...The worst playing partners
You’ll no doubt have others to add to the list, but here are our worst playing partners based on years of casual research and observation…
MR ‘I’M NOT ALWAYS THIS BAD’
One poor shot and he’s off. “I don’t know where that came from; that’s not my shot at all; I’m not normally this bad – I played really well a couple of days ago…” Yes, we know from the handicap on your card that you’re not always this bad, unless it’s fabricated, hopelessly out of date or artificially maintained to make your feel better about yourself.
THE COIN OR TEE JANGLER
Whether on the tee or as you’re steadying yourself over a crucial four-footer, there he is, jangling away, usually absent-mindedly but
just occasionally on the gamesmanship trail. Either way, it’s just as annoying, and hard to shut out once it’s got under your skin.
MR ANGRY
Playing with someone who erupts at the first sign of a poor shot guarantees a very long round in which you’re constantly on edge and always on a self-preserving lookout for low-flying clubs.
THE TORTOISE
We live in tortuous slow play times, but if you’re the one constantly trying to gee people along, it tends to be your game that suffers rather than the culprit’s. You’re forever anxiously looking over your shoulder to see how badly the course is stacking up behind you.
THE HARE
As annoying as the tortoise is, the hare can be just as bad. “Should be round in well under three hours today,” is his opening gambit, after which he’ll be off like a hare out of the traps the moment your ball has come off the clubface. He’s more concerned about catching and getting through the group ahead than actually playing golf.
MR DOOM AND GLOOM
“I hate the game – I can’t break 100 at the moment and I’m thinking about selling the clubs and giving up my membership altogether,” says Mr Doom and Gloom as he reaches out to shake your hand on the 1st tee. “I don’t know why I keep putting myself
through it.” Neither do we, Mr D&G, neither do we...
MR BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
He’s always a marshal at The Open; he’s shaken hands with and chatted to Tiger, Ernie and everyone; he’s played at Loch Lomond, Pebble Beach and everywhere; and he’s been invited to Augusta National by someone he once met. You’ve had enough before you even get to the 2nd tee... don’t worry, only 17 more holes to go. Aarrgghh!
THE RULES PEDANT
“I think I just overheard you saying to Anthony to keep his chin up and to keep trying after that last wayward tee shot,” says the rules pedant. “I believe that constitutes advice and therefore breaches Rule 8-1.” Cue four hours of fun where you’re afraid to open your mouth and feel compelled to tread on eggshells anywhere near your ball.
THE INCESSANT TALKER
We like a bit of banter on the course, but when it’s non-stop even when you’re trying to think or preparing to hit, it all gets a bit tiresome. Again, like the coin jangler, once the incessant talker has got under your skin, it can derail your whole round.
THE MONOSYLLABIC YOUTH
Okay, a bit ageist, but getting drawn with the deluded teenager who thinks he’s the next Rory is a recipe for four hours of misery. He’s so focused on his game that he hasn’t got the slightest inclination to communicate in any way, shape or form. The only saving grace is that after compiling a 91 that he just can’t comprehend, there will be the briefest of insincere handshakes and a mumbled apology about needing to get straight off.
op-level tournament golf has thrown up an incredible array of storylines over the decades. It’s arguable that no other sport provides such scope for excitement, variety, uncertainty, shock, dominance and comeback. Within any strokeplay tournament, almost any one of the participants could potentially create something uniquely memorable over the course of the event.
Our list attempts to reflect the diversity of drama delivered by strokeplay golf. We travel from a standard tour event that produced an unexpected and scarcely believable climax, past a Major that solidified the position of an all-time great, then to monumental upsets, epic battles, displays of exceptional courage and determination, a last hurrah and finally the greatest comeback in the history of this, or perhaps any, sport. Here are our ten greatest strokeplay tournaments of all time...
8 2009 USPGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Tiger Woods led by two shots going into the final round of the 2009 USPGA at Hazeltine National GC. He had never lost when leading through 54 holes of a Major Championship. Most were already handing him the title, but South Korea’s Yang Yong-eun had other ideas.
Displaying huge mental strength as well as some tremendous golf, Yang, who was ranked 110th in the world, outplayed the World No.1 that final day. He chipped in for eagle on the 14th to take the lead and then capped his giant-killing performance with a magnificent approach to the final green. A drawn hybrid shot ended less than ten feet from the cup to set up a closing birdie and three-shot victory.
Yang, the first Asian-born player to win a men’s Major, lofted his tour bag above his head in animated celebration.
7 1950 US OPEN
Just 16 months prior to the 1950 US Open, Ben Hogan nearly lost his life in a terrible car crash. Just to be playing at Merion was an achievement. His victory is one of the great sporting comeback stories of all time.
Hogan had to soak his legs for an hour before each round at Merion in a hot bath filled with Epsom salts, then wrap them in bandages to reduce the swelling. The discomfort was exacerbated by the sweltering conditions.
Hogan’s legs began to fail him down the stretch in the last round and he came to the 18th needing par to force a play-off with George Fazio and Lloyd Mangrum. After a good drive, he hit a beautiful 1-iron. Two putts and a round of 69 in the ensuing play-off later and Hogan was an incredible champion.