Kevin Streelman, and what he did on the Wednesday at the Masters was surely the greatest feel-good story of the year so far. And it had nothing to do with him winning the Par 3 contest.
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The American golfer, whose newborn daughter spent more than a month in a neo-natal ICU last year, decided to call up the Make-A-Wish Foundation – which arranges experiences to children with life-threatening medical conditions – and offer a youngster the chance to become his caddie for the traditional Par 3 contest.
That lucky boy was 11-year-old Ethan Couch, from Alberta, Canada. Ethan has tectal glioma – a condition where an inoperable brain tumor blocks the body’s ability to circulate spinal fluid.
Ethan has to go through regular painful surgeries to remove fluid, and after one such surgery last year, he was approached by the hospital to make a wish. He loves to play golf and he chose “a chance to visit the Masters”.
But what Streelman offered was much more than just a visit. And Couch later revealed the player told him on the first tee that he would try to win the competition for him.
Credit to @MakeAWish @MakeAWishIntl & @Streels54 4 making Ethan’s #Masters2015 wish come true http://t.co/1Q5ZaLCcBc pic.twitter.com/7bxecIeWOi
— Don Riddell (@donriddellCNN) April 10, 2015
“I just wanted to go to the Masters,” Couch said later. “I didn’t expect this. “There is a jinx, apparently, that no-one’s ever won the Par 3 and the Masters in the same year. But he said he didn’t worry about it. He said he could win them both.”
Streelman was just happy to give Couch a good day out, and said: “There are some things that are more important than golf… Spending the day with him means even more than winning the green jacket.
“I just want to open the door to someone and hopefully give him a great day after going through some rough times. This isn’t about me. It’s about giving back.”
It must have been good karma because Streelman did pretty well in the Masters, finishing tied 12th. Obviously, he may not think much about what he did, but we need more people like Streelman who can make a real difference to someone’s life.
Rankings update
It was an important Monday this week because the new world golf rankings that came out had great significance on the career of several players, and their schedules.
That’s because the top-64 players get into the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship, which will be held at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco this week and features a new bracketing system.
The big news first – Tiger Woods, ranked 106th in the world now, hasn’t qualified. Also missing out will be multiple major champions Ernie Els (80) and Padraig Harrington (85).
The most elated man in professional rank will be England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who moved to world No56 from being 66 at the start of last week. Fleetwood did that by finishing third in Shenzhen.
The most disappointed man will be Thomas Bjorn, who fell from 63 to world No68, feeling the effects of his neck injury that has prevented him from playing much this year.
And the most relieved man will be Ben Martin, who finished tied 37th at the RBC Heritage last week, which gave him enough ranking points to remain the world No64 and earn the last available place at the Match Play Championship.
Freddie, the putting monster
If you ask a professional golfer, nothing is more infuriating for them than a three-putt. They can laugh at a shank, and live with the occasional duck-hooks, but the moment they take three putts to finish a hole, you can literally see smoke coming out of their ears.
Even the best of putters average at least one every couple of rounds, which is the reason why Swede Freddie Jacobson’s new PGA Tour record of playing 524 holes without a three-putt needs to be highlighted. That’s more than 29 full rounds.
Freddie Jacobson consecutive putts without a three put Rt@ pic.twitter.com/NcL8Fgzbl5
— Borat’s Golf Tips (@BoratsTips) April 21, 2015
The previous record (since 2003 when the stat was first recorded) was 483 holes by England’s Luke Donald in 2011. And yet, Jacobson is ranked 141st in the FedEx Cup standing this year, which is because he is ranked 173rd in strokes gained – tee to green.
Basically, it means he is very erratic off the tee and isn’t able to hit enough greens in regulation. As you see, some guys do putt for show and drive for the dough.
Quote of the Week
“The distance is ebbing away in this old body. That’s something I have to deal with and understand there’s going to be a time when I have to hang it up… The handwriting is on the wall as far as me competing out here against the kids.” – Tom Watson after saying that next year’s Masters will be his last.
He became the second oldest man after Sam Snead to make the cut on the PGA Tour last week at age 65 years, seven months and 13 days.
