LAURA DAVIES SHUNS SWING COACHES, PSYCHOLOGISTS

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By BETH ANN BALDRY
Our annual number-crunching package looks at players who made significant moves – up or down – during the past year in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.
Today we feature England's Laura Davies who rose 48 places to No 65.
Why the rise?
"Success and better putting in overseas events, not more range time," says Laura who never has worked with a swing coach because, as she says, she doesn’t take orders well.
Similarly, she never has worked with a sports psychologist.
“They really are parasites,” she said with a laugh.
Davies’ best self-advice? "Think positive."
She says that’s how she has been able to win five times on the Ladies European Tour this season, and, finish second on the LET Order of Merit. It has been well-documented that her improvement wasn’t because of excessive practice.
Laura, now 47, played in 17 events on the LET compared with the 25 played by Lee Anne Pace, the South African woman leading the money race. The Englishwoman began the year with a victory in New Zealand, then earned her fifth in November via a four-way playoff in India. Davies eagled the 18th to get into the playoff, then hit her second shot to 12 feet on the same hole and two-putted for the win.
Her LPGA results, however, haven’t been nearly as inspiring with only two top 10s in 15 starts.
Davies says: “In Europe, I putted really well, but not in America. I can’t work it out.”
Beth Ann Baldry


The Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index assigns a power rating to all of the players who have played a combined 10 events on four worldwide tours - LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour, Japan LPGA Tour and Duramed FUTURES Tour - over the past 52 weeks.
British players' ratings:
53 Karen Stupples.
59 Catriona Matthew.
65 Laura Davies.
75 Melissa Reid.
120 Becky Brewerton.
185 Janice Moodie.
198 Alison Walshe.
202 Mhairi McKay.