Ames admits swing problems

“I didn’t play well, I didn’t hit the ball well, but I putted nicely,” Ames told Canada’s Globe & Mail newspaper after finishing 41st in the US $6.7 million event.

“I had a nice win (at the PLAYERS), but I’ve been inconsistent since.

It’s a combination of not playing and not staying on top of the golf swing. I’m almost feeling like I’m peddling backwards instead of forwards.

“That’s what Robert (his brother and caddy) and I were talking about all day — what are we going to do the rest of the year.”

Since winning the PLAYERS Championship at Sawgrass in March, the 41-year old Ames has struggled to sustain that momentum.

He missed the cut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April, and also failed to hang around for the weekend at the the Memorial Tournament and the US Open Championship in June.

Ames has only been good enough to finish in the Top-ten once, at the Bank of America Colonial, while finishing 11th in the Masters.

The Canada-based player is ranked 34th in the world, one up from last week’s ranking, while his US$2.2 million earnings this year has placed him 13th on the money list.

Ames arrived in Trinidad on Monday to play host to the Stephen Ames Cup, a tournament that will feature young golfers from Canada against their Trinidad and Tobago counterparts. (CMC)