The Martin Vousden column…
“Not only is discombobulated one of my favourite words but it rather nicely sums up how I feel on this dreich, as the Scots would say, October morn (it means dull, or miserable, by the way). The reason for being just slightly out of sorts is that somehow it never feels quite right to end a tournament on a Monday, as the European Tour was obliged to do with the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews. But the extra time in bed certainly enlivened Simon Dyson, whose last day 66 was one heck of a round, especially as he played the back nine in level par.
The delay was created, of course, by gale force winds on Sunday which were truly impressive (something to which I can testify from personal experience as I live about 20 miles from St Andrews as the crow flies). If play had been attempted, not only would the golf balls have been blown off the green but the manufacturer name and logo would have been blown off the balls. I’ve often wondered, incidentally, if you were given a choice of having to play a competitive round in rain but no wind, or wind but no rain, which would you select? On balance, I think I’d opt for being wet because in my experience nothing throws a golf swing out of kilter quicker than a strong wind – it even affects your putting stroke, especially if the wind is gusting, because you end up trying to hit the ball in lulls between gusts, which is the best recipe for a jerky stroke and pull straight left that I know.
Of course, rain is an almighty pain in the backside too, but you can at least dress appropriately, even if there is not a rainsuit on the market that will keep you dry through 18 holes of persistent hissing it down. And before you get completely waterlogged you will play at least a few strokes before your grips are sodden, your spirits benumbed and all you can think about is the warmth, dryness and medicinal alcohol offered by the sanctuary otherwise known as the clubhouse. More importantly, rain does not affect either your swing, or the flight of the ball in the way that wind does, other than perhaps costing you a small amount of distance. And yes, I am aware of, and largely agree with, the old adage that a well-struck ball is not affected by the wind. The problem for me is that it is only after I have deliberately aimed 30 yards right of the target that I then nail the ball out of the sweetspot and watch it plummet, in consequence, straight into the thickest clump of rough on the course.
But back to Simon Dyson, who has been steadily improving for several years now and at age 31 should be looking forward to the most fruitful period of his career, having broken into the world’s top-50 for the first time. So far this year he has won twice (the KLM Open in addition to the Dunhill) and had five other top-10s, which demonstrates a healthy degree of consistency. The only question mark to concern him, as it does everyone else, it seems, apart from Tiger, is the fickle finger of form, which seems to come and go with little rhyme or reason.
Remember Justin Rose in 2007? He only played 12 events in Europe but seemed to be in contention every time he teed it up, which explains why he won the Order of Merit with so few starts (he also, incidentally, finished 19th on the PGA Tour rankings, with earnings of two and three-quarter million dollars). This season it seems he can’t, to quote an old phrase, hit a cow’s backside with a banjo and as I write he languishes in 57th place on the Race to Dubai leaderboard, and 92nd on the US money list – sandwiched between those two titans of the game Kevin Streelman and Michael Letzig.
And then there’s Ian Poulter for whom, if you may recall, 2009 was to be his big season, the one in which he would kick on to fulfil his undoubted potential after finishing runner-up in last year’s Open championship, and having a storming Ryder Cup when all about him Europeans were falling by the wayside.
But when looking at the career highs and lows of all Tour pros the one who intrigues me the most is New Zealander Michael Campbell, who almost won our Open twice, and who then, four years ago, lifted the US Open trophy and in the process outlasted and outplayed Tiger Woods down the stretch. Campbell, it seems, has only two settings – sublime and stinking; he’s either a world beater or a carpet beater, with no in-between. I have no idea why this should be so, I just mention it because, as Winston Churchill once said in an entirely different context, it is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”