Going into the final round of the
Omega Dubai Desert Classic, anything seemed possible.
Golf fans pondered potential outcomes and social networks buzzed with hopeful speculation...
on one pairing in particular.
Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia have a shared history. Theirs is a rivalry that began at
the PGA Championship in 1999 and, though it never quite played the way golf fans would have wished, certainly made the sport more compelling during the first decade of this century.
As we all know, the past couple of years haven't been kind to either of these men: injuries and personal issues have plagued both... to the extent that when their final round pairing was announced yesterday, many saw the possibility of a
come-back battle between the beleaguered champions. In my mind I naively took the narrative even further, imagining a brilliant duel in the desert sun, possibly ending in a playoff. And no matter which of the two won, a resurgence of the Woods-Garcia rivalry would ensue, and the 2011 season would be a series of thrilling, fourth round face-offs.
Ultimately, my little fantasy was just that: a fairytale that went awry when both players flamed out in the final round.
Golf.com contributor Paul Manhoney who followed the pairing at
Emirates Golf Club, described a joyless round where certain elements of the old rivalry may have actually played a part in the day's disappointing results from Tiger and Sergio.
However, there definitely was a silver lining, a rather big silver lining, and it came in the form of 6ft. 3in.
Alvaro Quiros. The
quixotic Señor Quiros kept excitement at peak levels as he battled with Denmark's Anders Hansen, losing and regaining the lead more than once, while he wove together a nerve-racking round featuring an eagle, an ace and a triple bogey. Fans on Twitter were clearly energized by the volatile contest. A number of spectators on the scene were tweeting the action as it happened, which was great for those of us who couldn't watch it live.
In the end it was a great tournament and judging from the Twitter buzz, it generated a lot of interest in the UAE as a golf destination. What ever one thinks of Tiger or Sergio I'm quite sure most golf fans would like to see them winning again. In the meantime, the
Dubai Desert Classic has a charismatic champion in
Alvaro Quiros.
I watched this morning and much as I want Tiger to win ... the winning Tiger just isn't back yet. Quiros was impressive and his distance compensates for other areas of his game which I hope he'll work to improve. I hope he plays more over here too.
ReplyDeleteMaybe its my imagination but it looked like Sergio was getting on Tigers nerves.
ReplyDeleteQuiros was fun to watch - dude hits it a ton and loves to play. Tiger had the chances to move up but his swing just doesn't seem to be there yet. Who knows the direction he's headed but it's more fun when he's dominating.
ReplyDeleteTiger got a lot of money from Dubai for putting his name on a golf course that'll never be built. I'm sure there are people somewhere in that country who are not amused by any of this.
ReplyDeleteI like Alvaro Quiros, It would be nice to see him play more here but that doesn't seem to be the trend any more, at least now whit the best European players.
ReplyDeleteThe Euro Tour fined Tiger for spitting on the course at Dubai. is the PGA tour going to fine Marino? The TV coverage of him at PB showed him spitting every 15 seconds!!
ReplyDeleteOf course Tiger melted down. It's what he does now that his father isn't there to push him. Without the spine-stiffening that Earl provided, Tiger defaults to the behavior that his mother reinforced in him--throw a tantrum when you don't get what you want. That's how Thai mothers raise their sons--they coddle them and spoil them to no end---believe me, my wife is Thai!!
ReplyDeleteIs Tiger being singled out by the European Tour do you think? I mean would other guys get fined if they did what he did? If not, it seems totally wrong that Tiger should have been fined. If so, then it was clearly the right thing to do.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise it's just reinforcing the idea that one person on has special status in regards to rules.
As for Steve Marino the same concept should apply if the PGA Tour punishes other guys for doing what he was doing, he should be punished if not... then it's just not something they (the PGA Tour) consider important. When one player becomes a mega-star in any sport it's difficult to treat him as the regular player are treated... particularly in an individualistic sport like golf. However I seems that's what should be strived for.
Anon 10:53 - Interesting remarks about the Asian Mother spoiling her son in light of all the publicity Amy Chua's book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" has received. Of course she is Chinese not Thai, a distinctly different culture, I realize. But I do think we tend to imagine that Asian mothers, in general, are much stricter and more demanding than western Moms. Hope your wife spoils you too. ;o)
We'll see where it all goes from here.
Tiger and Sergio strongly dislike each other which makes for great TV. Hopefully with the way a lot of tournaments are handpicking pairings, they will put these two in the same group again. How about Tiger, Sergio, and Phil in the same group? Hate hate hate
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