I’m sure if you asked quite a few golfers if they would trade in their careers for another, there’s not a great deal of them who would bite yer hands off. Look at it this way: they get to hit a ball with a stick for most of the year, a lot of their work is done during the summer months of whichever country they’re in, the prize money’s fairly good, and golfers are now being implicated in all manner of soccer-esque scandals.
What’s there to beat it? Footballers certainly don’t have it this good, have you ever heard of a golfer being roundly booed by their fans? Hell no. As far as sports go it’s pretty good.
The storm surrounding Tiger Woods, which doesn’t seem like clearing up any time soon, has been joined by a North Westerly weather system in the form of Colin Montgomerie, and an injuction he took out in relation to a past wench. Monty, Monty, Monty.
God, was I in a dream? Terribly sorry about that old fellows, got distracted somehow, now onto the matter in hand – this weekend’s USPGA championship, and it’s wide open. Anyone, even that Tiger Woods, could win it.
So who else could make a surge up the leaderboard? One intriguing fact involves local player Steve Stricker, who, if he wins, will surge from fourth to top of the world golf rankings, and give the US team a real boost ahead of the Ryder Cup this September. The course, Whistling Straits, is in Stricker’s home state of Wisconsin and it seems the demon putter could put the wind up a few of the young hopefuls.
Then there’s the European contingent led by all manner of players. Rory McIlroy is currently exuding confidence, suggesting that he could indeed exceed here. What was that though Rory? Second round 80 at the British Open, whilst you played the course only armed with a driver, iron, putter, and the rest of the bag reserved for the bottle you left back at the hotel. Bring your “quite shy” girlfriend with you though, and we’ll be talking Rory.
To add to this there’s the man with the worst hybrid accent ever, Graham McDowell, who showed what he was made of at the US Open, and then twice winner Padraig Harrington who could be in with a shout after am upturn in form recently.
After all the talking’s done though, it may be better to compare the column inches given to Tiger and Monty, and create some kind of trophy for the winner of the unlikeliest contest of the year. Will Tiger miss the cut? If he does then he might think about getting the snip, in celebration. You’d think it could do wonders for his golf career which at the moment lies in the gutter tarnished, along with a used condom.
