As I’ve said many times on Sportscall, I’m not a big golf guy. I don’t play all that much in the summer because of the time commitment and the amount of money it costs to play the game. I don’t watch the tournaments on a weekly basis since the vast majority of tournaments seem like nothing but cash-grabs for the players without any significance. However, I will male some time for three of the four major championships.
The Masters, the British Open and the PGA Championship are the three that I make time for. I have no time whatsoever for the U.S. Open. If I have to watch it, I’ll let it be known right away that it’s against my will and the only justification for me is that it’s necessary for my job. I just find the U.S. Open just completely unwatchable.
One day into the Masters and we have two players tied for the lead at 7-under. Rory McIlroy and Alviro Quiros were able to take advantage of good scoring conditions to have themselves some tremendous rounds. Do you hear anyone complaining that the scoring is too low? Does anyone have a problem with seeing as many birdies as we saw today? Of course not.
People want to see birdies and the best golfers in the world should look like they know what they’re doing. If you’re watching professionals on TV in the hopes of them playing closer to the way you do, my suggestion to you would be to get some professional help with a counsellor so that you can talk about your issues involving your own ego. Why in the world would you want to see professional guys playing like you do when you hack it up on the weekend?
Getting back to the U.S. Open, have you ever heard a conversation happening in your office between two guys reminiscing about how a past winner needed to be consistent in making pars to win a championship? Of course not! Nobody remembers the consistent guy and nobody remembers the guy that won the tournament by default because the others played so poorly around him. There’s a reason why Jack Nicklaus’ 1986 win at Augusta is brought up all the time. It was unbelievable drama to watch.
I only happened to be 4 at the time so I didn’t see it live (or at least I don’t remember seeing it live), but I made sure to go back and watch the highlights of that amazing comeback in which he shot 30 on the back nine. He had to go out and win the tournament. He didn’t rely on others to shoot several shots over-par. Coming up big in the clutch makes sports figures legendary. Being consistent when others are not is not memorable.
So as I watch the Masters over the weekend, I’ll enjoy every minute of it because I know that this is one of the few tournaments where the significance is more important than the money and the person that ends up holding the trophy will be someone that truly earned through good play and making winning shots.