Practical Exercise As Teske Takes Aim At Webb

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday February 19, 2003

Peter Stone

Rachel Teske's laugh is shy, almost embarrassed, when asked whether this is the year she can become Australia's most dominant woman golfer. Determined as they come, she is not given to thumping her own drum.

Ask her coach Ian Triggs and his answer is short and to the point: ``Yes."

The target, of course, is the formidable Karrie Webb, who has six major championship victories and 28 career wins on the US LPGA Tour, compared with Teske's six career wins.

But last year was a watershed for Teske with two victories, nine top-10 finishes and ninth place on the money list with earnings of $2.16 million.

Last year, in her first win in the US, she beat the mighty Annika Sorenstam on the second hole of sudden death in Phoenix, her second victory over the Swede in three play-off meetings through the years. She also finished second to Sorenstam in the US Tour Championship late last year.

Sorenstam lifted the bar to giddy heights last year, winning 11 times on the US tour and twice elsewhere, including the Australian Ladies Masters (beating Webb in a four-hole play-off), which she is not defending at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast this week.

Webb's dominance in 2000 was the catalyst for Sorenstam to start a strenuous fitness regime, the like of which had never been seen before in women's golf, and now Teske and Webb have hit the gyms running and the results, to the naked eye at least, are obvious.

So too have several other leading players, but not England's Laura Davies, who is again here for the Masters this year showing no inclination of interrupting her career-long aversion to the practice range, while keeping her physical activities to a little soccer and cricket on the beach.

In recent months, Teske has shed eight kilograms; Webb four. And, both are hitting their drivers between 10 and 15 metres further, around 250m.

``It has always been a grey area with women's golf how much work you can do with weights. You don't want to jeopardise the way you hit the ball, but it is working. I'm hitting my irons half a club further and my woods 10-15 metres further," Teske said yesterday. ``Technically my swing is better, but my short game needs improvement.

``Annika dominated women's golf last year ... her fitness and the way she is playing ... she is just so very keen and motivated to improve all areas of her game. She has raised the bar again and it's a great time to be part of the tour, and to be inspired to improve your own game."

Webb said: ``I played with Annika in the Skins game [in January] and I hadn't played with her in seven or eight months. She really has gained a lot of distance, she used to be about 10 yards shorter than me, but now she is 20 yards longer off the tee now."

While Webb is plotting her strike-back at Sorenstam, Teske is looking first to Webb, then to the Swede.

As teenagers, Teske beat Webb until their final year as amateurs, and she has lived in the shadow since. Asked whether this was the year of going back to the future, she laughed before saying: ``I don't know. I'm pretty keen to improve my stats and I know I'm hitting the ball better, and I know I feel better."

In the absence of Sorenstam this week in the $800,000 Ladies Masters starting tomorrow, Webb is obviously favourite. She plays the open layout so well, winning the title four years in a row before the Swede denied her a world-record fifth consecutive win in the same championship last year, but Teske is more than confident of her chances.