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Up-and-Comer Immelman Is Surging at Perfect Time
"He lets me know what he thinks I need to work on or to congratulate me," Immelman said. After the Western, the message was "just saying well done and that he's proud of me and that he knew it was just a matter of time. He's such an incredible human being.
"A lot of times people only call you when you're playing well or won, but the reason you know he's so genuine is the fact that when I play badly, he'll leave a message too, saying don't worry about it, keep going, believe in yourself. For a guy who's that busy and been around the game and is such a great champion to take the time out, that's an incredible feeling when you get those messages."
 Trevor Immelman has already had five top- ten finishes on the PGA Tour this season and has earned over $3 million. He was also a captain's choice of Gary Player for the 2005 President's Cup team. (Frank Polich - Reuters) |
Player also gave Immelman a spot of advice for this week, as well.
"He's told me I need to practice a lot of long putts before coming to the Open," he said. "You get so many 30-, 40-, 50-footers because the greens are normally so massive. He always says to me to make sure I do a lot of long putting to make sure that I can two-putt from those long-distances."
So there it is, a long-putting semi-long shot as the British Open champion. And even if they don't all go in for Immelman this week, a new baby in the crib always trumps a trophy on the mantel.
Leonard Shapiro's British Open Top 10
1. Tiger Woods: He was second at the Western and actually was steamed about being runner-up, a clear indication that he cares about golf again after the death of his father on May. 2.
2. Ernie Els: Played well at the Scottish Open with a tie for tenth and his last three rounds in the 60s.
3. Retief Goosen: The South African hasn't played well in majors this year but seems due for a turnaround this week.
4. Phil Mickelson: Has only had one top ten finish in 13 British Open appearances and still may have a post-Winged Foot hangover, but how do you ignore the No. 2 player in the world?
5. Vijay Singh: Seems to be getting back into his dominating form over the last five weeks, but he's often struggled on Open-style greens.
6. Adam Scott: It's about time for the Australian heart-throb with the Tiger-like swing to start winning major championships. This might be the first.
7. Trevor Immelman: The third South African in our top ten along with Els and Goosen, he won two weeks ago in Chicago and held off Woods and Singh for his first PGA Tour victory.
8. Thomas Bjorn: The great Dane has contended on Sunday in past Opens and played top-ten well in the Scottish Open.
9. Geoff Ogilvy: As the U.S. Open winner, he won't be coming in under the radar, but he also won the World Match Play and the talented Aussie should be in the hunt here on Sunday.
10. Fred Funk: A provincial choice, but he'll be able to hit it 300 yards off the tee with the roll here and he's the most accurate driver of the ball in the game, even if he's missed the cut in his last three British Open appearances.
Leonard Shapiro can be reached at Badgerlen@hotmail.com
