A Major Disappointment
I am a golf fanatic, but I will admit that I would rather play than watch. That is except for four weekends out of the year – the Majors. I really enjoy the Majors and although I think The Masters is my favorite major, having played a bit of links golf in Europe, I hold a special place in my heart for The Open every year.
This year I was very disappointed with The Open and the lack of drama or excitement. The Open was played this year at the home of golf, St. Andrews, a course I have had the privilege of walking. This was the 29th time the open has been played at St. Andrews and the biggest names in golf have won there; Daly, Faldo, Seve, Nicklaus and Woods, to name a few. Every professional golfer will tell you that winning The Open is a dream, but winning it at St. Andrews, is what they fantasize about.
Don’t get me wrong, I was not disappointed in the way Loius Oosthuizen played or that he won. I was more disappointed with the way everyone else played. Where was Tiger, where was Phil. The only player who seemed to want to win other than Oosthuizen was Lee Westwood. Who seems destined to finish second in every Major in recent history. If he is not careful, he may be the one to break Jack’s other Major record of 19 second place finishes.
The week started out with a flurry – Rory McIlroy carding a 63 on Thursday really set the tone. I was very impressed with the way he came back on the weekend after what had to be a very disappointing round on Friday. Paul Casey is another player who definitely was impressive. I really thought he would challenge on Sunday after watching his near perfect Saturday round. But the reality is that the entire tournament belonged to Oosthuizen.
I am not sure that anyone can say he got the best of the draw to start the week. Seemed to me he played in poor weather on both Thursday and Friday. I found it interesting that he thought the Friday round in the rain was the tougher of the two days. The winds on Thursday did not seem to bother him as much. When it came down to the end on Sunday, I will say that no one played better than he did. His driving was incredible all week and I really felt like he kept his cool. I noticed how relaxed he seemed during the press conferences, sitting back in his chair and joking. It was almost like he knew the outcome before it all started. I congratulate him on his victory and I hope this is just the start for him. He has added his name to a very exclusive list, the people who have won The Open at the home of golf.
Now on to the PGA Championship.
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