Friday, July 17, 2009

Turnberry - Day 1

Any of you guys wayched Day 1 of the Open? One particular thing i like most about the Open Championship is, they tees off very early in the morning which means we over here got to enjoy watching it at our prime time... Not like those US PGA tourneys where you really have to make an utmost effort try to wake your lazy a** 3-4 am in the morning, only to see some unknowns like Ricky Barnes (remember Bethpage Black?) or Mathew Goggins (he's Aussie by the way) leading a pack which consist of TW (to be honest, TW is the only reason i watch golf in the morning...)

So back to Turnberry, I was at home rather early yesterday, cause Mrs Don wanted to pick some stuffs up before we fetched Don Jrs home. I turned on the TV and there it goes, TW on the 8th tee (i turned out fetching the Jrs at night.. sorry kids, don't tell me cause papa know deep down inside you guys still love me very much, even though it obviously didn't translate thru the face you were making Naufal...)

On a rather calm day (you can just imagine what the condition gonna be like if the Scotland wind makes it appearance.. its a gust!..) I could only expect TW to shoot a red number, something maybe like 66-67, but apparently it didn't happen.. For the record, the man shot 71, he got well beaten up in that round by his playing partners L Westwood and surprise surprise, the 17 year old Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa, the one they called the 'Bashful Prince' back in Japan (you can easily distinguished Japanese players from the others; even from the Koreans or the Chinese; as they will always have that TOYOTA badge sewn onto their cap, well most of them at least...) But boy that boy can play! Seriously, he was hitting it straight with precisions like a seasoned pro! I was so impressed, I mean come on, this is a bloody Major, and you're playing with arguably the greatest hit-that-small-ball-with-a-stick player in the whole world, the one & only TW, and you didn't have butterflies flying all over your stomach?? Because you are only 17 by obvious measurement??? If only I were to take up this game much earlier.... sigh...

But then, that is why tour golfs are played in 4 rounds, that the guys will have to navigate the same course 4 times over 4 days, with daily changes of pin placements set-up and the weather factors, only those with strong mental capabilities will prevail (with a little bit of luck along the way..) And that is also why I will never write TW off, cause we know when he's hitting enough fairways, he gonna get a high percentage of GIR, and on his days, you know how brutal he can be with his clutch putting... especially here in links golf where the the greens are firmer and slower...

So, go Tiger.. put on your best show cause today i'll be home early again to yell "Get in the hole!!!' for your every shots..

And kids, papa know you guys love me.. right??? Still?? Naufal??...

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