Aussies Stuart Appleby and Aaron Baddeley were among the 15 players who have successfully qualified for the 2010 US Open from the Sectional Qualifying event in Columbus, Ohio.

The Down Under duo came through the 36 hole qualifier played at the Lakes and Brookside courses along with major winners Tom Lehman, Davis Love III and Ben Curtis.

Meanwhile, India’s Arjun Atwal has also qualified for the US Open, being played this year at Pebble Beach, by coming through qualifying in Rockville, Maryland.

Thanks to Pure Golf Blog for this article

Bann Lynch Golf players K.J Choi of South Korea and Geoff Ogilvy of Australia can both take plenty of positives from their respective performances in the US PGA Tour’s Crowne Plaza Invitational which concluded today at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

Choi and Ogilvy both finished in a tie for 13th along with 7 other players at 12 under par, 9 shots behind winner Zach Johnson of the United States.

Choi and Ogilvy are coached by International Institute of Golf co-Directors Steve Bann and Dale Lynch respectively.

Yarra Bend Golf team member Ogilvy followed rounds of 70, 67 and 67 with a blistering final round 64 on the par 70 layout to vault up the leader board. He made 6 birdies against no bogeys and this performance will surely give the 2006 US Open Champion plenty of confidence with the 2010 event just a few weeks away.

While Ogilvy shot a stellar final round, Choi can probably lay claim to the strangest round of the week- his 66 on Saturday is probably one round of golf he won’t forget for a while. The South Korean birdied 3 of his first 4 holes, then recovered from a bogey on the 5th with a stunning eagle on the par 4 6th. He parred into the turn to score 4 under par 31 for the front 9. K.J then caught fire again birdieing 4 of the next 5 holes to get it to 8 under for the round. After parring 15 through 17, Choi teed off on the 18th hole tied for the lead with Bryce Molder at 14 under par and needing a birdie to match the course record.

That’s when it all went wrong.

After hitting his tee shot into the left rough, KJ couldn’t get it out on his first attempt, and then compounded his problems by hitting the next one into the water next to the green. After dropping, it took him 3 attempts with the wedge to get it onto the green and he had to make an 8 footer for a quadruple bogey 8 that left him with a 4 under par 66 which while impressive could have been so much better.

Still, both Ogilvy and Choi have shown some very encouraging signs this week that their games are peaking at the right time for the second major of the year. The US Open will be played at Pebble Beach Golf Links from June 17-20.

Thanks to Yarra Bend Golf for this article.

Six Mile, S.C. (January 11,2010) — The International Institute of Golf (IIG) would like to congratulate Geoff Ogilvy on his second straight victory at the SBS Championship at Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii.

Ogilvy posted four rounds in the sixties to finish at 22 under par, good for a one stroke victory.  This victory moved Geoff to 9th in the Official World Golf Rankings and marked his seventh PGA Tour victory including wins at the 2006 U.S. Open and the 2006, 2008 and 2009 WGC Accenture World Match Play. 

Winning the SBS Championship back-to-back is nothing new to IIG students.  Stuart Appleby is a three-time winner of this event 2004, 2005 and 2006, marking the only time it has been won in three consecutive years.  With Ogilvy winning this event the past two years it marks multiple victories for both Steve Bann and Dale Lynch as instructors at this event.  Ogilvy has been under the watchful eye of Lynch since he entered the golf program at the Victorian Institute of Sport at the age of sixteen which Lynch co directed with Bann.  

“Geoff’s game is primed for the 2010 season and he will not rest on this victory.  He has his sights set on becoming a better player,” said Dale Lynch.  “We focus on all aspects of his game – physical, mental, technical and strategic,” said Lynch. “Of all the things that stood out in Geoff’s game at Kapalua, his wedge play and putting showed the effort he has put into his off season practice.  Many players come to Maui to shake off the rust; he came with his game in shape to start the year off strongly.  I look forward to seeing what he will accomplish in 2010.” 

About the International Institute of Golf (IIG)
Located at the Cliffs at Keowee Springs, the IIG accompanies a Tom Fazio-designed golf course and community.  Headed up by Steve Bann and Dale Lynch, the IIG offers varying levels of instruction, group lessons and corporate outings.  In his commitment to make the IIG the premier instructional facility in the world, Lynch relocated to the Greenville, S.C. with his family. Bann will commute across the continents at the outset, splitting his time between the IIG at Keowee Springs and Melbourne training facility.  Both instructors spend time traveling with their professional clients including Geoff Ogilvy, Stuart Appleby, Mathew Goggin, K.J. Choi, Arjun Atwal, Roger Tambellini, Nick Flanagan, and Steve Allan.  

The IIG includes a state of the art 80-yard short-game area with varying rough heights, run-offs and green shapes and speeds will help golfers learn different ways to save strokes; a teaching center featuring NIKE 360® Fitting System; a state of the art Swing Catalyst motion analysis studio; and an indoor putting studio with the TOMI system and a fitness training area. 

The Cliffs at Keowee Springs is one of eight private master-planned residential developments within The Cliffs Communities, founded in 1989 by Jim Anthony and located in the heart of the Carolina Preserve stretching from Greenville, S.C., to Asheville, N.C. To learn more about the IIG, call (864) 868-0477 or visit www.iofgolf.com ? 

About The Cliffs Communities
Founded in 1989 by Jim Anthony, The Cliffs Communities offers a unique collection of eight communities within three distinct regions of The Carolina Preserve — Asheville, Mountain-lake and Mountain— while providing immediate enjoyment of all with only one membership. All communities are just minutes from each other. All are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of acres of protected parklands at the southernmost edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. And all provide access to two of the South’s most vibrant towns: Greenville, South Carolina, and Asheville, North Carolina. When you are a member of one Cliffs community, you are a Member of all eight. The Cliffs offers home sites from $200,000 to more than $3 million and custom homes from $700,000 to $5 million. To learn more about living at The Cliffs, call (877) 254-3371 or visit www.cliffscommunities.com. 

Contacts:
Barrett Wood      
(864) 868-0477 IIG      
(404) 543-3400 cell    
bwood@cliffscommunities.com

5/12/09| Stuart Appleby might be a little disappointed that he didn’t win the 2009 Australian Open which concluded at the New South Wales Golf Club, La Perouse, NSW on Sunday. However his performance this week must have done wonders for his confidence as he played the kind of golf his supporters have longed to see this year.

Appleby seemed to be playing a tournament of his own the first two days, shooting two consecutive 66’s while playing on the tougher side of the draw in extremely windy conditions on the tough layout. He was several shots better than anyone playing on his side of the draw, and many onlookers called it some of the best golf they have seen for some time.

His coach Steve Bann said the following on Twitter:

Cameron Percy

Cameron Percy has had a memorable year by any standards. He finished 8th on the Nationwide Tour money list and won his card on the PGA Tour for next season. Percy has played solidly all year, but its a safe bet his latest round would have been one of the most memorable of his career.
After starting off the JB Were Australian Masters with a superb 5 under par 67 on Thursday, Percy immediately came into the media spotlight as one of the best Australian hopes for the week. Inevitably, with Tiger Woods’ presence creating an unprecedented amount of excitement in the tournament, questions began to be asked of Percy regarding a possible pairing with the great man over the weekend.
Questions that Percy couldn’t help but ask himself.
He admitted it was on his mind in his second round, when he shot a somewhat disappointing but respectable even par 72. Still, he was still in the hunt and needed a strong showing over the weekend to challenge for the title.

However, on the morning of the third round, Percy wasn’t feeling quite comfortable with his setup over the ball. This is where PGA Tour coaches really earn their money. Luckily for Percy, he had trusted coach Darren Cole on hand to have a look at his setup on the practice range and make a minor adjustment which immediately had him feeling a lot better about how he was striking the golf ball.
Percy shot 69 on Saturday and thanked “Coley” while being interviewed by Fox News later that day. He had something else to be happy about. As it turned out, he had his dream pairing with Tiger Woods for Sunday.
Percy couldn’t have had much sleep on Saturday night but he didn’t show too many nerves on what was probably one of the biggest days of his golfing career so far. The new PGA Tour member (he earned his card through the Nationwide Tour this year) kept it together beautifully to shoot an even par 72 to finish the tournament on -8 and earn a tied-6th position.

All of us at IIG would like to congratulate Cameron Percy and his coach Darren Cole on a wonderful and memorable week.

JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia, Oct 25 – South Korea’s KJ Choi made his return to the Asian Tour a memorable one with a four-stroke victory at the Iskandar Johor Open on Sunday.

Choi posted an eight-under-par 64 in the third round, his second 64 in a row, for a 20-under total of 196 in an event reduced to 54 holes due to bad weather.

It was a special homecoming for Choi, who started his career on the Asian Tour and now plays regularly in the U.S. The gritty South Korean, affectionately known as “The Tank” for his strong build, has won seven times on the US PGA Tour. K.J works with IIG coach Steve Bann.

“It is not easy to win on the Asian Tour. The depth of talent here is very deep,” Choi told the media after hitting eight birdies in a bogey-free round.

The Korean made a spectacular par save at the 15th after finding the water with his tee shot, holing a chip from 10 yards.

The win couldn’t have come at a better time for Choi, who hasn’t had the best of years on the PGA Tour. However, he has emphatically broken through whatever barriers were holding him back thus far this year and looks to be in top form heading towards the end of the season.

Stuart Appleby came down to BannLynch Golf last week to work on his game with his longtime coach Steve Bann, before heading off to the U.S to play in the Fall Series on the PGA Tour.

It has been a tough year for Stuart on Tour with his best finish a tie for 8th at the Transitions Championship. However, having spent some time back in Australia, ‘Apples’ is raring to get back out there and make a strong push towards the end of the year to set himself up well for next season. Another goal for Appleby is to get a win under his belt so that he can make it into the SBS Championship in Kapalua (formerly known as the Mercedes Championship) which is limited to winners on the PGA Tour. He is a 3 time former winner of that tournament and it is sure to be a huge motivating factor for him as he heads back stateside.

Go ahead and enjoy watching one of the purest swings in all of golf. You will get to see all the work that goes in behind the scenes as a dedicated professional prepares himself for the toughest Tour in the world.

Stuart has been working with his coach Steve Bann since he was a junior golfer. In this session they were working on Stuart’s leg action, a good full upper body turn and a slightly lower position of the left shoulder through the ball.

Stuart will be working with Steve at the IIG once they both return to the U.S.

A special thanks to our friends at BannLynch Golf for the footage.

Marc Leishman has earned himself a place in the Tour Championship after finishing in a tie for 2nd place with Jim Furyk at -11, 8 shots behind runaway winner Tiger Woods.

Leishman, a rookie on the PGA Tour this year closed with a 69, having only advanced to the third round of playoffs at Cog Hill by making an eagle putt on his final hole last week at the TPC Boston. Now he’s headed to the Fedex Cup finale at the Tour Championship in a couple of weeks for an outside shot at $10 million, and is assured of making his first trip to the Masters.

“I’m in the Tour Championship now and the Masters,” Leishman said. “It’s pretty hard to wipe the smile off my face.”

Marc Leishman works with Denis McDade at the BannLynch Golf School in Melbourne, Australia. BannLynch Golf is the original academy set up by IIG co-directors Steve Bann and Dale Lynch in Australia which has played a big part in producing the so-called “Aussie Invasion” of the US PGA Tour.

All of us here at the IIG would like to congratulate Marc on an incredible first full year out on Tour, and we wish him the best for the Tour Championship at East Lake!

Six Mile, S.C. (July 14) – IIG student Roger Tambellini shot a final round 2-under-par 69 Sunday to win the second annual Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic on the Nationwide Tour by four strokes. Tambellini posted four consecutive rounds in the 60s and set a tournament record of 20 under par.

Tambellini, 34, who had two prior Nationwide Tour wins as a professional (2003 and 2005) jumped into third place on the Nationwide money list with more than $250,000 in earnings. This victory will almost certainly secure him a return to the PGA Tour where he was a member in 2004 and 2006.

“It all came together for me this week,” said the former University of Southern California All-American.

Tambellini’s game has been rejuvenated since becoming a student of instructor Dale Lynch at the International Institute of Golf at The Cliffs at Keowee Springs during the past year. The IIG opened its American home in April and has developed one of the most successful teaching tandems in golf since its founding in Australia in 1990. Lynch and Steve Bann, are the two principal directors of the IIG and support a roster of clients competing on every major professional tour worldwide.

“Roger is an extremely talented young man and we are proud to know that we have been able to help him achieve success,” Lynch said. “There is no quick fix to find the winner’s circle, but when you have the talent and the will to work hard you can see results.”

The IIG staff currently instructs seven of the world’s 75 top ranked golfers, including U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy and eight-time PGA Tour winner Stuart Appleby. For more information about the IIG, call (864) 868-0477 or visit www.iofgolf.com.

About The IIG
The International Institute of Golf (IIG) opened at The Cliffs at Keowee Springs in Six Mile, S.C., on April 25, with renowned Australian instructors Steve Bann and Dale Lynch establishing a home base in the United States at this academy. The U.S. facility is modeled after the highly successful Victorian Institute of Golf Sport (VIS) in Melbourne, Australia, which Lynch and Bann started 18 years ago.  The duo gained notice at the VIS for instructing well-known students Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 U.S. Open champion, Stuart Appleby, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, Aaron Baddeley, Robert Allenby and Mathew Goggin since they were juniors.

The IIG staff continues to service their current professional clients at Keowee Springs, but will also welcome amateur players. The staff currently instructs five of the top 75 golfers in the world. The Institute features the latest computer, video and motion analysis technology including an innovative indoor practice area complete with hitting bays and a putting studio. The Institute accompanies a new award-winning Tom Fazio-designed golf course at Keowee Springs – one of eight private master-planned residential developments within The Cliffs Communities, founded in 1989 by Jim Anthony and located in the heart of the Carolina Preserve stretching from Greenville, S.C., to Asheville, N.C. To learn more about The IIG, call (864) 868-0477 or visit www.iofgolf.com or www.cliffscommunties.com.

Contact:
Barrett Wood
(864) 868-0477
(404) 543-3400 cell
bwood@cliffscommunities.com

The International Institute of Golf Building is almost finished. Many of you who are interested in this project have knowledge of what will be housed in this building.

From a personal perspective I am extremely excited that I have been given the opportunity to coach from this awesome facility. The building is still a little way from completion but it will be ready and operational in early 09.

Below are a group of pictures taken recently to give you all a better idea of what it will look like.

More photos and update will be coming shortly.

Happy golfing,

Brett Latcham
IIG Professional

The practice fairway is to the right

4/Hitting Bays plus Biomechanic and Club Fitting Equipment Facility

Windows are now installed

Ready for roofing