Thought for the Day
You cannot unsay a cruel word
Redemption is always possible
Despite his horrible finish at the US Open, when he three-putted from 12 feet on the 72nd hole, and despite the fact that he has previous form of throwing away major championships, I wouldn’t give up on Dustin Johnson just yet. You may not be old enough to remember but at the beginning of his pro career Tom Watson was labelled a choker because he got into a winning position several times in majors before achieving his breakthrough win, at Carnoustie in a playoff against Jack Newton in 1975.
He went on to win seven more and only five golfers in the history of the game – Nicklaus, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Tiger Woods – have done better*. Not only that but in two of his more celebrated wins he went head-to-head against the best golfer in the world, Nicklaus, and beat him both times. That was in the ‘Duel in the Sun’ at Turnberry in 1977, in possibly the greatest major ever played, and the 1982 US Open at Pebble Beach, when he chipped in for an impossible birdie two at the 17th on the last day.
So there’s still hope for Dustin.
St Andrews beckons
Looking ahead to our Open, Rory McIlroy might have a good chance because, unlike the Masters and US Open, he intended to play the week before. If you recall at both the season’s first two majors he played really well over the weekend but had gotten off to such a slow start that the gap between him and the leaders was simply too wide to bridge, even for someone of his extraordinary talent. Rory is an extremely personable and likeable young man but at times could give stubbornness lessons to a particularly mule-headed mule. Having decided he was going to take the week off before those majors, nothing would shift him. And now there’s a good chance not only that he’ll miss the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, but he won’t make it to St Andrews either after injuring himself in a friendly game of football.
If you were looking for an each way bet on a European, Paul Casey seems to be in extremely good nick, as is Rafael Cabrera-Bello. Another man who has run into form is defending St Andrews champion Louis Oosthuizen. I’m ignoring Jordan Spieth because I don’t like to wager on machines and the man is so near-faultlessly consistent that he seems closer to robot than human.
And if you’re feeling adventurous, Tiger has just shot his first bogey-free round of competitive golf since 2013 – that’s 55 rounds. Playing in the Greenbrier Classic he finished at seven-under par (66, 69, 71, 67) and was six strokes adrift of the winner but even so, in light of his recent form it must feel like a win.
Reasons to be Cheerful, part 1
If you have never had a hole-in-one it is probably because a Scotsman by the name of Drew Lumsden has had his share, and then taken yours, too. According to the Scottish Daily Record, 58-year-old Lumsden managed six holes-in-one, over five different golf courses, in a year, having never previously achieved one in several decades of golf so if you’re still waiting for your first, don’t lose faith. The one fact the Record doesn’t tell us is Mr Lumsden’s handicap but looking at the distances he hits the ball it’s reasonable to assume it’s in single figures. His aces were achieved as follows:
15/5/14 – Eden Course, St Andrews, 5th hole, 144 yards, 8-iron.
6/9/14 – Jubilee Course, St Andrews, 9th hole, 192 yards, rescue 4.
4/12/14 – Jubilee Course, St Andrews, 4th hole, 253 yards, driver.
19/12/14 – Disney Magnolia Course, Florida, 6th hole, 159 yards, 5-iron.
29/3/15 – Strathtyrum Course, St Andrews, 15th hole, 300 yards, driver.
4/4/15 – Cullen Golf Club, Moray, 13th hole, 152 yards, 6-iron.
Reasons to be Cheerful, part 2
There are times when, looking at tour pro golfers can make you thoroughly depressed – the gulf in talent between them and we happy hackers is so vast that I occasionally wonder if we are even playing the same game. But every now and then a tour pro makes an even bigger hash of a hole than you or I could manage on our worst day and, while it is unkind to laugh at the misfortunes of others, sometimes you can’t help but allow a small smile to emerge.
So it was when I heard about the antics of Andrey Pavlov at the recent Lyoness Open in Austria. He got into the field for his first European Tour event of the year on a sponsor invitation and appeared to justify the invite with a steady opening round of 70. The first hole of the host venue, the Diamond Country Club, is a par five and Andrey must have set out on day two with high hopes of making his first cut of the season, having played 14 Challenge Tour events without getting through to the weekend. Sadly, he took 17 strokes on that first hole, hitting into the water no fewer than six times.
His score was the second highest ever taken on the European Tour – the record being held by Philippe Porquier, who scored 20 on a hole at the 1978 French Open. In light of Andrey’s disastrous start to the round I think he did remarkably well to play the next 17 holes in one over par and sign for a 90. Strange as it may seem, his two round total of 161 did not put him into last place – that honour went to Benjamin Weilguni of Austria, who shot 77, 89 for 166.
Quote of the Week
Someone once told me that there is more to life than golf. I think it was my ex-wife
Bruce Lansky
* I would add Bob Jones to that list of major winners because he won 11 but officially the Amateur and US Amateur titles don’t count – they do to me