• Hate to be Rude: Charles Howell III
Jeff Rude’s “I Hate To Be Rude” column appears on Golfweek.com on Friday, the same day as his video show of the same name.• Here’s what the winner of the last two major championships, Padraig Harrington, told me early this year.
“In fairness, the U.S. needs to
win the Ryder Cup this time around.” Translation: In the best interests
of Ryder buzz down the road.
I’m not saying the Americans will win the Ryder Cup, but they very well
could against the deeper Europeans. Why? Perhaps the vibes around Nick
Faldo and Kenny Perry.
Some Euro players aren’t happy Faldo chose Ian Poulter over Darren
Clarke. Clarke has been hot recently while Poulter hasn’t done much
this year besides finish second at the British Open. If that dissent
persists, it could hurt the favorites.
As for Perry, he will get the crowd revved up in his native Kentucky
and is such a genuine guy that it will be easy for a Tigerless team to
rally around someone who poured his whole season into having a chance
to play for his country at home.
• Kentucky bomber J.B. Holmes was a good captain’s pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Fellow launcher Bubba Watson wouldn’t have been a bad choice, either.
The reason: Long-ball intimidation.
Curiously, Harrington also had this to say:
“How has John Daly never played the Ryder Cup?” Harrington asked, referring to times when Daly was in better form (and shape) than he is now. “He would scare the life out of a half dozen players on our team. If you saw his name in the draw, you’d be worried.”
Why have the Europeans won five of the last six Ryder Cups, including the last two by nine-point routs? Harrington, for one, points to two things other than the important early momentum.
“The European Tour is somewhat of a country cousin of the U.S. tour, and we’ve got a point to prove every time the Ryder Cup comes around,” Harrington said. “And at the moment we have very strong balance of young and experienced players. The U.S. has lacked that with their picking format. Having more established players can be intimidating.”
• Is this a Hall of Fame career: 22 PGA Tour victories, including a major championship, and 80 top-10 finishes?
Well, Hall of Famer Vijay Singh, 45, has done that since turning 40 on Feb. 22, 2003.
For perspective on how good that is, consider that Greg Norman has won 20 Tour titles and had 129 top 10s in his entire Tour career. What’s more, the Hall of Fame likes of Nick Price, Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw and Curtis Strange never got to 20 victories.
• Poor Tour Championship. Last year Tiger Woods all but clinched the FedEx Cup title before the TC, the last of four playoff stops. Singh has now drained much of the drama out of the playoffs by winning the first two.
So how should the format be tweaked to increase the possibility of drama at the end? Increase the points awarded each of the four weeks. That way if someone wins the first two events, more players have a chance of catching up.
One other thought: Reduce the number of playoff events from four to three and let 144 players have a go each time.
• Singh putted so poorly with a long putter while winning the WGC Bridgestone Invitational that I thought he should get rid of it immediately, perhaps donate it to a garage sale. Then he five-putted the ninth green at the PGA Championship the following week.
So what happened next? He putted so well with it at the first two playoff events that perhaps now he should donate the putter to the Hall of Fame someday.
His improvement is a matter of mind over matter. If you keep telling yourself and anyone who will listen, “I’m the best putter in the world,” as he has, then you have a chance. Singh is a classic example that a golfer must be his own positive cheerleader, even in bleak times. The alternative is self-sabotage.
• Kudos to the LPGA for rescinding the suspension provision from its plan to ensure effective communication among its players. Sincere education should get the job done. If not, then revisit.
• Tiger Woods will return to the Tour next year not only with two good legs but with two children. One bouncing kid for each healthy knee.
• I had the privilege of playing with Tommy Bolt a couple of times a few years back at Black Diamond in Florida. The Hall of Famer, who died at 92 on Aug. 29, was a playful gentleman, nothing but a joy to be around.
Here’s what I remember most:
• While Bolt had a penchant for tossing a club in disgust here and there back in the day, untrue is that story about his caddie saying he should hit a 3-wood or 8-iron on the next shot because “that’s all you got left in the bag.” Bolt said that urban legend was the work of one of Bob Hope’s comedy writers.
• “The driver is the most important club in the bag,” Bolt said. “Ben Hogan said that, and if Hogan said it, I believe it.”
• Bolt said a fan came up to Hogan once and said, “Mr. Hogan, how is it possible that the greatest ball-striker of all-time has never made a hole-in-one?” The response of Hogan, who liked to work the ball and place it in desirable spots on the green: “Maybe I was never aiming at the hole.”
• Bolt said he called his pal Hogan during a layover in Texas on the way back from winning the Australian Senior PGA Championship years ago. Bolt informed Hogan that he won using Hogan equipment and wearing Hogan apparel. “So,” he asked, “what can you do for ol’ Tommy (financially)?”
A few days later, Bolt received a letter from Hogan that went something like this:
“Dear Tommy: Congratulations on winning the Australian PGA Senior. But then you should’ve won considering they still use hickory shafts and the gutta percha ball down there.”
Bolt’s reaction? “And they said the sumbitch didn’t have a sense of humor,” he said, laughing.
Posted: 9/5/2008
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