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Golf’s New #1
If you are an avid watcher of this great game, and tune in each weekend you knew that it was just a matter of time till this 22 year old would become the #1 golfer in the world. With only his 3rd PGA Tour victory (hard to believe) yesterday at the Honda Classic, Rory McIlroy took golf’s #1 ranking from fellow European Luke Donald. Even with Tiger shooting a remarkable 62 and taking the club house lead, Rory stayed poised and held onto his 2 shot lead. He was not missing anything within 5ft of the cup. Clutch putt after clutch putt. I haven’t seen this much confidence from a young golfer since, well…..Tiger.
Since Rory has been at the top of the leaderboard in the majority of the events he enters into we get to see a lot of him on TV. I have to say he has one of the most balanced swings I’ve ever seen. He swings so hard, but somehow maintains his balance, making his swing look so damn effortless and smooth. This is common for PGA players, but Rory’s swing is different…..in a good way. It really frustrates me, because when I swing hard I lose my footing at least 50% of the time. Don’t get me wrong, I know there is a huge difference between myself and a professional golfer, but it still annoys me. Just proves to me how much talent these guys really have.
Congrats to Rory, and his future sure looks bright.
Tee it Up!!
I can play on the PGA Tour
Maybe not, but watching Rory McIlroy and Kevin Na blow up recently on one hole sure makes me say…..”I can do that”. I can shank a drive left into the trees, and then have it ricochet off a tree and land in between two cabins, then chip out, miss the green on the approach, try to chip over a tree but instead hit it, chip on, and two put for a triple bogey……piece of cake…..where is my tour card? Everyone in the world had to be thinking this same thing, right? Us amateurs all experience something similar a couple of times a season, and it just makes you feel at peace when you see it happen to the pros. I can’t tell you though how bad I felt for Rory. You could just see the destruction on his face and in his body language during and after his debacle on the 10th hole at the Masters at Augusta National. Nothing a bottle of Irish Whiskey can’t wash away for the 21 year old.
Kevin Na’s situation at the Valero Texas open at TPC San Antonio – AT&T Oaks Course, was a little different for me because if that is where my drive ended up, I would have laughed, picked my ball up and dropped it in the rough and taken a stroke. Now I don’t want anyone to think that I’m a cheater, but let’s be honest, unless you are playing for money (which I normally am), there is no reason I should pretend I’m Paul Bunyan and hack away in the trees. That would just ruin my round and I don’t pay $85, or whatever to putz around in the forest. I do take the game very seriously, and think I am a very moral person, but come on. Re-tee a 3rd time, or drop and take another stroke. But I digress. Kevin Na did take it like a man and with the utmost class.
As tough as it was to watch these two professional golfers unravel, I have to say it makes me feel good. It shows the true side of golf, and the pure fact that the game is cruel, and things like this happen to everyone whether you’re a scratch golfer or a 15 handicap. In the end it doesn’t matter because we will be out there the next day doing it all over again. This is why I love the game, it’s like dating a woman….frustrating as all hell, enjoyable at times (or always), and we are always willing to play!!
Tee it Up!
CHICAGO GOLF CENTRAL 