Schwartzel confident ahead of USPGA Championship
Article posted: 07 August 2012
I changed my putter and my grip to cross-handed in the last round of the Bridgestone, and it felt really good
Having fired a sensational seven under par 63 in his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational final round, Charl Schwartzel is upbeat ahead of the USPGA Championship, which gets under way on Thursday.
ISM has eight other players competing at the final major championship of the year, with Darren Clarke, George Coetzee, Simon Dyson, Branden Grace, Joost Luiten, Jeev Milkha Singh, Louis Oosthuizen and Lee Westwood all teeing up at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course in South Carolina.
Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, plays his first two rounds alongside Rickie Fowler and Nicolas Colsaerts at 1.00pm and 7.50am local time.
He is confident as he aims to win his first tournament of the year.
"I’m feeling excited," he said. "I have been working on my swing at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and it seems to be starting to repeat itself more and more, which is what I need to do to compete.
"My chipping has been bad, but that’s also starting to get a lot better through all the practising and playing more rounds."
Schwartzel recently changed his putter and is happy with the decision.
"My putting has been letting me down for about a year now," he said. "It’s the only reason I haven't won again. But I changed my putter and my grip to cross-handed in the last round of the Bridgestone, and it felt really good.
"So with all the things falling in place now, I'm starting to feel a lot more confident for the PGA."
Westwood, the world number four, will tee off at 8.50 and 2.00 with Bill Haas and Angel Cabrera, while Clarke, playing for the first time since the Open two weeks ago, plays alongside Ryo Ishikawa and Gary Woodland at 8.00am and 1.10pm local time.
Oosthuizen has been paired with Ian Poulter and Steve Stricker, teeing off at 8.40 and 1.50. Grace, who is making his first appearance at the event, is alongside Jose Maria Olazabal and Matt Dobyns at 7.50 and 1.00.
Teeing off at 2.10 and 9.00, Simon Dyson plays with K.J. Choi and Scott Verplank, while Jeev Milkha Singh is out at 8.10 and 1.20 alongside Scott Stallings and Johnson Wagner,
Joost Luiten plays with Alan Morin and Thomas Aiken at 9.20 and 2.30, with George Coetzee in action with Alex Noren and Mark Wilson at 2.00 and 8.50.
Elsewhere, Scott Arnold, Dave Horsey, David Howell, Richard Finch and Chris Wood compete in the Thailand Open, which takes place at Suwan Golf and Country Club at Nakornpathom.
Ben An, Nick Dougherty, Charlie Ford, Alexandre Kaleka, Tyrone Ferreira, Espen Kofstad, Chris Lloyd, Michael Lorenzo Vera, Ross McGowan, Matthew Nixon and Simon Wakefield play the Norwegian Challenge.
Rika Batibasaga, James Robinson, Thomas Shadbolt and Michael Stewart are in action at the MarHall.com Scottish Classic.
Christina Kim, Alan Dunbar and Steven Ferreira and Attie Schwartzel play the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic, International European Amateur Championship and Maccauvlei on the Big Easy Tour respectively.
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