Casey Davies Share Spotlight

Returning champion Paul Casey and special sponser invite Laura Davies will share the spotlight at this week’s ANZ Championship at the Horizons Golf Resort in Port Stephens, Australia.

Casey will be feeling the pressure as he looks to continue a trend thus far in the 2004 season in which two of the four tournaments played have had repeat champions - Trevor Immelman at the South African Open and Ernie Els at last week’s Heineken Classic.

Davies, on the other hand, will be feeling pressure of a different kind. Despite already playing in a men’s tournament at last year’s Korean Open (missed cut), she will become the first woman to ever play an official event on the European Tour.

Davies, the reigning ANZ Ladies Masters champion, will no doubt find this field to be even tougher than that at the Korean Open. However, the modified Stableford scoring system is again in place at this event, and she believes it could possibly be a good fit.

‘I had the experience of playing against the men at the Korean Open last year and with the modified Stableford format used at the ANZ Championship I think I will have a lot of fun,’ said the 40-year-old Davies. ‘This is a new challenge for me and something I think I will absolutely enjoy.’

Casey, 26, hopes that a repeat performance from last year’s victory over Stuart Appleby - and with the added glare brought on by Davies’ appearance - will keep him on a direct path to make this fall’s European Ryder Cup team. He currently sits in the 13th position and is ranked 27th in the world.

In only its third year in existence, the ANZ Championship is being played on its third different course. It is, however, sticking with the modified Stableford scoring system, the same system that is used every year at The International tournament on the PGA Tour.

The scoring system is as follows:

Double Eagle: 8 points
Eagle: 5 points
Birdie: 2 points
Par: 0 points
Bogey: -1 point
Double Bogey or Worse: -3 points

The purse is $1,346,400 with a first-place check of $255,100.

Related links:

Full Coverage - ANZ Championship