Denis Watson Gets Another Chance

On the wall, next to a metal gate in front of the spacious house just off trendy Las Olas Boulevard, is a small plaque with the words Villa Una Vita.

"That's the philosophy we have in this household," said pro golfer Denis Watson, 52, who lives there with his wife, attorney Susan Loggans, and their five children. "Una vita. You only have one life."

But it sure seems like Watson, one of the favorites in the Champions Tour event that starts Friday in Boca Raton, has had at least three lives.

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Lead's Views: Growing the Game in the U.S.A.
Monthly commentary from David Leadbetter

The Ryder Cup these days is truly a spectacular event. There is probably more buzz and anticipation surrounding it than any of the four major championships, and for overall excitement, it rivals any sporting event.

But the results have become predictable, which has prompted a question I hear repeatedly. Why, at the moment, can the U.S. not win the Ryder Cup, especially considering that the Americans, as individual players, are ranked far higher in the world than most of the Europeans?

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Tony and Gipper Finau Visit ChampionsGate

Big hitting golfing phenoms, Tony and Gipper Finau (ages 18 and 17 respectively) recently visited The David Leadbetter Golf Academy World Headquarters at ChampionsGate for a session with David and his staff.

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There are a number of David Leadbetter Golf Academies conveniently located throughout the world providing world-class golf instruction at world-class resort destinations.

Among the impressive list of locations are ChampionsGate (Orlando, Florida), LaPlaya Golf Resort (Naples, Florida), Red Sky Golf Club (Vail, Colorado), The Fairmont Chateau Whistler (Whistler, BC), Wailea Golf Club (Maui, Hawaii), and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (Farmington, Pennsylvania).

Southern California, despite being home to some of golf's most revered courses, has never been home to a year-round Leadbetter Academy...

That is, until now!

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Setting the Record Straight Regarding Michelle Wie
By Lorne Rubenstein as it appeared in
The Globe and Mail

It's important to get something straight right off the top. David Leadbetter is not leaving his student Michelle Wie, notwithstanding how some people read - well, misread - an Oct. 17 column here.

In that column, Leadbetter referred to Greg Nared, who had just become the second manager in a year to leave Wie. Leadbetter said it was beginning to feel "like this is the Titanic." He was referring to others leaving. He was staying.

Leadbetter's comments caught the eye of a couple of popular ESPN shows, some prominent websites, Golf Channel, and the blogosphere.

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Lead's Views:
Monthly commentary from David Leadbetter

One of the fascinating aspects of the game of golf to me, one who has been involved in the business of teaching for the past four decades, is the sheer volume of instructional material that has been put forth through the years. No other sport or activity as far as I am aware, has ever spawned so much instructional information. And all how to get a little ball into a hole.

It really is amazing and I have to say that I am very thankful because this thirst for knowledge is what has given me a living.

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The entire David Leadbetter Golf Academy family congratulates Ernie Els on his HSBC World Match Play Championship!

Ernie Els won his seventh World Match Play championship yesterday by beating Angel Cabrera, 6 and 4, in the final at Wentworth in Virginia Water, England. Els took the lead on the first hole, with Cabrera taking a bogey, and went on to claim his first win of the year.

"It is absolutely a dream come true. I would never in my wildest dreams have thought I could win this seven times," said Els, who also won in 1994-96 and 2002-04. "It truly feels unbelievable. The course is obviously my home course. It has been a great week."

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Future Collegians World Tour
World Woods Rolling Oaks Open
Oct 13 - Oct 14, 2007
World Woods Golf Club

Congratulations to one of David's all-time favorite students, his son James, who led wire-to-wire to win his first FCWT event in the boys 11-12 division.

Leadbetter who fired a 2 under par 70 on Saturday to lead all scores, followed up with a round of 80, to earn his first FCWT title by 7 strokes.

Leadbetter's round was also the Low Round of the day for this division - one stroke better than 2nd place finisher Ryan Stovash, also of Orlando. Stovash led this division in pars with 19 for the weekend, while Leadbetter led in birdies with 10 on the weekend.

Eleven year old Gavin deFisser of Gilbert, AZ (2015), a 3rd year player who won the ASU Open last season, finished in 3rd place at 161.

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Introducing "LEAD's VIEWS"
a monthly column by David Leadbetter

Thanks for logging onto our website. We are continually updating and refining our site so I hope that you find it informative and useful.

To that end, I am really looking forward to writing a monthly piece to share with all of you golf enthusiasts. Topics could be about anything in the world of golf- instruction obviously being amongst them.

This month the subject is junior golf. Being on the board of the American Junior Golf Association - the country's leading junior organization and also having a full time junior academy down in Bradenton, which has about 200 youngsters attending on a full-time basis - junior golf is something near and dear to me.

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The entire David Leadbetter Golf Academy family congratulates Denis Watson on his Boeing Classic victory!

Seven players came walking up the 18th fairway, a sight never seen before on a major professional golf tour - let alone most local municipal golf courses.

Denis Watson eventually ended the long afternoon, capping a wild finish that started at the turn by making an 18-foot putt for eagle on the second playoff hole to win his second Champions Tour event of the season.

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