Showing posts with label Golf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Golf. Show all posts

Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Not a tiger but a cheetah

The fact that Tiger Woods did not even consider withdrawing from the Masters, let alone actually do it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/golf/22139762

suggests that golf has now become like pretty much every other professional sport - winning has become the only thing that matters. If you have to cheat to do so, well no problem. A far cry from the days when Bobby Jones, after being congratulated by journalists for calling a foul on himself which ultimately cost him the US Open, famously commented: "You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank".

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Major Tom

Make no mistake about it, had Tom Watson won the Open on Sunday it would have been the greatest single sporting achievement of all time - eclipsing Ali's defeat of Foreman or even an 8th Tour win by Lance Armstrong. To come so close to triumphing at such a major sporting event at the age of 59 was simply a phenomenal performance - even if he couldn't (quite) get across the winning line. Never has the climax to a sporting event been so anticlimactic - but that should not undermine the magnitude of Watson's achievement. One is reminded of the words of Eddie Futch, Joe Frazier's trainer, at the end of the 'Thrilla in Manila': "Sit down son; it's all over. But no one will ever forget what you did here today."

Tuesday, 31 March 2009