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From the Editor :
Paul Azinger has already made an enormous gaff in the run-up to this year's Ryder Cup - and it's not likely to be the temperamental US captain's last either.
Right now he is trying to put out the fire he lit with that out-of-the-blue verbal bashing of his rival captain and former TV commentary associate Nick Faldo in a recent newspaper article by claiming that the newspaper made him sound more acrimonious than he had meant to be.
He told the Associated Press's Dough Ferguson: "I spoke to Nick. It doesn't surprise me that this sort of thing has happened. Nick and I have dealt with the media our entire career, and we have burned by the media at times. But Nick and I are friends, and we'll be friends long after the Ryder Cup matches are over."
Awe Fine, but that's not the impression his comments, initially made to the Mail on Sunday, conveyed to the man in the street.
Azinger is reported to have said (and he has not denied saying it ): "Nick Faldo has tried to redefine himself.
"Some people have bought it. Some have not. But if you're going to be a (expletive) and everyone hates you, why do you think that just because you're trying to be cute and funny on air now that the same people are all going to start to like you?
"The bottom line is that the players from his generation and mine really don't want to have anything to do with him."
Now that's about as nasty as you can get, which ever way you look at it, and I have to say I'm glad our Mr Azinger is not one of my friends.
If he knows the media as well as he says he does, he should have known better before he opened his mouth - unless, of course, he was deliberately trying to sew seeds of mistrust and discontent in the European camp where the strong bonds between its members have for long been a key element in their Ryder Cup successes
If, in fact, this was the case, he's come horribly unstuck and has almost certainly produced the reverse effect.
Darren Clarke has quickly made it clear that all Azinger has done is make the blood run quicker in the veins of the European players Faldo will lead at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, come September when they defend the title they have twice won now by record margins .
Clarke, hero of Europe's last victory at the K Club in Ireland in 2006, said he is 100 per cent behind Faldo who he believes will make a "sensational" Ryder Cup captain.
I couldn't believe my eyes. Here, thousands of us are sitting up, well after midnight, waiting for the big moment when Trevor Immelman wins South Africa's first Masters in something like 30 years, when some incredibly stupid M-Net TV programmer decides we've had enough of the golf and it's time to switch to some corny little Movie. Yes, this when there were just two holes to play and Immelman was leading by three shots from Tiger Woods! Immelman's triumph is in a similar category to SA winning the World Rugby or Cricket Cup or one of its athletes claiming a Golf Medal at the Olympics. Someome needs a big kick in the pants.
hmm well
Rosco, I think you misunderstood me. I certainly wasn't making a case for Monty's inclusion. With a World ranking in the sixties, he doesn't deserve his place. Rather I was agreeing with his view that TV revenue should not determine who qualifies for a place in the Masters, which, with all it's invitees, tends to have the weakest field of all the majors. Only the world's best players based on strict qualification rules should play in the majors. The field should not be on the whim of Augusta's 'good ol boys' who seem to think they are a law unto themselves and have no need to conform to international norms.
I have been watching the Kraft Nabisco Championship on Sky Sports 2 and getting really cross as not one mention has been made, either last night or tonight of our only English representative at the top of the leaderboard - Karen Stupples who was the leader after the first round - what it does for her confidence I dread to think - she is totally ignored - why does this happen - Mickey Walker is commentating and in the studio - she is English - why can't she give her a mention?
Taurus, can you post a link to the rules on how a Major should be run? Masters lose it's Major Status?? Dream on! Monty has known the criteria for qualification.....and has had plenty of tournaments in which to meet that qualification. Sour grapes, just like some years ago (late 90's) when his Order of Merit position was under threat when the last qualifying tournament offered a prize to the winner of circa 1m......all tournaments counted irrespective of whether the prize fund was high at the beginning, middle and end of the season. If No. 74 or 76 in the world were invited ahead of him, he would find an excure to moan. Great player, don't get me wrong, but no divine right for an invitation. Current form would see him pack his bags on Friday week anyway.
Golf is a joke in the way all the competititions are administered. Can you think of any other sport where the qualification rules vary from event to event and sponsors can pick who plays. Man U would love the idea as they would argue to be seeded into the last 4 of every tournament and would want the rules changed to make this possible. Might sound daft but that is exactly how golf is run, particularly in the States
Monty's right. Majors should not be open to golfers on the basis of TV rights alone. And this should be made clear to the good ol' boys of Augusta National who seem to think they are above everything and can do as they please. They should be told that unless the Masters is run like a major it could lose it's major status.
I'm looking for the right ruling. My ball went into a hazard with yellow markers . It wasn't in the water but it was plugged. I asked for relief but my playing partners said no because it was in the hazard. I said OK I will declare it unplayable . They said I would still have to play it as it lies because it was in a hazard. Were they correct?
The editor says.... No. You have two options in a situation like this. Under penalty of one stroke, you can go back to the spot from where you played the shot or, keeping yourself in line with the hole and the point where your ball entered the water hazard, you can drop the ball under penalty of one stroke on a spot as far back you like (Rule 26). Hope this answers your question.
I can't believe they have a hard time getting 80 players around a golf course in 1 day.
It's good to see Phil Mickelson and Annika Sorenstam back on top with the trophies. Both of them have charisma and skill and are good for the game. I've never heard of Filipe Aguilar, the European Tour winner, but he looks a nice enough chap - and his record at home clearly indicates that he knows how to win.
Personally I like to see the big name golfers beat the guys the media politely refer to as 'unheralded journeymen'. It's easier to identify with the stars and feel for them because you know so much more about them.
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Posted 17/04/2008 @ 13:28 View all golfingfan's posts
Congrats to Trevor Immelman on his fantastic wire-to-wire win at the Masters. I think he has it in him to become South Africa's top golfer in the modern era - no mean feat considering how well the likes of Els and Goosen have already done.