Great Expectations!!
Never before has Irish Professional golf been on such a high! Over the past decade the Irish have ploughed a very impressive furrow on the world stage so much so that it is now the Irish that European golf is looking towards, to set the foundations for others to hopefully build on.
St Andrews town in Fife Scotland, is recognised around the world as the “Home of Golf”. Not only is it the home of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the legislators of amateur golf in the world outside the US, but it is also home to the world’s most famous golf course, The Old Course, St Andrews.
As a sports mad nation, we are spoilt for choice in terms of the diversity of sports on offer in Ireland throughout the calendar year. One can only marvel at the achievements of the GAA, and the work it has done in promoting Gaelic Sports (Hurling and Gaelic Football) throughout the length and breath of the country, even internationally over the past couple of decades. Today, wherever you drive, you will find Gaelic pitches in every town buzzing with activity, supervised by volunteers.
Any golfer who stayed up late to watch Graeme Mc Dowell’s fantastic victory in the US Open at Pebble Beach last weekend, would have got a first hand experience of the type of pressure all professional golfers must experience and control if they are ultimately to win a major championship.
After so many near misses, the time has come for Lee Westwood to finally shed his “nearly man” tag in Major Championships. By his own admission he has come up short too often, but the level of consistency he is now showing every time he plays in Major Championships, makes me fancy him to be a Major Champion by the time he participates in this years 3 Irish Open in Killarney at the end of July.
I have been watching the media coverage of Rory McIlroy since his fantastic victory in Charlotte, North Carolina last weekend and to a large degree it has been nothing short of sensational, and rightly so. However, as good as McIlroy undoubtedly is, it must also be remembered that he has only just turned 21 and is still very much on a learning curve, particularly when you compare him to the hardened competitors of the likes of Harrington, Mickelson and Woods.
Furyk – Getting the job done once again
How can you judge a person’s ability? How is it that some of the best performers also have some of the most unconventional swings?
Mickelson – A Popular Champion
Augusta National is famous for its design, its beauty and the fact that it is the first of the world’s golfing “Major” championships on the Professional golf circuit. Traditionally, it has also been famous for the “Amen Corner” and the drama that this stretch of holes provides in determining the outcome of many of the Masters Championships.
Tiger still not out of the Woods
I spent yesterday listening intently to what Tiger Woods had to say in response to the questions posed by the media in his first “Open” Press Conference at Augusta, but in the end I couldn’t help feeling frustrated by many of his responses.
Tiger Woods is officially on the comeback trail!! That’s good news for golfing enthusiasts around the world and especially good news for the PGA Tour and the World Golf Tour, both who have suffered commercially through his self inflicted absence form the game.