Long and short of it at Barclays Singapore Open

The march of the long putter brigade continues apace at the US$6 million Barclays Singapore Open.

More than 10 per cent of the field is using either a broom-handle or belly putter on the greens at Sentosa Golf Club.

Figures from equipment analysis company Northmountain International reveal that 22 players or 10.78 per cent of the field are wielding a long putter in the Asian Tour/European Tour co-sanctioned event.

That’s well up from the five per cent average in events on both Tours last season.

With Keegan Bradley becoming the first player to win a major tournament using a long putter at the PGA Championship and Bill Haas scooping the FedExCup and its US$10 million bonus with the belly putter, the trickle has become a trend as players look to emulate their success.

Singaporean Mardan Mamat put a long putter in the bag for the first time this week and Ernie Els, who has struggled with his putting of late, is also a relatively recent convert.

Colombian Camilo Villegas, famous for his “Spiderman” pose on the greens, is another player using a long putter at the Barclays Singapore Open.

However, world number 11 Phil Mickelson has reverted to his short putter after a brief romance with a longer version.

He put one in the bag for the first time in September and continued to use it during the Playoffs.

“I’m enjoying it. The more I’ve spent time with it, the more I’m enjoying it,” he said at the time.

I’m not giving shots away on short putts anymore. But again, I’ve only used it a couple of weeks. It is not like I am sold on it.”

During his break from the game, he has cooled on the equipment and reverted to the short putter for the first round on Thursday when he shot par 71 on The Tanjong Course.