No reason to ban long putters, says Scott

Adam Scott shot down a putter rule change suggestion by Tiger Woods on Tuesday and told golf's governing bodies to focus on more pressing issues as the Australian leapt to the defence of controversial long putters.

Once seen as a desperate attempt by struggling golfers to change their fortunes on the greens, long putters - like the broom handle or belly putter that Scott uses - have seen a dramatic rise in popularity in professional golf.
American Webb Simpson used one to win the U.S. Open this year to follow compatriot Keegan Bradley's success in becoming the first major winner to employ a long putter at last year's U.S. PGA Championship.

South African Ernie Els made it a trio of long putter major champions with victory at this year's British Open with The United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Royal and Ancient (R&A), the game's two governing bodies, since discussing the status of 'anchored putters' with a ban being considered.
World number six Scott, speaking before this week's $6 million Singapore Open, said he had spoken to European Tour Chief Executive George O'Grady about the issue last week, adding that a ban on the long putter he has used since 2011 would be unfair.
"It is very hard to find a good reason to do that (ban it) at this stage so my conversation was to find out where things sit because it is very hard to get information," Scott told reporters on Tuesday.
"My opinion would be I don't think it is in the best interests of the game to ban the long putter I think there are some more important issues that probably should have time spent on them than putting."
Critics say that the belly putter, in particular, offers an unfair advantage to those using the traditional short putter as players can anchor the club in their stomach which involves less body movement and ultimately fewer errors.
Fourteen-times major winner Woods has voiced long-standing opposition against the use of the long putters, which tend to measure between 38 and 46 inches, and has spoken to R & A chief executive Peter Dawson about amending the rules.
The American believes putter length should be capped and be equal or less than the shortest club in the golfer's bag. Scott was not a fan of that idea.
"His voice carries some weight on the issue, a lot of players have been quite outspoken about it and certainly when Tiger Woods speaks about it generates a lot of interest," the 32-year-old said of arguably the world's greatest golfer.
"But I'm not necessarily sure his views on what the putter should be are correct at all, I don't think the putter should be the shortest club in the bag, that has never been a rule in golf so I don't know why it should be now."
U.S. Ryder Cup player Bradley said at last week's HSBC Champions event in China that he would be prepared to take legal action should the putter he has used for 16 years be banned.
Swede Carl Petterson was another adamant a ban was not the solution.
Scott doesnot want to see lawyers come into it, insisting the two governing bodies should focus more on capping other golf club design which has led to players hitting the ball extreme distances and courses being extended.
"We certainly don't need that sort of carry-on going on in the game of golf. I think it is all unwarranted, all of it, and there are more important things to worry about," Scott said of possible legal action.
"I think that it is fairly well acknowledged that length generally is probably the biggest issue in the game and it doesn't just mean how far pros hit it.
"Some of our courses, great courses are too short these days. If we are talking about equipment side of things the length issue is probably the most important because tees are moved back. Greens are not changed because people are putting with a long putter."

Brilliant Westwood triumphs in Thailand

Former world number one Lee Westwood surged to a seven-shot victory at the Thailand Golf Championship on the back of the "best golf" of his career.

The Briton capped off another sparkling performance with his third win in Asia this season and is now set to move up one place to second in the rankings behind English compatriot Luke Donald.
Westwood maintained the chunky lead he held from day one and put paid to South African Charl Schwartzel's brief resurgence, carding a final day three-under-par 69 to finish 22-under on a notoriously tricky course.
As US Masters champion Schwartzel faded to a level-par 72 to finish second, Westwood extended his four-stroke lead to seven to win with ease at the Asian Tour's $1 million season-ending inaugural tournament and notch his 37th career title.
Aside from his erratic 73 on the third day, the former world number one was in superb form, flirting with golf's exclusive 59 club with a 60 on day one followed by 64 to match the Asian Tour's lowest-ever 36-hole total.
"I've amazed myself really," Westwood said after sinking his final putt on the 18th. "It's been staggering, it all came together well. It's probably the best I've ever played."
The win follows victories in Indonesia, the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea and the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa and will see him second behind compatriot Luke Donald when the official world rankings are published on Monday.
He has now won titles in six Asian countries - Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia and South Korea.
Schwartzel's four bogeys meant he was never in contention and his first blunder at the eighth gave Westwood the chance to stretch his lead with some polished putting on the back nine.
Westwood said his initial 11-shot lead had played on his mind and he had to switch gear to cope with the testing Amata Spring Country Club course and ensure the title stayed within his grasp.
"It was special this week because of the difficulty of the course. I've never had an 11-shot lead before and it was difficult to come out and refocus and reset goals," he said of Saturday's slump.
"At 20 under after two rounds, it's yours to lose really with an 11-shot lead. There was pressure involved. Yesterday, I didn't know how to approach it or handle it."
With his four wins this year, the 38-year-old said he felt in better form than he did when he topped the world rankings but his failure to win a Major would make it difficult to answer critics.
"I'm in a tricky position because I've been so successful but not won a Major. Anytime I've gone a year without a Major, people are always going to say it's been a disappointing year for Lee Westwood," he said.
"If I was to evaluate the way I'm playing now and a year ago, I'm a better player."
Scores:
266 - Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) 60-64-73-69.
273 - Charl SCHWARTZEL (RSA) 69-66-66-72.
274 - Michael THOMPSON (USA) 69-66-69-70.
276 - Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA) 73-71-65-67, Simon DYSON (ENG) 69-70-68-69.
279 - Daisuke MARUYAMA (JPN) 73-68-68-70, Guido VAN DER VALK (NED) 71-69-66-73.
280 - Alex CEJKA (GER) 71-71-71-67.
281 - Jeev Milkha SINGH (IND) 71-68-72-70, Tetsuji HIRATSUKA (JPN) 71-72-68-70.
282 - Gregory BOURDY (FRA) 68-71-72-71, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 72-68-69-73.

Flawless Poulter wins Australian Masters

England's Ian Poulter shot a near-flawless four-under-par 67 in windy conditions to reel in overnight leader Geoff Ogilvy and win the Australian Masters in Melbourne by three strokes.

The much-anticipated final round shoot-out between the Briton and the Australian failed to materialise as Ogilvy surrendered his two-stroke overnight lead on the first hole and plunged to third after wilting with a bogey-strewn back nine.
"It was flawless, the whole day. I was very happy how I approached every shot, hit my targets," the flamboyant Poulter said with the tournament's crystal globe trophy perched next to him.
"I love being in contention, that's why I play this game of golf. If you're down the field there's no adrenalin, there's no excitement, there's no real interest.
"So that's why I practise hard to put myself in this position to enjoy the fact of being under pressure because you find out who you are."
Australia's Marcus Fraser finished second after a scintillating 64 but was long in the clubhouse leaving Ogilvy as the sole realistic hope of stemming Poulter's victory charge.
Poulter, a model of composure throughout the tournament despite battling food poisoning on Friday and tricky winds over the weekend, threw down the gauntlet on the very first hole.
Landing his tee-shot on the green of the driveable par-four, Poulter drilled a 15-foot putt for eagle to draw level with Ogilvy on 13-under.
"Crucial... it was a very timely tee-shot," said Poulter. "The wind being as strong as it was, 25 miles an hour, it was a difficult shot... He gave me an opportunity there to try and roll it in to be all tied with 17 to play."
The 35-year-old then piled on the pressure with birdies on the seventh and ninth holes to take a two-stroke lead leaving Ogilvy scrambling.
On Saturday the Australian had lit up Victoria Golf Club, where he had been a member since his junior days, with a course-record equalling 63, but the magic deserted him as his approaches left him long, speculative putts that refused to drop.
Ogilvy grafted a pair of clutch putts to stay in touch in the middle stretches, but the pressure told as he conceded bogeys at 13 and 15 to go four down.
The Australian holed a long birdie putt on the 16th to briefly raise a slender hope, but Poulter slammed the door shut with a long birdie putt of his own to make the result a formality and add the tournament's 'golden jacket' to his colourful wardrobe.
The slumping loss left Ogilvy crestfallen and capped a disappointing year marred by injury and a winless season on the US PGA Tour.
"It has been a frustrating year," a stony-faced Ogilvy said."This is kind of how the year has gone, days like today.
"What are you going to do? I couldn't really make a birdie all day."
Poulter's 269 total secured him his first tournament victory since beating Luke Donald in the World Match Play Championship final in Spain in May.
World number one Donald capped his last week of golf for the year with a scratchy one-over 72 to finish joint 12th with a total of 280, 11 behind Poulter.
"I struggled a little bit the whole week, especially finding my line and speed on the greens," said the 34-year-old, the first winner of both the US and European Tour money lists in the same year.
"A little bit disappointing to finish like that but I'll reflect on what's been an amazing year for me."
Final scores from the Australian Masters (Players Australian unless otherwise marked)
269 Ian Poulter (Britain) 65 68 69 67
272 Marcus Fraser 70 69 69 64
273 Geoff Ogilvy 71 66 63 73
277 Adam Crawford 74 68 69 66
277 Peter Senior 69 70 68 70
278 Brad Kennedy 71 69 69 69
278 Kieran Pratt 67 70 69 72
278 Ashley Hall 66 70 68 74
279 Kurt Barnes 70 71 70 68
279 Peter Lonard 67 70 69 73
279 Nathan Green 69 68 67 75

Donald wins historic Transatlantic double

Luke Donald was on top of the world in more ways than one on Sunday after becoming the first player to win the money-list crowns in Europe and the United States.

Rival Rory McIlroy needed to win the Dubai World Championship to deny Englishman Donald the chance of topping the order of merit in Europe but the young Northern Irishman ended up in joint 11th place on nine-under 279 after closing with a 71.
The 34-year-old Donald, who has been at the summit of the world rankings for 27 weeks, had already clinched the U.S. Tour's money-list crown in October.
"I couldn't see Rory's name on the leaderboard but I kind of knew the double was mine by the 13th hole," Donald told reporters after shooting a 66 for 272 to take third place behind Dubai winner Alvaro Quiros of Spain (269).
"I knew I had made history and the last six holes were kind of surreal," added the winner of this year's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona, PGA Championship at Wentworth, Scottish Open in Inverness and Disney Classic in Florida.
"The pressure went away and I was able to enjoy myself, have a few smiles and enjoy the walk. I guess that's what it is all about," added Donald.
McIlroy has been feeling tired and drained after suffering with a viral infection for a couple of weeks and he said this had simply been a tournament too far at the end of a hectic playing schedule.
"I couldn't get anything going when I needed to. I played a nine-hole stretch, the last two on Friday and the first seven on Saturday, in five over par. That's where the tournament got away from me," said McIlroy.
The world number two said he would skip next week's inaugural Thailand Golf Championship, the last event of the season on the Asian Tour.
"I can't wait to have a few weeks off," added McIlroy. "People telling you what to do and where to go, another flight, more sleeping patterns messed up. Next week would have been a big struggle too.
"The doctor told me last night that no matter how bad I'm feeling now I'd be even worse if I played next week."
McIlroy will next be in action at the Abu Dhabi Championship from January 26-29.
As for Donald, he was basking in the glow of a campaign he did not even dare to dream of at the turn of the year.
"It's something you always hope for and believe is possible," he said. "But doing it and believing it is totally different.
"There were a lot of lean years there for a while when I wasn't winning. You've just got to keep believing that at some point it's going to be your time."
Donald still has next week's Australian Masters to play in before his competitive year is done.
Donald was asked how his father, who died a month ago, would have reacted to his success.
"He popped into my head a few times today especially after the 13th hole," the Englishman replied.
"I just remembered him and I think he would have been very proud of me. I'm sure he would have given me a big hug."

Victory confirms Donald's new era

With his breakout season, England's Luke Donald has quietly laid claim to the position of golf's top player, assuming the role in a much different manner than former world number one Tiger Woods.

While Woods once occupied the throne with breathtaking power and dominance, Donald climbed the ranks with precision and consistency signalling a new era in the game.
Donald's win at the Disney Classic on Sunday, which allowed him to capture the US PGA Tour money-list title, was crafted with his irons and putter as he leaned on the accuracy that has him on the verge of becoming the first player to win the orders of merit on both sides of the Atlantic.
"It would mean a big deal to win both money lists," said Donald, a four-times winner on the US Tour.
"Getting to number one and holding onto it and extending my lead and winning four times now, you know, obviously that's a pretty good year."
It is quite the feat for the 33-year-old Donald, who was once known as more of an also-ran than a champion.
But with his most recent triumphs, Donald's close finishes are now being considered a sign of his unwavering consistency.
In compiling two wins on the PGA Tour this season, Donald finished outside of the top 25 on just three occasions in 19 tournaments.
He also added two victories in Europe this year, winning the BMW Championship to wrestle the world number one ranking from Lee Westwood in May, before claiming the Scottish Open in July.
An uneven performance in the majors was the only blemish on Donald's 2011 record. Despite top-10 finishes at the Masters and PGA Championship, he missed the cut at the British Open and was never in contention at the U.S. Open.
Winning a major would be the final piece in solidifying Donald's career, and after his season of ascension he may have proven that he is up for the challenge.
"I think I answered a lot of critics' questions, coming (to Disney) knowing I had to win and coming up with the goods when I needed to," said Donald, who needed to finish no worse than in a two-way tie for second to take the money-list honours. "I feel like I've answered all the questions thrown at me."