Rusper Classic Preview
3rd March 2010
Kenny Du tees up this week hoping to defend the title he won last year. 32pts were enough to win here in 2009.
The Rusper Classic always proves to be a tough week, with weather playing a key role. This year looks to be no different as we come off one of the toughest winters in recent years.
Rusper Golf Club is a course that rewards the straight driver and the players will have to be on their game if they wish to compete at the top this week.
Kenny Du won three times last year all at courses that put a premium on accuracy off the tee. With two top 7 finishes in his last two outings, Kenny is going to be up there again this week.
Will Lewis is currently the man of the hour with his win a Pedham Place a fortnight ago coming off two 2nd place finishes. Although his handicap has been cut to 22.7, Will should still feature here. He will be looking for back-to-back wins on the SCC Tour.
It's been a couple of months since Manny Purewal won. His victory coming at the Lullingstone Stableford in October 2009. A nice start to the year so far, shooting around his handicap in both tournaments of 2010. If Manny can do the same this week, he will be amongst the leaders coming down the stretch.
Christian Hauser is another player who likes this course. He won here back in 2008 when the tournament was reduced to nine holes due to lightning in the area. At that stage he had shot 18pts. He knows this course and although he had a terrible time of it last year, his game is in a different place in 2010. His win in The Winter Challenge showed he likes the tough conditions.
My pick of the week this week will be Mike King. Mike had a storming start at the Pedham Open only to fall away on the back nine. All part of the learning curve, I believe Mike is ready to go a stage further. This week sees the anniversary of Mike's first SCC Tour event and he has good memories of Rusper GC. He just needs to concentrate over the 18 holes and believe he can do it.
John Corlett is the only player to have won around here (39pts in 2007) and bettered his handicap. I dont believe that score will be broken this week, but I believe that players will have to shoot around 35-37pts to claim the 2010 title. I fully expect the title will be won on Countback. So every putt will be crucial.
With this being the final tournament of The Winter Swing 2010, there are 5 players who will need to play well to claim the Swing. Neil Willis (38pts), Roy White (35pts), Charles Chan (34pts), Will Lewis (32pts) and Chun Sung (30pts) are the players in contention. Pressure will be on them to perform as well as they can. Expect this to be an especially tough tournament for these guys.
