Marsh and I Carnoustie 1975 – click to open
With the beginning of the 2018 Open Championship now just two weeks away, memories of my experience at Carnoustie and the great golfing layout she is come flooding back.
In 1975 I caddied at Carnoustie in the third of three Open Championships I was involved in in that role and her great subtlety and demands provide an endearing memory for me.
I had caddied at Royal Troon in 1973 where the lasting memory of that year was when I finally set eyes on Jack Nicklaus for the very first time which for a 19-year old from New Zealand was an experience in itself.
Seeing Nicklaus in the flesh playing the 18th hole in a practice round for the very first occasion after having only seen him in the limited television coverage of events we had in New Zealand at that time was an image that remains with me.
In later years I would caddy in groups in which Nicklaus was a member and thus you could say the experience became significantly more ‘up close and personal’ but that initial image of Nicklaus walking down the 18th fairway at Royal Troon gave me goose bumps.
A year later it was Royal Lytham and St Annes near Blackpool where perhaps the most endearing memory for me that year was heading out on the final day after my boss that week, Graham Marsh, had finished his tournament a few hours earlier. I wanted to watch the looming battle between the eventual winner, Gary Player, and England’s Peter Oosterhuis.
The drama of Player so nearly losing his ball at the 17th and the panic that ensued remains in my mind after standing on the other side of the fairway to that where Players and his caddie ‘Rabbit’ Dwyer frantically searched for the ball in long rough to the left of the green.
Player eventually found that ball (some would say it was not his ball although I do not concur) and would go on to win comfortably by four shots but that moment was perhaps a pivotal point and the one that stood out that week.
Then in 1975 it would be Carnoustie which hosted the Open Championship, the outstanding layout having first played host to the great championship in 1931 and in 1975 it was the chosen venue for the 5th occasion.
Graham Marsh and I arrived in Carnoustie after qualifying for the Open Championship at the New Course at St Andrews just a few days earlier. Few golfers were actually exempt for the Open in those days and even a player of Marsh’s standing was forced to go through the process, gaining one of the few spots available at his particular venue with some impressive golf.
Carnoustie has gained a perhaps unfair reputation courtesy of the drama of the 1999 Open Championship but the tagging of Carnoustie as ‘Carnastie’ from that week on was more a result of poor course set-up and preparation rather than the layout itself.
A perhaps overzealous golf course superintendent in the lead-up to the 1999 version was left to his own devices rather than working with the overseeing role that the R&A now undertakes in such events. Consequently, the rough got out of hand and combined with inclement weather that week brought the world class field to its knees.
In 1975, however, Carnoustie was presented in outstanding condition and was blessed for the opening three days with perfect weather. In fact, all four days of the tournament were blessed with good weather that year. On day four the wind did arrive although not, as I recall, to any great extent.
Scoring was excellent over the opening three days and by Saturday evening (they played the Open from Wednesday through Sunday in those days) South African Bobby Cole, at 12 under, had a one-shot lead over Australian Jack Newton with another shot back to Johnny Miller, another shot again back to Tom Watson with the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Hale Irwin in the group four shots from the lead.
On day four the wind both changed direction and strengthened from what had been virtually the gentlest of breezes over the opening three days to one which would make a significant difference to the outcome.
Only three players would break par on the final day, my own boss, Graham Marsh, being one of them when he recorded a round of 71 to move into what would eventually be 6th place on his own and only two shots from a playoff between the man who would win the first of five Open Championships, Tom Watson and Jack Newton.
Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Cole tied for 3rd one shot from the playoff.
No better example was there of the impact the change in wind direction and strength would have on the final day than that which occurred when Jack Newton arrived at the 17th tee edging towards victory. He had bogeyed the previous two holes and stood on the tee at the 17th, a hole on which a burn crosses the fairway on two occasions.
Earlier in the week it required just an iron from the tee finishing between the snake like water body and then a mid-iron into the par 4 but on the final day it required a lot more just to clear the burn from the tee. Newton, however, misjudged the wind and took the iron and failed to carry the burn.
The shot dropped there proved costly as it would cost him outright victory and highlighted an example of the false sense of security the more benign conditions of the opening three days had offered.
Newton would lose a playoff to Watson over 18 holes the following day.
The fine line between pleasure and pain, so often prevalent in links golf where the degree of difficulty on any given day is determined by the overhead conditions as much as those underfoot, was perfectly illustrated by Carnoustie that day. She can be stunningly beautiful and playable one day and one of golf’s most demanding tests the next.
Links golf is like that but Carnoustie is one of the better examples.
Francesco Molinari – The Game’s Hottest Player
Molinari – file photo
Francesco Molinari’s brilliant victory at Carnoustie today has swept him inside the top 10 in the world for the very first occasion and he is undoubtedly the game’s hottest player right now.
Molinari has now won or been runner-up in five of his last six starts in events in the US and the UK and jumped from 15th place last week to 6th place as a result of his two-shot win.
Molinari’s previous best ranking was when 14th following his win at the 2010 HSBC Championship in China, his second European Tour victory following his win in his own national open in 2006.
“It’s a big relief to be honest,” said Molinari following his win. “I knew I was coming in with some good golf but my record around here was terrible so that didn’t make me too optimistic about the week but I just tried to not think about it and focus on hitting good shots. To go the weekended bogey free was unthinkable to be honest.
“Very proud of today very proud of playing with Tiger which was another challenge.
“Tiger himself was great today. Really good sportsmanship playing with me.”
The Open and Barbasol Championships Audio Betting Guide
Open Championship Form Guide for Carnoustie
Jordan Spieth is the defending champion but is a little below his best
The Open Championship begins on Thursday July 19th at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland, the first time the event has been played at the venue since 2007 and the 8th occasion overall.
The layout has developed a reputation for being one of the most demanding on the Open Championship rota and has created some great history in the event including Ben Hogan’s victory in 1953 and the bizarre win by Paul Lawrie in 1999 when he became the beneficiary of a 72nd hole Jean Van de Velde meltdown.
Let’s take a look at some of the leading prospects and assess their chances.
Dustin Johnson
This will be Johnson’s 10th Open Championship and he does enjoy a good record in the event despite not winning. His best was when runner-up to Darren Clarke in 2011 but he is a much better player now and his most recent form tells the story of a man on top of his game. His chances appear good.
Justin Thomas
Thomas’ two starts to date in this event are hardly encouraging in terms of his prospects this year, having missed the cut in one and finished 53rd on debut two years ago. He is playing well in 2018 however not having missed a cut in 14 starts but his record in the event and on links golf layouts, if we are to get picky, is a little ordinary.
Brooks Koepka
Honed a lot of his early professional skills in Europe and displayed a capacity at Shinnecock Hills to handle windy, dry golf courses very well. He has improved in each of the four starts at the Open Championship to a best of 6th last year. His most recent form includes a runner-up finish in Fort Worth and his great win at the US Open. Hard to fault and seemingly hard to beat.
Justin Rose
Since his 4th place finish as an amateur in 1998, Rose’s record in 15 starts at the Open has been disappointing with just one top 10 in that time. He is certainly playing well enough right now to be a real chance but his record at the Open Championship for a player of his standing is a cause for concern.
Jordan Spieth
The defending champion will need a form reversal if he is to be a chance this year. Leading in to last year’s win he had won the Travelers Championship and had finished runner-up three starts earlier. This year he has not been inside the top thirty in his last four starts so unless he has been able to improve since his last start 42nd at the Travelers then there is risk about his chances.
Jon Rahm
There has been just two Open Championship starts for the Spanish star making the cut in both but finishing well back. He has continued to develop as a golfer and with three top five finishes in his last four starts this season including a 5th place at the Irish Open he is not far from where he needs to be in order to contend this week. If he was to become just the second Spanish golfer to win the Claret Jug this week it would be no real surprise.
Rickie Fowler
Fowler enters calculations for a possible breakthrough major victory give his capabilities and passion for links golf. He has missed only one cut in eight Open Championship starts and does have a best of runner-up finish in 2011 at Royal St Georges and has played the Scottish Open on similar style of courses very well. Perhaps of just as much importance however is Fowler’s current form which is very impressive often putting himself in position to contend.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy is playing well enough this season to extend what is a good record at the Open Championship, highlighted by his win in 2014, but there have also been three other top five finishes. He carries the burden of regularly being Great Britain and Ireland’s best hope but it does not seem to faze him and his chances of contending appear good.
Jason Day
Day has yet to miss a cut in seven attempts at the Open Championship but he has had only one top 10, that coming in 2015 when one shot out of the playoff at St Andrews. Other than that, there have been no other top 20 finishes. Day is having a good season overall in 2018 but of late his form has dropped off a little.
Alex Noren
Noren was very impressive when winning in France three weeks ago and there have been several other finishes of late which suggest he could well be a threat this week. Noren’s 6th place finish at Royal Birkdale last year gave evidence of his capabilities in this event and I think he stands a very good chance.
Tommy Fleetwood
More than any other performance, Fleetwood’s runner-up finish at the US Open told the story of his capacity to win a major. He does not enjoy a good record at the Open Championship having missed three of four cuts and a best of 27th in the other but he is now amongst the elite of the game and a much better effort is expected.
Paul Casey
Casey has developed into one of the game’s most consistent players and has done well enough on occasions at the Open Championship for him to be a consideration at Carnoustie. But for a rather strange second round of 77 last year he might well have been in the mix for the title but finished 11th. He has been outside the top 20 in just two of his last 12 starts and although this will be his first start since the Travelers he is no doubt primed for a good week.
Patrick Reed
The Masters champion’s record at the Open Championship is average at best but there is a feeling that he is getting the hang of links golf each and every year and it would not surprise if he was to contend for his second major of the year.
Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama has played well enough in his five starts at the Open including when 6th on debut in 2013. He was also 14th last year. He has begun to play well again after an injury issue earlier this year although a missed cut in Scotland last week was a little setback.
Francesco Molinari
Molinari is playing some of the best golf of his career at present and is perhaps the most in form golfer at Carnoustie. Although his decision to stay in the US rather than play in Europe in the lead-up to this week might not have necessarily helped his Open Championship chances, that he has played so well in the US of late will allow him to bring a tremendous level of confidence to the event. There is plenty of evidence to suggest he can do well on links terrain and he might do just that.
Henrik Stenson
Stenson’s Open Championship victory in 2016 saw perhaps some of the highest quality of golf ever produced in the event. The Swede has been inside the top three in the event on three other occasions and for much of 2018 has played beautifully. His last start 6th at the US Open was a month ago but a return to tournament golf at the Scottish Open last week was disrupted by an elbow injury. Much will depend on his fitness but if fully fit then he has hopes.
Marc Leishman
Leishman’s form has been a little inconsistent of late but he has developed into a big event player and has played the Open Championship well in the past. He has been inside the top six finishers in the event in three of his last four starts so this type of golf suits him well. His weekend last year of 66 and 65 at Royal Birkdale will have him with good memories of the Open Championship. Deserves serious consideration.
Sergio Garcia
Garcia is getting his game back together after a series of un-Garcia like performances perhaps caused by the distraction of the arrival of his first child. Garcia finished runner-up to Padraig Harrington at Carnoustie in 2007 and boasts numerous other top tens in the event. At his last start he finished 8th at the Open de France so on that basis his chances are good of at least contending this week.
Ian Poulter
Poulter has played well over much of the last three months and does enjoy a very good record at the Open Championship. It is hard to see him winning necessarily but he is more than capable of finishing inside the top ten. He has been runner-up and 3rd on previous occasions.
Ryan Fox
It is hard to ignore the New Zealander’s impressive form of late. His runner-up finish in Ireland was followed by a 6th place last week at the Scottish Open, both on links layouts, and while his lack of major championship experience is a concern there is little doubting that his current form suggests he could contend at various stages of the week.
Betting Guide July 12th
Rickie Fowler is chasing his 2nd Scottish Open.
After a bit of success last week with Russell Knox and Sei Young Kim our betting guide this week focuses on the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic and the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic.
With just one week before the Open Championship the John Deere Classic and more especially the Scottish Open take on greater significance as final preparations take place for the third major of the year.
Kirk and Bowditch – finding comfort on familiar ground
Katherine Kirk – brilliant start at a golf course on which she feels comfort.
One of the more interesting aspects of the performances of Australians in the opening round of respective events on the PGA and LPGA Tours this morning was the encouraging turnaround in form of both Katherine Kirk and Steve Bowditch.
Kirk was playing a venue which no doubt has great memories for her having won her third LPGA Tour title at the Thornberry Creek at Oneida course in Oneida in Wisconsin but her lead-up form prior to arriving in Oneida was hardly convincing having missed five of her last six cuts and finished 61st in the other.
Kirk, though, was upbeat about the week despite her confidence sapping run of late but despite a horror round in her last event last week she was still relatively positive when she spoke yesterday before today’s opening round.
“Yeah, I’ve had a few swing issues this year that I was obviously not happy with,” she said in her Wednesday media conference. “I think I’ve got a little bit of that ironed out. I love this golf course, so hopefully this will be another turning point for me.”
It certainly was a turning point as she raced to the turn in 29 today and when she reached 8 under for the day through 12 holes, thoughts of joining Annika Sorenstam as a ’59’ shooter on the LPGA Tour became a distinct possibility.
The momentum did slow but she was still able to add two more birdies for a round of 10 under 62 to lead by one over Sei Young Kim.
It’s kind of interesting,” added Kirk. “I think I told you guys yesterday I had no expectations to win. Obviously, there are good vibes here and I have a lot of confidence on this golf course. Just suits my eye.
“It’s a marathon; it’s not a sprint. It’s going to take another three really good rounds to be in contention on Sunday.”
When asked why the layout suits her eye Kirk explained. “Partly because it’s generous off the tee. I’ve never been a very straight driver of the golf ball. I don’t know. Just reminds me of some courses back in Kansas.
“Obviously, I’ve got some good shots in mind from last year. Yeah, it’s a pretty golf course. There are lots of easy targets to pick; greens are perfect. So, yeah, it’s a fun golf course to play.”
Given that her previous round last week at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship was a horror 83, to have a 21 shots swing between rounds must be some sort of record and she was finding it hard to explain.
“Well, I mean, there’s kind of a human element in there, right? Golf is funny. When you’ve played it as long as I have professionally you realize, Hey, some days will be good and some will be bad.
“I did get really frustrated on Saturday (last) on the range when I was trying to work on a new swing thought. Not a new one, but an exaggeration I should say. I felt really good at the end of Saturday and told myself, Hey, listen, you’ve played well up in Green Bay. You know how to score around there. Just go do it. Like it’s not the rocket science.
“So, yeah, just mentally always have to say, Hey, it’s a new day. Let’s go get it. Yeah, I played horribly on Friday, but that’s Friday. It’s gone. I can learn from it and just put it behind me.”
Whether Kirk can continue on with her amazing start remains to be seen but a return to the scene of triumph or good memories or a golf course that fits the eye is an amazing tonic for a wayward game and to some extent the same could be said for Steven Bowditch.
Bowditch has been at an all time low with his game over the past two years missing 34 of his last 36 starts and in fact we need to go back to January of 2016 to find the last time he recorded a top ten, that coming at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Fast forward or, in the case of Bowditch, slow forward all those months and starts to this year’s AT&T Byron Nelson where a second round of 68 threw out signals that perhaps improvement was on the way despite again missing the cut
Bowditch won the AT&T Byron Nelson in 2015 admittedly on another golf course but again a return to an event or a course where success had been achieved previously appeared to provide a boost provided a boost.
Then to this week’s event at White Sulphur Springs TPC, a layout over which Bowditch had finished runner-up in 2013.
His round of even par 70 was hardly earthshattering but it is fair to say that it is one that offers further encouragement for the 35 year old from Queensland and even though he will need a round of perhaps 2 under or better tomorrow just to make the weekend things are definitely looking rosier for the immensely talented Bowditch.
Carnoustie – my memories
Marsh and I Carnoustie 1975 – click to open
With the beginning of the 2018 Open Championship now just two weeks away, memories of my experience at Carnoustie and the great golfing layout she is come flooding back.
In 1975 I caddied at Carnoustie in the third of three Open Championships I was involved in in that role and her great subtlety and demands provide an endearing memory for me.
I had caddied at Royal Troon in 1973 where the lasting memory of that year was when I finally set eyes on Jack Nicklaus for the very first time which for a 19-year old from New Zealand was an experience in itself.
Seeing Nicklaus in the flesh playing the 18th hole in a practice round for the very first occasion after having only seen him in the limited television coverage of events we had in New Zealand at that time was an image that remains with me.
In later years I would caddy in groups in which Nicklaus was a member and thus you could say the experience became significantly more ‘up close and personal’ but that initial image of Nicklaus walking down the 18th fairway at Royal Troon gave me goose bumps.
A year later it was Royal Lytham and St Annes near Blackpool where perhaps the most endearing memory for me that year was heading out on the final day after my boss that week, Graham Marsh, had finished his tournament a few hours earlier. I wanted to watch the looming battle between the eventual winner, Gary Player, and England’s Peter Oosterhuis.
The drama of Player so nearly losing his ball at the 17th and the panic that ensued remains in my mind after standing on the other side of the fairway to that where Players and his caddie ‘Rabbit’ Dwyer frantically searched for the ball in long rough to the left of the green.
Player eventually found that ball (some would say it was not his ball although I do not concur) and would go on to win comfortably by four shots but that moment was perhaps a pivotal point and the one that stood out that week.
Then in 1975 it would be Carnoustie which hosted the Open Championship, the outstanding layout having first played host to the great championship in 1931 and in 1975 it was the chosen venue for the 5th occasion.
Graham Marsh and I arrived in Carnoustie after qualifying for the Open Championship at the New Course at St Andrews just a few days earlier. Few golfers were actually exempt for the Open in those days and even a player of Marsh’s standing was forced to go through the process, gaining one of the few spots available at his particular venue with some impressive golf.
Carnoustie has gained a perhaps unfair reputation courtesy of the drama of the 1999 Open Championship but the tagging of Carnoustie as ‘Carnastie’ from that week on was more a result of poor course set-up and preparation rather than the layout itself.
A perhaps overzealous golf course superintendent in the lead-up to the 1999 version was left to his own devices rather than working with the overseeing role that the R&A now undertakes in such events. Consequently, the rough got out of hand and combined with inclement weather that week brought the world class field to its knees.
In 1975, however, Carnoustie was presented in outstanding condition and was blessed for the opening three days with perfect weather. In fact, all four days of the tournament were blessed with good weather that year. On day four the wind did arrive although not, as I recall, to any great extent.
Scoring was excellent over the opening three days and by Saturday evening (they played the Open from Wednesday through Sunday in those days) South African Bobby Cole, at 12 under, had a one-shot lead over Australian Jack Newton with another shot back to Johnny Miller, another shot again back to Tom Watson with the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Hale Irwin in the group four shots from the lead.
On day four the wind both changed direction and strengthened from what had been virtually the gentlest of breezes over the opening three days to one which would make a significant difference to the outcome.
Only three players would break par on the final day, my own boss, Graham Marsh, being one of them when he recorded a round of 71 to move into what would eventually be 6th place on his own and only two shots from a playoff between the man who would win the first of five Open Championships, Tom Watson and Jack Newton.
Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Cole tied for 3rd one shot from the playoff.
No better example was there of the impact the change in wind direction and strength would have on the final day than that which occurred when Jack Newton arrived at the 17th tee edging towards victory. He had bogeyed the previous two holes and stood on the tee at the 17th, a hole on which a burn crosses the fairway on two occasions.
Earlier in the week it required just an iron from the tee finishing between the snake like water body and then a mid-iron into the par 4 but on the final day it required a lot more just to clear the burn from the tee. Newton, however, misjudged the wind and took the iron and failed to carry the burn.
The shot dropped there proved costly as it would cost him outright victory and highlighted an example of the false sense of security the more benign conditions of the opening three days had offered.
Newton would lose a playoff to Watson over 18 holes the following day.
The fine line between pleasure and pain, so often prevalent in links golf where the degree of difficulty on any given day is determined by the overhead conditions as much as those underfoot, was perfectly illustrated by Carnoustie that day. She can be stunningly beautiful and playable one day and one of golf’s most demanding tests the next.
Links golf is like that but Carnoustie is one of the better examples.
Golf Betting Guide July 5th
Jon Rahm defends Irish Open title
With the Open Championship rapidly approaching, this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Championship takes on an even greater meaning especially given the outstanding links course on which it is to be played.
The two favourites this week are the man whose charity is the beneficiary of the event, Rory McIlroy, and the defending champion and in form, Jon Rahm.
We also take a look at the PGA Tour’s Tribute to the Military at The Greenbrier in Sulphurs Springs in West Virginia where the in-form Bubba Watson will start as the likely favourite and the LPGA Tour’s Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic where Australia’s Katherine Kirk is the defending champion.
Audio Betting Guide: June 27th
Ariya Jutanugarn chasing second major of her year with her 2018 US Open trophy. Photo courtesy of USGA
This week we take a look at three events, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the Quicken Loans National and the HNA Open de France, assess some of the leading chances and try and find that elusive winner or placegtetter for those taking a more conservative approach.
The highlight of the week is arguably the KPMG event at Kemper Lakes Golf Club just outside Chicago, a venue being used for the first occasion for what is the third of five major for women’s golf in 2018.
The Quicken Loans National sees Tiger Woods back in competitive action in an event which he has played a key role in establishing although this will be the last time the event in played on the East Coast as it heads to Detroit next year.
The Open de France is one of the more lucrative on the European Tour, Tommy Fleetwood defending the title he won last year and after his close call at the US Open he will start the favourite.
Good betting to you all.
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Peter Thomson – Kept it Simple
Peter Thomson and the writer at the World Cup at Kingston Heath in 2016
I have had the good fortune to experience some great moments in golf involving, at times, some of the game’s greatest ever but a moment that will forever remain with me was at the closing ceremony of the World Cup of Golf at Kingston Heath in Melbourne in late 2016.
Peter Thomson, who passed away today at the age of 88, had been invited as one of the group of dignitaries to attend the closing ceremony for an event in his home town on one of Australia’s great golf courses to officiate in the presentation to Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen and Thorborn Olesen who had, minutes earlier, sealed victory in the event.
It was perhaps fitting for Thomson to be part of the official party that day as he along with his great friend and peer Kel Nagle had twice won the event and been twice runner-up.
But that was not the only reason for him being there. He was of course a Melbourne resident who had played such a great role in the awareness by the golfing world of the great golf courses of Victoria and so his involvement that day married his huge success in the game with his promotion of Melbourne as a the home of several of the world’s great golfing destinations and his long term role in the PGA of Australia.
He was also there because his health was failing and those involved in the promotion of the event wanted to avail Thomson with all the opportunities he could physically manage in order to stay in touch with the game and for the game to stay in touch with him.
As proceedings wrapped up that day I saw Thomson walking across the green and directly towards me and while I knew him I imagined, given his rapidly developing Parkinsons and associated illnesses, that he would struggle to acknowledge me.
To my absolute delight Thomson called me by name and asked after my welfare. It was a special moment for me having first met him some 45 years earlier in New Zealand at one of the first events I caddied in and on many occasions since and given his passing today will remain with me forever.
Thomson was also a prolific winner of titles in New Zealand having won a massive nine New Zealand Open Championships over a twenty two year period between 1950 and 1971.
The last of those nine New Zealand Opens came in 1971 at the Balmacewan Golf Club in Dunedin and while it was in the latter stages of his remarkable career and was one of the last few victories in a career that saw more than 80 wins worldwide it gave me a first hand experience of just what a delightful player he was to watch.
Simplicity in both technique and in his approach to the game was the hallmark of Thomson’s career. A beautifully simple yet so technically correct and effective swing was backed up by an approach to the game which would could be described as the KISS method.
The modern day player would learn a lot from watching Thomson. His hit it, find it and hit it again approach would be almost incomprehensible in current day tournament golf where the use of yardage books, greens books, coaches, trainers, and an entourage that at times defies logic would be very foreign to him.
Thomson tackled the world mostly on his own, using the guidance, trailblazing and mentoring of Norman Von Nida as his inspiration as he took on Europe, the USA, Japan and Asia in addition to Australasia developing self belief not only in himself but in the many others who would follow.
He made Australians believe that winning major championships was not beyond them and for so many of those who followed it was his initiative and success that led them to believe they could do the same.
“He encouraged me to follow his own lead,” Thomson said of Von Nida when describing how he got started in professional game. “It seemed to me to be a pretty romantic kind of a life if one could roam the world dressed in all those beautiful clothes that he used to wear and see all the sites of the world so an impressionable youth like me fell for it.”
It is fair to say that many who followed Thomson’s example would express similar sentiments especially today as we mourn his loss.
Not only was Thomson a brilliant player but he would go on to have a prolific golf course design career, was a highly regarded golfing journalist whose views were based on experience and not just research, he developed a role as a commentator on televised events in the early stages of televised golf in Australia and of course he captained the International Team to its only victory in the Presidents Cup when they defeated the Americans in Melbourne in 1998.
There have been just so many dimensions and layers to Peter Thomson but it might well be his simplistic approach to the game and life that will perhaps be his ultimate legacy.
I feel blessed to have been exposed to such, albeit in a small way. Perhaps it was because we shared a birthday, but I felt a closeness and admiration for a man often misinterpreted but one whose contribution to the game in Australia by his very deeds must never be underestimated.
Audio Golf Betting Guide for June 19th
So Yeon Ryu last week’s LPGA winner and defending champion this week
This week we take a look at three events from a betting angle to assess a few possible chances at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship in Cromwell near Hartford, The European Tour’s BMW International in Pulheim in Germany and the LPGA Tour’s North West Arkansas Championship in Rogers in Arkansas.
The PGA Tour event where Jordan Spieth will defend his title has attracted a stellar field especially given it follows immediately after the draining US Open while in Germany last week’s US Open runner-up Tommy Fleetwood along with Sergio Garcia will attract most of the interest.
On the LPGA Tour last week’s winner of the Meijer LPGA Classic So Yeon Ryu just happens to be the defending champion this week.