In My View

Spring 2010

After what has seemed like an interminable winter, Spring and the start of the golfing season is finally upon us at last.

Whilst those of us with satellite television have been lucky enough to watch golf from warmer climates, and some of us have managed to escape for some if not all of the winter, the first women’s major Championship of the year – The Kraft Nabisco Championship, and the first men’s major Championship of the year – The Masters, really signal the start of the golf season for most British golfers. This year too, they have coincided with some warmer, drier and sunnier weather, which has added to the sense of a new season after the truly awful winter that we’ve endured.

It was always going to be difficult for this year’s Kraft Nabisco Championship to live up to the final hole drama of 2009, when America’s Brittany Lincicome hit a stunning hybrid to within two feet of the hole on the eighteenth for an eagle three to win by a single shot from fellow Americans Cristie Kerr and Kristy McPherson.

This year, the golf was excellent on the immaculate Mission Hills course, and Sky viewers had the pleasure of seeing England’s Karen Stupples leading after three rounds, with Norway’s Suzann and Taiwan’s Yani Tseng just a shot behind. Sadly Karen struggled in the final round finishing with a 78, which contained three double bogies. This put Karen in a tie for fifth, which I’m sure she would have gladly taken at the start of the week, along with her three rounds in the sixties and the third round lead. Looking ahead, her many fans will look to her performance to give her confidence for the rest of the season.

Very quickly it became apparent that the winner was going to come from either Yani or Suzann. Yani’s chip in for an eagle on the second hole, and the monster putt that she holed on the par three eighth seemed to be indications that this was to be her day. Suzann’s golf from tee to green was fantastic, but as has so often seemed the case, her putter wasn’t performing. On the back nine inparticular, she gave herself birdie opportunities on every hole, but only managed to convert the ones on the eleventh, sixteenth and eighteenth, which meant for the third time in the last five years she had to settle for being runner up. This time to the extremely talented Yani Tseng, who now has two major Championship titles to her credit, adding the Kraft Nabisco to the LPGA Championship which she won in her rookie season in 2008.

This year’s Masters at Augusta produced probably the most spectacular golf that I can recall seeing. The charge and counter charges from so many of the players who had made the cut or were contending was amazing. I can never remember seeing so many full shots holed from off the greens, and who will ever forget Phil Mickelson’s back to back eagles on Saturday on the thirteenth and fourteenth holes, before very nearly holing his pitch for a third consecutive eagle on the fifteenth hole!

Most of the early headlines were understandibly about the return of Tiger Woods. Tiger mostly received warm receptions around the course, with the minority who maybe didn’t feel so inclined keeping quiet. Tiger’s golf over the first two days lead everyone to think that he would definitely be a contender, but on Saturday, and especially Sunday, Tiger hit – by anyone’s standards, some extraordinarily poor shots, intermingled with some brilliant ones, and still managed to finish fifth.

The early leaders were the two very popular veteran Americans – Tom Watson aged 60 and Fred Couples a mere youngster at 50, along with two Englishmen vying to win their first major – Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter. After two rounds Lee and Ian were tied for the lead, and indeed were paired together for the third round. Lee Westwood stayed at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final eighteen, but Ian Poulter sadly dropping a few shots off the pace.

If Saturday’s round was full of exhilarating golf, Sunday’s was arguably even better. Korea’s K J Choi seemed to be playing the best golf of the contenders, and early on in the back nine was tied for the lead, but then fell back after dropped shots on the thirteenth and fourteenth holes, Fred Couples was also playing well, and might have had a truly fairytale Masters until he double bogied the twelth hole, Lee Westwood wasn’t playing his previously immaculate game from tee to green, added to which his missed shortish putts on the ninth and thirteenth holes cost him dearly, but we saw a different Lee Westwood this week, one who clearly believed that he can win a major, and who had the determination and demeanour to do so. In the end, it was only the sheer brilliance of Phil Mickelson who denied Lee. Mickelson’s shot from the pine straw, between two trees to within four feet of the pin on the thirteenth hole is one of the best shots that I’ve ever seen in Championship golf, as were his par saves at the ninth and tenth holes.

So, many congratulations to the winners of the first two majors of the year – Yani Tseng from Taiwan, and America’s Phil Mickelson. After your quite marvellous displays, the next two major Championships – The Men’s U.S.Open and the LPGA Championship in June have a lot to live up to!

Happy Golfing!

Mickey