A Quarter Century of World No. 1 Golfers

THE OFFICIAL WORLD GOLF RANKING (OWGR) debuted in 1986. Masters champion Bernhard Langer was the first world No. 1. Langer’s reign only lasted three weeks. Seve Ballesteros, who died three weeks ago, grabbed the top spot and held on to it for more than a year. Then Greg Norman was king of the hill for much of the 1990s.

Luke Donald will now take a turn at the top, thanks to his dramatic playoff win over former No. 1 Lee Westwood at the BMW PGA Championship. Donald is the 15th player to claim the No. 1 ranking.

Here are all 15, including the number of weeks they were on top:

Bernhard Langer, 3 weeks
Seve Ballesteros, 61 weeks
Greg Norman, 331 weeks
Nick Faldo, 97 weeks
Ian Woosnam, 50 weeks
Fred Couples, 16 weeks
Nick Price, 44 weeks
Tom Lehman, 1 week
Tiger Woods, 623 weeks
Ernie Els, 9 weeks
David Duval, 15 weeks
Vijay Singh, 32 weeks
Lee Westwood, 17 weeks
Martin Kaymer, 8 weeks
Luke Donald, took over yesterday (May 30, 2011)

Since the decline of Tiger Woods, it has been Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Lee Westwood and now Luke Donald. How long will Donald be No. 1 and who will displace him?

It might be Westwood again, especially if he can finally get the “major” monkey off his back. Of course, The Donald would also like to win his first major.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Source: Golf.com)

(Photo credit: Keith Allison, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

English Open Canceled Until Further Notice

I SAW THIS OVER at BBC Sport. No headline sponsor, no English Open, which was set to be played in August at St. Mellion, where no less than £20m has been poured into the facilities.

Goodness gracious. I know the economy still has a foul odor, but we’re talking about the home of John Henry Taylor, Horace Rawlins, Jim Barnes, Bernard Darwin, Abe Mitchell, Cyril Walker, Samuel Ryder, Archie Compston, Sir Henry Cotton, Peter Alliss, Tony Jacklin, Peter Oosterhuis, Sir Nick Faldo, Mark James, Laura Davies, Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Justin Rose.

The small dimpled ball is an important part of English heritage. Am I right? Who’s with me?

Alas, sponsors are not cueing up.

The English Open has not been on the European Tour schedule since 2002 when Darren Clarke won at Forest of Arden. It was supposed to return in 2009 at St. Mellion but was delayed because of the financial difficulties of developers. Now that the facility is up to snuff, sponsors are scarcer than a Yankee near the top of the world rankings.

Stephen Towers, St. Mellion’s resort director, told BBC Radio that many blue-chip companies are pursuing Olympic sponsorships or simply cutting back on spending.

“It’s a reflection of the trend that we’re seeing in European golf at the moment,” said golf correspondent Iain Carter at BBC Sport, “in that the sponsors are to be found on the other side of the world, not in Europe, not in Great Britain and certainly not in England.”

Last year’s Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor raked in £84.5m for Wales. I know. The English Open is not the Ryder Cup. Still, I ask, how can England not stage an Open?

This is not jolly good.

−The Armchair Golfer

No Pain, No Gain(ey)

“RIGHT NOW, IT HURTS.” That was Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey after his chance to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open turned into an 8th-place tie. Trying to catch leader Mark Wilson, Gainey attempted to drive the short par-4 17th hole. His ball hit a red hazard stake and disappeared into the water. Gainey chili dipped his chip and again ended up wet. Two Gloves may have taken a triple and thrown away a hefty payday, but he wasn’t second-guessing his decision.

“I’m one back,” he explained. “I’m trying to win the golf tournament. That’s all I was thinking.”

I can’t fault Gainey. It was an aggressive play by a journeyman gunning for his first PGA Tour title. There was another way to make a birdie—lay up and pitch it close—but Tommy preferred Option A, driving near or on the green. He just didn’t pull off the shot.

Wilson beat Jason Dufner on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. It’s Wilson’s second victory in this young season and fourth PGA Tour win. The happy “Cheesehead” (Wilson is a Green Bay Packers fan) won the Sony Open a few weeks ago.

Wilson called Gainey “a great player and a great character.” I don’t know about great player, but Tommy is certainly a great character. His interview with Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo on Saturday was a hoot. I’m at a total loss to describe his swing. It’s divot-digging blue-collar golf.

Gainey will pack up the sticks and head to the Monterey Peninsula. “All I can do is try to get ready for Pebble,” he said.

−The Armchair Golfer

Olazabal Is Right Man for Ryder Cup Job

I’M A LONGTIME ADMIRER of Jose Maria Olazabal, who is being reported as Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain, according to various media outlets. The official announcement is expected on Tuesday at the Abu Dhabi Championship.

If Olazabal’s captaincy in any way mirrors his play in seven Ryder Cup appearances, Europe is in very capable hands. Olazabal was Seve Ballesteros’ other half of the most successful partnership in Cup history. Beginning in 1987, I watched Seve and Ollie beat the spikes off America’s best. The pair only lost twice in 15 matches. I didn’t like it one bit. But I always respected Jose Maria’s game. His driving could be suspect, but his iron game, chipping and putting were a thing of beauty. I’ve always thought of him as one of golf’s toughest competitors.

Olazabal also later formed a successful Ryder Cup partnership with Sergio Garcia. (If Garcia had Ollie’s grit, he’d have bagged a few majors by now.)

Now 44 and plagued in recent years by injuries, the two-time Masters winner is primed for the captaincy. He was a vice captain for European captains Nick Faldo and Colin Montgomerie at the last two Ryder Cups. His record as a player and experience as a vice captain have earned him a ton of respect in the locker room.

“When Jose Maria conducts a team talk or motivational talk, everyone listens,” Lee Westwood was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

At the helm when Europe lost at Valhalla, Nick Faldo said competing on American soil presents additional challenges. (The 2012 Ryder Cup will be played at Medinah in Chicago.) Home-field advantage and course setup are huge factors.

“I think you need a big captain when you go to the States,” Faldo said.

Olazabal is the right man for the job.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Richard Carter, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Colin Montgomerie’s ‘Blather’

I JUST READ JIM MCCABE’S piece titled, “Monty misses mark on European dominance.”

I don’t think the Golfweek senior writer is a fan of Captain Monty. Far from it. He begins:

At first, it felt like an unusual, late-season hurricane moving up the coast. But, no, the warmth was coming in from Hong Kong, delivered by Colin Montgomerie, a specialist in hot air.

The Monty quote that set McCabe off? This one: “We have always bowed to America’s dominance. But now we don’t just have Lee Westwood but also Martin Kaymer coming up, as well.”

McCabe suggests that Colin should run the dominance statement by Tony Jacklin, Sam Torrance, Mark James, Bernard Gallacher, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal. He wants to remind Monty of 1985, 1987, 1989, 1995 and 1997, a stretch of five Ryder Cup wins for Europe in seven tries.

Lee Westwood ascending to No. 1 in the world ranking is a big deal, especially since he’s dethroning Tiger Woods. But guess what? Four Europeans (the same number as Americans) have held the top spot: Langer, Ballesteros, Woosnam and Faldo.

McCabe, in closing:

What is important is to brush aside Captain Monty’s blather about Europeans always bowing to American dominance and this changing-of-the-guard nonsense. It’s disrespectful to the dynamic Europeans who more than 20 years ago changed the face of world golf and made possible the opportunities and the riches that now flow to their countrymen.

Monty, he’s right. It’s expected that you would be walking on air after winning the Ryder Cup and considering the sensational year European players have had (two majors and a slew of other PGA Tour wins). But can you tone it down a smidge? It’s gotten a little too silly.

On the other hand, you served up a column for McCabe. For that, you are to be commended.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: Monster/Flickr)

Whistling or Dire Straits for Harrington’s Ryder Cup Hopes

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh, a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times and Golf Digest Ireland, writes about the dilemma of five-time Ryder Cupper Padraig Harrington.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

PADRAIG HARRINGTON ADMITS THAT this week’s US PGA is his last chance to avoid the need for a Ryder Cup pick. The Dubliner plans to skip the final qualifying event at Gleneagles to play in the clashing FedExCup play-off tournament in New Jersey in two weeks’ time. And that means he must grab a top-four finish at Whistling Straits to ensure that he is not relying on one of skipper Colin Montgomerie’s three wild cards on August 29.

Confessing he could be in dire straits instead of Whistling Straits on Sunday night, Harrington said: “It’s very precarious. No one who doesn’t qualify automatically deserves to be in the team. If you don’t make it on merit, you are asking for a little bit of a favour.”

Ian Poulter sparked a massive controversy two years ago when he decided not to travel to Gleneagles despite the fact that he could still qualify for the team. It was alleged that Poulter had been given “the nod” by skipper Nick Faldo, who later handed him a captain’s pick.

But Harrington will have safety in numbers this time as Paul Casey and Justin Rose, who are also outside the qualifying places, also intend to skip the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in favour of The Barclays.

Harrington said: “It is a very awkward situation, there’s no doubt about it. I saw the last time round that one of the players [Poulter] didn’t come to play the last event and I thought he should have. Now I am in the same situation because I have a Special Olympics clinic at The Barclays and I don’t want to let them down.

“I have talked to some of the other guys who will be looking for a pick and they are all saying they will be playing The Barclays. So at the moment I am committing to the Special Olympics and I’m going to try and qualify this week and have nothing to worry about.”

Seventh in the race for four places from the World Points List and just over €13,245 behind Miguel Angel Jimenez in the battle for the other five places from the European Points List, Harrington knows he needs a massive week in Wisconsin.

“The goal is to get in on the world ranking points because that ends in a week’s time. Even if I pass Jimenez in the money, he can jump by me in the last event in Gleneagles so the goal is to play well this week and sort it out.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

(Image: Mike Davis/Flickr)

Golf’s Would-Be King

I WAS GLANCING AT SI’s Fortunate 50 List, the 50 highest-earning American athletes. As you surely know, Tiger Woods still holds down the top spot despite his troubles off the course. Tiger rakes in a little over $90 million in on- and off-course income. The runner-up, or No. 2 man, is Phil Mickelson at nearly $62 million.

Poor Phil. No. 2 in the world golf rankings. No. 2 in earnings. Always second best, it seems. The misfortune of playing in the Tiger Woods era. I remember once reading a quote from Nick Faldo that went something like, “Thank God my prime ended about the time Tiger came along.”

(Photo: Phil and Bones / Julie Campbell, Flickr)

For all the grief Phil has gotten for not winning more—some of it earned—his career has been very good and would have been head and shoulders above most everyone in some past eras. For example, when players like Fred Couples, Greg Norman and Nick Price were considered to be the cream of golf. (I have to put Faldo ahead of Phil based on majors, although Lefty still has time to win a couple of more.)

Phil is no Tiger. From things I’ve heard him say over the years, I think he has made peace with that. It’s the Tiger era, but if Phil would have come along a little earlier golf would have been his oyster.

Here’s how Phil’s $61,660,757 breaks down: $9,660,757 from salary/winnings and $52,000,000 from endorsements. Callaway Golf, KPMG, Barclays, Grayhawk Golf Club and Rolex are his major sponsors.

−The Armchair Golfer

Rory’s New Wave Band

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece is excerpted from his blog, Irish Golf Desk. 

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

RORY MCILROY WILL LEAD a hungry new generation of European young guns to Wisconsin in search of US PGA glory next month. The Holywood star, 21, bounced back brilliantly from his nightmare 80 in The Open to share third place behind stablemate Louis Oosthuizen.

And McIlroy’s manager Chubby Chandler reckons his young superstar is at the vanguard of a new wave of European talent set to sweep all before them in the same way that Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam dominated golf in the 80s and early 90s.

Chandler said: “After major wins by Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen, there will be a whole bunch of European Tour players going to Whistling Straits for the US PGA believing they can win.

“The days when Europeans looked uncomfortable leading majors seem to have gone. And it’s not just four or five players any more like it was in the 80s and 90s—there are 25 of them now who are going to the US PGA to win.

“Rory did great to finish third in the Open with an 80 in the second round. It was a really great comeback and I don’t think what happened on Friday will make any difference to him. He knows exactly where he is going in the game and this is just a step along the way.”

McIlroy must believe he is heading for greatness and his rivals can only pray that he doesn’t address the weaknesses in his game. At St. Andrews, as the American writer Dan Jenkins pointed out over a cigarette on Saturday, McIlroy was too young to realise that a 75 was a good score on Friday afternoon.

“He learned something every day at St Andrews,” Chandler said as his ISM stable celebrated its first major win on Monday. “Day one—he led a major by two. Day two he takes 80 after getting knocked out of his rhythm by the weather delay. He won’t do that very often when he’s leading majors.

“He came back unbelievably well on the last two days to finish third so there are more positives than negatives for Rory. He now knows that you don’t go out and win a major first time, like Louis has done. Normally you have to earn it—just look at what Lee [Westwood] is going through.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

Backswing Watchers

“SO, THAT’S WHAT MY backswing looks like.” This is PGA Tour player Kevin Na taking what might have been an admiring look at his backswing on the practice range at TPC River Highlands, the site of the Travelers Championship. Or maybe not. Maybe, instead, Na was thinking, “What is going on here?” Or: “Where’s my swing coach?” Or: “I’m definitely firing that guy.”

Are you a backswing watcher? I’m not talking about watching the backswings of others. No, I’m talking about watching your own backswing. Taking it back slow and studying your shoulders, arms, right elbow, hands, wrists, trajectory. Checking your position at the top. Wondering about your swing plane. All that swing mechanics stuff.

A friend of mine who was a collegiate golfer was a backswing watcher. Russ could really stripe the ball. When he was hitting the ball well with his woods and irons, he would hit it high with a pretty little draw. When he wasn’t hitting it well (for him), that pretty little draw turned into a hook or a pull hook. And as Lee Trevino once said, “You can talk to a fade but a hook won’t listen.” I played as Russ’s partner in tournaments over the years, and he’d check his backswing a lot. I marveled at this, thinking I could never get that focused on my mechanics without it messing with my mind. I had a pretty good idea what Russ was doing. He was trying to get a little more upright on the backswing. If he could get the club in the right slot, the rest would take care of itself. At least that was the plan.

I remember Nick Faldo being a backswing watcher. Sir Nick always seemed like he was fidgeting with his swing between shots. Many other players are backswing watchers. I think some are rehearsing, some are correcting and some are probably completely stumped and trying to figure out how they’re going to get to the clubhouse with that mess of a golf swing.

I’m not a backswing watcher. I don’t want to see it or over-think it because I’m predominately a feel player rather than a technical player. I usually focus on a swing key or two and go from there. When my ball is flying in the wrong direction or I’m not striking it solid, I’m decent—not great, but decent—at self-correcting. Sometimes it’s my takeaway and sometimes it might be something as simple as shortening up my backswing. But I don’t watch it. That would be too scary.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: RGlasson/Flickr)

Seve Ballesteros Backs Spain’s Bid for 2018 Ryder Cup

SEVE BALLESTEROS PLAYED ON eight European Ryder Cup teams and was captain of another squad in 1997. Even though I rooted against him (national allegiance), there’s zero doubt that he was a spectacular match-play competitor, amassing a Ryder Cup record of 20-12-5. Only three European players have won more Ryder Cup points: Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie.

(Photo: Seve Ballesteros, center, with nicely dressed people associated with Spain’s Ryder Cup bid.)

Now as Spain’s official bid patron, Ballesteros is once again exerting his influence in the Ryder Cup arena. His homeland hopes to lure the prestigious event to Madrid for the 2018 matches.

“Being a part of this bid is a huge honor for me,” Seve said at a March launch event in Madrid. “I believe Madrid is more than able to organize this magnificent event. I have great memories of the 1997 Ryder Cup in Valderrama and I hope we all see this great competition in Spain in 2018.”

At the event, Ballesteros also unveiled the official Ryder Cup Madrid 2018 logo, which depicts the sport of golf combined with the colors of the Community of Madrid. The campaign tagline is “Todos Juntos, All Together.”

In addition to Spain, other candidates for hosting the 2018 Ryder Cup are France, Germany, Holland, Portugal and Sweden.

Ryder Cup Notes

• In terms of turnover (events that change venues), the Ryder Cup is the world’s third-largest sporting event behind the World Cup and Olympics.

• The Ryder Cup is the largest international golf tournament.

• The 2018 matches will be the 42nd event in more than eight decades of competition.

• The 2006 Ryder Cup pumped 240 million euros into the Irish economy.

−The Armchair Golfer

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