Paul’s zinger just masked the uncomfortable truth
PERHAPS no american golfer in the past 35 years has had the ability to rub europeans up the wrong way quite like Paul azinger.
It started way back at the ryder Cup with a number of rows and he was at it again at the honda Classic in Florida on sunday with some puerile, condescending remarks in his role as a television analyst.
Taking aim at Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood, azinger played the role of the ugly american to perfection, with his lofty dismissal of what they have achieved in the big, wide world outside the land of the stars and stripes.
Focusing on Fleetwood in particular, he commented: ‘a lot of pressure here, you’re trying to prove to everybody you’ve got what it takes. These guys know, you can win all you want on that european Tour, or in the international game and all that, but you have to win on the PGa Tour.’
how insular can you get, topped off by the sneering ‘that’ for good measure. Cue predictable outrage all over europe, from players such as Ian Poulter to fans and critics, with Westwood summing it up deliciously on Twitter: ‘Oh dear, oh dear.’
at least azinger was being true to form. as the man who said Francesco Molinari was ‘facing the biggest putt of his career’ when trying to win the arnold Palmer Invitational last year, eight months after the Italian had won the Open and five months after claiming five points out of five at the ryder Cup, we shouldn’t be too surprised.
and yet, when we’ve finished poking fun at azinger’s good ol’ boy ignorance and making the obvious point that, for anyone with an ounce of worldliness the careers of Westwood and Fleetwood stand on their own merits, there was also an uncomfortable truth buried deep in his sentiments.
We shouldn’t become cheerleaders for the other side and be blind to the fact that, when you’re as good as Fleetwood, you do have to win on the PGa Tour at some point. Over the past four years, we’ve all taken great pleasure in watching the humble Merseysider show emphatically he has what it takes, with his rise from the nether ranks to win in four different countries, become a ryder Cup hero, go close in a couple of majors and take his rightful place in the world’s top 10.
But, as the 29yearold would be the first to admit, there would always be regrets if he got to the end of his career and had never won in america ( he finished third on sunday, behind Korea’s Im sungjae). Look at Colin Montgomerie, who never won a PGa Tour event. he can win as many times as he likes on the Champions Tour for the over 50s, but looking back, there has to be a pang at the glaring omission.
If azinger could bring himself to acknowledge what the europeans have achieved while making such points, and get rid of his condescending tone, he’d be a powerful voice alongside the best in the business, sir Nick Faldo and Paul McGinley.
sadly, long experience tells us we’re way past that point.