Golf is like Watching Paint Dry?
There are some who say watching golf is like watching paint dry; and that may be true at times. But if you watched The Players this weekend you’d more liken watching golf to watching ten thoroughbreds running neck and neck down the home stretch in the Preakness. Coming into the back nine, there were at least a dozen guys within two shots of the lead on a very tough golf course. From 48 year old Ryder Cup captain Jim “Loop d’ Loop” Furyk to 24 year old Jon “short fuse” Rahm to Mr. “pause that refreshes” Hideki Matsuyama to Dustin “Numero Uno” Johnson to four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy to Tommy “Hair” Fleetwood to Jason “Dash” Day (his cool name for his son) to “Fire”Brandt Snedeker to Señor Abraham Ancer to Downtown Jonny (70-foot make on #17 island green)Vegas to Brit Eddie “Pepper” Pepperell to young Ollie Strawberry Jams (sorry Ollie; couldn’t resist, but now that I’ve calmed down, it’s Schniederjans).
Jim Furyk
Captain Furyk (and his faithful caddie companion of 20 years Michael Thomas “Fluff” Cowen) was first to post a score, birdieing the difficult, water-lined last to come in at -15, tied with Rory at the time. Here was the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, who got beat bad in 2018, looking like he might achieve a bit of retribution a year later against these Europeans at The Players. Good stuff. And for awhile Furyk held firm with all but Rory falling like toy soldiers on a child’s battlefield. All but Rory indeed.
Rory
The Ulsterman (on St. Patrick’s Day no less) nurtured his one shot lead like you would a newborn, finishing birdie, birdie, par, par to win going away. It was Rory’s first win in a year, and his first at the revered Players, putting to rest Golf Channel talk of a slump.
Legendary Status
By winning The Players and four Majors by age 29, Rory occupies a legendary status populated only by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. He remains my preliminary pick for the Masters, the one Major he hasn’t won.
Jim Wright says
I did not realize that by winning The Players and four majors that Rory is in that exclusive group. Now his got some steam with the Masters just around the corner. Good post!
Stephen Altschuler says
Thanks so much, Jim. This win, I suspect, will propel Rory to even greater heights. It’ll certainly be fun watching.
Jim Stewart says
Watching Rors IS fun. We all want him to succeed. Winning the Players is a nice notch. The Masters, whether this year or another, will be very special. He’ll get there.
Stephen Altschuler says
Thanks for the comments, Jim. The Masters should be a great one this year, and I expect Rory will be in the mix near or at the top. But there are a lot of hungry, talented players on this tour.
David Tabb says
You are back in the saddle, my man. Interesting take and I was unable to watch this weekend. I’m now once again looking forward to the Masters.
Stephen Altschuler says
Yep, it feels good to be back blogging again, David. Good to hear that last post sparked your interest in the Masters again. I expect a really exciting tourney.
Thanks for commenting.