| TALES FROM THE BOX
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Major Month
Julian Tutt reflects on a period which saw Asia tie with Europe in the inaugural EurAsia Cup and Bubba collect a second green jacket.
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AFP, Asian Tour
Bubba Watson (right) splashes out during the final round of the Masters Tournament on his way to collecting his second Green Jacket; Anirban Lahiri celebrates with captain Thongchai Jaidee at the inaugural EurAsia Cup, which saw Asia stage a remarkable comeback to tie a strong European side skippered by Miguel Angel Jiménez 46
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he Masters: it was all utterly predictable. I always knew that Bubba Watson was the man to beat … But who would be a pundit? Of the thirteen former players, commentators and respected journalists – including Paul Azinger, Peter Alliss and Ken Brown – who were asked for their Masters’ preview opinions on the BBC Website, four went for Sergio Garcia (missed cut), three for the injured Jason Day (T21) and surprisingly only two for Rory McIlroy (T8). Of the twenty names that got a mention, Matt Kuchar (T5), McIlroy and Henrik Stenson (T14) were the only players to finish in the top twenty. Bear in mind this was the British Broadcasting Corporation; there wasn’t one mention of Lee Westwood (T7), Justin Rose (T14) or Ian Poulter (T20), and only Robert Lusetich of Fox Sports plumped for Luke Donald (MC) as the winner. Amazingly the in-form defending champion Adam Scott (T14) was also totally overlooked. All of which goes to prove that whilst it’s mildly entertaining to speculate who might do what, even the experts haven’t got a clue! However, race-going punters will know that considerations such as current form, and course and distance history are all relevant, and that applies particularly to somewhere like Augusta.
Witness the performances of the likes of Fred Couples (T20) and Bernhard Langer (T8). It’s slightly baffling, therefore, why Garcia should feature so strongly amongst the tipsters [I picked him too – Ed]. OK, he was in good form going into the tournament, but his record there is pretty average with only two top ten finishes in fourteen attempts and a best of T4 back in 2004. He just doesn’t like the place and has been incredibly negative about his chances there in the past. Mind you, he is not unique in that regard. There are plenty of players who don’t particularly enjoy the Masters experience, although not many HKGOLFER.COM
will publicly admit to it, for fear the embossed invitation to play might not drop through the letterbox next year! Nick Price never felt at home there, despite being a joint course record holder (63), while Colin Montgomerie probably enjoys commentating there much more than he ever enjoyed playing. (Supposition on my part, but I know he always battled mentally). There are others who have been so passionate about the place and the title that they became almost too obsessed with winning a Green Jacket. Greg Norman and Ernie Els fall into that category, and sadly it looks highly unlikely that either will ever win one now. Only a couple of weeks previously, at the inaugural EurAsia Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Pablo Larrazábal had predicted that his good friend and fellow-countryman, Miguel Angel Jiménez, would win the Masters, after his brilliant showing as playing captain of the European Team. How close he came too, and then followed up brilliantly with a debut wire-to-wire win on the Champions Tour the week after. As I write, he’s now only one place out of an automatic Ryder Cup berth. He’ll look good in tartan trews. (He’ll enjoy the Gleneagles Hotel wine cellar too!) Talking of the new Asia versus Europe contest, it’ll be a big surprise if there’s a bigger surprise this year than that result. A European Team well staffed with light-heavyweights, plus a sprinkling of super-heavyweights was surely always going to be too strong for a talented but largely inexperienced Asian Team that included a “compulsory” Malaysian, Nicholas Fung, who didn’t even qualify as a featherweight. The whitewash of the first day’s fourballs merely confirmed that widely held belief: if major championship golf is unpredictable though, what about team match play? The commentary team of Dougie Donnelly, Warren Humphreys, Dominique Boulet and yours truly enjoyed a pleasantly heated debate over dinner on the second night, after Asia’s brilliant fightback in the foursomes. Europe were still strong favourites, needing only three and a half points from the ten singles matches, so it was obvious that both captains had to “top load” the singles running order with their best, in-form players. Thongchai Jaidee correctly assumed that Jiménez would lead from the front as he had on the first two days. Thongchai took the intriguing decision of apparently “gifting” Europe a point by putting Nicholas Fung out first. He argued that Jiménez would probably HKGOLFER.COM
It’s slightly baffling, therefore, why Garcia should feature so strongly amongst the tipsters. OK, he was in good form going into the tournament, but his record there is pretty average with only two top ten finishes in fourteen attempts. beat anybody in his current form, while Fung would most likely lose to whoever he played. It was cunning psychology, with the added merit that if Fung put up a good fight it would inspire the rest of the Asian Team. In the event he did better than that. Had his birdie putt dropped on the 18th, he would have stolen at least a half point (possibly even a win) that would ultimately have given Asia a most improbable victory. Messieurs Donnelly and Boulet argued that it was a masterstroke by the Asian skipper. If most matches went the distance would you want Fung in a possible cup-deciding pressure match near the end? Humphreys and Tutt thought it was madness to “gift” a point early on, leaving only two and a half more points for Europe’s name to go on the Trophy. I don’t believe any of us really believed Asia had much of a chance, but of course Donnelly and Boulet (I hate them!) were spot on as we witnessed a truly enthralling Saturday, where the result was in suspense-filled doubt right up to the last putt of the last match. Brilliant. So the trophy was shared. The tournament committee had been anxious to avoid any sort of tie-breaker, where the captains or their nominated deputies would face immense pressure in a sudden-death shoot-out. So the rules stated that (and I paraphrase), “In the first year, in the event of a tie, the trophy will be shared between the two teams. In subsequent competitions, in the event of a tie, the trophy would be retained by the previous winners”. It strikes me there’s a fatal flaw in that ruling! What happens when they tie next time?! With the Ryder Cup now more than just on the horizon, allow me to continue my reminiscences of the competition over the last twenty five years. Following on from the thrills of Kiawah Island in 1991, the Americans brought a strong team to The Belfry in 1993, under the captaincy of Tom Watson. His picks were two battle-hardened warriors in Lanny Wadkins and Ray Floyd, at fifty-one the oldest man to play in the Ryder Cup. It was to be their last Ryder Cup, as it was for Tom Kite, another formidable opponent. The Belfry had been carved out of flat potato fields. A not inconsiderable number of folk felt that it had served mankind better in its previous incarnation. It’s since been extensively nipped and tucked and has matured into an interesting HK GOLFER・MAY 2014
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Tom Watson, this year’s US Ryder Cup captain, first led the Americans at the 1993 match which was staged at The Belfry and testing challenge, but then it was pretty ordinary, save for two great match play holes; the 10th, a driveable par-4 to a tiny green well guarded by tall trees and water, and the par-4 18th, with both drive and second shots over water. Both holes were potential game-changers and so it proved on many an occasion. Covering a relatively small acreage, echoing roars from all parts of the course produced tremendous excitement. But with autumn setting in, the competition took awhile to get going. The first morning the course was enveloped in a thick layer of fog. By the time it had cleared enough for play to start there must have been well over ten thousand people lining the first fairway in an eerie stillness. Rookie Davis Love III confessed he was too nervous to drive at the first. It was a particularly intimidating environment. Over two and a half days Europe built a lead and held it deep into the singles, but two rookies trembled at a crucial stage. Barry Lane and Costantino Rocca led their matches with a few holes to go, but both succumbed at the last. It turned the tide and it was left to the steely veteran Floyd to claim the winning point. It was to be the last time that America retained the cup, and the last time that they’ve won it on European soil. Tom Watson, of course, has been recalled to the colours to try and rectify that situation at Gleneagles this September. It should be worth watching …
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Twice unsuccessful as captain of Europe, Bernard Gallacher was given a third outing in charge at Oak Hill in 1995. The first morning was a seriously soggy affair, and back then the team only had one set of clothes per day. At lunchtime the cashmere sweaters were wet through. It meant a frenetic and often hilarious hour for the backroom staff that had all hands on deck with hairdryers, trying to restore the precious wool to its former glory. I was once again commentating for BBC Radio, and was joined that year by Helen Alfredsson, who much later was to captain Europe’s women in the Solheim Cup. She is irrepressible and uncontrollable at the best of times. At Oak Hill she was in awe of the whole Ryder Cup experience and was just brilliant fun to have around. Our team dinners were certainly much more lively affairs thanks to her. 48
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By then Seve Ballesteros was arguably past his sell-by date, but the Ryder Cup was in the great man’s DNA. He simply couldn’t contemplate failure. Helen and I were sent out with him for the first singles match against Tom Lehman. Seve’s opening drive missed the fairway by fifty yards, but with a series of brilliant, almost miraculous saves he kept the match alive for long enough to inspire those following behind. When he finally succumbed, we were re-deployed to follow a struggling Nick Faldo who was battling an equally out of form Curtis Strange. It was a dour encounter, but fascinating to watch nonetheless, with Faldo emerging slightly the less awful. George Bailey (he of the flat cap and obdurate hairpiece) and Alan Green (primarily a football commentator) were our two radio “stars”, and they were constantly trying to outdo each other. Both had an eye for the archives, and when the contest was nearing its climax they’d be waxing lyrical in case that putt, or this chip might turn out to be the winning shot. As early as the 14th I remember George going into full “mark this moment, 2.20pm on Sunday 24th September 1995, the minute when Bernard Gallacher’s band of heroes brought the old golden chalice back to Blighty”. (Or words to that effect!) The putt missed and eventually, of course, it went all the way to the end with Philip Walton’s nerveless 5-wood to the raised 18th green providing the decisive thrust of the dagger. Mayhem broke out on the green. Grown men, who in other circumstances struggled to converse, threw themselves into each other’s arms. Seve hugged Faldo. Faldo smiled. There was even a tear or two. It was all almost too much to comprehend. Times like that though are a real buzz for the radio reporter. I was right there in amongst it, shouting on talkback to the producer; “Come to me, I’ve got Seve. “G et A la n to ha nd to me , I ’m w it h Mickelson” etc etc. It’s funny though how inconsequentialities can stick in the mind in amongst all the adrenalin and excitement. There were dozens of photographers in the melee and back then they still used film. They’d be whipping through roll after roll of the stuff, carelessly discarding the little plastic containers that were no longer needed. I felt so sorry for the head green-keeper as said detritus got trampled into the once pristine surface. Europe had just regained the Ryder Cup on American soil for heaven’s sake, concentrate man! Seve’s Ryder Cup playing days were over, but two years later he had the great honour of leading the European Team against Tom Kite’s Americans on his native soil at Valderrama. Now that was special … HKGOLFER.COM