Bring on the Tiger!

By Paul Pickering
BIG crowds, big money and the biggest name in golf. Bring it on, says Upper Beaconsfield pro Scott Laycock.
The 38-year-old right-hander can’t wait to hit the fairways at Kingston Heath alongside world No. 1 Tiger Woods in this week’s Australian Masters.
After 17 years on the professional circuit, Laycock is looking forward to soaking up the atmosphere at one of the most-anticipated tournaments ever to be staged in Australia.
“It’ll be great,” he said on Monday.
“Every golfer loves to play in front of big crowds, hit good shots and hear the crowd get excited.
“When I first started playing as a pro, the Masters at Hungtingdale had the four-tiered grandstand up the 18th hole and I was fortunate that it was there when I played in the final group with Michael Campbell (2000 winner) many years ago.
“That was a buzz.”
Laycock finished tied for fourth behind Campbell, an emerging Brett Rumford and Spanish star Sergio Garcia that year, and he believes his game is in good shape heading into the 2009 instalment.
He had some solid results on the new One Asia Tour this year, before returning home for three events in Western Australia and Queensland over the past month.
Most notably, Laycock finished tied for fourth in the WA PGA championship a fortnight ago, consolidating his spot in the top 25 of the Australasian Tour order of merit.
“It’s been going very well,” he said of his lead-up form.
“I just want to play the way I know I can play and see where that gets me at the end of the week.
“The sand-belt courses set up pretty well for me I think, because I drive it pretty straight and hit a lot of greens in regulation.”
Laycock says he would relish the chance to play with the Tiger, particularly if it meant teeing off in the last group on Sunday.
Regardless of his performance this week, Laycock has a busy couple of months ahead of him, with the Masters, NSW PGA, NSW Open, Australian Open and Australian PGA falling on consecutive weekends.
The same schedule con-fronts former Berwick Mont-una golfer Ashley Hall, who edged out Laycock for the Victorian Open title at Spring Valley in February.
Hall has made a fine start to his own One Asia Tour campaign and sits fourth on the order of merit.
Both will play in the pro-am event at Kingston Heath today, before teeing it up in the first round on Thursday.