JODI EWART WAS ONE OF 2012'S BIG CLIMBERS ... THANKS TO BELLY PUTTER

 

          JODI EWART    .... ROSE 147 PLACES IN RANKINGS DURING 2012

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By JULIE WILLIAMS 
Golfweek.com takes a look at players who made significant moves up or down in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index this year.
Check out the entire series here.
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JODI EWART from Yorkshire

Ranking/movement: +147 (No. 217 to No. 70)
Why the rise? Putting.

Jodi Ewart is one of the few female professionals who brandishes a belly putter. In the first year using the club, Ewart credits it with increased consistency and confidence on the putting green.
Putting might be the biggest factor in Ewart’s increased success in 2012, but if anchoring a putter becomes illegal as proposed in 2016, it doesn’t mean Ewart’s ranking will plummet. Ewart, in fact, isn’t worried about an anchoring ban.
“I’ve used the short putter my whole life, and I know it’s not going to be a huge (adjustment) to go back to it,” she said. “I’d definitely have to work a lot harder on my putting if that was the case.”
As a rookie in 2011, Ewart split her time between the LPGA and Symetra tours. In 2012, she played 21 events on the LPGA, including her first three majors.
“The mental aspect of being on the LPGA and feeling like I deserve to be there and I’m good enough to be there is one of the big things for me,” she said.
Ewart’s season might even have been better had she not had to deal with tendinitis in her left wrist. The injury became especially bad in July, after she had logged four top-20 finishes.
“It’s hard to be positive when you know there’s an injury there,” Ewart said. “The only thing that’s going to help it is rest and it’s hard to make yourself not play events and stuff because you really want to play.”
Ewart said she has a tendency to revert to the same bad habits, so she and long-time swing coach Andy Marshall will continue to work on getting a full turn and keeping her swing at only 60 percent.
“Sometimes I tend to swing a little bit too hard or get a little bit too anxious in my swing,” she said. “Sixty is always a good swing thought for me, just trying to slow it down and be more in control of my swing.
“If I’m enjoying playing golf, the results are hopefully going to follow. I enjoyed it the whole year.”

NA YEON CHOI'S BIGGEST VICTORY - LEARNING TO SPEAK ENGLISH

FROM THE CBS SPORTS.COM WEBSITE
Na Yeon Choi won her first major at the U.S. Women's Open, and she closed the season by winning the LPGA Titleholders.
But her most remarkable performance came when the season was over.
Players for whom English is their second (or third) language can get by in an interview with print reporters. They tend be a lot more uncomfortable when cameras are involved. 
Choi showed how much progress she has made the day after winning the Titleholders. She went into the studio for a live segment on Golf Channel's Morning Drive.
The LPGA staff helped her prepare for questions that might be asked, and when it didn't go according to script, Choi still handled it beautifully.
That wasn't an accident.
As hard as Choi has worked on her game, she might have worked even harder on her English. Last year, she hired a personal tutor -- Greg Morrison, a Canadian based in South Korea -- and brought him with her on the road. She had a one-hour lesson every day, and practised her English with him in casual conversation.
Se Ri Pak would have been proud. The pioneer for South Koreans on the LPGA Tour, Pak preached years ago about the importance of learning English. Along with fitting in, Pak said it would make them feel more comfortable in public and ultimately improve their golf.
"First year when I was here, I couldn't speak English well and it was very hard to tell my feelings to people, even media or fans or even swing coach," Choi said. 
"When I learned English and when I tell my feelings to people, I feel way more comfortable than before. I think that made it me a good golfer, too. And on the golf course, I can relax and I can talk with the other players."
Morrison couldn't travel with her this year, though they still practised through Skype. She had another one-hour lesson during the Titleholders and planned to meet with him again while she was home in South Korea during the off-season.
"We talk about not only golf, we talk about anything," Choi said. "Like, I said I'm going to look for a new house and he tried to help me with which house is better for me. He's more like, not just English tutor, he's more like manager or assistant to me."
Do they ever talk baseball?
"Not really," she said. "I think he's a hockey fan."
+Na Yeo Choi turned professional in 2008 and has since won $7,647,218 and is currently ranked No 2 in the world lady pro rankings.

WHO WANTS TO SEE ADAM SCOTT?
 
The Open championship has a massive scoreboard in the Press Centre where a group of volunteers, most of them women in their early 20s, move ladders on rails from side to side as they post the score of every hole for every player.
Press officers often check the scoreboard and with the assembled golf writers to see which players they should bring in for interviews the first two rounds as the leaderboard is taking shape. 
In the second round, Adam Scott had a 67 to get within one shot of the lead with several players still on the course.
The announcement over the intercom: "Can we see a show of hands for Adam Scott?"
Six young women posting scores all raised their hands.