Calling the shots… McIlroy defies prophets of doom

Golfers are in the main a modest lot, which means they are not generally inclined to indulge in overt displays of joy or emotion in victory or defeat.

Such occasions are rarities. Exceptions would be Hale Irwin’s high-fiving a section of the gallery during a victory lap of the 18th green after a monumental putt forced a playoff in the 1990 US Open at Medinah, or Jack Nicklaus’ exuberance in throwing his putter into the air.

This uncharacteristic display was after he had defeated Doug Sanders at St Andrews at the conclusion of an 18 holes playoff in the 1970 Open Championship.

Also, who could forget the near-hysterical scenes at the Ryder Cup at Brookline in 1999, when the US team’s players, several wives and caddies and even some camera people, rushed across the 17th green to celebrate the holing of a huge putt by Justin Leonard.

It was disappointing when in a game that prides itself on its protagonists’ sportsmanlike conduct, everyone on team USA that day, forgot that Jose Maria Olazabal of the European team still had a putt to keep the match alive.

Golfers are also disinclined to talk up their chances of winning, unlike many other sports. Every week, teams and individuals delight in promising to “grind”, “smash” and “destroy” the opposition, and this is just in ball games.

Online footage shows hours of smart-mouthed boxers and MMA fighters being brought senseless to the canvas by the opponents of whom they had only hours earlier said they would “take out” in a particular round.

Golfers are also very unlikely to be drawn into forecasting what might happen in a season, or at a particular tournament. In golf, that would seem to be an almost immodest thing to do, and they will speak in much less specific terms of striking the ball well, liking certain venues or feeling good about their swing, but rarely offer outright predictions.

It was therefore with some surprise that I read Rory McIlroy predicting boldly that he would win at least one Major in 2020.

I really hope he does follow through on this, because Europe has fallen behind the US in this respect in recent years, while McIlroy’s last journey to the podium, as a winner at a Major, was six years ago.

Perhaps one of the most astounding rounds of golf yet played was remarkable not because of the result (the player finished second), but because of the predictions made about it the day before.

The central protagonist in this drama was Joe Ezar, no household name, but a journeyman tour pro playing the circuits in the 1930s.

I first read the story in the early 1970s in Dorset, when the glorious English summer was pelting us with rain and I was leafing through back issues of Golf Monthly, as a very poor substitute for playing golf.

This was a long time ago, but the story, as I recall, went something like this: Joe was well known as a joker and an accomplished trick-shot artist. It was this latter skill that set the scene for the story.

On the evening before the final round of the Italian Open in 1936, a wealthy Italian, amazed by Joe’s range of trick-shot skills, offered 1,000 lira if he could break the course record of 67, set only two days before by the runaway leader Henry Cotton.

At this point there ensued a quite bizarre exchange, which resulted in a bet finally being set at 4,000 lira for a score of 64. At the conclusion of the discussion, Ezar took a piece of paper and wrote down each of the individual hole scores he would make the next day.

For the first eight holes, everything went as Ezar had planned. Even when lying short in two shots and about 50m from the green at the ninth hole, and needing three to keep to the predicted score, he holed his pitch shot for the required three.

As predicted, Ezar played the first nine in the 32 strokes and repeated this score on the back nine for the promised 64.

He matched every hole score except two, birdieing one hole he stated he would par and parring one hole which he had forecast to birdie. It seems as if McIlroy will be playing with a crystal ball this season, as opposed to one of the more recognised brands.

So, if he wants to make predictions and call some shots, he might find a back issue of Golf Monthly and read about one of the greatest predictions in sport, and also let us know what shot will best combat the coronavirus? This little bug could, if things continue as they are, result in the cancellation of all the year’s Majors, so rendering McIlroy’s predictions void before the Major’s season has even started.