captain in Presidents Cup history.

"I didn't just want to have the next in the pipeline, but to have 'Stricks' and Freddy as vice captains just in case things get a little more complicated if I make the team," Woods told AAP at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

"It's going to make things a lot easier for me; these guys have led our teams to victories before and Fred has done it in Australia (in 2011).

"All of us look up to Fred and Stricks is one of the most detail-oriented guys I've been around."

Woods praised Johnson - whose stellar career includes winning the 2007 Masters and the 2015 British Open at St Andrews - claiming he will soon captain the Americans at the Presidents Cup and the higher-profile Ryder Cup.

"Zach, he's going to be a Presidents or Ryder Cup captain down the road," Woods said.

"His competitiveness and strategy is amazing; he won the Masters laying up on all 16 of the par 5s and played them in 12-under.

"But then he also won at St Andrews; one of the longer golf courses there is."

Woods is determined to be one of eight qualifiers for the American side - an exciting prospect for Australian fans who have not seen the 43-year-old play a tournament down under since 2011.

The eight American qualifiers are determined using FedEx Cup points accrued during a weighted two-year period which started at the 2017 BMW Championship before the team is completed by four captain's picks.

World No.13 Woods currently sits 20th on the American standings.

But he is confident of continuing the form which saw him win his 80th PGA Tour title last season in addition to six top-six results.

Woods began his 2019 campaign at Torrey Pines last month, where he tied 20th in his first official PGA Tour event since September.

He's now gearing up for the LA Open, which starts Thursday, where he will play the opening rounds alongside Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy.

"My game is good; I was just rusty at Torrey after taking quite a few months off," Woods said.

"Now, my schedule going forward is to try get myself ready for April."


Golfers sweat on World Super 6 future

The World Super 6 Perth golf event is no guarantee to continue next year, but Australian Lucas Herbert is among the players who want to see it stay.

By Justin Chadwick, Australian Associated Press
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Australian golfer Lucas Herbert hopes the World Super 6 Perth won't be killed off, but admits tournament organisers face a tricky task attracting the game's best players.

The quirky Perth tournament is entering the final year of its original three-year deal, with no guarantees the event will survive beyond 2019.

The $1.6 million tournament features three rounds of normal stroke play, before the top 24 players battle it out in a series of elimination six-hole shootouts on the final day.

Players who have featured at the event have been supportive of the format, acknowledging the need for golf to experiment and be innovative.

But tournament organisers have struggled to attract some of the world's best talent, with this year's field particularly lacking.

World No.55 Tom Lewis and world No.79 Thomas Pieters are two of the tournament's biggest names this year, with Herbert, Geoff Ogilvy, Jason Scrivener, and Andrew Johnston among the other drawcard players.

Herbert believes the potential for the Perth tournament is big, and he wants to see it continue.

"I would love this tournament to go ahead for the next 10 years," Herbert said of the event, which is tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, the Asian Tour, and the Tour of Australasia.

"The crowds will be out, definitely last year playing against Kiradech (Aphibarnrat) we had really good followings.

"And it's a great way to showcase Perth as well. All the players and all the spectators have an amazing time here.

"This is such a great tournament. We look forward to it every year, so fingers crossed it gets signed again and we're playing here more and more."

Herbert said luring the world's best players was the No.1 challenge for tournament organisers.

"Nowadays the top 50 in the world are pretty hard to get out to any events," Herbert said.

"With Mexico being next week, it's tough for those guys (to come to Perth).

"I don't think you could get further away from Mexico than Perth, so as far as travelling schedule goes, not many want to come here, and we don't have the budget to pay them the money they're going to be asking."

World No.76 Herbert finished third at last year's World Super 6 Perth, and he hopes he can win the title this time around.


Min Woo feeling the highs and lows of golf

Min Woo Lee failed to make the cut in a tournament in Panama last week, but the poor result had a silver lining - allowing him to play in the World Super 6.

By Justin Chadwick, Australian Associated Press
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Rising Australian star Min Woo Lee says he quickly learnt to ditch his "hot shot" mentality after enduring a tough initiation to professional golf.

Lee was feeling like a million dollars last month at the start of the Abu Dhabi Championship - his first tournament as a professional.

But the 20-year-old was soon brought back to earth after failing to make the cut at his debut event.

The disappointing result was the perfect wake-up call for Lee, who rebounded in stunning fashion by finishing fourth at the Saudi International.

That star-studded field included top-five players Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau.

Lee's strong showing will help him earn invites to more European Tour events this year.

The West Australian said experiencing the highs and lows so early on in his professional career was a good thing.

"I had a really good lesson in Abu Dhabi," Lee said of his debut tournament.

"I missed the cut and kind of had to switch my mentality. I was feeling like a hot shot really in Abu Dhabi (at the start of the tournament). So it was nice to kind of feel the lows really quickly.

"Then I worked hard in Dubai in my week off and it paid off in Saudi."

Lee followed up his fourth-placed finish in Saudi Arabia by missing the cut in the recent web.com Tour event in Panama.

But that disappointing result had a silver lining - allowing Lee to fly home to compete in this week's World Super 6 Perth tournament at Lake Karrinyup, starting Thursday.

"After 11 holes of the web.com event I was seven over," Lee explained.

"My manager was walking around and I'm like, 'When's the next flight to Perth?'

Lee revealed his flight home didn't quite go to plan because of mechanical issues three hours into his journey.

"It was originally meant to go to Hong Kong and then Perth," Lee said.

"It was funny. I was sleeping, and then the guy opened up my window and said 'We're landing'.

"I was like, 'Sweet, that was the quickest 16 hours I've ever had'. And then he was like, 'Oh no, we had to go back'.

"So I flew back, had to change my flight. I stayed at the airport for like five hours. But here I am."

Lee has good memories of the World Super 6 after finishing tied for fifth last year.

The $1.6 million tournament features three rounds of stroke play, before the top 24 players battle it out in a series of six-hole match play duels on the final day.

Thomas Pieters, Tom Lewis, Lucas Herbert, Andrew Johnston, and Geoff Ogilvy are among the tournament's drawcards.


Henderson out of women's Aussie Open golf

Illness has forced Canadian drawcard Brooke Henderson out of this week's women's Australian Open golf tournament in Adelaide.

By Steve Larkin, Australian Associated Press
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Canadian golfer Brooke Henderson has withdrawn from the women's Australian Open because of an undisclosed illness.

Henderson will miss the Open, starting on Thursday at the Grange Golf Club in Adelaide, after also being a late scratching from last weekend's VicOpen.

The world No.9 tied for sixth place last month in the LPGA Tour's season-opening tournament in Florida before falling ill en route to Australia.

The Canadian has been a popular drawcard in recent years at the Australian Open, which this week will feature a strong field including world No.1 Ariya Jutanugarn and former No.1 Lydia Ko - the 2015 winner at Royal Melbourne.

New Zealander Ko, ranked 14th in the world, enters the tournament in Adelaide will a settled mindset - she tied for 10th at the Open last year after changing coaches, caddies and club-maker.

"I haven't really changed much this off-season," Ko said on Tuesday.

"But a lot of the changes that I had made, I had no regrets in making.

"With any changes you make, obviously it takes time getting used to things."

In April last year, Ko landed her first LPGA tournament win since 2016 which she said justified the changes.

"Winning ... gives me a lot of confidence and also confidence to my coach and my team around me," she said.

"I feel very lucky to have such a strong team with me ... I feel like I have the team that is going to be with me every step of the way and support me no matter what."

In February 2015, Ko became the youngest male or female to be ranked world No.1 - at just 17 years, nine months and nine days old.

And the 21-year-old has recently taken up meditation to help her bid to return to the top of the rankings.

"I love that one hour (a day) of getting your mind away from everything and not worrying," Ko said.

"It's super important because you're going to have good days; you're going to have bad days - you have just got to be calm."


Mickelson wraps up fifth Pebble Beach win

Phil Mickelson has won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am for a record-equalling fifth time, beating England's Paul Casey by three shots when play went into an extra day.

By Australian Associated Press
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Phil Mickelson won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am by three strokes on Monday, equalling Mark O'Meara's record of five victories in the northern California event.

Mickelson recorded his 44th PGA Tour triumph in style with a closing seven-under-par 65 at Pebble Beach.

"This really is a special place for me, going back to 1919 when my grandfather was one of the initial caddies here," the 48-year-old said after becoming the oldest winner of the event.

"This was the first event for me as a pro. To win here this week is something I'm going to cherish."

Mickelson finished at 19-under 268, while Englishman Paul Casey (71) birdied the final hole for second place on 16-under.

Australia's Jason Day finished tied fourth after his four-under-par 68 came in one of the last groups to finish before sunset on Sunday evening before darkness fell.

Mickelson and Casey were the only players who did not complete the weather-delayed event on Sunday night.

Casey resumed with a three-foot par putt at the 16th hole on Monday, while Mickelson had already completed the hole.

They both parred the 17th and then birdied the par-five 18th, Mickelson sealing the win by rolling in a six-foot putt.

"It means a lot to me to play the final round as focused and as well as I did," said Mickelson, who started the final round three strokes behind Casey.

Mickelson had wanted to finish in the dark on Sunday and was left frustrated when Casey refused to play on - but a day later he understood the Englishman's stand.

"I thanked Paul this morning because I sometimes in my own little bubble I don't see the big picture," Mickelson said.

"He really protected both of us. The greens were beat up (on Sunday). We had a chance to come out today on fresh greens, better weather and be able to see a lot better."

The five-times major champion will get a chance to complete the career grand slam when the US Open is played at Pebble Beach in June, but Mickelson wants to savour his latest success first.

"Every time I get here I have such feelings of gratitude that all that this place has done for my family, starting with my grandfather," he said.