Gavin Green knows he can go low with recent swing changes in his second successive outing at the PGA National Cyprus course of Aphrodite Hills Resort in as many weeks.
Last Friday, the Malaysian men’s No 1 missed the halfway cut in the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Open at the same venue, which also hosts the upcoming Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown. The two events mark the European Tour’s first-ever visit to the Republic of Cyprus, an islandic nation in the Mediterranean Sea to the south of Turkey and west of Lebanon..
Making his return to tour action after a two-week break due to a left wrist injury, Gavin opened with a 75 and followed up with a much-improved 68 but missed out on the weekend by four shots. The long-hitting Malaysian had only arrived in Cyprus the day before the first round due to some entry permit issues. China’s top player Li Haotong also faced the same entry problems, missing the cut after rounds of 75 and 73.
“It was just annoying that I couldn’t see the golf course before playing the tournament. You can go low here but you just need things to fall in place at the right time,” said Gavin.
Last week in Dubai, Gavin made a few swing adjustments with coach Chris O’Connell for greater consistency and to ease the stress on his wrist. He noted he is still getting used to putting the changes into play.
“We made a few tweaks which I’m putting in play right away, so it just takes a little time to get used to the new feeling. I know I can play it, I just need it to fall into place,” stressed Gavin, adding that they also worked on getting him used to shaping shots more often.
Meanwhile on the LPGA Tour, Malaysian ladies No 1 Kelly Tan will only return to action on November 19-22 at the Pelican Women’s Championship, the next event on the tour’s abbreviated 2020 schedule. There are only four events left for the year, including the the US Women’s Open on December 10-13 at Champions Golf in Houston, Texas, where Kelly will be making her 16th Major start.
Kelly finished T13 in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship early last month, setting a new mark for best Major performance by a Malaysian across both genders.
Closer to home, former Malaysian men’s No 1 Danny Chia is slated to play in the first stage of the Japan Golf Tour’s qualifying tournament at Itsuura Teien Country Club in Fukushima on November 17-20. He holds a full card on the secondary AbemaTV Tour and is hoping to regain full status on the lucrative main tour, having played on the latter circuit in 2018.
