golfweloveit

So many of us have been shocked this morning to hear of the sudden passing of Gordon Brand Jnr, who was playing on the StaySure tour only recently and commentating for radio at the Open Championship just two weeks ago. He was a very fine player, feisty competitor and proud Ryder Cup player.

It feels very odd when golfers who I have grown up with – though a decade or more ahead – start to leave us. The loss of Seve Ballesteros felt very wrong, losing Payne Stewart was a shock and around this time last year the upsetting loss of Bruce Lietzke. But when a passing is so sudden and unexpected as Gordon’s was it is very sad. Condolences to his family and his many friends on tour.

President Trump has sacked the employee who re designed the Presidential Seal of Office which had the eagle clutching a set of golf cluns.

The eagle’s left talon clutches not arrows, but a bundle of golf clubs. Remember the olive branch that is traditionally held in the right talon? Now it’s a wad of cash. And wait. Why does the eagle have two heads instead of one? Turns out this is exactly the way the eagle in Russia’s coat of arms looks, a not-so-subtle nod to the president’s deep ties to that country. In case that wasn’t blatant enough, instead of “E pluribus unum,” the eagle’s banner reads “45 es un títere,” Spanish for “Trump is a puppet.” Really.

On Sunday after he had finished his media commitments, Open Champion Shane Lowry headed south to Dublin to celebrate with his family and friends. Later on, this week, he left his family home in Clara, County Offaly, headed by a marching band, to the local Celtic Football club where 10,000 fans waited to cheer him on. They have re named the Open Championship trophy, the Clara Jug.

If you click on the link on twitter you’ll see a fan has recorded the moment when Sergio Garcia tossed a club at his caddie on Sunday, causing the gallery to gasp.

He was very contrite the last time his behaviour was discussed but doesnt seem to mean it. It’s time for the sport’s  authorities to step in now. We tolerate bad behaviour from the pros – and it is top players who do this – spitting, urinating in front of spectators or in the sight of TV cameras, and frequent bad language. But Sergio’s temper tantrums need to be put a stop to. He needs time out from competition.

https://mobile.twitter.com/rayowensmu20/status/1153651236996091905

An American golf fan has unwittingly won $1,000. He thought that he had placed his $20 wager on Shane Lowry to win the US Open after hearing a television pundit recommend him. He found his mistake when he found the betting slip which had The Open on it rather than US Open.

This shows how some American golf fans persist in referring to their national US Open championship “the open” whilst not realising that what they call “the British” is always known as “The Open Championship”. A lucky mistake!

Shane Lowry’s caddie Bo Martin is from Belfast. This week he was stopped by three American journalists and asked if sport inspires Northern Ireland/Irish unity. Martin replied that too much is made of the division. “You have it bigger in America than we do”.

Well done to Ricky Fowler for reaching a compromise. When a journalist pointed out to him that wearing his traditional Sunday finish orange clothing (which he wears in honour of his university Oklahoma State) might be making a political statement in Ulster, he came out today wearing black but with an orange puma cap. The cap is hiding a mullet hairstyle that he has promised his fiancee Allison will be gone before their wedding in October. By then he mY look even more like Leonardo Di Caprio.

Broadcasters have been taking instruction this week on understanding the local accent.

Open Championship leader Shane Lowry has admitted that he has been supporting another Irishman, Greg O Shea from Limerick, who isnt competing against him, but who has provided entertainment off course in Love Island on TV.