The Loop
Golf likely played role in Ivan Lendl's split with Andy Murray
(Getty Images photo)
By John Strege
Is it tennis news or golf news that former tennis star Ivan Lendl no longer is coaching Scottish star Andy Murray, who said it was a mutual parting?
Some of both, probably.
ESPN's Greg Garber reported Tuesday that Lendl's contract with Murray called for his committing 25 weeks to him. "To really do it right, you need to be there for 20, 25 weeks," Lendl told Garber. "Looking ahead, I couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it."
This is where golf enters the story. Lendl, 54, is an avid golfer. How avid? In February alone, he posted 17 scores to the Golf Handicap and Information Network (GHIN.com) for handicap index purposes, nine more in March and counting. He once confessed to playing 250 rounds in a single year.
Garber wrote that "Lendl said he would continue an aggressive golfing schedule this summer," which would have been difficult had he continued his work with Murray.
A member of Torrington Country Club in Goshen, Conn., and the Windsor Club in Vero Beach, Fla., Llendl plays to a 0.0 handicap index. He has played in several U.S. Open qualifiers, three Nike Tour (now Web.com Tour) events in the late '90s, and European Tour events.
He also has five daughters, three of whom are into golf. The youngest of the three, Daniela, 20, is on the University of Alabama golf team.
Lendl and Murray worked together for two years, the highlight of which was Murray's victory at Wimbledon in 2013.