The American leads calls for fairness to prevail at Shinnecock Hills after the debacle that was the 2004 tournamentThe world’s best golfers fear being lulled into a false sense of security. Those who have visited Shinnecock Hills for reconnaissance work on a venue that will stage the US Open from Thursday have encountered wide fairways and generally soft conditions. What’s the catch?The overwhelming sense is that such generosity will not continue. First, Brooks Koepka won the US Open on 16 under par last year, a tally contrary to the tournament’s status as the toughest in golf. It was also 12 shots better to par than the previous year. And second, Shinnecock Hills specifically. The historic and illustrious American course was...
Italian project is being undermined by imminent economic turmoil and the absence of renovation work at the Marco Simone course north of RomeIt is unlikely the Ryder Cup features prominently in the minds of Italian politicians as they seek a solution to the latest bout of instability. Those presiding over the Ryder Cup, however, simply cannot ignore what is a crisis in Rome, even by Italian governmental standards.The political chaos threatening imminent ecomonic turmoil coincides neatly with the most significant date in Italy’s golf calendar – the Italian Open is this week – while the sport has been high up the news agenda after Francesco Molinari, the nation’s pre-eminent player, saw off Rory McIlroy to win PGA Championship on Sunday. Related:...
Woods has performed brilliantly simply to be competitive again but his shortcomings are obviousThere is a recurring danger of sporting dreams blurring reality. The hype around Tiger Woods was once justified but the reality of recent months applies context often missing in the giddy analysis. Woods has performed brilliantly simply to be competitive again after physical trouble so acute he struggled to sit down for dinner. But there, for now, the story ends.Woods’ latest outing at the Players Championship had him finish seven –almost two shots per round – adrift of the winner Webb Simpson. The 42-year-old tied 55th the previous weekend in Charlotte, 32nd at the Masters and trailed the victorious Rory McIlroy by eight at the conclusion of...
After a nervous start for both on the final round of the Masters the Texan settled to play his game but McIlroy’s challenge diedThey say a Green Jacket costs around $250, though no one who knows will confirm that. Money talks in Augusta, same as anywhere, but Augusta does not like to talk money. Certainly they are made in Cincinnati by the Hamilton Tailoring Co, from tropical wool, pantone 342, three buttons, double‑breasted, with the owner’s name stitched on the inside. And there is nothing, certainly not in the game of golf, that Rory McIlroy wants more. This was McIlroy’s fourth run at finishing the career grand slam and the most painful to watch of the lot because it was...
Controversial statements, accusations and uneasy family relations have marked the career of Captain AmericaAfter the third round, Patrick Reed was in the interview room at Augusta National, talking journalists through his day. He had just scored 67, which made him the first person in eight years to shoot in the 60s for all the first three rounds of the Masters. He was asked about pressure, his iron play, the Ryder Cup. Then came this: “Patrick, it doesn’t take much to do a quick Twitter search to find a lot of people rooting against you. Why do you think that is? Why are there fans that don’t embrace you?” The question hung there in the air, while the temperature dropped a...