Rory McIlroy has finally vindicated himself of being branded a choker in golf’s major tournaments. Having folded at last years British Open and again at this years Masters, after leading bothTournaments after 54 holes. He cruised to victory with only one hiccup on the 17thhole of the final round, where he three putted for bogey. An extremely talented young man with a golf club in his hands, he is a force to be reckoned with as he has now gotten the proverbial “Monkey off his Back”. He made Congressional look easy from the first round on as he shot a 65, which commenced his “Wire to Wire” victory at 22 years and one month, three months younger than golf legend Jack Nicklaus was when he won his first major. This bodes well for Rory and he is predictably drawing comparisons to Tiger Woods, who is conspicuously sidelined for the time being. As Tiger drew a bulls eye on Jack’s record at an early age, Tiger now has one on his and if Rory’s play in the last few majors is any indictation of his golf skill and ability he could very well meet or exceed his goal . Tiger will hopefully heal his mind and body and return to take him on, as he is now the only obvious Amercan player who may be able to provide Rory with a challenge.

Tiger Woods goal of beating Jack Nicklaus’s 18 win major record is further away than ever and McIlroy may have as good a chance, if not better of catching Tiger. Some golfers have flash in the pan success, but I think Rory’s performance in the last four majors have shown that he has great potential staying power. He could have easily won three of the four, if not for final round meltdowns, where he shot 80 and 81 respectively and still placed in the top three. Another factor in Rory McIlroy’s favor is that the American public has adopted him as a fan favorite, especially since Tiger is presently out of contention and may be out of competition indefinitely. During the course of the first three rounds I was awaiting the emergence of a contender, hopefully American, who would make it interesting down the stretch. But no one rose to the task, and Phil Mickelson, another fan favorite, miscued on shot after shot, experimenting with a driving iron, which did not serve him well. I am elated for Rory as he was robbed in the last few majors, especially this years Masters but he is over the hump and now has his first major under his belt, an incredible feat in itself at his young age. His victory at the U.S. Open drew comparison to Tiger’s 15 stroke -12 victory at Pebble Beach in 1997. Although not quite as amazing a performance as Woods win in 1997, it is surely a close second as Rory set so many records. They include the lowest finishing total of 16 under in a major, beating the previous total by Woods by 4 shots, and Rory was the first golfer in Major history to break 200 for the first three rounds. Absolutely Incredible!

Jason Day also showed excellent form as he ineffectively chased Rory in the final round, but his 65 on Saturday and 68 on Sunday showed the field he is not to be taken lightly. The only American presence in the top ten was Kevin Chappell, who shot a brilliant closing round 66 and Robert Garrigus who closed strong with a one under 70, both tying for third place at six under par. Lee Westwood, one of the top golfers in the world, also closed with 70 and tied for third with Y.E. Yang at -6. Y.E. Yang, the player who will be remembered for staving off Tiger at The PGA in 2009.  Yang was at -8 and had the best opportunity to reach double digits, until his collapse on the closing holes, bogieing two of the last three holes with uncharacteristic blunders. Peter Hanson and another familiar name, Sergio Garcia, who was once lauded as the next Seve Ballesteros, finished at a respectable tie for 7th at -5. Recent Masters champion, Charl Schwartzel and major champion victor Louis Oosthuizen finished tied for 9th place at 4 under, edging Davis Love lll and Graeme McDowell, the previous U.S. Open Champion, who finished in 11th and 14th place respectively. With Rory McIlroy’s victory, Ireland retains the Open title for the second year in a row, which is unprecedented and shows what direction the golf trend is disappointingly heading for in the future. I am an avid golf fan and I am happy for Rory but my heart is with the U.S. Team. The foreign born and European golfers have dominated the majors in the past few years and if this is any indication of what is to come, the Ryder Cup may stay in Europe’s hands a while longer unless a number if talented American golfers emerge in the near future.  

Congratulations to Rory McIlroy , whose skill with his golf clubs this week , was unmatched by his peers. A well deserved victory for a talented golfer. Happy Golfing to All!

Having been and remaining a huge Jack Nicklaus fan, I had been watching the hi-lights for the first three days to see how he was fairing against an iconic field of players. The leader board was a virtual who’s who of golf’s greatest players of that time or any era for that matter. The field included Greg Norman , who was leading Jack by four strokes on Sunday, Nick Price, Bernard Langer, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Kite and none other than Tom Watson, Jack’s fiercest rival in the majors. Jack Nicklaus was 46 years of age and many had written him off but I had  a gut feeling that he was not yet finished. From the Carolina Cherry or the ninth hole on, my eyes were fixated to the television screen and I was glued to my seat as I was privileged to see the Golden Bear wield his magic wand and view golf history in the making. The Bear played well enough on the first eight holes to remain close to the lead but he would have to make something happen soon if he were to have any chance for a win. When he birdied nine, ten and eleven, he made enough noise to send shivers up the spine of his competitors who proceeded to falter under Jack’s heroics hole after hole down the stretch. The Golden Bear, and he was affectionately and aptly named, stumbled at the Golden Bell12th with a bogie, only to par Azalea and Chinese Fir, 13 and 14, to set up his historic run on the last four holes. Having bombed his drive off the tee at the par five 15th or Firethorn, he left himself about 200 yards to the pin. He consulted with son Jackie 11, who was on his bag and asked what he thought about an eagle here? I’m sure Jackie concurred that would further ensure his dad’s possibility for a 6th green jacket and 18th major. He skillfully laced a four iron to 12 feet and converted the putt for EAGLE!, two out of the lead. The next hole, Rosebud or par three 16th put the icing on the proverbial cake as he hit his shot, the ball tracked off the slope toward the pin and he almost holed out as the ball nudged the hole as it rolled past by about three feet. He easily made the putt, putting him eight under and ONE back - Jack was on the move! He reached the 17th hole, which was to be the defining hole of the tournament. Jack hit driver and a wedge to set himself up for a birdie opportunity. When he drained an incredibly difficult putt from about 12 feet and raised his putter toward the sky in an iconic pose, I knew my idol had secured his 6th Green jacket. Jack made a difficult two putt for par on 18 look easy while Greg Norman and the rest of the field faltered including Seve Ballesteros, whose ball found water on 15 and Tom Kite who narrowly missed a birdie chance on 18 which left him one shot short of a playoff. Jack Nicklaus’s win at the 1986 Master’s Championship, was his 18th major victory, a feat no one has come close to except Tiger Woods. Tiger’s attempt to match Jack’s record was derailed in November of 2009 when his personal life became fodder for the news and TV media. He is not yet done but no matter what the record books show, Jack Nicklaus is the number one golfer of all time, at least in my book!

It is approaching the 25th anniversary of the Golden Bear’s awe inspiring Master’s Victory and I offer my hand in applause to the greatest golfer who ever played the game! Congratulations to Jack Nicklaus.

Tom Watson had given the fans so many thrills all week and after the first round, even though tied for the lead, most of the golf authoritarians had already written him off and said he had virtually no chance for victory. Tom Watson had other ideas and I was rooting for him all the way. He kept coming back and even after four bogies in a row during one of the rounds, he bounced back with birdies and pars when he needed to and fought his way back into the lead. His play was reminiscent of the Tom Watson I so fondly remember when in his prime in the 70′s, and where at this very venue in 1977 he faced down Jack Nicklaus, the greatest golfer who ever lived, for the final 36 holes and beat him by a shot.

After a valiant effort for all four rounds, the 18th hole of the final round turned out to be the defining hole of the tournament. Tom Watson was leading by two shots going into the 18th hole and a par would have clinched it for him. But again at the British Open the improbable happened, Stewart Cink birdied the hole and Tom bogied to force a playoff. Tom hit his eight iron approach shot to the 18^th green flush and got a bad break when it hit on the green and instead of checking up it rolled off the back and left him with an uphill shot back to the green. He opted for the putter, which had served him well all week, but he hit it a bit too hard to get thru the fringe and went past the cup by about 8 to10 feet. The putt coming back was makeable but he hit it short and missed to the right. Had he sunk that putt the Open title would have been his and golf history would have been made. He may have lost the Claret Jug but he is a winner in my book.

I noted last paragraph that the improbable happened when Tom lost on the 18th hole. That statement is not true, because in reality, he lost in a four hole playoff to Cink after tying on the 18th hole. Tom had been playing so well for the first 71 holes that when he didn’t get the result he anticipated after hitting a very well struck 8 iron for his approach shot to the 18th green, it appeared to knock the wind out of his sails. He seemed to have lost on 18 rather than in the playoff and it appeared that he may have finally had enough. In retrospect, the improbable is the fact that the 59 year old Watson was competing on a level never before seen in a major, against the best players in the world, for four pressure packed days, on a very tough golf course under extreme conditions. It would have been an awesome feat for Tom Watson to have been victorious and to clinch his 6th British Open title but he will always be a champion in my book.

He came very close to victory and for those naysayers who thought he did not have a chance I hope they now realize that if you have the heart and belief in yourself, as Tom Watson did, all things are possible. After Tom Watson’s performance in this year’s British Open I would not be surprised if next year Jack, Arnie, Gary and Tom are going head to head like old times. In closing I would like Tom to know he will always be remembered as “One Helluva Golfer” not only by his peers but by all of us. Thank you Tom for making believers out of us! 

Congratulations to Stewart Cink for his victory and some extraordinary play against the field and one of the world’s best golfers and gentleman, Tom Watson.