Going for Golf

There is one thing that I can say for sure.

Everyone wants to be a golfer.

Hey, who doesn't want to walk leisurely in the beautiful scenery under fantastic weather, cash in big fat cheques and have someone else carry the truly heavy stuff for you?

Look, golfers are spoiled kids. They have to be born in "rich" families to begin with, which can afford their expensive and specially-designed equipment. They have to be rich to afford their own coaches, but once they have mastered the basic skills, they can become serious contenders for any events they enter into.

That is why the likes of Zach Johnson and Angel Cabrera have become winners of the last two major gold championships (The Masters and the U.S. Open respectively). You just won't expect a middle-age fat guy who is not the best in the world to become a champion in any other sports.

In a way, golf is a fair game. Anyone on top of his game can win on any given day.

While the ultra-consistent Tiger Woods finished tied-second in these two events, crowd favourite and World number-two Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the U.S. Open held at Oakmont this past weekend.

Oakmont, though, is a serious challenge itself. While most regard its 288-yard par-three eighth hole as absurd, its main challenges lie in the undulating putting greens and "diabolical" pin placements. I can't remember who said the word "diabolical", but that pretty much summed it all up. Approach shots had to land within a tiny spot on the green. Otherwise, the ball would simply roll all the way to the edge of the green, making four-putts or even five-putts a common occurrence last weekend.

Cabrera didn't play brilliantly last weekend. But he did play solidly and finished at five over par, which was more than enough. His bogeys in the 16th and 17th holes in the final round reduced his lead over Tiger to just a single shot, but Woods was having his own problems too. His putting was letting him down.

Well, his putting wasn't THAT bad actually. But to witness him miss putts by mere inches hole after hole during his brilliant third round is quite heart-stopping even for me, who rarely pay attention to golf. Had any one of those missed putts gone in, he would have at least been tied for the lead, and could literally live for another day as the 18-hole playoff would have been held on Monday.

There is a silver lining though. Had he been tied for the lead and been asked to play on Monday, he would have missed the birth of his first child, Sam Alexis, the very same day.

I don't know about Woods though. If I were him, my mind would have been on my child and I would love to leave the golf club as soon as possible.

But I would have left under very different circumstances. I would have missed the cut, while Tiger once again was able to pick up a big cheque, a small change compared to his massive fortune.