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"The Masters isnt a 2 horse race" - Lee Westwood
Written by Liam Glynn
World number three Westwood said: "Rory has never won here, Tiger's not won here since 2005. Phil Mickelson might have something to say about it being a two-horse race. Luke Donald (14/1 to win 2012 US Masters) might, I might."
World number two McIlroy (11/2 to win 2012 US Masters) looked like winning at Augusta last year until he crumbled to a closing 80, falling from four ahead to 10 behind winner Charl Schwartzel. However, two months later he won the US Open by
Rory McIlroy, world No1...it has a suitable feel to it, no?
The young Ulsterman has been knocking on the door for a few months now, and has posted a number of top 10 finishes already this season.
However, seeing out the win at the Honda Classic proved to me that the 22-year-old will be at the top of the rankings for a number of years to come.
After watching Tiger Woods' stunning final round of -8, including
Louis Oosthuizen is intent on starting his 2012 with a successful defence of his Africa Open crown when the European Tour tees off on Thursday. Oosthuizen was a relatively unknown name in Europe before he demolished the field to win the Open Championship by seven shots at St. Andrews in 2010. Since then his stock has risen considerably and his win in this event last year proved he
I wonder when Steve Williams is ever planning to button that top lip of his, and cease talking about former employer Tiger Woods.
The latest soundbytes to come from Williams, this time from the annual caddies' award dinner.
Whatever the situation that Williams found himself in, or whatever the question was that was posed to him, there is no place for the racially-motivated reply he came out with.
Honestly, why does Williams have such hatred for Woods? I am genuinely intrigued as to why Williams feels Tiger owes him, or shouldn't have dispensed with his services earlier this year?
Williams is now sounding like a spoilt baby, throwing his toys out of the pram at every opportunity, and he's making himself less and less respected with every quote that is attributed to him.
How Adam Scott - or any golfer for that matter - can now have Williams carrying his bag, after all that has been said, including Friday's racist remark, is quite amazing.
Scott is lowering his standing in the game by having Williams beside him, and considering the wealth of caddies that exist in the game, you'd wonder why the Australian has Williams beside him?
Does he feel that all publicity is good publicity? One thing is sure, it's only bad publicity that's following Williams around at present, and whatever happened between he and Woods, his latest comments were quite simply inexcusable, as was the general reaction of the widespread golfing community who generally refused to condemn the Kiwi bagman.
Over My Shoulder #4: Rank Outsider John Daly Wins USPGA
Written by Patrick D O"Brien
Ninth alternate John Daly wins USPGA Championship
1991
Crooked Stick Golf Club
Carmel, Indiana
John Daly was the definition of the term "outsider" going into the 1991 USPGA in Carmel, Indiana. Having never won a professional tournament, he was listed at ninth alternate, and only entered the competition when Nick Price dropped out, since his wife Sue was about to give birth, and no other alternate could make it to the course in time. Playing in just his third Major, and using Price's caddie, 25-year-old Daly shot a first-round score of 69, without playing a practice round over the difficult course. His colourful personality - and dress sense - made him an instant fan favorite, and he finished the tournament with scores of 69–67–69–71, giving him a three-stroke victory over Bruce Lietzke. Daly was subsequently named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, and was also the first rookie to win a major title since Jerry Pate won the U.S. Open in 1976.
Steve Williams: It's High Time You Closed That Large Mouth Of Yours
Written by Patrick D O"Brien
Is anybody else sick of Steve Williams' whinging and whining about Tiger Woods? His quotes after Adam Scott's victory in the World Golf Championship went something like this: "It's the most satisfying win I've ever had, there's no two ways about it. "I was absolutely shocked that I got the boot (from Woods) to be honest with you. I've caddied for the guy for 12 years, I've been incredibly loyal to the guy and I got short-shrifted."
Give us all a break, Steve. Tiger clearly needs to alter something in his game, make a fresh start. He hasn't won a tournament for nearly two years. A change of caddie, a new voice beside him on the course, is a completely normal step to take. The fact that Williams' caddied for Woods for twelve years is a surprise in itself, as golfers often chop and change more frequently than that.
Thanks to Woods' status as the biggest sports star on the planet, Williams himself has become New Zealand's richest sportsman. So his long relationship with Woods has brought the Kiwi more money than he ever could have dreamed of.
Williams, however, has a history of making outlandish statements, and his public feud with Phil Mickelson a few years ago springs to mind, when he told the world he hated Mickelson.
Perhaps Williams should remember who and what he is - a bag man, not a talented golfer.
I presume I'm not alone in saluting Darren Clarke's superb four days of golf at the Open over the weekend.
It's almost a shame he didn't two-putt on the last, and then he'd have had four sub-70 rounds for the weekend, a feat few achieve in a major championship.
At 42 years old, everyone thought Clarke's best days were behind him, and with the rise to the top of Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy, Clarke was almost the forgotten man of Irish golf. Not anymore.
The way he composed himself even after seeing Phil Mickelson draw level with him on the back nine was superb and that eagle on the seventh will live long in the memory.
Well done Darren, you deserve it.
1977 British Open
Turnberry, Scotland
Watson defeats Nicklaus on dramatic final day
"This is what it's all about, isn't it?" said Tom Watson to Jack Nicklaus as they stood on the 16th tee at Turnberry, the duo tied at the top of the leaderboard on 11-under-par with three holes left to play in the Open. Nicklaus was seeking his 15th Major, while Watson, a decade the Golden Bear's junior, was looking to add to the Masters title he had won earlier in the year. The drama had unfolded as the duo were paired together on the Saturday and moved to the top of the leaderboard; however it was Sunday's golf that lingered in the memory. A birdie on the 17th finally gave Watson an advantage he wasn't to relinquish, but as many commented after, golf was the real winner as two great champions had given their all in a dramatic final day.
OVER MY SHOULDER #2: Tiger Woods Claims Fourth Masters Title
Written by Patrick D O"Brien
In a series of sporting history lessons, we look back at some incredible moments from the world of sport, both at home and abroad. At Augusta National in 2005, Tiger Woods finally broke his three-year Major hoodoo with victory in a dramatic US Masters.
Sunday 10th April 2005: US Masters
Augusta National, Georgia, USA
Tiger Woods has been called many things. Up until 16 months ago none of them were insulting, defamatory or just plain rude. He had enjoyed media admiration, fan worship, and became the first billion dollar sportsman. The greatest golfer of all time was destined to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors, it was surely just a matter of time.
Yet many forget that from the 2002 US Open until the 2005 Masters, Woods was majorless, his domination of the big four seemingly gone, and with it his aura of invincibility. Heck he even - briefly - lost his number one ranking to Vijay Singh.
Theories for this were wide-ranging. Some blamed his rift with coach Butch Harmon. Some blamed his engagement and marriage, and there were even fingers pointed at his reconstructed left knee, which has bothered him for a number of years before he went under the knife.
During the barren years Woods was making adjustments to his swing, and he had always maintained that once the deficiencies were corrected, he'd roar once again.
2005 - under new coach Hank Haney - began promisingly with victories at the Buick International and the Doral Ford Championship. However golfers are not judged on what they do at the PGA and European Tour events dotted around the calendar; it's those four Sundays in the year which are the difference between a Jack Nicklaus and a Sergio Garcia. Tiger was and is in the mould of the Golden Bear, tailoring his game to peak when there's greatness at stake.
The first round of the 2005 Masters at Augusta ended with Chris DiMarco leading on -5, with Tiger seven shots back. His second round drew him back into contention, and after completing the rained off third round early on Sunday morning, he began the final round three shots clear, with DiMarco leading the challenging field that also included Thomas Bjorn, Trevor Immelmann and Phil Mickelson.
The pressure of leading a major can play all sorts of tricks with a golfers game. In an individual sport such as this, there are no teammates to turn to if things go wrong. With thousands of spectators watching as well as millions more on television, the greatest golfers are defined by how they handle such unique pressure situations. The Sunday of a Major is as pressurised as it gets, and there are few cooler heads around than Tiger Woods.
DiMarco however put up a spirited challenge. Coming onto the par-3 16th he had nibbled away at Tiger's lead and was just one shot behind. The pair were playing together as DiMarco landed his tee shot comfortably onto the centre of the green. Tiger had no such luck and pulled his shot off the green, tight up against a nasty fringe, 40ft from the hole and facing a wicked left-to-right slope. A par would have been an excellent return from the position but with DiMarco facing a birdie putt, it seemed like the two golfers would walk to the 17th all square.
Tiger however hadn't read the script. He aimed 15ft to the left of the flag and stood back and watched as the ball tured 90 degrees and slowly rolled back down the hill towards the pin. It sat on the lip of the hole with the Nike sign of his golf ball smiling at the world for several heartbeats, before disappearing. "IN YOUR LIFE HAVE YOU SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT?" screamed Verne Lundquist on CBS as Tiger celebrated like he already had the green jacket around his shoulders. DiMarco, crestfallen, missed his birdie attempt and Tiger glided up to the 17th with a two shot cushion.
The drama was far from over as Woods surprisingly bogeyed the 17th and 18th, while DiMarco parred out - including a cold 10 footer on the final green - to force a playoff.
Back they went to the 18th and Tiger was clinical, holing a birdie to which DiMarco had no reply, and Woods accepted the green jacket off Phil Mickelson.
"I was just trying to throw the ball up there on the hill and let it feed down there and hopefully have a makeable putt," said a tearful Woods, who's father Earl was receiving treatment for cancer.
The majors flowed once again after the 2005 Masters until his recent relapse, which has seen him go without a title of any note since the 2009 Australian Masters. However bookmakers across the globe offer only one man as favourite to wear green once again on Sunday week. Tiger will roar once again.
Golf this weekend is once again from the Middle East where Germany's Martin Kaymer has the chance to oust Lee Westwood and become world number 1. Kaymer was a recent winner in Abu Dhabi and will become the top ranked player in the world if he wins the Qatar Masters, which tees of tomorrow. He will have to overcome the likes of Paul Casey, who won last weekend in Bahrain, and is 12/1 to repeat the feat this weekend. Kaymer is the 6/1 favourite, but don't rule out Ian Poulter at 20/1, and Henrik Stenson at 33/1.
Also look out for Steve Stricker, who plays on the European tour for the first time since 1995. "A big reason what lured me to come over here is the strength of the field," Stricker told reporters in Doha on Wednesday. The prize pot may also have helped the American complete the 20-hour journey from his home in Wisconsin. Stricker is 20/1 to lift the cup on Sunday.
For all Qatar Masters betting click here.
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