Renowned golf guru Cowan wants Tiger to win again as game needs dominant figure

DUBAI — As 56 golfers try to give the top four fancied players a run for their money from Thursday at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, a legendary Yorkshireman is keeping his fingers crossed, claiming to be neutral in the battle of his two top tutees.

Henrik Stenson and Danny Willett stand the best chance to win the Race to Dubai title at the end of the season-ending four-day-long DP World Tour Championship.

“I coach an awful lot of players and luckily this week we coach the number 1 and 2,” renowned English coach Pete Cowen said with a chuckle during an interaction with the media on Monday.

“Danny (Willett) won the Masters, Henrik (Stenson) won the Open, obviously we have had a pretty good year,” he enthused, referring to two of his players, who have done well this season.

He pointed out that Stenson had played near flawless golf to beat Mickelson in a duel that was termed by many as the golf at its finest.

“I will remain neutral,” he said when asked to pick between Willett and Stenson for the Race to Dubai finale round at the Jumeirah Golf Estates.

If the top two golfers in Europe are coached by Cowen then he reminded everyone that he had for six years coached Alex Noren, who on Sunday won the Nedbank title at Sun City in South Africa as well as Rory Mcilroy when the Irish golfer was a teenager.

“Four top players and 56 trying to beat them, hopefully will have a great week,” he said about the top quality golf.

When a golf ‘guru’ is around everyone would obviously like to know about his take on Tiger Woods and Cowen was effusive in praise of the American golfer, who he reckons brought cash into the game with his personality.

“Tiger has been great for golf,” he said, adding that players wouldn’t be playing for price funds now in Europe and America without Woods.

On Tiger’s skills, he said: “One thing that makes everybody ordinary and that is age and we can’t do anything about it. He (Woods) is 40.”

He believes that golf needs a dominant figure like Woods. “He (Woods) is not dominant but was and we need him, I want him to win again, may be even an ordinary tournament on the US Tour.”