Cathrea makes winning look easy WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Just before Casie Cathrea stepped into the tee-box at the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships last Thursday, she placed a last-second phone call to swing coach David Balbi. Coach, I think there might be a problem. After a whirlwind journey across the country -- that included pit stops in Minnesota, Atlanta and finally Williamsburg, Virginia -- Cathrea quickly realized all was not right with her big-league swing. "When I finally got to the tournament, I was having swing problems," said Cathrea, whose mechanics have been made famous on The Golf Channel and various Internet blogs. "It was mostly because I wasn't practicing as much as I'm used to." If she was rusty, it certainly didn't show. Cathrea continued her torrid summer pace by collecting top honors in the girls' 9-year-old division at the World Championships with a 6-under-par 102 on the Golden Horseshoe's tree-lined Green Course. On Monday -- a day removed from her victory in Virginia -- she beat out two others for the First Tee of Greater Sacramento title in the girls' 12- to 14-year-old division. "When we got off the plane, I asked her if she was sure she wanted to play in another tournament," Harry Cathrea, her father, said. "She told me, 'Yes, Dad. It's just golf.'" Looks more like child's play these days. Cathrea has now won five tournament titles in July, and 11 overall in the last two months. "She's just vicious right now," Harry said. "She's in a different place. "Casie is making the other kids around her better. In order for them to compete, they got to get better." Cathrea was at her best amongst the best at the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships. The tiny 9-year-old with the booming drive jumped to the top of the leaderboard after two rounds with a back-to-back 4-under-par performances. Mexico's Giovana Maymon and South Africa's Shannon Aubert closed in on Cathrea on the final day, but couldn't cover ground fast enough. Maymon finished one stroke back, with Aubert nipping at her heels. "It felt good finally winning," Cathrea said. "I've never won this before, and it was such a great experience." Cathrea, who finished fifth at last year's championship and seventh the year before, praised her short game for finally getting her over the hump. Along with putting coach Mike Schy, a PGA professional for more than 20 years and one of only eight Master putter-fitters in the world, Cathrea toiled on practices greens for more than 30 hours a week for two months. Schy tediously fine-tuned Cathrea's short game so that it mirrored her soaring drives and amazing power. Practice, as they say, makes perfect. She averaged 1 1/2 putts per hole during 36 holes at the World Championships, and never needed more than two putts to finish. "The last two months we've been working really hard on putting," Cathrea said. "We've been working on my distance because that's been my biggest problem." Said Harry: "She gets to the greens before everyone else, but now she can putt. She's just dominant right now -- totally dominant." To contact James Burns, e-mail jburns@mantecabulletin.com By JAMES BURNS Staff reporter of the Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin De La Vega finally nets USTA title Kimiko De La Vega had gone almost an entire year without a USTA tournament title, and the tennis junkie was beginning to wonder when it might come. Cathrea makes winning look easy WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Just before Casie Cathrea stepped into the tee-box at the U.S. Kids Golf World Championships last Thursday, she placed a last-second phone call to swing coach David Balbi. |