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It's Norman's show, but Thomson's legacy

Friday, November 18, 2011 Comments

Peter Thomson.jpg

Peter Thomson awards trophy to Australian Open winner Greg Chalmers last week (Getty Images Photo)

Greg Norman is a commanding presence at the Presidents Cup and beyond. His is the face of Australian golf, the dashing Great White Shark, who for the better part of two decades mesmerized us equally with his gifts and gaffes.

Now 56, he has gracefully assumed the position of elder statesman, which he is playing out this week as the captain of the International team attempting to coax only its second victory of the nine Presidents Cup that have been played and first since 1998. That he has the opportunity to do so Down Under has cast him in a leading role in the drama unfolding at Royal Melbourne.

Though he has earned his standing in golf -- comfortably residing among the legends, certainly, pratfalls notwithstanding -- it is easy to forget this week that Australian golf did not begin with Norman, easier still to forget that it did begin with Peter Thomson.

The most celebrated Australian in golf history, Thomson won the British Open five times, three consecutively (1954 through '56), and in a seven-year span did not finish worse than second. Moreover, he once was the professional at Royal Melbourne and captained the International team to its only Presidents Cup victory there in 1998.

Thomson, 82, ranks the Presidents Cup victory "the biggest thing I ever did in my life," he once said, placing it ahead of a playing career that included national championships of 10 different countries and landed him in the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.

Earlier this week, Thomson addressed the importance of the Presidents Cup victory with Brent Read of the Australian.

"It was a very joyous occasion," Thomson told Read. "To be captain of that bunch of young players was a wonderful experience for me. The other things are very selfish things -- there is no one to bother you and sometimes you win. But playing with a team is something different. It's belonging. Everybody wants to belong -- family, church, something. This is the only way you do it in golf for those who are not Europeans or Americans, to belong to a Presidents Cup team."

Thomson obviously will never forget it. Neither should we.

-- John Strege


Discuss all things related to the Presidents Cup on our partner site, GolfWRX.com.

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Clarke's inevitable post-Open hangover

Monday, August 1, 2011 Comments
From the August 1 issue of Golf World Monday:

In these ever-more judgmental times, perhaps it was inevitable. But barely two weeks after his thrilling and emotionally satisfying win at the British Open, Darren Clarke was forced to defend his admittedly and obviously inebriated behavior while celebrating that career-defining triumph.

 blog_clarke_huggan_0715.jpgClarke felt compelled to defend his post-Open behavior, but didn't apologize for it.
Photo by Getty Images

"There's been a little bit of chat: 'He shouldn't have had a drink,' 'he shouldn't have done this,' 'he shouldn't have done that,'" said the 42-year-old Ulsterman on the eve of the Irish Open, his first competitive outing since winning at Royal St. George's. "I don't know, people need to get real. Look at what happened in Norway. I won a golf tournament and people are concerned about whether or not I had one pint too many? I mean, get a life. It is just sport. I drink a little too much, smoke a little bit too much and enjoy myself a little bit too much at times. It's the way I relax, and I don't intend to change that in any way shape or form."



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Relive the 140th Open Championship in 140 characters

Monday, July 18, 2011 Comments

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Clarke still glowing the morning after landmark win

Monday, July 18, 2011 Comments
SANDWICH, England -- Darren Clarke answered the bell, arriving just after 9 a.m. at Royal St. George's for the annual champions Monday press conference. Not surprisingly, though, the 42-year-old Ulsterman admitted he had yet to set head to pillow after a career-defining victory at the British Open a day earlier.

clarke_300.jpg"I probably won't get any sleep until tomorrow at some stage," said Clarke, claret jug within arms reach. "Have to enjoy it when you can."

Everyone knew that Clarke needed 70 strokes in the final round to win the title "champion golfer of the year" by three strokes over Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. But count that was on the minds of many was how many pints did Clarke consume as his reward afterward?

"Quite a few, and quite a few beers and quite a few glasses of red wine, and it all continued until about 30 minutes ago," Clarke said. "It's been a very good night."

That said, Clarke noted that not one drink was actually taken from the jug itself. "I'm a little bit of a traditionalist," Clarke said. "I love the thought of whatever being in the trophy but ... I feel a bit funny about putting stuff in the claret jug that shouldn't be in there, so I'm a little bit more reserved as to what I should do. So there's nothing in it as yet. That may not be the case as the week goes by, but at the moment there's been nothing in there."
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In going 'unconscious,' Clarke realizes his dream

Sunday, July 17, 2011 Comments
SANDWICH, England -- Eight days before he became Northern Ireland's third major champion in only 13 months, Darren Clarke was on the range at Castle Stuart, preparing for what would be the third and final round of the rain-affected Barclays Scottish Open. A journalist stood and watched for half an hour or so as the 42-year old perennial underachiever -- his own words -- put on what amounted to a ball-striking clinic.

clarke_470.jpg(Clarke's win at the Open came in his 20th attempt. Photo by Getty Images)

Almost every shot came right out of the middle of the bat, the familiar swing perfectly balanced and, significantly for an individual who tends towards the impatient, beautifully rhythmic. Then came a few fades, all of them spot on. Then draws. Again, all were close to 100 percent in their execution. It was, thought the lone spectator, an exhibition only a very few players would be capable of, even in these forgiving days of modern equipment.

"Do you need me?" asked Clarke when he was finished.
 
"No," was my reply, "I just came to watch. And I'm glad I did."

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With final-round run, Mickelson bucks a trend

Sunday, July 17, 2011 Comments
SANDWICH, England - For a couple of hours on a breezy Sunday at Royal St. George's, Phil Mickelson finally seemed to have the wind at his back at a British Open.
 
While Mickelson had come tantalizingly close to winning the U.S. Open, the British has been the major championship that most perplexed him. Only once had Mickelson finished in the top 10, a third-place at Royal Troon in 2004. Most years he was an inconsequential non-factor in the middle of the pack who was intent on fighting the wind instead of working with it, frustration and finishes such at T-40, T-79 and T-30 his payoff.

phil_open_300.jpgHe vowed that he was approaching the 140th British Open, his 18th appearance, as his very first. What seemed like it might have been cheap self-talk worked for the four-time major winner. Three solid rounds positioned Mickelson at even-par 210 through 54 holes, putting him in shape to make a run at the claret jug.

Mickelson roared out to a hot start in the final round. He birdied No. 2 from five feet and added birdies at the fourth and sixth holes. At the par-5 seventh he rolled in a long eagle putt to go five under for the day and tie briefly for the lead. After turning in 30, Mickelson sank another birdie, from 15 feet, at the 10th hole. Even though the 54-hole leader, Darren Clarke, was two under himself for the day at that point, Mickelson's birdie at 10 pulled him within one of Clarke.
 

Then came the par-3 11th. Mickelson's tee shot was solid enough, about 30 feet below the cup. His birdie putt was adequate, settling 2 1/2 feet short. Mickelson figured it was a formality, and asked fellow competitor Anthony Kim if he could go ahead and finish. Mickelson hit the putt firmly, lipping out on the left edge. His momentum was gone, a casualty of carelessness.
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The Best Of Jenkins: Highlights from Dan Jenkins' tweets at Royal St. George's

Sunday, July 17, 2011 Comments
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MediaWatch: 'Golf capital of the world'

Sunday, July 17, 2011 Comments

We ask from a major championship two elements on Sundays -- drama and a compelling winner. On this Sunday, one out of two was sufficient.

Once Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson ignominiously removed themselves from the picture, it was all Darren Clarke, and who couldn't appreciate watching the gregarious Northern Irishman stroll to a resounding victory in the British Open, what Paul Azinger said would likely rank among the more popular in the this tournament?

It was the second straight major won by a player from Northern Ireland and third in the last six majors (Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell having won the last two U.S. Opens).

"Northern Ireland...... Golf capital of the world!!" McIlroy posted on Twitter.

McDowell also weighed in via Twitter: "Darren Clarke aiming to be the first Northern Irish golfer to win a major in almost four weeks!"

This is no minor feat. ESPN's Terry Gannon noted that consecutive majors hadn't been won by different players from the same country -- excluding Americans -- since 1910, when Alex Smith and James Braid of Scotland won the U.S. and British opens back to back.

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(Photo by Getty Images)

The media roundup from Sunday:

-- On a cold, windy, rainy day, ESPN's Rick Reilly looked to be selling ice cream. He was attired in a cream-colored sport coat, multi-colored tie and pink pocket square with white polka dots. Maybe he was just attempting to brighten an otherwise gloomy day. It didn't work, particularly when he was discussing the troubles in Northern Ireland and a bomb once blowing up a bar in which Clarke was working.

At that, the piece was not well received, not because there wasn't a good story there. The message was better than the messenger, according to Twitter reaction.

Turner Sports' Jim Huber: "Somebody give Rick Reilly a Prompter, PLEASE!"

Blogger and Golf World contributor Geoff Shackelford: "Rick Reilly is no @TimRosaforte on the ESPN player backstory hits. Just hacked his way thru something on Darren Clarke."

Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: "And as Rick Reilly takes over the screen, millions of Americans stand up and go for another cup of coffee."

Sports fan Ron Lewis: "oh man that was horrible. and he used bong in place of bomb and then corrected. terrible piece."

-- Azinger, with Clarke on the first green: "Watch his eyeline change. This is something that will make you inconsistent. His eyeline right now is on the line he wants to start it. Look at it shifting on his backstroke. Then when he makes contact his eyes have cocked way to the left. It makes Darren inconsistent. It's something to look for today."

-- Nice sentiment from Huber on Facebook: "Watching Phil Mickelson chase Darren Clarke, can't help but think how both their lives have been stricken by women with breast cancer. Do we dwell? Only if the attention helps the cause"

Clarke lost his wife Heather to breast cancer in 2006. Mickelson's wife Amy and mother Mary have been battling breast cancer.

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Garcia encouraged by another strong finish at a major

Sunday, July 17, 2011 Comments

SANDWICH, England -- When Sergio Garcia departed from Congressional CC after a T-7 in the U.S. Open, he was not qualified for the Open Championship at Royal St. George's. He'll depart St. George's with his second straight top 10 in a major.

Garcia, who had fallen out of the top 50 in the world rankings after struggling last year, punched his ticket to the 140th Open when he finished second at the BMW International in Munich, Germany. It was at once a disappointing runner-up, losing in a playoff to countryman Pablo Larrazabal. But it had its upside, giving him a chance to compete in his 47th straight major.

sergio_shedloski_blog_0717.jpg

With a closing 2-under 68, one of the finest of the day in the gusting winds near the Cliffs of Dover, Garcia completed the championship in 2-over 282, good for a T-9 showing.

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McIlroy: "It's not my sort of golf"

Sunday, July 17, 2011 Comments

rory_weinman_blog_0717_300.jpgSANDWICH, England -- As Rory McIlroy was busy assessing his week at the Open, his words were briefly drowned out by rain pelting the interview tent. The sequence was fitting, since it was Royal St. George's weather -- at least in McIlroy's estimation -- that proved to be his biggest opponent all week.

After riding into the Open on a wave of Rory-mania following his win last month at Congressional, McIlroy attributed his seven-over par finish here, capped by a closing 73, to the unpredictable conditions sweeping in off Sandwich Bay. This may seem like sacrilege for any golfer -- let alone one hailing from Northern Ireland -- to suggest. But when it came to what went wrong at the Open, McIlroy sounded like he was raised in Palm Springs.

"I'm not a fan of golf tournaments that are predicted so much by the weather," he said. "It's not my sort of golf."

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