SPRING 2011

What an interesting start to 2011 it’s been, with more evidence that the spectacular year that British, Irish and European men achieved in 2010 is set to continue this year.

At the end of 2010 Lee Westwood finished at the top of the world rankings, displacing Tiger Woods. Since then Germany’s Martin Kaymer, after wins in Qatar and a runners-up finish in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship assumed the mantle of world number one, only for Lee Westwood to gain top spot back again after back to back victories in China and Korea! Oh, and Luke Donald narrowly missed out on becoming the world number after beating Martin Kaymer to win the Accenture Match Play Championship, and following that up by loosing in a play-off at Sea Island to Brandt Snedeker.

So there’s been a lot of jostling at the top of the men’s world rankings, with most of it coming from British and European players. It was hard to imagine that after Graeme McDowell’s U.S.Open victory, Martin Kaymer’s U.S.P.G.A win, the European Tour based South African’s Louis Oosthuizen’s runaway win by seven shots at St.Andrews in last year’s Open Championship, Europe winning one of the most exciting Ryder Cups ever, and Lee Westwood achieving the world number one spot, that men’s golf could continue to be so buoyant. It certainly is, and with so many talented and confident players based in Europe, I’m sure that, that trend is set to continue.

The first men’s Major of the year – The Masters, was full of excitement and disaster. Even with just a few holes to go, no one had any idea of who the eventual winner would be! Sadly, after starting the final round at the top of the leader board following three rounds of near flawless golf, and some of the finest ball striking ever seen at Augusta, Rory McIlroy’s hopes of winning imploded, when after a shaky first nine holes on the last day, an unbelieveably short and crooked drive on the tenth hole that nearly finished in the cabins some forty yards or so offline, eventually lead to a triple bogey seven and the beginning of a 43 on the final nine holes. The whole of the golfing world felt for Rory, who considering what had befallen him, displayed a calmness and sense of reality that I’m sure he couldn’t have been feeling! Rory’s collapse initially overshadowed what was happening in front of him, which was that two Australians, Adam Scot and, Glen Day, as well as South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel had been playing some fabulous golf. It eventually took three consecutive birdies on the final three holes for Charl to pull away from Adam Scott, in second, and Glen Day and Luke Donald in third.

In women’s golf, Yani Tseng from Taiwan got off to an incredible start to the year winning the two major events on the Australian Ladies Tour – The ANZ Masters and the Women’sAustralian Open, and then the Honda LPGA in Thailand. Those wins took Yani to the top of the Rolex World Rankings where she’s stayed ever since. That said, just like the men’s world rankings, the situation is really tight at the top, and a win by any of Yani’s rivals – Ai Miyazato, Ji Ai Shin, Cristie Kerr or Suzann Pettersen with Yani having an off week could change it all again!

In the first women’s major of the year, the Kraft Nabisco, Yani Tseng, despite struggling a little with her game, but playing with a lot of confidence, manoevered her way to the top of the leader board along with the Texan, Stacy Lewis going into the final round. With Stacy not having won a tournament before, let alone a Major, everyone expected the three time Major Champion and the world’s number one – Yani to come out on top after the final round. Everyone who follows women’s golf would know that Stacy had an outstanding amateur career, and British fans will remember that she won all five of her matches whilst representing America in the Curtis Cup at St.Andrews a few years ago. Stacy finished third in the U.S.Women’s Open having just turned professional after the Curtis Cup, and much was expected of her following on from that, and her victory in the LPGA Qualifying School - an achievement that was overshadowed because Michelle Wie, who finished in seventh place gained her LPGA card that year! Some players struggle with adapting to the life being a professional golfer, and Stacy definitely came into that category. After putting in lots of hard work over this past winter, appointing a coach, working on her fitness and strength and having a regular caddy, Stacy’s game started improve. The way she played throughout the Championship in Palm Springs, especially when she scored a one under par 71 in the third round when she was really struggling with her game showed a maturity and confidence that Stacy was now ready to win. Stacy’s career and win is all the more astonishing for the fact that she had to wear a back brace whilst playing golf for seven years until her teens, before undergoing major surgery to help straighten her spine after being diagnosed with scholiosis – curvature of the spine, as a young girl. Graphic X-rays of Stacy’s spine showed three long metal screws in her spine which made it possible for her to get rid of her back brace.

A quiet and rather shy woman, Stacy has the game to become one of the best female players in the world. It will be interesting to see how her game is for the rest of the year, and whether or not Stacy makes the American Solheim Cup Team?

With the next two majors – the men’s U.S.Open and the Wegman’s LPGA Championship just a few weeks away, I wonder who will emerge victorious? I’ll be back at the end of June with my thoughts about the outcomes.

Happy golfing!

Mickey