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In Justin Rose, a golden generation finally delivers on its promise

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:07:00 GMT

By John Huggan

ARDMORE, Pa. -- It was supposed to have happened before now.

This "golden generation" of English golfers -- Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose -- was long ago hailed as the second coming of Europe's "Big Five" -- Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle -- and, like their illustrious predecessors, expected to win majors aplenty.

But none of them did. Not for a long time. Yes, they came close on numerous occasions -- most notably Westwood -- but none were able to get it done when it mattered most. Before Sunday, in fact, the last Englishman to win a major championship was Faldo at the 1996 Masters and the most recent victory by a player from Great Britain was Scotsman Paul Lawrie's British Open at Carnoustie in 1999.

But at last, England's 17-year wait is over. In Rose (South African-born of English parents), the land of Shakespeare, Churchill and Queen Elizabeth has its first Grand Slam title-holder of the 21st century. With a ball-striking performance worthy of much acclaim amidst seemingly endless carnage all around him, the 32-year old Florida resident from Hampshire south of London emerged as the champion at the 113th U.S. Open.

(Photo by Getty Images)

"This is a childhood dream come true," said the new champion after completing a closing round of 70 that was two shots better than joint runners-up, Phil Mickelson and Jason Day. "I've worked my whole life for this and holed the winning putt hundreds of thousands of times. And it is especially nice to win at a club so steeped in history. As Lee Trevino said, 'I fell in love with a girl called Merion, even though I didn't know her second name.'

"This was an appropriate place for me to win, given the way my game has gone over the last couple of years. Last year I topped the greens in regulation category on the PGA Tour and this year I'm leading in total driving. I love it when a plan comes together."

He saw it coming, too.

"If we're really honest, I think it has now reached the point where it's down to the fact if we (the English) can handle the pressure we will win a major and if we can't, we won't," Rose told the Daily Mail on the eve of the championship. "Given all we've achieved, there's nothing to be gained from denying that fact. Speaking for myself, I look at my record over the last three years, my wins in America and what happened at the Ryder Cup, and I think I've shown I can deal with the pressure. So I've got to remain patient."

That attribute, of course, has long been part of Rose's amiable character.

After turning pro in a blaze of glory immediately following his T4 at the 1998 British Open as a 17-year old, not much came easy for him. It wasn't until his 22nd event that he cashed a check. It's a safe bet that no other major champion has ever missed 21 halfway cuts in succession, an ignominious run that, understandably, scarred his fragile teenage psyche.

"I honestly don't think it was until I started winning in America in 2010 that it was truly out of my system," he confessed then. "But that has been the game over the past 15 years. It has been about putting building blocks painstakingly in place. Now I'm at the point where it's a case of letting the next eight years unfold. Sure, there will be days when you can't see the game clearly but that's why you put the blocks in place, so you don't panic."

There were certainly few signs of stress in England's Rose as he marched inexorably along Merion's narrow strips of fairway and through a field that one-by-one fell away. By the 18th -- a hole where the new champion struck a peerless long-iron approach that missed the flagstick by inches -- only Phil Mickelson was left. But when the 43-year-old birthday boy failed to make birdie, the famous old trophy was headed across the pond for the third time in the last four years, following the Northern Irish victories of Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy.

Appropriately on Father's Day, Rose's first thoughts were for his own, Ken, who died of cancer in 2002. Immediately after holing out for what proved to be a clinching par on the 72nd green, he gazed skyward.

"That look was for my Dad," he confirmed. "Today was about him. He was an inspiration the whole day. A lot of us came from great men and it was important for me to carry myself and do myself proud on this day. I saw the Hogan plaque and said to myself 'This is my time.' I've seen that famous picture of Hogan a million times and I wanted to hit a shot like that myself."

This isn't the first time Rose has broken "Lefty's" heart, of course. Last year at the Ryder Cup, the Englishman holed an outrageous 50-foot putt across the 17th green to square their crucial singles match, then made a decisive birdie on the 18th.

"The Ryder Cup was eight months ago but during last month's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth a lot of people came up wanting to say thank you, and that was really nice," he revealed. "They showed what it meant to them and it's really humbling to think you can make a difference in their lives. From a recognition standpoint, Poults [Poulter] and myself have done really well out of our perceived leading roles at Medinah."

That's done with now though. Instead of "thank you," Rose can surely look forward to a few thousand renditions of "jolly well done old boy."

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Glacial pace at Merion suggests the USGA is in no hurry to change

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:53:00 GMT

By John Huggan

ARDMORE, Pa. -- The irony is inescapable. Or should that be hypocrisy? In the same week it announced its much-ballyhooed attack on slow play, "While We're Young," the USGA has made itself something of a laughingstock by presenting America's national championship on a course covered with long grass and greens running between 13 and 13.5 on the stimpmeter.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Imagine for a minute if you will -- only a minute -- just how long the average golfer would take to play a 7,000-yard course set up in such a fashion. On almost every hole, at least one member of each foursome would surely be looking for his or her ball. And on every green, at least one player would hit a first (or even second) putt that did not finish within tap-in range. The first factor would add who knows how long to the round and the second would, by my rough estimation, keep our no-doubt dejected foursome out there at least another 45 minutes or so.

Yet the USGA -- at least by implication -- tell us that the US Open is "proper" golf. Grinding away is apparently how the game should be played and the best method of identifying the most gifted practitioners. Maybe so. But it is also the best cure I know for insomnia. Take today's third round at Merion. The final group of Luke Donald, Phil Mickelson and Billy Horschel took a snail-like two hours and 50 minutes to play the first nine holes.

That's a mind-boggling figure. And one that does neither players nor administrators any credit.

On a course where they had thousands of ball-spotters on hand, three world-class golfers took an average of almost 20 minutes to complete every hole. To all of which there is only one conclusion: at least in terms of encouraging a reasonable pace of play, something is wrong with the way Merion has been set up and, by extension, the USGA's warped view of how golf should be played. The message emanating from Far Hills, New Jersey is not "While We're Young," but "Do as we say, not do as we do."

OK, time out. We all know that slow play has been with us for years. Only this week AP golf writer Doug Ferguson cited a notice given to competitors in the 1950 US Open at Merion: "Be observant, reach your decision quickly and execute your shots with promptness and dispatch."

Clearly, no one has been listening.

In his article, Ferguson also quoted former USGA executive director Joe Dey. "The time has come when we must act if the game is not to be seriously injured."

Clearly, the USGA did not act.

Throw in the fact that no professional on the PGA Tour has been penalized for slow play since Tim Finchem took over as executive director and it is clear that there is little or no enthusiasm for addressing this long-running (make that "long-crawling") problem. So pardon me if I view this latest initiative with an appropriate amount of cynicism.

The sadness, of course, is that there is any number of possible solutions. And the example has to start at the top, on the world's tours. If the impressionable masses see their heroes playing at an appropriate speed, they will follow. Here's one way of sorting things out:

Focus on getting groups round the course faster rather than getting players to hit shots faster. So if a guy wants to stand on the 12th tee at Merion for five minutes before hitting, he should be allowed to, as long as he plays the whole round within a designated amount of time.

In other words, officials should be timing periods of rounds rather than individual swings. They should break each round up into, say, three-hole segments and give the players an appropriate time to complete those holes. That way, a player can overcome one slow shot during those three holes. He won't be penalized for having one particularly tricky stroke he needs to take extra time over.

On the other hand, if a group consistently misses its time for each three-hole segment then all three players should be penalized shots. Fines are no good. Adding strokes is the only way to go.

Now, can we please get a move on?

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On trying day, McIlroy grinds his way closer to top

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 21:11:00 GMT

By John Huggan

ARDMORE, Pa. -- Perhaps ominously for those fancying their chances of winning this 113th U.S. Open, he looked quite content with both how he had played and where his three-over par aggregate of 143 was likely to be relative to the eventual leader. Having battled round Mud . . . sorry Merion in 70, PGA champion and former U.S. Open winner Rory McIlroy seemed at ease with his role as one of the more prominent "lurkers" on an already tightly packed board.

"I'm very happy," he said. "I'm right in there for the weekend. I don't think I'll be too far away by the end of the day. Which is a nice position to be in going into the last two days."

(photo by Getty Images)

The 24-year-old Ulsterman was also quick to join the chorus of players pooh-poohing the notion that, even at a "mere" 6,996 yards, Merion was ever going to be a pushover. He even found time to poke a little fun at the assembled scribes, a sure sign that his fettle is fine.

"I didn't hear any of the golfers saying the course was going to be easy," he continued. "It was you guys saying that it was going to be 'scorable.' So you must be very good golfers. There were people saying 63, 64, but that was never going to happen. If you don't hit the fairways here, you're not going to score. If you do hit the fairways, it's still a big challenge from there."

Related: Merion A Pushover? Puh-lease

Still, there is little doubt that the large crowd assembling at the sharp end of America's national championship is a symptom of a course set-up that largely forces virtually every member of the field to play almost every hole in pretty much exactly the same way. As a result of that tedium, separating oneself from the rest is a very difficult task.

Then again, this grand occasion is at least partly saved from the USGA's one-dimensional thinking by the wide range of holes Merion offers. McIlroy, for one, is certainly enjoying himself, having found 21 of 28 fairways from the tee (above average) and hit 21 of 36 greens with his approach shots (average). His total of 56 putts was also just about exactly average for the field.

"The variety you get on this golf course is great," he enthused. "Take today, we started gently on 11, 12, 13, where you have wedge shots into the greens. Then there's the short par 3. Then you sort of get a rhythm on 14 through 18, but it's not the right rhythm you want to be in. That stretch doesn't present very many opportunities for birdies. So it's tough for a few holes and then it sort of backs off for a couple, three holes, and then it's tough again."

As for what lies ahead, McIlroy, whose form has been famously erratic so far this year, was cautiously optimistic. He certainly wasn't worried about the winning score.

Related: 11 Ways To Win At Merion

"At the end of the week, there's going to be a guy lifting the trophy," he pointed out. "It doesn't matter if he's plus-5, minus-5, or plus-16. So it's all about hanging in there. If you're a couple over par, but feel like you should be two or three under par, it's important to remember that it's not just you struggling out there; it's everyone. Merion is that sort of course. There are so many wedges, but you can't get much under par. It's just one of those places where par is a great score."

Which is just what the USGA wants to hear, of course. A winning score of even par -- every U.S. Open's Holy Grail.

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Curtis Strange on Merion: "You need an accepting mentality"

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:59:00 GMT

By John Huggan

ARDMORE. Pa. -- Almost all of the seemingly endless pre-championship chatter in the lead-up to the 113th U.S. Open has been centered on the condition and length of Merion's famed East course: Too difficult or too easy; too hard or too soft; too short or really too short? But not much has been uttered about what it takes to win one of these things, the self-styled "toughest test in golf." Or, this year at least, the muddiest test in golf.

One who knows a thing or two -- make that the latter -- about finishing first in US Opens is Curtis Strange, champion back in 1988 and 1989.

"It's easy to say after you did well that you knew what you were doing and that you prepared the perfect way for a U.S. Open," says the now ESPN analyst.

"But that's all hogwash. I prepared the same way I did for every event - hard. The real key to my two wins was that I drove the ball straight both times. That's a must. And I just played well. My confidence was sky-high back then. But I never, ever stood on the first tee and thought, 'this is my week.'

"Besides, the big difference between the U.S. Open and any other event is the mental aspect of the test. You need a 'grinding' mentality. You're not going to make 15 or 20 birdies. You might make ten and win. It's all about saving pars. I did that well. How? I chipped and putted nicely. No one is going to hit every green at a U.S. Open. Because no one is going to hit every fairway. So it's all about staying in the game and winning all the little battles."

At Merion, the patience and fortitude of the players is going to be tested by a combination of the inherent quirkiness of the lay-out, the pin positions and, according to Strange, some quiet deviousness on the part of USGA executive director, Mike Davis, the man charged with setting up the course.

Related: The stress of being Mike Davis

"Mike has really fiddled with this golf course," says Strange. "Fairways have been moved to make things more difficult. The left edge of the 11th fairway, for example, is blocked out by a tree. Then there's the 4th hole. There used to be a 12-yard wide plateau on the right side of the fairway. If you could hit it up there you could see the whole hole. This week, that plateau is gone. It's covered in rough. So the whole fairway is sloping right-to-left. It will be very difficult to hit.

"All of which is why you need an accepting mentality in the U.S. Open. You know what the USGA are up to, but you have to get on with it. We'll also see some questionable hole locations this week, I'm sure. They'll be playable but questionable."

Still, at Merion conventional wisdom has been that we are likely to see a few more birdies than usual, especially in the middle of the course, where the holes are short, at least by modern standards.

Related: The big bet on Merion

"There are very few 'tweener' holes of 450-yards or so," points out Strange. "The guys will either be hitting wedges or long irons to most greens. Nothing in-between. It's like an NBA game where there are no 15-foot jump shots. It's all slam-dunks or three-pointers.

"Plus, I don't see the short holes as being 'easy' necessarily. Making birdies is going to be hard given some of the pin positions we're going to see this week. These greens are tough. Take the 10th hole. If the pin is back-left you have to drive it perfectly to be in position to attack. Otherwise, you're playing for the fat of the green. And when you do that you're not making many birdies."

Which is where we came in. No matter what, at the U.S. Open some things never change.

(photo by Getty Images)

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European Tour head George O'Grady adds to Sergio Garcia controversy

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:43:00 GMT

By John Huggan

VIRGINIA WATER, England -- Another day, yet another apology. Just when it looked like the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth might just pass without any major off-course talking point other than the unseasonably chilly weather, European Tour executive director George O'Grady -- of all people -- perpetrated the second race-related gaffe of the week.

Speaking on Sky television, the Ulster-born official was asked about Sergio Garcia and the Spaniard's already infamous comments regarding the dietary requirements of Tiger Woods during the upcoming U.S. Open. "I will have him over for dinner every night," said Garcia (in what O'Grady claimed was "a light-hearted remark that backfired"). "And we will serve him fried chicken."

Photo by Getty Images

Anyway, in a further and equally vain attempt to support Garcia, O'Grady felt moved to reveal: "Most of Sergio's friends in the States happen to be colored athletes." And that, "We accept all races on the European Tour." And that, "There is no need for any further disciplinary action" (ignoring the fact that there has so far been no official disciplinary action taken against Garcia).

All of which might have been fine half a century ago, a time before "black" replaced "colored" as an acceptable description for African-Americans. But not now. And especially not this week.

O'Grady, not surprisingly, was quickly apprised of his error, after which he released a one-line statement: "I deeply regret using an inappropriate word in a live interview for Sky Sports for which I unreservedly apologize."

Well, that's all right then, as long as everyone is prepared to accept complete ignorance on the part of the accused as a legitimate defense. Or that being completely out of touch with the modern world also represents a reasonable explanation for such a blatant faux pas.

Neither is, of course. But O'Grady -- who has worked for the European Tour since 1974 -- should know better. Indeed, he must know better. If those charged with the administration of golf cannot be trusted to navigate what is admittedly becoming something of a racial minefield, what chance have those more casually involved?

The problem this time, of course, is partly generational -- O'Grady is 64-years old -- but also speaks to a wider malaise within the game. Quite simply, today's golf world isn't even a close facsimile of society as a whole, the result, perhaps, of a system that is too often exclusive rather than inclusive. Much work -- still ongoing -- has been done to rectify that situation, but if ever there was an indication of just how far golf has to go, then the extent to which O'Grady is out of touch represents a clear signal.

Employed by the same organization for nearly four decades, it is safe to assume O'Grady's working life has not produced a wide range of experiences with a wide range of people. Like most in the golf industry, O'Grady will have spent most of his time with people who look a lot like him -- middle-aged, middle-class and white. The wider world in the 21st century does not look like that. Not even close. Quite clearly, George -- and golf --- needs to get out more.

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Sergio Garcia's racist joke more a reflection of utter ignorance than anything else

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:37:00 GMT

By John Huggan

VIRGINIA WATER, England -- Judged on the sizable amount of evidence the world has gathered over the course of his 14-year career in professional golf, Sergio Garcia is capable of being many things. Emotional. Moody. Immature. Spoiled. Self-absorbed. Pampered. Excitable. A show-off. Those are just some of the more obvious characteristics one can attribute to the gifted 33-year-old Spaniard.

Garcia met with European Tour Chief Executive George O'Grady and PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem on Wednesday. (Photo: Getty Images)

What there has been no indication of in Garcia is even a hint of racism, latent or otherwise. Which is why, even after cracking a clearly unthinking, ill-judged and rather silly "joke" stereotypically linking a black American, Tiger Woods, and the daily digestion of fried chicken, the former Players champion deserves to be rated on his previously unblemished (at least in terms of racism) overall record, not one moment of madness. His lame attempt at humor -- which recalled Fuzzy Zoeller's notoriously intemperate "collard greens or whatever the hell they serve" remarks in the wake of Woods' 1997 Masters victory -- was just that, nothing more or less.

Still, although his brain had clearly been temporarily out-of-order, it didn't take long for the potential and probable repercussions of his actions to dawn on Garcia.

"As soon as I left the dinner, I started getting a sick feeling in my body," he said to a packed press conference one day after what many will view as the ultimate faux pas. "I wasn't able to sleep at all last night. I felt like my heart was going to come out of my body. Today it was difficult to hit a shot without thinking about it. Unfortunately, I said it. I wish I didn't do it but the only thing I can say is sorry."

Which is what he did, repeatedly, throughout his 10-minute mea culpa.

"I want to send an apology," had been his opening line. Followed by, "I didn't mean to offend anyone. I was caught off-guard by the question. But don't get me wrong, I understand that my answer was stupid and out of place. I can't say sorry enough about that.

"Most importantly, I want to apologize to Tiger. I feel sick about it. I'm truly, truly sorry. I hope that we can settle things down and hopefully move on."

All of which, of course, is exactly what Sergio should be saying in the wake of such an ill-advised utterance. But hang on a minute. Before the wave of self-righteousness raining down on this suddenly wretched individual builds up even more momentum, some perspective please. An off-the-cuff comment regarding fried chicken -- while brainless almost beyond belief -- wasn't as damaging or hurtful as Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman saying Woods' nearest pursuers should "lynch him in a back alley." And, last time I looked, Ms. Tilghman was still on the air.

While Garcia is clearly guilty of crass stupidity, to condemn and categorize him solely on the basis of a single phrase uttered during an adrenaline-charged interview alongside his 2012 Ryder Cup teammates would be wrong. Just as no sensible assessment of a golfer's worth can be made after only one shot or one round or one tournament, the same criteria must surely apply to any assessment of a man's character.

Already, of course, there have been predictably outraged calls for suspensions and heavy fines, none of which will apparently be used as punishment. In a brief meeting after his pro-am round at Wentworth, European Tour chief executive George O'Grady reportedly accepted Garcia's clearly heartfelt apology.

That result will assuredly not be nearly enough to satisfy that growing body of men and women "professionally offended" seemingly by anything and everything. But it is appropriate here. Because of the typically brutal and sometimes uncomfortable honesty with which Garcia responds to inquiries relating to his non-relationship with the world's best golfer, he should be allowed to move on from this latest episode. Indeed, just hours before his ill-fated quip made headlines around the world, Garcia faced the media gathered at Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship and gave a series of frank answers to questions regarding Woods.

Asked why he "doesn't like" the 14-time major champion, Garcia was refreshingly open. "There's people you connect with and people you don't," he said. "It's pretty much as simple as that. He doesn't need me in his life and I don't need him in mine. Let's move on and keep doing what we're doing. It doesn't mean I cannot play with him."

Such remarks are, perhaps perversely given what followed, worthy of praise. Unlike so many of his contemporaries, Garcia did not take the easy way out. He did not hide behind the depressingly familiar mixture of obfuscation and blatant lies that these days pass for "comment." Instead, he told us exactly what he thinks. And it is his forthrightness that makes him deserving of a break. Were his dislike of Woods based on skin color rather than a simple personality clash, he would surely have revealed himself long before now.

"To even suggest Sergio is racist is ridiculous," agrees one prominent European Tour professional. "I've played with him many times and never has he even come close to saying anything that would suggest he holds views like that. Yes, he can be a bit of an attention-seeker, especially in front of a crowd. Which is why he sometimes speaks before he thinks. But that's hardly a crime is it?"

The greater sadness here is that Garcia running off at the mouth in such a high-profile manner will do nothing to dispel the widely held image of a cosseted world of golf largely populated by a distasteful collection of closet racists, complimented only by those who are openly misogynistic. Indeed, that is a notion sometimes hard to argue with.

It is, after all, still less than 40 years since the first black man played in the Masters. Only just over half a century ago the PGA of America removed the caucasian clause in their membership policies. And, until this year when Augusta National welcomed two female members, the PGA Tour blatantly ignored its own rules regarding the sanctioning of tournaments held at clubs discriminating on the grounds of color, creed or gender. None of the above, it goes without saying, did the game any credit.

So let's be clear. For inadvertently and thoughtlessly perpetuating those shameful but now hopefully outdated stereotypes, Garcia deserves criticism. But only for that. To those who would have him banished from the game for mere stupidity, Londoners have an appropriate phrase: Do me a favor mate.

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In Europe, anchor ban met with little more than a shrug

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:24:00 GMT

By John Huggan

VIRGINIA WATER, England -- There were, as expected, no surprises. Almost six months on from their original announcement on the now notorious Rule 14-1b, the R&A today joined (simultaneously) with the USGA in confirming that the so-called "anchoring" of putters to any part of the body during a stroke will be deemed illegal starting January 1, 2016.

"We know that not everyone will agree with our final decision," said chief executive Peter Dawson at a press conference held in the Ryder Cup room of the Wentworth clubhouse. "But we do hope that the care and love for the game that all have expressed through their participation in this process will facilitate acceptance of Rule 14-1b when it takes effect."

Peter Dawson talks at Tuesday's press conference. (Photo: Getty Images)

In that respect, Dawson was on much firmer ground than his USGA counterpart, Mike Davis. Opposition and/or dissension during this whole process have largely been confined to the western end of the Atlantic Ocean.

"We had no feedback from people saying they would give up golf if long or belly putters were banned," commented Sandy Jones, chief executive of the British PGA. "Plus, we are fully supportive of the R&A as the rule-making body. We like this rule. It will do no harm to the game at any level. I just don't see anyone using them.

"It does seem to be more of an American problem, one that has a lot to do with the speed of the greens over there. Eliminating variables in the stroke is much more helpful when the greens are slick.

"Plus, less than one percent of putter sales worldwide are long putters. So where is this big problem? (PGA of America president) Ted Bishop's comments were nonsense really. There is no evidence to support his view. I played with Ted last week at Sawgrass. I use a 32-inch putter and made some good ones with him watching. I told him he was going the wrong way with this thing. Maybe he should be banning the short putter."

Most European Tour players, it is safe to say, feel similarly.

"I agree with what the R&A are doing," said Italian Ryder Cup player, Francesco Molinari, nicely summing up the mood of the majority. "I think it's important that we swing all 14 clubs in the bag and not just 13 of them. I have never liked that guys could anchor their putters to any part of their bodies.

"What the R&A has done is a good compromise. If they had legislated on the clubs themselves, I'm not sure it would have worked. Even with a short putter it is possible to anchor it. So what they have done makes sense to me. Some may argue that they are a bit late in doing what they are doing, but I say it is never too late to do the right thing."

Which is not to say that absolutely everyone on the European Tour is 100 percent behind what Dawson called "the most controversial rule change for a long time."

"After 30 years, I'm not sure it is right to be having such a drastic effect on players who have used it their whole careers," contended leading coach Denis Pugh. "It's an arbitrary call. Having said, that, if we were starting tomorrow I'd rule that the putter has to be the shortest club in the bag and also have the lease loft. Then go play.

"So I can see that long and belly putters are 'wrong.' But they have been wrong for too long. Plus, I think they have overcomplicated things. I can see guys finding ways round this rule."

As for those charged with policing will invariably be, in practice, the tiniest of adjustments, European Tour chief referee John Paramor was broadly optimistic about both the immediate future and the brave new putting world post-2016.

"With the all the information that has been forthcoming from the R&A, it isn't going to be too difficult for us to pass it on to the players," he said. "I think the vast majority of players currently using anchored strokes will end up using a method that does not require any judgment calls on our part. We have more than two years to iron out any problems before we get to that stage. So it won't be a problem.

"I can see a small number asking us if their adjustments are OK, but not many. It won't be a problem though. There are many other rules where we rely on the integrity of the players to guide us. I am always asking guys what they were trying to do or intending to do in certain situations. This rule is no different in that respect. Besides, if anyone is close to anchoring after making any adjustments, we have more than two years to have a word with them about it."

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Tiger Woods fortunate to still be playing in the Masters

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:19:00 GMT

By John Huggan

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- It's just about 9.30am on Saturday morning here at Augusta National and Tiger Woods is still in the field for the last two rounds of the 77th Masters Tournament.

He shouldn't be.

Following the clearly illegal drop Woods took on the 15th fairway yesterday, the world No. 1 should have been disqualified, not docked a retrospective two-shot penalty. While there was no intent to break any rule, Woods clearly did so. It was obvious, clear and apparent and should have led to him losing his chance to win a fifth green jacket, never mind that Rule 33-7 allows the committee to waive disqualification at their discretion.

When Tiger's third shot struck the pin and ricocheted back into the water in front of the green, Woods had various options under the rules. He could have proceeded to the designated drop area and played from there. He could have dropped a ball behind the water hazard, keeping the point at which the original ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball was dropped, with no limit to how far back he could go. Or he could have returned to where he hit the original shot and played another ball as close as possible to that spot.

Woods chose the last of those options, but clearly misunderstood - or was unaware of - his obligation to drop "as near as possible" to the original divot hole. In fact, he later explained to the world how he had actually dropped his second ball "two yards" behind the place he had just hit from. He did that to give himself what he felt would be a better yardage for the subsequent pitch.

A couple of things come immediately to mind:

a) Two yards away is not "as near as possible" b) The rules do not allow the player, at least in this instance, to choose a yardage he feels is most advantageous.

So the authorities should have had no alternative, given the amount of information Woods volunteered after his round. He, in effect, gave them no wiggle room in their deliberations. Which is key. Had Woods said nothing about his drop, the rules officials could have argued - maybe - that he had made enough of an effort to recreate his original shot. But he denied them that option.

So Woods should have been thrown out. Or, given that this is supposed to be a game of honor, he should have preempted the eventual decision and pulled out voluntarily. That would have been the right thing to do. As Tiger himself said yesterday, "Rules are rules."

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McIlroy stays quiet on a day plenty of others make noise

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 23:49:00 GMT

By John Huggan

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- It was, disappointingly for those enamored of his prospects before the off, more of the same for Rory McIlroy on Day 1 of the 2013 Masters. A round of 72 is hardly a disaster, of course, but level par wasn't quite what the world number two had in mind. Despite the promise born of a well-played second-pace finish in last week's Valero Texas Open, McIlroy reverted to recent type and littered his scorecard with what he now habitually refers to as "silly" mistakes.

"It obviously could have been better," he said, a downcast look on his expressive face. "I felt like I played well and gave myself of plenty of opportunities. But the two three-putts on the back nine came at bad times. I made enough birdies to have a good score so if I can eliminate the mistakes I'll be fine.

"The really disappointing thing is that I turned in two-under par. At that stage everything felt good. But every time I get some momentum at the moment, something happens and I give it all straight back. The back nine today was typical. And around this course you really can't do that.

"But I'm not that unhappy with anything other than the score. I felt like I hit the ball really well. I gave myself plenty of chances and if I keep doing that I'll be fine. All I have to do is take a few of them. But it's all about taking at least some of those opportunities and limiting the silly mistakes."

As ever with McIlroy, that is a pretty accurate and honest appraisal of a day's work that started full of promise but eventually frittered away into disappointment.

For the record, three birdies on the front nine -- at the second, fourth and ninth -- more than outweighed a dropped shot at the seventh. But that was as good as it got. A pushed approach into greenside sand at the always tricky tenth hole led to a second bogey and the first of those three-putts put a "4" on the card at the short twelfth.

Both par 5s produced routine birdies but those highlights were cancelled out by sloppy bogeys at the fourteenth and seventeenth. All in all, it was erratic stuff that leaves the 23-year old Ulsterman with much to do over the next three days. Already he has 33 men in front of him. A daunting prospect, indeed.

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Why haven't Europeans been winning at the Masters?

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:25:00 GMT

By John Huggan

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- As a group, they've achieved almost everything else in this century. Five Ryder Cup wins over the Americans. Eight major championship victories. And countless tournament triumphs across the globe. But so far in this century, no European golfer has donned a green jacket.

It's an oddity, as even a glance at the Official World Golf Ranking over the past 12 and-a-bit years shows only too clearly. Even more so when one considers that not so very long ago, the Old World came close to dominating the youngest of the four most important titles in the game. Between 1980 and 1999, six European stars (Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam and Jose Maria Olazabal) pulled on golf's most famous garment. But, since then: nothing.

So what's the deal? What's going on here? Why has this clearly gifted and talented generation of Euros failed so miserably on a course where their immediate predecessors flourished so memorably?

Photo by Getty Images.

"The crop of really good European players that has emerged over the last decade or so have all -- apart from Luke Donald -- been marginal putters," contends leading coach and CBS commentator Peter Kostis. "Except during the Ryder Cup. Ian Poulter has certainly displayed some great skill on the greens in that environment, but I'm not sure he has the ball striking to win the Masters. Then again, he is now better in that area than he has ever been. So you never know.

"Back in the days when Faldo, Ballesteros, Olazabal and Langer were winning the Masters, what they all had in common was great putting. The last line of defense at Augusta National is the fiercely sloping greens. So if you can't putt, you can't score well there.

"I think Rory McIlroy would have won a couple of years ago if he had been a better putter. The putts he missed early on in the final round seemed to rattle him. Had he made those, I think he would have calmed down and the back-nine debacle that did ensue would not have happened."

Still, Kostis is not one who feels that the dearth of European victories since Olazabal's second in 1999 is going to last much longer.

"Rory is a better putter than he was two years ago," he says. "So is Lee Westwood. Which will improve their chances of victory. I think Rory has the best opportunity though. He went to see (former USPGA champion and renowned putting coach) Dave Stockton right after the disappointment of 2011 and made himself a better putter. He knew that had let him down."

While the Kostis theory makes sense, Donald wasn't reading too much into the last 14 years of futility.

"Does it surprise me?" asks the former world No. 1. "Nothing surprises me in golf anymore. But the fields are a lot deeper and anyone can win on a given week. But there's a bunch of great European players right now. So we certainly have as good a chance as anyone else."

Englishman Paul Casey, absent this year from Augusta for the first time since 2006, is another who sees hope for the immediate future.

"What may make a difference is that so many of our guys are playing more golf in the U.S.," he says. "That will better prepare them for the majors and Augusta in particular. But the bottom line is that I have no idea why a European hasn't won at Augusta in so long. Sometimes weird stuff just happens. Look at this year on the PGA Tour; an American won every event until last week in San Antonio. That's impossible to explain. It's like ten reds in succession coming up on the roulette wheel.

"It's strange, but it does happen."

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