Nicholas Smits Trails By One

The first round of the Singapore Open Amateur Championship got underway today at Orchid Country Club. 16yr old Gary Edwin Golf student Nicholas Smits closed out his first round with three birdies in the last four holes to shoot a fine 2-under par round of 70. Nicholas is just one shot from the lead being held by a group of three players that includes the defending champion Vasin Sripattranusorn from Thailand.

Edgar Oh who is the current Singapore Junior Open Champion and another of our Academies promising young hopefuls is also in a good position after day one, shooting a commendable round of 73.

Senior Wins at The Willows

Peter Senior has won the North Queensland Masters at the Willows Golf Resort. Senior, the legend of Australian golf, romped home to victory by four strokes with rounds of 66, 67. Senior was on fire early in the final round with four birdies in the first five holes that helped open up an unassailable lead in the championship. "I hit the two par fives (2nd and 5th holes) in two, and getting to four under so quickly set me up for the day" Senior said.

Pete will now make his way across to Perth for the Handa Australian Seniors Open. This will be his first official tournament on the Legends Tour and will tee off as one of the favourites to claim the title.

Gavin Coles 3 behind in Miami

Gavin Coles has fired rounds of 70, 69 and 68 to be positioned 10th going into the final day of the Miccosukee Championship, Miami Florida. Gavin trails co-leader and fellow Australian Andrew Buckle by 3 strokes. Gavin is currently in 31st spot on the Nationwide Tour money list, with the top 25 gaining a full PGA Tour card for the 2010 season.

Quincy T9th at Mercedes-Benz Masters Indonesia

Rookie professional Quincy Quek has closed out his week with a top 10 finish at the Mercedes-Benz Masters Indonesia with a 2-under par round of 70. Quek's 4 round total of 5-under 283 has him in 9th place.

This is a nice lead-up to next weeks US$1 million Iskandar Johor Open where Quincy will tee it up alongside a star-studded field that includes Retief Goosen and KJ Choi. The tournament is being played at the Royal Johor Golf Club, Malaysia. Quincy has played well around this course before, with a runner-up finish in the 2007 Royal Johor Invitational Amateur.

Marc Ong 3rd at rain-shortened Warren Amateur Open

Marc Ong, one of Singapore's promising young junior golfers has finished just 2 shots behind in 3rd place after 2 rounds of 75 at the Warren Amateur Open. It was a great result against much older and more experienced competitors on a very difficult golf course. It was however a disappointing end to the week as the 3rd and final round was cancelled due to bad weather. Marc was drawn to play in the championship group on the final day together with the current National Amateur Champion Jonathan Leong and National squad member Johnson Poh. The Amateur title was awarded to former Gary Edwin Golf Academy student Jonathan Leong after defeating Johnson in a playoff.

Nicholas Smits Wins at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads

Nicholas Smits shot a fine round of 71 this week to win the A Grade Gross in the Junior Classic Championship at Coolangatta-Tweed Heads Golf Club.

Nic began his training at the Singapore Academy under the guidance of Chris Marriott and is now based at All Saints Anglican School on the Gold Coast. Nic has put in a great amount of effort since making the move to Australia and has recorded many commendable tournament victories.

Nic has been most fortunate during his time on the Gold Coast to train under the watchful eye of the Guru, Gary Edwin himself.

Nicholas will return to the Singapore Academy this weekend where he begins his preparation for the Singapore Open Amateur Championship being held at Orchid Country Club. Nic will return to OCC with fond memories after winning the Orchid Junior Invitational in 2006.

Solid Start for Quek in Mercedes-Benz Masters

Quincy Quek has fired a solid opening round of 69 in the Mercedes-Benz Masters being held at the Emeralda Golf and Country Club, Indonesia. Quek is currently in 3rd position, trailing first round leader Kwanchai Tannin of Thailand who shot 66.

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Pampling just one behind at Turning Stone

Rod Pampling shot a terrific round of 65 in the 3^rd round of the PGA Tour’s Turning Stone Resort Championship held in Verona, New York. Rod fired off seven birdies and no bogeys and is now heading into the final round just one shot from the lead at 13 under par.

Pampling admitted the improvement in conditions after two days of strong wind and rain had helped.

"I could actually swing away out there instead of trying to muscle through all the rain jackets et cetera and actually had nice temperatures as well, so it definitely helped."

"I've been driving well, hitting a lot of good iron shots and making a lot of nice putts. In the first two days I guess I just had a few little bogeys and a double early, but today was nice. I didn't really get into any trouble."

"I had a bit of trouble on 17 and made a good putt there to save par, but pretty much the whole day was really solid."

Rod is now in a great position to claim the USD$1,080,00 winners cheque and a 3^rd PGA Tour victory. Good luck Pamps!

Gary Edwin, the Right Sided Swing

It is one thing to gain a reputation as a coach by having a prodigy land on your doorstep. It is another to do so by taking a player wallowing in the anonymity of pro-am land and help him become a player capable of competing on the world stage. To my way of thinking, that was what made (and makes) Edwin unique.

Of course, the “formulaic” swing idiosyncrasies that many Edwin coached players brought to the PGA Tour in the late 1990’s raised a few eyebrows. At first they were laughed off, like someone passing the curious three legged man at a freak show and allowing themselves a surreptitious glance and snide snigger. However, the laughing soon gained a slightly nervous, if not indignant tone as a number of unheralded swings started turning up on top of the leader board.

Then the analysis began. “You can only swing that way if you’ve got forearms like a grave digger”, was the argument when Lonard was at his ascendant best. Then Paul Gow started winning and shooting 60 with arms that knew only a loose relationship with muscularity. The original hypothesis was looking shaky. Worse was yet to come for the nay-sayers, for when an un-athletic, thirty-ish Gavin Coles rose from his job in a rural pet food factory and worked his way onto the US Tour there existed a model that no-one could pigeon hole. Too small, too short,not strong. He certainly couldn’t swing it the Edwin way, could he?

Should a coach be judged in relation to what and how they teach, or of whom? Our celebrity obsessed world tends to value the latter, but regardless of which school of thought takes precedence, Edwin qualifies for recognition in both respects. His has been a life long search for substance over style, and, if validation has finally arrived, it’s hard to support any conclusion other than that it is well earned.

Grant Dodd

Between 1993 and 2004, Grant Dodd played on the PGA Tours of Australasia, Europe and Asia, winning the Slovenian Open on the European Challenge Tour in 1999. A writer for Australian Golf Digest since 2003, he is also a member of the Channel Ten golf commentary team.