As we get closer to the first Major of the season – the Masters starts in just three weeks – there is a very real chance of someone very young walking away with the Green Jacket this year.
As a golf course, Augusta National is not very kind to youth and inexperience. Barring Tiger Woods, who literally brought it to its knees when he won in 1997 aged 21 by 12 shots, it has taken players several visits to get themselves acquainted with the hidden dangers that seem to be lurking at every corner.
Brute power has rarely helped. It takes brains, rather than brawn, to subdue this Alister MacKenzie masterpiece. You’ve got to plot your way around. It’s vital that you know where to place your ball off the tee, but even more important is to know where not to miss your shots.
In an interview with Gary Player, he told me a remarkable story about the intricacies of Augusta. After playing there for a couple of years, a young Player was perplexed about the third hole as he always seemed to have trouble there.
He gingerly approached the legendary Bobby Jones one day, and asked him: “Mr Jones! I love the third hole but I never seem to make a birdie on it. Can you be kind enough and tell me how to make one there?”
On which, Jones replied: “Ah Gary… You don’t make a birdie on the third. You make a par.”
Unlike most golf courses, where you play all 18 holes thinking you can make a birdie on each one of them, there are at least half a dozen holes at Augusta where you should be thinking of making a par, and then hope for an exceptional shot that sets up a rare birdie.
And that mentality is difficult to adopt for most young players.
But 2014 has been a strange year so far for golf. The established names – Woods, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Lee Westwood among others – have all taken a back seat and the 20-somethings have been stealing the limelight.
It started with Rory McIlroy, who is showing all signs of making this another great year, but hasn’t been able to put together four complete rounds.
Then there is the 20-yearold Jordan Spieth, who is playing extremely solid golf and Patrick Reed, 23, has been a sensation, winning three times in seven months.
Jason Day is almost a veteran in the group at 26 and he is in brilliant form, although troubled by a finger injury lately. And 21-year-old Hideki Matsuyama is just a massive bundle of talent.
Russell Henley and Harris English are also in very good form and they are just 24.
They say the Masters is won on the back nine on Sunday. Any of these young guys are capable of handling that pressure. The only thing that remains to be seen is, can they handle Augusta itself?
Charley’s birthday treat
It was bound to happen. Charley Hull is such an amazing talent that there was no way she was going a few more months without winning her maiden title.
And when she achieved that at Agadir in the Lalla Meryem Cup last week, she did it in great style, too. She first shot a nine-under par 62 on the final day – her career lowest round – and then made a birdie on the first play-off hole to beat Ladies European Tour veteran Gwladys Nocera with another birdie.
It was a perfect birthday present to herself – she turns 18 today (Thursday) – and also a perfect way to complete one year as a professional. She started her career at the same course in Morocco last year, where she finished second and then had four more runner-up finishes after that.
In her rookie year, Hull was the youngest ever player in the Solheim Cup, which Europe won in Colorado last year, and also the Ladies European Tour’s Rookie of the Year.
Daly shows his wild side
Like Hull’s victory, this was also inevitable. For yet another year, John Daly has posted a shocking number while playing on the PGA Tour. During the second round of the Valspar Championship at Copperhead in Tampa Bay, the two-time Major champion posted his worst round on the Tour – a 19-over par 90, which included a staggering 12 on the par-4 16th.
OK, technically speaking, a round of 90 is not ‘in the 80s’, but Daly has now had 62 rounds of 80 or worse in his career and has gone 17 consecutive years on the PGA Tour with at least one round in the 80s.
Daly, who opened with a decent three-over par 74, later revealed he was suffering from the yips and needed 37 putts to complete the round in which he managed to hit seven greens in regulation. On his 12, Daly said: “It really wasn’t that bad of a drive. Then I tried to hit two 3-woods over the water and then bailed out left. Shanked a 7-iron from there. Got up and down for a 12. It was a good 12.”
Stat of the Week
0 – wins by European players on the PGA Tour this season in 18 tournaments so far.
Quote of the Week
“I got my first win while I am still 17. I’m 18 next week so I’m really happy.” – Charley Hull after winning her first professional title last week at the Lalla Meryem Cup.
