Thought for the Day
Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance
Plus ca Change
New Year, new start, all change for a bright new beginning. Well, that’s the theory.
In Jordan Spieth’s first event of the calendar year, he wins at a canter, destroying a quality field in Hawaii. Donald Trump continues being a pompous ass and threatens to withdraw development funding from his two Scottish courses if the government continue with its plans to build wind farms off his Menie Estate in Aberdeenshire. And in a team competition with a Ryder Cup format, Europe slaughters the opposition – in this case taking the EurAsia Cup by 18.5 – 5.5 points, which is as near total superiority as can be achieved. As the Daily Telegraph reported, perhaps it should be renamed the Euthanasia Cup.
Incidentally, while The Trumpster may slow down or cancel further development in Aberdeenshire, he will not withdraw any funding from his other Scottish layout, the magnificent Turnberry which, while not perhaps being the greatest test on the Open rota is surely the prettiest. It is not yet on the list of named future venues (which are Royal Troon in 2016, then Royal Birkdale in ’17, Carnoustie in ’18 and Royal Portrush in 2019 – hooray). But what The Trumpster craves above all else is to have a major championship played over a course he owns and Turnberry offers him his best chance. For some inexplicable reason, however, the game’s governing bodies seem keen to keep him at arm’s length.
As you were
All eyes, of course, will be on the Big Three of Spieth, McIlroy and Day to see if they can give us the kind of head-to-head drama that we crave in the major championships but the odds are against. As John Strege has pointed out in Golf Digest, in the last half-century only four golfers have won more than one major in a season, and then won another the following year – that’s Tiger, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino, which is pretty exalted company – so the odds are against Jordan Spieth picking up one of the big ones this year. And in the past 25 years, only four players have won majors in consecutive seasons – Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy. Also, many golfers experience a relative slump after lifting their first major, especially, as was the case with Jason Day, if they came close many times before finally landing the big fish. Nevertheless, Jordan Spieth is so good, and so consistent, only a fool would bet against him.
The big question mark hangs over Rory McIlroy, whose 2015 was blighted by that football injury. If he gets on a streak, which means that he manages to find a hot putter, he’s unbeatable. Tee to green he has no peers but Spieth is the best putter in the game – 10-footers are gimmes and he holes from anywhere on the carpet.
The other factor that might have an impact is that, because of the Olympics, the majors are squeezed into a tighter timeframe this year – the USPGA Championship starts at the end of July, two weeks after the The Open, so the last three majors of the season will be played in a seven-week span. If Rory is in one of his peerless moods he could clean up.
A true gentleman
Sad news with which to start 2016 is that Christy O’Connor Jr died, at far too early an age (67) while on holiday with his family in the Canary Islands. He is most famous for beating Fred Couples in the Ryder Cup singles at The Belfry in 1989. The disparity between them was demonstrated most clearly on the 18th hole when Christy knocked his ball over the water but was so far back he needed a 2-iron to reach the green, also guarded by water. He nailed it so perfectly that it finished four feet from the hole and an unnerved Couples blocked his 9-iron into the gallery. Christy was a controversial wild card pick by captain Tony Jacklin, having only played in the Ryder Cup once before, 14 years earlier, when his record was played two, lost two. I interviewed him after his ’89 inclusion was announced and he said: ‘No-one has a right to criticise my selection until after the event. If I play badly, fair enough, criticism will be justified but right now no-one knows how I’m going to perform.’ It’s something I have tried to remember ever since when the wild card picks are made known.
Incidentally, at conservative estimates, the 2-iron that Christy used to hit that magnificent shot has been auctioned off for charity at least a dozen times – it’s what the Irish like to call the craic.
Footnote
It is just over 15 years since the Titleist ProV 1 was launched. And in three months we will see the 30th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus’ last win in a major – that magnificent sixth Masters.
Where did those years go?
Quote of the Week
The driving range is the place where golfers go to get all the good shots out of their system
Henry Beard