Thought for the Day
All those who believe in psycho-kinesis, raise someone else’s hand
Precocious Youth
In truth the last day of the Masters wasn’t particularly exciting because every time someone closed the gap on Jordan Spieth he responded immediately, so that the cushion between him and the rest remained agreeably comfortable. But once he holed that winning putt it was enjoyable to see him show some real emotion. His standard of play over the last 18 months has been so consistent, and his facial expression while going about his work so unchanging, that we could be forgiven for thinking that he was an automaton.
The Japanese have perfected a range of robots that look startlingly authentic and watching Jordan Spieth churn out round after round of sub-par golf did make me wonder whether they had managed to produce an android that could play golf. His metronomic efficiency has seemed, at times, to be almost too good to be true, as did his capacity to finish high up the leaderboard week after week. It is well-known, for example, that being in contention for a golf tournament is mentally draining, which is why it is pretty unusual to see a golfer win, or even contend, in consecutive weeks.
And yet, Jordan’s record over the last four weeks is 1st, 2nd, lost a playoff, 1st. Not only that, but in his first two appearances at Augusta National his record is T2, 1st, which is not too shabby. One last statistic, in the 81-year history of the Masters, Spieth becomes only the 5th golfer to lead after all four rounds. The others were Craig Wood (1941), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972) and Raymond Floyd (1976), which, if you overlook Craig Wood is a rather impressive rollcall, and more of him later.
All of the above is mightily imposing but what lifts it from surprising to staggering is that Jordan Spieth is 21-years-old.This shouldn’t happen. Young, extremely talented golfers should be like Rickie Fowler – grinding away and spending a few years on Tour learning how to make the transition from hugely talented amateur to successful pro. They should not parachute in as fully-formed, mature golfing prodigies who don’t flatter to deceive but in fact surpass all our expectations, while quickly destroying all our pre-conceived ideas on what it takes to thrive at the highest level.
But every now and then, it is rather fun to watch exceptional talent so prodigious that it cannot be constrained by the usual rules.
Persistence Pays
Craig Wood, as I mentioned, was the first golfer to win the Masters from gun to tape and because he showed the benefits of perseverance, through bitter disappointment that would have crushed many a lesser soul, Craig has always been a personal unsung hero. His tribulations started in 1933 when he tied Densmore Shute at the Open Championship at St Andrews but Shute won the 36-hole playoff. The following year, in the first ever Masters, Craig finished runner-up (by a stroke) to Horton Smith, who drained a 20-footer on the 17th green to seal the deal. Worse was to come 12 months later because Craig was the man who sat in the Augusta National clubhouse with an apparently unassailable lead, as the only contender still on the course, Gene Sarazen, needed an unlikely three birdies in the last four holes just to force a playoff.
Sarazen then eliminated that three-stroke advantage with one shot, his 4-wood approach to the par five 15th, and, you won’t be surprised to hear, won the 36-hole playoff the next day. Wood should have been prepared because nine months earlier he had battled his way to the final of the US PGA Championship, where he lost to Paul Runyan.
Not surprisingly, Craig disappeared into a shell for a few years but then in 1939 he tied for the lead of the US Open, shooting 284 along with Byron Nelson and old nemesis Densmore Shute. After one 18 hole playoff Shute was eliminated but Wood and Nelson both shot 68 and had to go round again. On the fourth hole of that second playoff Nelson holed a 1-iron for an eagle and luckless Craig must have seen the writing, in huge luminous letters, on the wall. He now had five runners-up places in majors. Four of those losses were in a playoff, each for a different major, a record that was uniquely his until Greg Norman equalled it many years later. Betting on Craig Wood to win a playoff would fill you with as much confidence as entering the office lottery for the Masters and drawing Sandy Lyle’s name from the hat
But then, in 1941, eight years after the first of those five heartbreaks, persistence paid off and Craig Wood could finally call himself a major champion. He won the Masters, by a satisfying three strokes from Byron Nelson and just two months later he took the next major, the US Open. He was the first man to win both the first two majors in a season but never threatened the leaderboard of a major tournament again. We can only presume and hope that by now he didn’t give a damn, having demonstrated more ability to bounce back from defeat than Wile E Coyote.
As that American sage Rich Hall once said: ‘Good things may come to those who wait but shit tends to happen pretty quickly.’ Craig Wood demonstrated the enduring truth of both statements.
Quote of the Week
The player may experiment with his swing, his grip, his stance. It is only when he begins asking his caddie’s advice that he is getting on dangerous ground.
Sir Walter Simpson (1887)