Thought of the Day
Half the people you know are below average
The British are Coming
It’s a phrase that Colin Welland famously used in 1981 when he picked up the Oscar for best original screenplay for the movie Chariots of Fire. It is tempting to repeat it here in relation to golf but it is already redundant because the British (or, more accurately, the Europeans) are already here, and dominating things in a way that we couldn’t imagine, even a relatively short time ago. We have become so used to Americans (at least in the men’s game) holding sway over the rest of the world, in effect since the 1930s, that it seemed the natural order of things but Ian Poulter’s win at the WGC Accenture Matchplay Championship (over another Englishman, Paul Casey in the final) has underlined just how radically things have changed.
Okay, Tiger Woods is still ranked world number one – although that may well change this year for obvious reasons – and is immediately followed by Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker, in slots two and three. But at number four is Lee Westwood, and between him and 15th spot there is only one other American name, that of Jim Furyk. Those other 10 places are taken by nine Europeans and one Australian (Robert Allenby in 14th spot). In total, there are only 14 Americans in the world’s top-50, and those that do feature include such pre-eminent talents as Dustin Johnson (28th), Nick Watney (32nd) and Matt Kuchar (43rd).
What next, a European other than Padraig Harrington to win a Major?
Take pity on this golfer, if you will. While playing one of the desert courses in Arizona he slipped backwards, straight into the welcoming arms of a giant cactus. You always knew that golf has more ways to hurt than you can possibly imagine.
Tight at the top
On a recent trip to Mexico I managed to watch some of the Mayakoba Golf Classic, one of only two US PGA Tour events held outside the USA (the other, incidentally, is in Puerto Rico). For no other reason than he shares the same name as the Elephant Man, I followed a player called John Merrick on the first day and it proved to be a good call. He was long off the tee, hitting irons into all the par fives, whereas his playing partners often used woods, chipped beautifully and seemed a solid putter, so it was gratifying to witness his apparently effortless 68.
Naturally, when I got home I checked up on his final position, to disappointingly note that he ended up at two-under par in a tie for 48th. The margin of error at the very top of the game is so tiny that being an outstanding golfer is not enough. Those of us who happily knock it around anywhere between 80 and 100 will, thankfully, never know the frustration of being extremely talented – but not quite talented enough. Count your blessings.
What’s in a name?
All sport has to prostitute itself in the name of corporate sponsorship and nowhere is this more evident than in golf, where the names of tournaments become ever more bizarre, reflecting the interested parties who put up the dosh. For example, let us hope, for his sake at least, that Hunter Mahan (incidentally, ranked 22nd in the world) becomes a serial winner because surely he won’t want to be remembered, above all else, for lifting the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
But it’s usually the women’s game that offers the best-named events and this year on the LPGA Tour we can look forward to, among others, the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic presented by Kroger (July 1-4); the Mojo6 (April 15-16); and the Lorena Ochoa Invitational presented by Banamex and Corona Light.
In Memoriam
One bit of news that may have passed you by, and which deserves to be noted, is that Greg Rita, the man who caddied for Curtis Strange when he won successive US Opens, died on his 54th birthday (February 27) of brain cancer.
Rita carried for names such as Gil Morgan, Scott Hoch, David Duval and Mark O’Meara but in addition to that pair of US Open victories, he was also on the bag of John Daly when the Wild Thing won the Open Championship at St Andrews in 1995. Greg is survived by his wife and a four-year-old son, Nicolas.
Quote of the week
By all means screw their women and drink their booze but never write one word about their bloody awful golf course. (Advice to a fellow journalist, invited to an expensive golf development in America).
Henry Longhurst