Immelman not serious Augusta contender
TEN years ago, a 28-year-old Trevor Immelman won the Masters by three strokes over Tiger Woods‚ which seemingly ushered in what should have been a decade at the very pinnacle of the game.
But a severe wrist injury all but ended Immelman’s competitive career‚ and even though he is one of five South Africans teeing up at the season’s first major‚ he cannot be viewed as a serious contender.
Brandon Grace‚ Louis Oosthuizen‚ Dylan Frittelli and Charl Schwartzel‚ the other South African players in the field at Augusta‚ most certainly are contenders‚ even if they are outsiders at the tournament’s 82nd staging.
Winning the Masters is an entry to an exclusive club that no amount of money or success on the golf course anywhere else in the world can get you in. You need to be a Masters winner to be guaranteed a way back into the tournament for as long as you feel you want to play.
Immelman is realistic and knows that at a stage in his life when he is neither a competitive player nor a retired ex-player‚ he is just happy to be at Augusta again.
But as he told Golf Digest recently‚ that flicker of competitiveness never fades when he is on course.
“The problem with being an athlete is this‚ and you see it in every sport – because you were at some point in time very good or great at your sport‚ that part never goes away‚ thinking that you can still be that guy‚” he told Golf Digest.
“Even when your skill diminishes‚ for whatever reason – age‚ injury‚ whatever – there’s still something inside you that makes you think you can do it.”
Frittelli is making his Masters debut after a superb last 18 months that have seen his world-ranking rocket from 152 to 50 with two European Tour wins last year.
Winning at Augusta, though, usually requires some experience of the course and the occasion and it might be too much to expect Frittelli to contend for the title. Making the cut would be an achievement considering this is only his third major appearance.
Schwartzel‚ who so stunningly won the 2011 Masters by posting four consecutive birdies in the closing four holes‚ has shown he can do it at Augusta.
Oosthuizen‚ ranked 31, and Grace, ranked 33 in the world‚ loom as SA’s best challengers due to more consistent form in recent months.