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Good and bad news for Woosie
We jump into The Short Game this week: The most impressive performance turned in at the British Open may have been by Ian Woosnam. Funny, a lot of people thought he'd retired from golf, but there he was with his delightfully compact, powerful swing back in contention, surprising even himself. Woosnam was wrong to blame his caddie entirely for the two-shot penalty he suffered in Sunday's final round for unwittingly exceeding the 14-club limit. I'd have been more impressed if Woosie had at least accepted part of the responsibility himself. He was on the first tee, it's his bag, they're his clubs. He should have known how many clubs were in there, especially since he knew he'd taken two drivers to the practice range. An hour earlier, he knew there were too many clubs in his bag. He should have checked on the first tee, standard procedure for any tournament golfer. Which doesn't make the caddie's screwup any less bad. The point is, there's plenty of blame to go around and Woosnam gets a chunk of it. ...
Your list of one-week wonders apparently shouldn't include South Africa's Retief Goosen, the U.S. Open champion. He played well at Royal Lytham and was among the huge posse of contenders who had a chance to emerge victorious on the final day. If you win one major and then have a chance to win another, you're not a fluke. Goosen looks pretty solid. His short-game play and some of the incredible par saves he made at Southern Hills made nearly as indelible a memory as that short putt he missed. OK, maybe not, but they probably should be. ... Pierre Fulke has been a lock to make the European Ryder Cup team since he lost to Steve Stricker in the World Match Play final, but his lackluster play since then has made him appear to be a potential weak link. Fulke played three solid rounds at Royal Lytham, allaying those fears -- then shot 83 in the final round when he had a chance to win. Captain Sam Torrance has to be wondering about Fulke, who is straight but relatively short and is a terrific putter, usually a feared commodity in match play. ... The media continue to distinguish themselves as short-attention-span idiots by breathlessly talking about how Tiger Woods didn't win the British Open and how Tiger hasn't won since June. Can the word slump be far behind? For the last time, this is how golf works. Nobody plays well all the time, not even Woods. On the other hand, betting against him will cost you money in the long run. ... Here's more proof that tournaments aren't over until they're over. Jeff Sluman and Paul Gow were tied going to the 71st hole of the B.C. Open. Gow bogeyed and Sluman birdied, a two-shot swing. So Sluman is in the 18th fairway with a two-shot lead and a short iron in his hand. He hits the ball just over the green and makes bogey while Gow hits one stiff, makes birdie and forces a playoff. Sluman won on the second extra hole, but it's a reminder of how tenuous a two-shot lead really is. ... So I'm struggling with my putting, a common theme of the last three summers, and Kirby Laughlin, a fellow member at Treesdale Golf and Country Club, picks up one of the several putters I'm working with (one of Never Compromise's new center-shafted models) on the practice green, likes it and asks if he can borrow it. Sure, I say. What was I thinking? Last weekend he uses that flatstick to win the club championship. I believe that makes it official -- I'm not getting that putter back. Kirby left a pair of Nike shoes in my locker as a payback. Think they'll help my putting? Mail CallYour snappy questions and my blithering replies: In a quiz you put out last year, part of the scoring was as follows: "5-7: Miss it, Noonan." I've been trying for months to find out who Noonan is and what he did to earn his name as a curse. If you could help in any way, I would greatly appreciate it.
I'm afraid you've blown your cover, David. You're not one of us, you're one of them. Rent the movie Caddyshack, learn about Noonan, leave the ranks of the culturally ignorant and rejoin us. And, hey, don't be so hard on yourself -- you're a tremendous slouch. How could you have left Arnold Palmer out of the Top 10 innovators? His short list of accomplishments is staggering: he popularized golf on television, revitalized the British Open by going there in the early '60s, was the first golfer to have a jet, was the first golfer to have an agent, was the first golfer to get major endorsements, and is still one of the most popular athletes among advertisers. Methinks you're still carrying a grudge over the ERC II thing. Arnie is an obvious choice.
Arnie did all those things, but he's been such a bad businessman -- running his company into bankruptcy, never producing a significant golf club, selling his name to be used on some less-than-stellar products (and golf courses) -- that I decided not to include him with industry giants such as Karsten Solheim and Ely Callaway. Arnie changed golf on TV and the British Open, but did he change the way the game is played? If the list had kept going, Pat, I guess Palmer would have to be No. 11. Great article about the USGA's new rules on amateur status. I am jealous of you Dan Jenkins wannabes (you're getting close!) who get to follow the tour and write semi-serious commentaries. When is the book coming out?
I'm not sure about the book, Ken. My intern is in charge of that. Funny, though, I haven't seen her for a few days. Maybe I'd better wipe down my apartment ... I mean, give her a call. I wanted to offer a positive letter after the pasting you received on the amateur issue. Those users missed the point. College kids on full scholarship are effectively receiving six-figure payouts to play golf. If that's not professional, what is? Perhaps all struggling pros around the world earning less than $10,000 on mini-tours and pro-ams should be able keep their amateur status as well.
Thanks for getting the point, J.B. By the way, your country is way cool. Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle is a regular contributor to the magazine's Golf Plus edition. Click here to send him a question or comment.
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