By JASON DILL
MANATEE — Rhys Davies has won on the European Tour. He’s asserted himself as one of the top putters in golf. Now he can add his name to the growing crop of stars that have played a West Florida Golf Tour event.
A list that includes former two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen, past PGA Tour winner Robert Gamez and current LPGA Tour standout Brittany Lincicome.
WFGT owner Carl Wakely grew up playing junior golf with Davies in their native Wales. And Davies played collegiately with WFGT regular Stephen Arnold, which made getting Davies to tee it up in Monday’s tournament at Sara Bay Country Club a no-brainer.
GRANT JEFFERIES/gjefferies European PGA player Rhys Davies waits to tee off Monday during the West Florida Golf Tournament at the Sara Bay County Club.
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“It’s partly due to, we’ve been players, so we’ve gotten to know people,” said Wakely about himself and tournament director Christian Bartolacci’s ability to draw big names to their events. “Having them out is great for the tour, absolutely.”
Last year, Davies got a glimpse into the west coast of Florida when he visited during the holidays and returned to relax a bit before trekking to Europe for his 2012 season.
His debut is scheduled for the end of January in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
“The guys are living here, and it’s a good place to hang out and do a little bit of golf,” said Davies, who turned pro in 2007 after finishing his career at East Tennessee State University, about the tuneup event at Sara Bay. “I really like Donald Ross courses and this was no different. I thought it was great … the greens are severe, so if you are a little bit off with your approach shots, you can have some very tricky chip shots and some tough putts as well.”
Davies had a breakout year in 2010, sparked by a victory at the Tropheé Hassan II in Morocco in March. That 2010 season featured three runner-up finishes, berths into three major championships and two World Golf Championship tournaments.
Davies’ skyrocketing ability drew him into the conversation of being selected as a captain’s pick for the 2010 World Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales.
However, Davies wasn’t chosen.
“I think if I’m honest, I did hurt in the sense of that I was trying to get on the team, of course,” he said. “But I also was realistic in the sense that I think I was aware that I didn’t quite do enough and I wasn’t quite at that stage yet … So yeah, you have to accept those things, move on from them and try and work towards potentially getting on the team in the future. That’s how I see it.”
Davies’ prowess on the links can be seen with his penchant to knock putts down with his flat stick — a Ping blade — something that’s statistically labeled him as one of the best in the world on the greens.
“I keep it simple, and I work hard at it,” Davies said. “And I think those two main things. I don’t complicate, and I’ve used the same style putter for years and years now. I just try to roll the ball to the target, and it’s as simple as that.”
Davies followed up his solid ’10 with a consistent 2011 — albeit without any victories and not as many top five finishes.
“Results-wise, definitely not as good, there’s no doubt about that,” Davies said. “I definitely worked hard on my game last year. And I certainly am trying to improve my swing in certain areas, so I think when that happens, you don’t automatically get a lot of success immediately … I had quite a few top 25’s last year. And I know they’re not right at where I want to be. But they do show I was quite consistent.”
Helping Davies with his swing is Bob Torrance, a veteran golf teacher, back home in Wales.
Davies said he’s in good hands with Torrance, who is “enthusiastic and really knows his stuff.”
Davies said he thinks his game is getting better and progressing in the right direction.
And that’s a scary proposition for every field he goes up against in Europe this year.
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