Momentum is key to victory insists Raitt

05/09/2017

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Momentum will be a key factor in this year’s PGA Cup according to Andrew Raitt who is counting down the days before making his Great Britain & Ireland debut against America at Foxhills Resort.

This year’s hosts, led by Scotsman and former vice-captain Albert MacKenzie, will be looking to claim back-to-back victories over America for first time since 1984. It will be an achievement matched only twice in the competition’s 44-year history.

“If we get a bit of momentum and get some scores on the board early and put them under a bit of pressure that’s important.

“In all sport you have to try and get the momentum on your side so that it makes it easier to relax and play rather than staring at the scoreboard all the time.

“I look down our team and I think they’re all really good players and I’d give them a chance against anyone.

“It’s a bit like a Ryder Cup really, you can only presume it will be fairly close. Touch wood it will be an exciting climax for everyone.

“As a golf fan I’ve watched many Ryder Cups over the years, you see how close it is and you see how matches are decided by a chip-in or any momentum. When you’ve got 20 good players together it will be the same.”

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For Raitt, representing his country will be the highlight of an injury-plagued career that has seen him compete on the European and Challenge Tours.

And experience of playing in a team environment should benefit Raitt, who played in the PGAs of Europe International Team Championship in Turkey at the start of the year.

“I just think it’s going to be a really cool week and the fact that we don’t get a chance normally to play team stuff makes it really exciting,” he continued.

“Hopefully we can all play well. I think we have a strong side, I’m sure they have too, so like golf normally is, it will come down to who holes the right putt at the right time.

“Playing in the PGA Cup is right at the top for me. My Tour career was pretty rubbish really. I had lots of injuries and I never really felt like I had a fair chance at it.

“But to represent The PGA and the others guys on the team and Albert is a real honour so I’ll put it right at the top for me.”

Raitt is also looking forward to joining up with plenty of familiar faces with eight players, including himself, having played on the European Tour.

A team get-together at Foxhills Resort towards the end of July allowed Raitt to meet two more members of the team and he’s convinced it was a worthwhile exercise.

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“I’ve known most of these guys on the team for about 20 years, I played with quite a lot of them on the tour back in early 2000,” he recalled. “We’ve been friends most of us for a long time and that definitely helps.

“There were only a couple of guys, Chris McDonnell and Christopher Currie, who I didn’t know.

“I’ve known Albert a long time but only really at golf events. Martyn I’ve known for a long time, Cameron I’ve met a few times in America at pro-ams and stuff.

“I think the get-together was a really good idea actually especially for the two Chris', it was nice to meet everyone, have a chat and see the golf course. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was good fun and got us all excited about the week to come.”

Players will be looking to hit form at the right time ahead of the PGA Cup, which gets under way on Friday September 15. Raitt has been playing in numerous pro-ams and is hopeful he’ll be at his best come tee-off time.

He added: “I tend to play for quite a bit over the summer anyway, but I’ve been going to the gym a bit more and trying to strengthen my back up so I am capable of playing 36 holes in a day.

“I’ve been playing alright. For most of my career I struggled with injuries and stuff like that but I’ve been away playing OK. I’m not putting that well but it’s going OK.”

For more information about the PGA Cup and to follow all the action and live scoring from Foxhills from September 15-17 click here.

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