I hope golf never changes!
So, Bubba wins again and this time in a WGC event. To say his return to form has been meteoric is an understatement and it is worthy of even more attention but I would like to talk this week about the tournament he won, and more importantly its format. It’s very interesting that Henrik Stenson passes on playing the world matchplay because of the format, and I would do the same. I should add at this point that I am not a fan of matchplay in golf anyway; one of the reasons I love the game is its non-confrontation which means you can applaud when your playing partners play a good shot or have a good hole. You are playing against them, but not on that particular hole, except in matchplay. Then, a certain amount of gamesmanship comes into the game and I don’t like that. Just as an example Sergio was at the back of a green at the weekend pretty close to his opponent who had also gone over the back. While his opponent prepared to take his shot, Sergio had a lob wedge out and was practising a fairly full swing. As soon as his opponent took his shot the lob wedge went back in the back and he got out a different club. Not that big a deal I know but it was clear, to me at least, that he did it to affect his opponent. That’s what I mean by confrontation. Another problem with matchplay is that, especially in a tournament you may well play better than someone who wins a match, while you lose. In this particular tournament where only one player goes through from each group it seemed that one bad round spoilt everything even if the player had played amazing in the other two. That’s the main reason Henrik has a problem with it and I think Paul Casey may have some sympathy with that view now. Lastly the final on Sunday night was basically over after four holes as Kevin Kisner clearly had not recovered from his morning exertions (or was it just a big lunch?). Don’t get me wrong, the right player won as Bubba played awesome all week but it didn’t make for much of a spectacle. At least in a stroke play tournament, even when someone is well in the lead, there is tension till the end as you just never know what can happen. In matchplay the holes run out so the writing is on the wall a lot quicker. These are just my views of course and I have no doubt many of you will not agree and I welcome your comments. I would like to leave you with just one other thought: In a week that has seen one of the worst cheating scandals, certainly in recent times, in the world of sport I am proud that I am involved in a sport that is, at least almost entirely, a gentleman’s sport where cheating does not happen. Of course there has been the odd exception but they are incredibly rare and almost always jumped on and you will all know what I mean when I say how terrifying the idea of being labelled a golf cheat is. It never goes away - just ask Vijay Singh. What has happened with the Australian cricket team, who had to admit to going onto the field with the full intention of cheating, beggars belief. Has money in sport really made so many players prepared to win at all costs? I suppose if it is just about money then golf should be rife with cheats as there is so much in it but thankfully that is not the case. It still makes me proud that golf is perhaps the last bastion of honesty and sportsmanship in a professional sporting world that seems to accept that players of many sports habitually break the rules to gain advantage. I hope golf never changes.
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