golfweloveit

“I still think it’s him” admitted Jason Day a week ago about Jordan Speith winning Player of the Year. Interesting that Jason would think so negatively. As of last week I would have had the two players neck and neck and called for joint winners. Jason has dominated post Open Championship and is currently World No 1.

But the inscrutable Jordan, who only gets animated when he talks to his golf balls or berates himself for the bad shot, wouldn’t have admitted an oponent would take something he wanted. Tee to green he is not superior to anyone on the PGA Tour, in fact there are times when he looks pretty average. But the devastating putter and his formidable temperament have seen him pull ahead. Now leading at today’s final round of the Tour Championship he looks a shoo in to win the $10 million bonus of the FedEx Cup and the Player of the Year title. And, for the fifth time this month there will be a change of World Number One.

PGA Tour Comissioner Tim Finchem has called 2015 “the strongest year we have had on the PGA Tour. Period. The youth on the tour, the quality of play augurs well for the future. 50% of tournaments in the past 3 years have been won by players in their twenties. This has been an A Plus 5 star year with broadcast viewers up 20%”. So this bullish view by the Commissioner shows that in America golf for entertainment is doing well, even if over the same 3 year period he was talking about 5,000 golf facilities over the United States have closed their businesses. Golf may be undergoing a slow transition into a spectator sport.

Most of the PGA Tour sponsors are locked into 5 year deals but one I find hard to fathom. I find it odd that FedEx are putting so much money into the season climax. It seems that every time someone posts on their Facebook page someone will be complaining about them losing their golf clubs.

Perhaps it’s a guilty concience.

She called it “the most terrifying thing she’s ever done”. Sky Sports golf presenter Kirsty Gallacher got her Strictly season off, but to a shaky start.

Although the pre-show tabloid hype was all about her “sexing the show up” BBC wardrobe department had other ideas. She was covered to the floor and the tips of her fingers and all her clevage was concealed by an unflattering inspid frock.

The waltz looked like it was an ordeal for her and the judges picked up on it with Bruno Toinioli not mincing his words “You were hanging onto Brendan for dear life” he said, “you were stumbling and your feet were all over the place”. Craig Revel Horwood agreed, tutting “it was stilted, there was no flow, no rise and fall and there were balance issues”.

It fell to Len Goodman to bring things back to the tabloids with a not your week luv comment. “You’ll be better in the salsa next week. You’ll get your bum moving and shake it and bake it”.

Kirsty, who was a rather nervous sports presenter to begin with, has grown and improved since she began and now presents in a confident, polished way. She is, in my mind, someone who improves over time. Just as well she got her bad week out of the way when there was no public vote.

Surely she will do better for golf than Tony Jacklin who was voted out on week one. A couple of double bogeys this week, but it’s not where you start it’s where you finish.

This is an entertaining film put together by Lady Golfer magazine and supported by the national unions and the PGA. Although there is a #thisgirlgolfs campaign which is gathering momentum on twitter and it has been widely written about in the golf press I feel it is just preaching to the converted.

The official golfing bodies are concerned about getting more women into golf. Some because they think the time is right to redress the gender balance. Others, working in golf, because women are an untapped revenue source that would keep their businesses afloat, if they could be encouraged to play.

But the problem is that golf is still looking inwardly and sharing messages amongst its own community and not reaching out to the wider population. In order for more people to be reached to take up golf films like this need to be put onto television – funding from the golf industry- which is worth 3.5 billion –  needs to be invested into television advertising as it is in the United States.

This film might work and find new women golfers. “This girl can” appeared on prime time television to generally persuade women to try sport. The golf industry needs to get behind specific campaigns like “This girl golfs” and pay for the advertising. Golf needs to be doing much more to reach out to the wider world. If you were to sum up in one thought why golf is in decline, it is because many people in the general public think the sport is closed to people like them. They think it belongs to people who are not like them. And sadly, in some places where golf is played they are definitely right about that and that is what needs to be addressed.

The film, while amusing, is I think, unrealistic. Would the girl with tatoos and the Def Leppard waistcoat ever get off the driving range and onto a golf course? Would a golf club accept her as she was? Bashing balls with a golf club on a driving range is not golf. It is just bashing balls if it is not preparation to actually play golf. Bashing balls is a sporting cul de sac.

Henne Zuell going down the escalator of a London tube station with her golf bag over her shoulder, without attracting comment. Now that wouldn’t happen in real life. It made me laugh because it reminded me of my own experience when I was an 18 year old university student.

I had an arrangement with the golf club nearest to my college that I could come in every week to take a lesson and practice. So I took a few clubs out of my locker and walked there. Unfortunately, the house at the top of the road had the builders in, working on the roof. As I walked past several builders downed tools and looked.

“Coo-ee, Nancy Lopez!” they sang “come and play around with us”. I scuttled past very quickly and waited until they went home before I left the club.

I told my mum what had happened and she went to her sewing machine. In no time she had found some material and run up a golf bag just big enough to cover a couple of clubs. So the following week I slung the bag over my shoulder and walked briskly past the builders.

“Coo-ee Nan-cy Lopez!” they began. “Watchya got there, a machine gun?” and they fell about laughing.

The following week, having heard the builders were finishing I very slowly moved past them, not a golf club in sight.

“Awww” said the ringleader to the others “Nancy’s given up golf, probably that gammy leg she’s got”.

When I got into the locker room I was able to take out the 5-iron which I had secreted down my trouser leg and began my practice.  I had outwitted them.

The things girls have to do to play sport.  I’ve walked with a bit of a limp ever since.

While the US women were claiming a remarkable comeback in the Solheim Cup in Germany, in California 12 club professionals aside from GB and I and the United States were competing for the PGA Cup. In 27 matches GB and I had never won on American soil. This year they claimed a 13.5 to 12.5 victory at CordeValle. The similarities with the Solheim Cup didn’t end there. Strangely, a similar incident to the one on the 17th green at St Leon Rot took place at the PGA Cup. David Dixon from England picked up his ball when it finished three inches from the cup but his opponent from United States Stuart Deane said he had not conceded the putt and claimed the hole. Allen Wronowski, the USA Captain and Honorary President of the PGA of America quickly intervened and told Deane to concede the next hole without playing it. David Dixon’s eventual 4 and 3 victory proved vital as Great Britain and Ireland won 13.5 to 12.5, their historic first victory on American soil. This was exactly the same score as the Solheim Cup, the gods of golfing fate were on duty that Sunday, Spooky!

The winning putt was holed by Niall Kearney. US Captain Allen Wronowski said “we didn’t lose, we got beaten by a really, really good team”.

Full results on pga.com.

Karma, Justice, Retribution. Dramatic words which were bandied around after the US team snatched a victory which was looking very unlikely after being 10-6 down going into the singles. All week the Europeans had played better golf with outstanding performances from Anna Nordqvist, Melissa Reid and Charley Hull.

Perhaps it was fate which had yet again played a part in golf. For this victory may finally break the long stretch of American losses in team events and make them truly competitive again.

The incident which took place on the 17th green in the morning  concluding the previous day’s fourballs certainly drew the American side together in anger and motivated them as a team. Too many team matches have seen the US side playing as a group of individuals. This time they were drawn together by a sense of injustice which made them play for each other, the missing element for so long.

When American Alison Lee picked up her 16 inch putt, claiming to have heard someone say “it’s good” and presuming that European Charley Hull walking off the green meant it was conceded she thought all was well. But she was shocked when European Suzann Petersen said it hadn’t been conceded and the Americans lost the hole and then the match. It is incidents like these that often display the differences in national cultures. Petersen, showing the “correctness” that underlies the Scandinavian temperament. “It wasn’t a short enough putt, I would still like to see it” she said. Shockwaves went through both teams. There wasn’t the magnanimity of spirit which Jack Nicklaus showed to Tony Jacklin at the 1969 Ryder Cup when he allowed a concession which led to an historic tied match:

“I didn’t think you were going to miss that putt, but I didn’t want to give you the opportunity,”

What compounded the problem was that the European captain and vice captains gathered round Charley Hull, in tears, and looked totally at a loss what to do. And so they did nothing. No approach was made by Captain Carin Koch to American Captain Juli Inkster. There is such a thing as equity, which could have been used in this situation where a genuine mistake was made. But the rules were left as they were. What was wrong was there was no approach, no dialogue by the Europeans to the Americans over this, it was just left, poorly handled.

The great European player Dame Laura Davies called herself disgusted, and said she was glad she wasnt on this team. To compound the problem Pettersen was unrepentent and said it would increase her twitter following, a bizarre attitude.

When asked if the Europeans had offered to half the match – which I believe would have been the right thing to do – American Captain Juli Inkster said “No. But we dont want it now”. That spoke volumes. The whole team had physically gathered round in a huddle and had obviously said they were going to stick it to the Europeans, which they did winning by one point. However, this saying we dont want the half point could have been dangerous talk. The match turned on one thing, Gerina Piller’s fantastic putt to win her match which looked like a European win. If that hadn’t have gone in, there would have been a European retention of the Solheim Cup and the fall out from the incident would have led to acrimony which would have damaged the game of golf. It would have been the female version of the notorious Brookline Ryder Cup.

The following day someone had had a firm word with Pettersen. She took to social media – her Instagram account – to say the following.

“I’ve never felt more gutted and truly sad about what went down Sunday on the 17th at the Solheim Cup. I am so sorry for not thinking about the bigger picture in the heat of the battle and competition. I was trying my hardest for my team and put the single match and the point that could be earned ahead of sportsmanship and the game of golf itself! I feel like I let my team down and I am sorry. To the U.S. team, you guys have a great leader in Juli , who I’ve always looked up to and respect so much. Knowing I need to make things “right,” I had a face to face chat with her before leaving Germany this morning to tell her in person how I really feel about all of this. I wanted her also to know that I am sorry. I hope in time the U.S. team will forgive me and know that I have learned a valuable lesson about what is truly important in this great game of golf which has given me so much in my life. To the fans of golf who watched the competition on TV, I am sorry for the way I carried myself. I can be so much better and being an ambassador for this great game of golf the right way”.

So for the game of golf in every aspect this was the best possible result. Very disappointing for the Europeans who had played so well and who were clearly affected by the incident during the singles. American Captain Juli Inkster intriguingly revealed that she had used psychological testing to match up her players and had used the “pod system” in practice. This “pod system” was brought up by the American Ryder Cup players after their defeat at Gleneagles last year as the only thing which had worked for them. Their Captain Tom Watson rebutted “it’s not about pods, it’s about 12 players playing well and getting the job done”.

Whatever it is, we’re intrigued. And whatever helps a US win, after so many near misses, has got to be worth considering.

Congratulations to the gentlemen – and lady – of the British BattleBack team who retained the Capt Pietsch Trophy v the Wounded Warriors of America at TPC Sawgrass, Florida on Sunday. See the video further down this month’s posts.

Great Britain and Ireland’s Walker Cup team won back the Walker Cup this weekend with a record 16.5 to 9.5 victory.

Leading 10-6 after the second morning’s foursomes GB and I needed just 3 and a half points to win. Early starters Ashley Chesters. Cormac Sharvin and Jimmy Mullen won while Paul Dunne brought home half a point to make it five wins from the last six on home soil. Captain Nigel Edwards led his side to an overall tally of 16.5 to 9.5, a record winning score.
I’m delighted with the victory,” said GBI captain Nigel Edwards. “We had a very strong front and we had strength throughout the team. I said last night to the team that as long as the lads keep doing what they have been doing all week, playing their own games, their short games are fantastic, which is probably what has given us the edge.
“Some of the bunker shots have been exceptional but also the standard of play here has been fantastic.”
USA Captain John “Spider” Miller was philosophical in defeat “I don’t think we handed them anything. I think they went out and played well, very well, and they won it”.
“I’d feel bad if we were three-putting and giving them holes. I think our guys played well. They just played very well. They outplayed us and earned it.”

Since the Walker Cup matches began in 1922 Great Britain and Ireland have won just 9 times out of 42 matches, but the USGA must be concerned that the momentum is clearly with the GB and I teams. The overall picture in golf team events is not good for the Americans and this loss is not good for morale. Some odd decisions were taken by their captain, such as sitting down NCAA and US Amateur champion Bryson de Chambeau, probably the hottest amateur golfer in the world.

The home side were better at putting and more experienced at playing on links land. I did, however, worry about Paul Dunne in the Saturday foursomes trying to play back handed out of a grassy ditch instead of asking for a drop. It looked like a Van de Velde moment and made me question his temperament for having such a brainstorm. But he settled into the match and brought in 1 and a half valuable points. Jimmy Mullen’s 4 points were won from a rock solid confidence, though he admitted to being incredibly nervous on the first tee. Within this group was Ashley Chesters, the amateur who had remarkably led this year’s Open Championship after 54 holes. And not even in the team were the prodigious Sam Horsfield, who withdrew, and fantastic English and Welsh amateurs Ben Taylor and David Boote, such is the strength in depth of the Great Britian and Ireland side.

Exciting win for the home side and another pause for thought for the USGA in America.

Tommy’s Honour, the new film based on the lives of Old and Young Tom Morris, has entered its sixth week of filming in St Andrews. Directed by Sir Sean Connery’s son Jason Connery it stars Ophelia Lovibond, Jack Lowden (Trainspotting, Braveheart, Sunshine On Leith), Peter Mullan who played Eric Liddell in Chariots of Fire on stage in the West End, and Hollywood star Sam Neill. This week filming will take place around the Cathedral. The film is due for release in 2016. For more information visit Tommy’s Honour Facebook page.

Lydia Ko’s first major win at the Evian Championship today was achieved in record breaking style. At 18 years old, the New Zealander becomes the youngest major winner in LPGA history. Her 8 under par 63 final round had 8 birdies and no dropped shots, her statistics for the week were exceptional. 68% Greens In Regulation, 75% driving acuracy fairways hit, 67% sand saves, just 1.7 putts per green and an average drive of 240 yards. Lydia said she just “focussed on one shot at a time” and was encouraged by the great crowds. Her biggest goal is to compete in the Rio Olympics next year.

Lydia’s coach David Leadbetter, who began working with her two years ago, said she was already a brilliant golfer when he started working with her. “All I’ve done is to shorten her backswing fractionally. She was fading the ball and her lack of length became something of an issue playing amongst the professionals. So we felt she needed to draw the ball a bit”.

With the Solheim Cup Europe v USA women next week, calls have again been made to incorporate the Asian players into the match. In its current format the Solheim Cup will see only six of the World top 20 in action, such is the dominance of Lydia and the Korean players. Although the Presidents Cup USA v Rest of the World hasn’t really taken off for the men, for the women it is a different ball game.

Expecting a brilliant Solheim Cup next week in Germany where there is a huge interest in golf. Their successful hosting of this event might possibly swing the decision for the 2022 Ryder Cup, which the Germans are bidding for near Berlin, in their favour.

We will miss Ivor Robson now he has retired. He has been a constant most of our golfing lives.

Compare his professionalism with the announcer at a PGA Tour event in the Southern states. It was around the time after the Brookline Ryder Cup when there was some rankle with the European players and he was deliberately mispronouncing some of their names. Poor Bernhard Langer came off the worst.

“On the tee from Ger-manee” he drawled. “Long hard Long-er”.

Only a porn star would choose such a name!