Fuji.  The 18^th hole didn't disappoint, with Brendan Jones holing a 40 foot putt for eagle to win and join the likes of Greg Norman and Seve Ballesteros as winners of the Taiheiyo Masters.  It provided another dramatic finish when the course hosted the 2001 World Cup where South Africa defeated New Zealand, Denmark and United States in a playoff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The course condition was fantastic and the greens undulating and fast, running at 13 on the stimpmeter. The international players always comment on how the greens are as good as any in the world.

 

This week we are in Miyazaki for the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament which is the richest tournament on the Japan Tour.  Although Tiger Woods is not playing for the first time in 3 years it is still a strong international field with defending champion Padraig Harrington, Henrik Stenson, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter amongst the starters so it should be an exciting week.  

 

 

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and part time swing guru at Windsor Park Golf Club).  Tommy showed he's no slouch in the kitchen either cooking up a feast of "yakiniku" ( korean beef),  which we washed down with a few Asahi beers and Lemon Chu-hi (caddies favourite in Japan).  A good time was had by all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week's tournament is near Kobe City at the A.B.C Golf Club.  Usually our monday's are spent travelling to the next tournament so today we made the trek by train from Kashiwa near Tokyo to Sanda which is where we are staying this week.  Japan's transport system is phenomenal and the trains run like clockwork, you can set your watch off what time the train arrives it is that precise.  Without having to worry about the hassle of going to the airport 1 hour early and checking in luggage,  Japan's Bullet train "shinkansen" is a quick and hassle free way to travel between Tokyo and Osaka/Kobe area which is about a 550km journey, with the shinkansen reaching speeds up to 300 km/h, the journey takes just over 2 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the first time for Wayne and myself at the A.B.C tournament so I'm looking forward to seeing the golf course and looking forward to having a good week. 

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fairways and thick rough.  So we got out there on monday afternoon for a few holes just to get a feel for the course.  With the atmosphere of a big tournament,  whilst walking down one of the fairways Wayne said to me he was excited about the week ahead and that he hadn't felt like that so early in the week before a tournament for a long time, which I thought was a good sign.

 

Alot of preperation has gone into the course to make it a real test,  so much so that I saw about 10 groundstaff on one hole raking the rough so that the grain of the grass sits against you when you hit towards the hole. As if the thick rough is not already difficult enough. On Wednesday we headed out for another practice round and Wayne was fortunate to have a practice round with three former winners of the Japan Open,  Craig Parry, David Smail & Paul Sheehan and picked up a few tips on how to win a Japan Open.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the key holes at Sagamihara this week will be the monster par 5 3rd Hole, measuring 660yards. You have to drive on to the narrow fairway so you can place your second shot in the right position for what is still a full shot for your 3rd. An errant tee shot into the thick rough and it could be a four shot hole to get to the green.  Sagamihara is going to be a tough test playing as a par 72, it is played as a par 74 by the members.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week we are staying in the city of Machida, just outside Tokyo.  We don't get the opportunity to stay in a big city like this very often.  One of the benifits of of travelling on tour is you get to eat out every night and there are plenty of restaurants to choose from here.  We have been to the American restaurant chain T.G.I Fridays twice this week where you are guaranteed to get a big meal.  I think Wayne might have over eaten on tuesday night after finishing his meal he proceeded to clean up everyone else's leftovers at the table,  which might explain why he couldn't complete wednesdays practice round due to severe stomach pain.   He is OK now and ready for a good week.

 

 

 

 

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