''[The sandbelt courses] bring back shot-making.''
Greg Baum says Tiger loved Kingston Heath, and Melbourne not only loved having Tiger but the week justified his appearance fee.
''All the guys have raved about this course, and I understand why,'' he said. ''[The sandbelt courses] bring back shot-making.''
He twice said he would love to come back, then strengthened his stance by adding: ''I want to come back.''
This would have rung as sweetly in the ears of Premier John Brumby as the sound of any shot Woods hit this week. The State Government risked opprobrium by underwriting the remaking of the moribund Masters and contributing to Woods' $3.3 million appearance fee.At the 19th, Woods' line and pitch remained faultless. He again praised Melbourne's sandbelt courses for providing a level of technical satisfaction he does not always enjoy in the US.
Prima facie, this was money far better spent than on the atrophied grand prix. Allowing for competing claims and a rubbery factor, the grand prix cost more than $40 million this year; the Woods extravaganza made more than $20 million.
Unlike the grand prix, it was staged in a private park, willingly given over. And unlike at the grand prix, the aggregate crowd of almost 100,000 was authenticated. Evidently, there are drivers and there are drivers.
For once, Mr Brumby could be excused his hyperbole as he said: ''This has been a sensational event for our state.''
The Age features an efficient photo gallery from Tiger's week.
John Huggan makes the point--one that may have resonated after the obvious buzz this week--that more major events need to get out of the United States for the good of the game.
More than that, the JBWere Masters has inadvertently been the model for what will hopefully be a more enlightened future of professional golf. Think about it. Each of the four major championships – the Masters, the US Open, the Open and the USPGA – is run by organisations whose best days have been and gone. Or, at least, should be gone. Even worse, three of the four are played in the same country, a gross distortion of a modern golfing world that has never been smaller in terms of travel or more diverse in terms of those participating. It has long been obvious that established golfing nations such as Australia – long starved of live Tiger sightings – deserve more than they currently get. Indeed, any land where there is a huge and largely untapped appetite for golf should take its turn at the top table. At least one of what would be a newly-configured Grand Slam foursome should move around the world, visiting the likes of Oz, South Africa, Japan, Singapore and, soon enough, China, once every five years or so.
Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 08:55 AM
Reader Comments (13)
I believe we see thousands of shots being made each week, no? So if a golfer is known as a shot maker ... that means he puts some curve on the ball? Is that all this really is? Curving his ball around an oak tree because the last shot he made went into the woods. Of course! Most indeed! Golf needs more shotmakers and more American LPGA players and courses with less green grass!
i don't know how you go about rejiggering the majors and declaring that a non-major shall henceforth be a major. i suspect the route to majordom is paved with legal fees and filings and lined with lawyers and judges as with most things these days.
and, with all sincere respect to the sandbelt and kingston heath, i also suspect that it takes more to become a major championship than paying off the world's number one to show up at your event. otherwise, trump would own all four majors.
They loved his puerile temper tantrums?
Maybe Tiger needs to up the ante and punch a camera-wielding spectator in the face. Then they'll really love him!
We do have great course in Oz, but it is hard to get on. I've played KH once, and I believe the broadcast did it justice. Short par 4s still have their place in the 21st century