1. Walker too fast for the field as Ramsay’s golfing nightmare ends
Much like an 18-handicapper trying to navigate Pebble Beach the week after it has hosted a US Open, the career of a professional golfer is rarely a straightforward affair.
– China closes 66 ‘illegal’ golf courses
– Tiger Woods drops outside world’s Top 100
The Rory McIlroys and Tiger Woods of the game might get all the attention, grab most of the trophies and scoop up the really juicy endorsements, but for the other 99% the slog to the top is far more difficult—and some never even get there.
Beyond the stars there is a subset of established pros (they win at least once every few years, they get into all the majors and keep their world ranking inside the top-75) but beyond that everything is always in a state of flux.
Much like the game itself, unpredictability is at the heart of tour life: Some players who always seemed certain for stardom never make it, and then journeyman pros destined to always be making up the numbers suddenly break out in spectacular fashion.
Take last week’s winners on either side of the Atlantic, for example. When Richie Ramsay won the US Amateur in 2006, becoming the first British player to do so for nearly 100 years, most expected him to take the professional ranks by storm.
Yet his win at the Trophee Hassan II last week was just his third European Tour success in almost a decade—the Scot finding the extra quality evidently required in the professional game (he has made just one cut in a major in his entire career) maddeningly elusive.
At 31, still struggling to overcome injuries and the erratic nature of his form, it is the victory in Morocco that he hopes will be another turning point in his career.
Found this ’93 Canyon Middle School yearbook at my grandparents’ house. This guy look familiar, @JimmyWalkerPGA? pic.twitter.com/IlvcUFdnSA
— Jonathan Wall (@jonathanrwall) March 25, 2015
“I’ve gone through some tough times with injury but kept believing,” Ramsay said afterwards, having thrown away and then regained the lead. “It was so much fun out there.”
If Ramsay is now going to push on, to rise through the rankings, then Jimmy Walker can certainly serve as an inspiration.
The Texan was already a two-time Nationwide Tour winner by the time Ramsay was becoming the toast of the amateur community, and had already failed to parlay that success into a sustained run on the PGA Tour in his first shot at the big show.
For years he was the Crystal Palace of the pros— often too good for the Nationwide Tour, but never good enough to run with the big boys.
Another failed PGA Tour run came and went, while in 2010 he finished 125th in the money list—securing the very last tour card handed out for the following year.
To do so, he had to hole a five-footer at the final hole in the year’s final event.
“I knew if I missed, I wouldn’t keep my card,” Walker said in 2013. “And I buried it.”
On such small margins lives can change, and that stroke [of fortune] worked out for Walker. He slowly adjusted to the demands of the main tour, improving his money list place year-on-year as he eventually qualified for the FedEx Cup play-offs in 2011.
Suddenly he could not miss a cut, adding a consistency to his game that kept the cheques rolling in.
Then, at the end of 2013 (but, confusingly, the start of the 2014 season), he finally got his first win under his belt at the sparsely-attended Frys.com Open.
Selected players with 5 career PGA Tour wins (Jimmy Walker’s total the past 18 months): John Daly, Luke Donald, Tom Lehman, Billy Mayfair.
— Mike O’Malley (@GD_MikeO) March 30, 2015
The dubious quality of the field may diminish the victory in the eyes of fans but for Walker it was obviously a turning point—now, barely 18 months down the line, his victory at the Texas Valero Open was his fifth PGA Tour title.
Like Crystal Palace, somewhere along the line Walker seems to have uncovered the secret to success.
Some great players go their whole career without winning that many times on the PGA Tour. Yet, at 36, Walker is suddenly one of the most dangerous players in the game.
He hits the ball huge distances, feathers his irons and putts like a man half his age and with twice his arrogance. Rather than call his recent run a fluke, most observers wonder why it did not happen much, much sooner.
Walker finished inside the top-ten on his first Masters appearance last season, and then topped the scoring on par-fives at the TPC San Antonio last week.
That is two salient pieces of information ahead of Augusta National (which has become a big-hitters paradise): Amid the talk of McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth, Walker might just be as viable a contender as any of them next week.
“You definitely wouldn’t want to go in not playing well,” Walker joked. “I feel good. I like the golf course. It’s an amazing week. I had a blast last year.
“They did an incredible job with the golf course, the fans, the membership there, everybody just goes out of your way to make you feel like you’re at the most prestigious event there is. Yeah, I’m looking forward to going. I really like it and it’s going to be cool.”
After the years of toil, Walker is suddenly living the dream. Last week’s event was near to where he grew up, with the downside that someone dug up an embarrassing old year-book photo of him but the (huge) upside that he could stay at his own home the whole week.
It sounds like more fun than a man should reasonably be allowed to have, as family and friends stayed at his place and supported him through the week.
Shots of the Week: The five best from the @valerotxopen: http://t.co/7uPM4BmfuT
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 30, 2015
“Well, I mean your routine is definitely different because you’re at home and things are just different,” he added. “Had friends over pretty much all week. We were home enjoying the house, and the weather was perfect and we were sitting out on the back porch watching the kids run around like monkeys. It was awesome.
“Yeah, a little bit different than sitting in a hotel room.“
Both Ramsay and Walker have suffered their share of setbacks during their careers to date. But, like an 18-handicapper playing at Pebble Beach, or Crystal Palace trying not to get relegated from the Premier League, they have shown that, if you persevere, it will probably be worth it in the end.
2. Hiding in plane sight
He may not have played any competitive rounds for a while, but the big question in golf still revolves around Tiger Woods. Will he play at The Masters, or will he do the unthinkable and skip it?
Out of the top 100 in the world for the first time since 1996 (something that, admittedly, was inevitable as soon as Tiger said he was taking a leave of absence back in February), Woods’ decline was given statistical emphasis when the updated rankings were released on Monday.
But it seems his return might be imminent, after his private plane was spotted on Tuesday just casually resting up at Augusta airport—the nearest strip to next week’s Masters Tournament.
Tiger Woods’ plane spotted Tuesday at Augusta airport | @AUG_Masters http://t.co/pi05FjZ0R9
— Scott Michaux (@ScottMichaux) March 31, 2015
If his plane was in the area, that is the clearest indication yet that the 39-year-old will be playing next week. All the buzz now suggests Woods will make his return—much as people suspected, the 14-time major champion will do everything he can not to miss the biggest tournaments in the game.
Tim Rosaforte, one of the best connected golf journalists in the US, says Woods will play at Augusta.
“I base this not only on Notah Begay’s 50-50 prediction that got so much traction, but by some of the scores he’s been posting and the improvement he’s shown over the past two weeks up at Medalist Golf Club,” Rosaforte said. “Friends in Palm Beach are also saying, ‘Tiger’s got the edge back.’”
He’s got the edge back! Late on Tuesday Woods’ long-time agent, Mark Steinberg, confirmed his client had played 18 holes at Augusta, only heightening the frenzy.
If Woods doesn’t tee it up after all this, his game must still be in truly horrible shape. One presumes he went to Augusta mainly to test out his chipping around the greens (he must know the course inside out at this point), so perhaps only a persistence of the chipping yips that plagued him at the start of the year will now see him stay on the sidelines.
Tiger has almost no choice but to play the Masters. Can’t practice at Augusta and then back out. Would be a damning indictment of his game.
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) March 31, 2015
3. Four-putt for …. birdie?
Usually selecting our video of the week is a difficult matter, but this week it was as straightforward as it comes. Presenting (un)officially the coolest kid in golf today, who can seemingly turn a visit into your run-of-the-mill golf emporium into an exciting adventure.
Never have the words “Cleveland Classic (Oooh! Aaaah!)” been said with such excitement (and/or swagger). Never has ‘Uptown Funk’ appeared in such unexpected circumstances.
Matty (on Twitter at @MD_18undapar, presumably as well as all the other social media portals the youth of today like to frequent) seems to be working hard on his golf and having fun with it at the same time – check out some of his other videos for further evidence. We look forward to seeing what else he comes up with in future.
