(26 February 2010 – Pegasus, North Canterbury, Christchurch)
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American Diana DAlessio, after a 2009 golf year which brought little financial reward and a free-falling ranking on the US LPGA Tour, made a decision which seems likely to pay early dividends. Late last year she attended a Vision 54 seminar in Phoenix, a project launched by Pia Nilsson, and popularized by Swedish professional, Annika Sorenstam, and she headed to Christchurch this week for the Pegasus New Zealand Women’s Open with her mind full of positive thoughts.
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Vision 54 is an integrated coaching programme aimed at increasing performance and individual development to enable the golfer to shoot 54, the equivalent of 18 birdies in a round.
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At the halfway point of New Zealand&aposs Open Championship at Pegasus, north of Christchurch, D’Alessio has a one shot lead over Australian Sarah Kemp, backing up her first round of five-under 67 with 68 today to be nine-under par. A shot further back are South African Ashleigh Simon and overnight leader, Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord, whose 73 was eight shots more than her outstanding first round.
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Standing alone in fifth place is Canadian Lorie Kane, a shot ahead of England’s Laura Davies and Austria’s Stefanie Michl.
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rnThree Kiwis made the cut which was at four over, the best of them being Wellington professional Sarah Nicholson who is in a tie for eighth after a second round 70. She is joined by two amateurs, 12-year-old Lydia Ko and last year&aposs amateur medallist Cecilia Cho, on even par 144.
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D’Alessio went 31 holes before dropping a shot, but even after a double-bogey at the 13th and a three-putt bogey at the 14th her powers of positive thinking came to the fore and she birdied three of the last four holes bringing her birdie tally for 36 holes to 12.
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It (Vision 54 seminar) really helped me,’’ D’Alessio said. I had fairly decent years in 06, 07, 08 but 09 was really a mental battle – things started to go wrong and I couldn’t quite get out of it."
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rnTo keep out any negative thoughts, D’Alessio, 35, says she tries to keep her mind occupied, “I like to have a mantra where I think fairways-greens anything to get yourself from thinking bad thoughts because they’re going to creep in and if you can settle them down you’ll obviously do better.’’
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rnD’Alessio, whose earnings last year were $US35,500 (ranking 124) as opposed to winning more than $US235,000 the previous three years with a ranking inside the Top-60, said if she was leading overnight she had plans to block that out.
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I’ll probably sing a lot to myself and recite movie lines, anything to keep from thinking too far ahead and in between shots I’ll probably chit-chat with my caddy.’’
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rnShe said she was amazed to have played 30 holes at Pegasus without dropping a shot. On this course you are going to make bogeys as it is a hard course, but I made a few great par-saving putts like a 15-footer on the eighth to keep the string going and I gave a little fist pump thinking phew’. You obviously want to play bogey-free but that’s not realistic because it’s going to happen.’’
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rnKemp started by missing a four foot putt on the first and compounded that with a poor tee shot on the second, but after those two early bogeys she reeled off seven birdies over her remaining round, her five under being the equal best round of the day.
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“I didn’t really feel that I played that well today,” she said at the conclusion of her round, but conceded that a good putt on the 14th (her fifth hole) kicked up her confidence. “I didn’t hit it extremely close but sunk some good putts. “ Her key focus tomorrow is again on holing those crucial putts and keeping the ball low in the windy conditions.
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Photos by Paul Melville – ALPG.
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