The school summer holidays in Europe might be about to kick in, but the snooker professionals are having that 1st September feeling, as the new season steadily gathers pace.
There seems what appears to be an Asia ‘leg of the tour’ developing with Jiangsu Classic last month, followed by the Beijing International and Sangsom 6-Reds in Bangkok. The General Cup International in Hong Kong, and the World Games in Taiwan are also on the agenda for some players.
The Whirlwind Jimmy White and Liang Wenbo and Mark Allen have all entered the ‘Winner’s Circle’ this season. Wenbo and Allen tasted victory for the first time and White for the time in a long time.
So, as the players sharpen their pencils and iron their uniform in readiness for the 2009/10 season, global-snooker.com looks at what many have been doing during their Summer Break…
Stuart Bingham
It is no secret that Stuart Bingham likes his golf. The world number 21 is a member of Crondon Park GC, the venue for Matchroom’s Championship League Snooker, playing off a very impressive six.
So when we asked him what he had been upto, his answer was simply, “golf, golf, and more golf”. If he wasn’t swinging the clubs, he was carrying them for a friend in the club comps. He made a trip north to take on John Parrott at Formby, a famous old links course that Parrott knows like the back of his hand.
Bingham has at least kept his hand on the green baize throughout the summer and has played in various events at Pontin’s, where he is used to taking away the cash!
Stuart was heading East when we spoke to play in the 6-Reds in Bangkok, where he lost in the final in 2008. Not so good this time around, as he came unstuck in the last 16 against home-favourite Issara Kachaiwong.
Shaun Murphy
Another player who can usually be found with a set of clubs when he is without his cue.
An impressive six-handicapper, who hits the ball miles, had played three rounds in three days when we caught up with him before he headed to Bangkok for the 6-reds international.
“I haven’t really been up to much. It has been good to catch up with friends and family during the summer, which you don’t get much chance to do during the season”.
“I love the golf and have played some amazing courses this year already. I plan to stay out in Thailand and have a bit of break after the six-reds. The golf courses out there are spectacular, so I will probably have a round or two”.
Paul Davies
The social event of the summer was the wedding in Las Vegas of former world championship quarter-finalist, Lee Walker.
Davies, a close friend flew out with his wife, Leanne to see Walker and childhood sweetheart, Katie tie the knot. Fellow players, Mark Williams and Mark Davies also joined the party.
World number 54, Davies told global-snooker.com, “It was great. I loved Vegas and Leanne and I would go back tomorrow”.
Unfortunately that won’t be possible as the couple have recently been installed as the new steward and stewardess at the Tredegar Cons in Newport, home of the TCC Pro-Am.
We caught up with Paul on the golf course, who plays off a handy 14 handicap. Although on the day I played with him, against Mark Davis and Gerard Greene, he was embarrassed into playing off 11, but that’s another story!
Davies’ season gets underway at the World Games, an Olympic style event for non-Olympic sports, in Taiwan later this month. He represents Wales in the 16-man event, won in 2005 by Gerard Greene. Global-Snooker.com will have all the latest news and results from Kaohsiung.
Ricky Walden
Walden won his first major title in 2008/09 and may need to win a few more to pay for his summer break, as he has “had the time of his life”, on what can only be described as a world tour…
After his defeat to Mark Selby at the Crucible, Ricky was straight on a plane to support close-friend and former professional, Jason Barton, as he took part in the final stages of a lucrative poker tournament in Monaco.
A ‘heavy’ week wasn’t enough for the world number twenty though, so he and another former pro, Ben Fitzgerald, headed west to Los Angeles. From there, they drove through the desert to the bright lights of Las Vegas, not to Walker’s wedding though.
Music is a major passion of Walden’s, and he went to see The Kings of Leon in Manchester before heading south to Glastonbury, where he listed Neil Young as the best performance of the four day music marathon.
He did spend a couple of days using a paint brush at the new club that he and manager, Lee Gorton opened in Chester along with long-time friends Anthony Owens and Colin McDonald.
The Q Bar in Chester opened its doors last week, and Ricky promptly boarded a plane to the Far East for another three-weeks. Business not pleasure this time though, with the 6-Reds, General Cup and World Games all on his itinerary.
Stephen Maguire
A new addition to the family, a new snooker room being built and laser eye surgery, have meant a busy summer for the world number two.
“Baby, Faith, was born in May, so we haven’t managed to get away anywhere this year”, he told global-snooker.com.
“I have also been building a snooker room in the garden, well not literally, I’ve had builders in, digging and brickwork is way out of my league”.
“The laser treatment should have been done a couple of years ago, and it already feels much better”.
Imagine how good Maguire will be during the coming season, with improved practice facilities, a new pair of eyes and his family behind him 100%.
He will also be using the Trion:z bracelet as worn by many of the world’s top sports performers. “I saw Ricky using it at Sheffield and have seen the likes of Ernie Els wearing them on the golf, so I thought I’d give them a go”.
