Thought for the Day:
Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled
In Memoriam
So Farewell then, 2012 golf season
No-one will win the money list
On both sides of the Atlantic
In the Same Year
Ever Again
That was your catchphrase
(with apologies to Private Eye’s E. J. Thribb, aged 17½)
Tomorrow, the world
Shortly after that astonishing period between 1976 and 1980 when he won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles, Björn Borg was asked how he always managed to win, no matter the opponent or circumstances. He replied, in that almost monosyllabic, unemotional drawl he perfected: ‘I play the big points better.’ In golf we have our own Ice Man, named Rory McIlroy, who also plays the big points better. By birdieing the last five holes of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai to win by two, he rounded off the European Tour season with the kind of flourish that only the best achieve. No, strike that. His six-under par round of 66, and 72-hole aggregate of 23-under par was so much more than a flourish, it was a statement of genius – not unlike Kevin Pietersen’s 186 in the second Test in Mumbai. The difference being that Rory did not come spectacularly good for one round in one event, he just carried on doing what he has been doing all year – beating the very best without needing his very best game.
In Dubai he was reportedly suffering from the effects of a virus and, despite his girlfriend administering regular doses of paracetamol and lemon drinks, it showed. His usual cheery grin was absent for most of that last day, as it had been all week, and he looked like a man who would rather be tucked up at home in bed. Tiger Woods, early in his pro career, made the mistake of saying that he had managed to win without his ‘A’ game, a remark widely condemned by fellow pros who thought he was belittling their own efforts. Rory will make no such PR disasters but the others know that, like Tiger in his pomp, if Rory plays what for him is average golf, he will win. And if he plays to his potential he will win by a street, which is why his second major, this year’s US PGA Championship, was taken by the same crushing eight-stroke margin as the first, the 2011 US Open.
Statistics do not always tell the full story but some of the numbers of Rory’s 2012 season are worth repeating. He has won five times, doubling his career record to 10 victories, including his second major. He has won the money list on both sides of the Atlantic (more than $8 million plus over €5 million) and in the process regained his number one world ranking, which he will hold for a considerable time because of the gap he has now opened between himself and the rest. His scoring average in Europe is 69.68 (3rd) and in America it’s 68.87 (1st). He drives the ball long and straight, is an excellent iron player and has a superb short game, although here he has to yield slightly to Luke Donald. And when he’s in the mood he seems to hole every putt he looks at. And the most telling number of all is 23, his age.
When Tiger first started racking up the major wins a wise observer said that only two things stood in the way of him beating the record of Jack Nicklaus – injury or a bad marriage. Let us hope that Rory can avoid both because if he can, watching his career is going to be very special.
What are the odds?
The nominees for the Jack Nicklaus Award as the PGA Tour Player of the Year are, in alphabetical order
Jason Dufner (22 events, two wins, no majors)
Rory McIlroy (16 events, four wins, one major)
Brandt Snedeker (22 events, two wins, no majors)
Bubba Watson (19 events, one win, one major)
Tiger Woods (19 events, three wins, no majors).
On those bare facts alone, Rory should be a shoo-in but America’s isolationism and insularity is a worry. Just two years ago, remember, Rory was nominated for Rookie of the Year, alongside Rickie Fowler. The young American (and what has happened to him, by the way?) had seven top-10s, including two runners-up spots. Rory had five top-10s and won the Wells Fargo Championship, destroying a world-class field with weekend scores of 66, 62. He twice finished third in Majors and was on a winning Ryder Cup team.
They gave the award to Fowler.
And finally
Just to counter-balance this homage to youth, as you probably know, Miguel Angel Jimenez became the oldest European Tour winner, at the UBS Hong Kong Open – and 12 of his 19 Tour victories have been after the age of 40. I rarely think about him without being reminded of the occasion some years back when a courtesy car driver at the Open Championship asked her fellow drivers: ‘Does anyone know what this chap Jim Innes looks like?’
Quote of the Week
The only equivalent plunge from genius I could think of was Ernest Hemingway’s tragic loss of the ability to write. Hemingway got up one morning and shot himself. Nicklaus got up the next morning at the Open Championship and shot 66
Ian Wooldridge
(On Jack Nicklaus shooting 83 in the first round of the 1981 Open Championship and 66 the next day)