Thought for the Day:
A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good
Proof of the Pudding
To digress for just a moment, the British and Irish Lions rugby coach, Warren Gatland, was roundly abused on social media websites last week for his decision to drop Brian O’Driscoll from the third and decisive test against Australia. I mention it because it reminded me that, in 1989 Ryder Cup captain Tony Jacklin received considerable flak for nominating Christy O’Connor Jr as one of his wild card picks for the competition at The Belfry.
Christy had played once before, all of 14 years earlier, and had a record of played two, lost two. Shortly after the announcement of his selection, while hurtful comments were being flung at both him and Jacklin, I interviewed the Irishman. He said, in effect, no-one has the right to criticise my selection until after the competition, when they will have seen how I play. Fair enough, if I make a complete hash of it, throw all the brickbats you want but until then nobody knows whether picking me is a good or bad idea.
History shows that he grabbed a vital point by beating Fred Couples in the singles, a man who had out-driven him by as much as 50 yards all day, firing a superb 2-iron into the final green. Jacklin, like Gatland, was vindicated but whenever coaches or captains are abused for making a controversial selection I try and remember (not always with success), Christy’s remarks, because he was right.
Incidentally, the 2-iron that he used for that superb shot has been auctioned for charity, by some estimates, at least 30 times so if you are ever offered the club, try and check its authenticity.
And don’t come back
On a recent press excursion to the Old Course at St Andrews, where the Ricoh Women’s British Open is being held this year, I had a discussion with another journalist who told me about a membership rule at a club in Arizona that I believe should be widely disseminated.
Once a year the club holds a secret ballot to determine who is regarded as the most objectionable member, and whoever comes top of the list is not allowed to renew their subscription, and they have no right of appeal. It apparently makes for a very sociable club, where people go out of their way not to annoy others or behave obnoxiously.
I think a similar rule should be adopted immediately by every club in Britain.
Where does it go?
When a top player like Rory McIlroy or Luke Donald experiences one of those patches with which we are all familiar, when they can’t hit the proverbial cow’s backside with a banjo, we are reminded of the cliché that ‘Form is temporary, class is permanent.’ And by and large it is. But every now and then a journeyman pro emerges from the ranks, plays like Tiger for a few days, weeks or even months, and then disappears back into obscurity. Some of them even manage to compete for, and sometimes win, a major during their brief time in the sun.
Rich Beem, for example, stared down Tiger Woods at the 2002 US PGA Championship but nothing he has done since suggests he will taste such a victory again. Or how about the 1990 US Open at Medinah, when Hale Irwin went on an uncharacteristic lap of honour around the 72nd green, having holed a putt to get into a playoff. Do you remember who he beat the next day? It was an unknown called Mike Donald, who matched Irwin over 18 extra holes, finally falling at the 91st before disappearing as quickly as he had arrived.
In Europe I was always intrigued by Andrew Sherborne, a tall, blond west country man who was leading amateur in the 1984 Open at St Andrews. He then became the very definition of a journeyman, managing to keep his Tour card but without setting the world ablaze. To everyone’s surprise, including his own, you suspect, he won the 1991 Madrid Open. To prove it wasn’t a fluke, he won again the following year, at the Peugeot Open De Espana, holding off none other than Nick Faldo. For those couple of seasons he looked the business and then he reverted to near anonymity.
Is it better, do you think, to have come so tantalisingly close to greatness or to have remained among the ranks of the also-rans?
History being made
While most of us, if we’re honest, don’t pay a great deal of attention to women’s professional golf, perhaps we should because a quite remarkable player is having the season that could knock all others into a cocked hat. South Korea’s Inbee Park celebrates her 25th birthday next week in a year in which she has won the first three majors of the season. In April she took the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and in June lifted both the LPGA Championship and US Women’s Open.
Unfortunately for Inbee, there are now five majors in women’s golf, so even if she lifts the Ricoh Women’s British Open at St Andrews in August, she will not have completed a Grand Slam because she will also have to take the Evian Championship the following month. The reason why she is so successful, by the way, is that she is regarded as the best putter, man or woman, in the world, holing 30 and 40 footers for fun. Perhaps that’s why she doesn’t get more publicity – we’re all jealous.
Quote of the Week
Golf is about how well you accept, respond to, and score with your misses much more so than it is a game of your perfect shots
Dr Bob Rotella