Northern Hemisphere Season Review
The golf season in most of the northern hemisphere has come to an end. It has been quite an interesting season with the world number 1 missing the second half of the season injured, a new world number 2 and a european multiple major winner as well as the USA winning back the Ryder Cup.
Despite losing the Ryder Cup it has been a good year of golf from a European perspective. Firstly, Padraig Harrington persuaded everyone that he can play the game by winning back to back Open Championships and then the USPGA as well... what a performance from a player who works really hard on their game. Secondly, Sergio Garcia has just this week become the number 2 player in the world. This is a player who is seen by many to have never to have lived up to his potential, i'm one of the many, but yet has made it to No. 2 in the world. However, if it weren't for Monty he would definitely be carrying the tag of "best player not to have won a major". There has also been some fresh blood coming through from Europe on the pro tours with Rory McIlroy making his mark at the end of the 2007 season and settling in with some good finishes this year. Oliver Wilson also proved how good he is and made the Ryder Cup team which is a great result. Finally, on the amateur scene the Scotland men won the World Team Championships in October which is fantastic for a nation short of talent on the tours just now. A Scottish amateur, Roseanne Niven also won the British Ladies Strokeplay title which is impressive at 19yrs old. Having had no representives in the 2006 Curtis Cup Scotland made up for it this year with 4 representatives all aged under 20... this is again encouraging for Scotland.
The main story of the golf season this year was Tiger's victory in the US Open when he was in obvious pain and resulted in him giving up the rest of the season for more surgery. What a fantastic performance by a player who really is phenomenal. I have thought a fair bit about how someone could get to be so good and have come to the conclusion that Tiger is both talented and driven. This is, in my opinion a rare combination as really talented people can tend to be a bit lazy whilst less talented people seem to be harder woring to make up for this gap in talent. Then you get the freaks like Tiger and Federer who are both driven to be the best they can and immensly talented.
Not to forget Treveor Immelman's solid to win the US masters in April it really has been a good year for golf with plenty of action on and off the course and the critics who said that the second half of the year wouldn't be interesting without Tiger were silenced. Lets hope that golf can weather the storm of the "financial crisis" (one LET event has already been cancelled) and continue to provide lots of excitement.
Quote for the day "Why do I have a different putter? The other one didn't float too well" Craig Stadler
Keep Swinging
Despite losing the Ryder Cup it has been a good year of golf from a European perspective. Firstly, Padraig Harrington persuaded everyone that he can play the game by winning back to back Open Championships and then the USPGA as well... what a performance from a player who works really hard on their game. Secondly, Sergio Garcia has just this week become the number 2 player in the world. This is a player who is seen by many to have never to have lived up to his potential, i'm one of the many, but yet has made it to No. 2 in the world. However, if it weren't for Monty he would definitely be carrying the tag of "best player not to have won a major". There has also been some fresh blood coming through from Europe on the pro tours with Rory McIlroy making his mark at the end of the 2007 season and settling in with some good finishes this year. Oliver Wilson also proved how good he is and made the Ryder Cup team which is a great result. Finally, on the amateur scene the Scotland men won the World Team Championships in October which is fantastic for a nation short of talent on the tours just now. A Scottish amateur, Roseanne Niven also won the British Ladies Strokeplay title which is impressive at 19yrs old. Having had no representives in the 2006 Curtis Cup Scotland made up for it this year with 4 representatives all aged under 20... this is again encouraging for Scotland.
The main story of the golf season this year was Tiger's victory in the US Open when he was in obvious pain and resulted in him giving up the rest of the season for more surgery. What a fantastic performance by a player who really is phenomenal. I have thought a fair bit about how someone could get to be so good and have come to the conclusion that Tiger is both talented and driven. This is, in my opinion a rare combination as really talented people can tend to be a bit lazy whilst less talented people seem to be harder woring to make up for this gap in talent. Then you get the freaks like Tiger and Federer who are both driven to be the best they can and immensly talented.
Not to forget Treveor Immelman's solid to win the US masters in April it really has been a good year for golf with plenty of action on and off the course and the critics who said that the second half of the year wouldn't be interesting without Tiger were silenced. Lets hope that golf can weather the storm of the "financial crisis" (one LET event has already been cancelled) and continue to provide lots of excitement.
Quote for the day "Why do I have a different putter? The other one didn't float too well" Craig Stadler
Keep Swinging
Labels: Golf, review 2008
posted by Morag @ 5:11 am
2 Comments:
At 10:37 am ,
Colin said...
You have summed up the season well. Ross Fisher also did well this year. Good to see you back blogging!!!
At 4:35 pm ,
andinarvaez said...
Thanks for the wrap-up.
In anticipation of the next few years... here is a bit of news all the way from Texas....
San Antonio, TX is soon to be a major golf destination. The Valero Texas open will be in the spring beginning in 2009 and will take place at the new AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio in 2010. With these news… more people are sure to take notice of the great venues available in the area. The AT&T Oaks Course designed by Greg Norman, as well as the AT&T Canyons Course designed by Pete Dye, are two brand new additions to San Antonio, specifically the Hill Country. Surrounded by rolling hills, the courses are part of the new JW Marriott Hill Country Resort & Spa opening in March of 2010. The new resort will be the largest of the JW Marriotts with 1002 rooms and 140,000 square feet of exhibit space. I’m looking forward to the New Year and having a new excuse to drive to the Hill country. The area is full of historic sites, vineyards, music legends and diverse culture. With 300 plus days of sunshine a year my first thought was that it was the perfect choice for these courses and this tournament!
Here's the site: www.tpcsanantonio.com
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