David J Russell confident to defend his title at the Fuji Film Senior Championship
This week, the PGA of Japan will travel to Chiba, Japan, for the eighth leg of the PGA Senior Tour swing, the Fuji Film Senior Championship.
David J Russell, the 2011 champion, will return with hopes to defend his title that earned him the biggest pay cheque of his golfing career last year.
The two-time European Seniors Tour winner outshined Jong-Duck Kim with a two-stroke margin last year and pocketed 14,000,000 Japanese Yen (over €120,000) prize money.
Talking to the media in a pre-tournament press conference, he stated that the venue course, the Country Club Japan, suited his playing style.
According to him, the course offers a tough challenge to the participants because of its tricky layout.
He said, “The course was just right for me. You had to flight the ball pretty well, it was very up and down – a course that suited my eye”.
He added, “After my practice round, I thought to myself: “I’ve got a good chance here”. Modern courses don’t often give you the sort of challenge that I like, but there were a lot of fades and a lot of shots where you had to take the spin off – whereas most
courses nowadays you have to just hit straight and long”.
He is now relishing the opportunity to return to the course with a completely different frame of mind.
He also confirmed that he contacted his close friend Ian Woosnam prior to the start of the event last year in order to take some advice about the course.
He avoided talking about the advice. However, he told that the advice which he gave him certainly worked, as he successfully passed the course challenge in the end.
According to the golf commentators, Russell will be among the strongest contenders in the field because of his recent form in the 2012 golf season.
In September this year, he defeated Tim Thelen in the sudden death playoffs of the European Seniors Tour’s French Riviera Masters. The tournament was held at the Terre Blanche Resort and Golf Club.
This week, he plans to keep the winning momentum going and return home with another title added to his resume.
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