Women’s golf is having a moment. In the midst of an exciting end to the PGA Tour season that is seeing the world No. 1 spot change hands more often than presents at a Pass-the-Parcel World Championships, it is women’s golf where the real action suddenly is.
It began last week, with one of the most memorable final round performances in major championship history. Jordan Spieth, Zach Johnson and Jason Day have all enjoyed brilliant days in the biggest event this year – but arguably none of them can compare with Lydia Ko, who stormed to the Evian Masters crown in remarkable fashion at the weekend.
The New Zealander, 18, shot a staggering round of 63 to come from behind to romp to a six-shot victory in France, in the process becoming the youngest player in history – of either sexes – to win a major.
“It’s probably the best round ever,” Ko said (her use of “the” rather than “my” both amusing and not entirely inaccurate).
“To finish with two birdies, finish on the last 72nd hole, with a birdie, it doesn’t happen often, so it’s definitely one of the top rounds of my whole entire life, and I’m sure it will be in my career.”
Having won an event as an amateur and graduated to world No. 1 even before she even turned 18, Ko is clearly the future of the women’s game – potentially a Woods-esque king amongst mortals for the next decade or more (although we have said that before). With that being the case it is a slight disappointment she will not be playing this week, when the biggest event in women’s golf takes place.
The Solheim Cup, the female equivalent of the Ryder Cup, contains all the drama and intrigue of its male equivalent – except with arguably even more camaraderie (for whatever reason, the women tend to buy into the team ethos far more than the men) and nationalistic pride.
With many of the players on both sides also less familiar with playing in front of big, passionate crowds, that dynamic also tends to ensure unpredictable events at almost every turn – with every shot something of a lottery.
“It’s a little bit different pressure for sure,” two-time Solheim Cupper Stacy Lewis said recently. “You’re playing for your country, playing for a lot of people. We put more pressure on ourselves.”
That pressure causes some bad shots, but it causes some brilliant ones as well. The conclusion to the 2011 iteration – where player after player fired pinpoint shot after pinpoint shot in at the 18th green with the whole competition on the line in Ireland – remains one of the most impressive and dramatic examples of sporting excellence you could wish to see (Europe eventually won 15-13).
With the penultimate FedEx Cup playoff event of the year taking place across the Atlantic this week, many people may find it difficult to flick their attention to events in St Leon-Rot in Germany. It’s always hard to look away when the likes of Spieth and Rory McIlroy are going head-to-head, especially with so much money (at that No. 1 world ranking) on the line.
It will be worth your time, however – if it is a close fought battle, the sheer spectacle will be as big as anything golf has seen (or will see) in 2015. You don’t need to have a vested interest to appreciate that.
As Ko has just reminded us, women’s golf is every bit the crucible for greatness that the men’s game is.
All teams. All players. One photo. #SupportYourTeam pic.twitter.com/ib0ypZZMek
— The 2015 Solheim Cup (@SolheimCup2015) September 15, 2015
Jordan Spieth
‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ mastermind Larry David recently did an interview with Golf Digest, where he was asked for his thoughts about Jordan Spieth.
Rather than fixate on the 22-year-old’s metronomic putting style, his ice-cool demeanour on the course, or indeed his remarkable rise to multiple major champion, the comedian took another route:
“He’s going to be a bald man. He’s going to be wildly bald. This makes him way more appealing to me. It’s one thing to handle the pressure of the back nine at Augusta; let’s see how he does when he sees all that hair in the tub. That’s pressure. I’ll be watching him very carefully. He’s 22. He’s got three years, maybe four. He’s done.”
The thought had crossed Different Strokes’ mind that Spieth may soon be golf’s first bald superstar – a multiple major champion with huge follicular challenges. All the greats of the game you could care to name – Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Hogan, Woods – had pretty lustrous bonnets during the prime of their careers (okay, Woods is looking pretty ropey now … but then so is his golf game).
Spieth, meanwhile, is already in trouble – even when he won the Masters in April, you could see him nervously smoothing down his hair on the 18th green to hide the receding elements as best he could (which was not that well).
Spieth was this week asked about David’s comments, and had this to say:
“Yeah, that was pretty funny. Hey, nothing I can do about it.”
Hey, when you are caught bang to rights all you can do is hold your hands up. Although Wayne Rooney would beg to differ…
It was also a big week for a certain Tiger Woods, who got to meet not one but two of his golfing heroes over the course of just a few days.
First up he grabbed a selfie with Shooter McGavin, the former world No. 1 with dubious breakfast habits who famously (SPOILER ALERT) never managed to add one of those chic yellow jackets for winning the Tour Championship to his wardrobe.
Two golf legends catching up with each other at the U.S. Open the other day @TigerWoods pic.twitter.com/kU8AFfnLPb
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) September 8, 2015
Then Woods got to hang out with the aforementioned Mr Spieth as the NFL season got underway for the Dallas Cowboys, with television crews somehow picking out Woods but completely ignoring golf’s (then) No. 1 player to his right.
NBC identifies Tiger at Cowboys-Giants game, fails to notice Spieth sitting right next to him: http://t.co/naoDXH9m4K pic.twitter.com/hyo3u2WWel
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) September 14, 2015
Not that Woods escaped without some social-media ribbing.
Tiger Woods is sitting in Tony Romo’s box, which is nice, because it’s been a while since Tiger saw what it looks like to play on Sunday.
— Will Bardwell (@willbardwell) September 14, 2015
Poor guy.
