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Rogin's 2021 golf predictions

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    Rogin's 2021 golf predictions

    Assuming the events go ahead as scheduled, of course. It's beginning to look like a fair bet that the American majors will, after they successfully staged the US Open and Masters last year. The Open must still be the one where the lack of spectators would threaten the viability of holding it - they normally get something like 200,000 people in over the week, paying sixty or seventy quid a day plus on-course spending, and the R&A is still, largely, an amateur organisation compared to the PGA Tour, even if they host the biggest event on its calendar. Fingers crossed, of course, by July the world is back to normal!

    The Masters will look more familiar in April with the azaleas and rhododendrons out, and it's hard to see past a re-run of the version in November, with Dustin Johnson favourite and Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy there or thereabouts. Cameron Smith has now been 5th and 2nd at the Masters so will be worth a flutter.

    The USPGA will be played at Kiawah Island, which hasn't hosted a major since 2012, which was won by Rory McIlroy. McIlroy's focus will be on completing his career grand slam at Augusta but if he falls short again there I'd expect him to bounce back. Normally the USPGA seems to go to a PGA Tour player in form who hasn't won a major before and often never does again (Collin Morikawa from last year would not surprise me to fall into that category) so watch who wins a couple on tour before May. This far out I'd suggest Patrick Cantlay.

    The US Open will be played at Torrey Pines in Caifornia, where Tiger Woods won a playoff on one leg in 2008. Torrey Pines hosts the San Diego Open each year, and will in January, which may give a decent pointer. Notably, the winner there in 2018 and runner-up last year was Jon Rahm, and former US Open champion Justin Rose won San Diego in 2019.

    The Open will be played at St George's, which has twice provided a popular home champion, Sandy Lyle in 1985 and Darren Clarke ten years ago. It would be lovely to see that repeated - a final hurrah for Ian Poulter or maybe even Lee Westwood, a finally overdue major for Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood or even one of the youngsters like Fitzpatrick? St George's has also, of course, been a happy hunting ground for the "unknown yank" - Bill Rogers, Ben Curtis - so watch out for whoever gets through qualifying. Cameron Champ, Jason Kokrak, someone like that.

    Then it's Ryder Cup time. Surely this year America will be too strong. Surely ...
    Last edited by Rogin the Armchair fan; 09-01-2021, 12:10.

    #2
    I wish that golf would change its outlook quite drastically but I know it won't.

    A Worldwide game where 3 of the 4 majors are in America feels lopsided these days. They won't mess with that but at least the Ladies game added a 5th major in Europe to balance things a bit. Couldn't the mens game add a 5th major that is flexible and can move around the World?

    Also, get the ladies onto Augusta. It would be nice if the men showed some solidarity and refuse to play unless they hold a Women's Masters.

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      #3
      Well, that's the first thing I didn't predict. World number three Justin Thomas loses a lucrative contract to wear Ralph Lauren stuff after being picked up on a greenside microphone calling himself a "faggot" after missing a putt at the Tournament of Champions.

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        #4
        Who'd have thought that a professional golfer would turn out to be bigoted arsehole? It's amazing that people who're generally sponsored by private jet companies and wealth management firms and play their sport mostly on exclusive private country clubs and make millions a year would be so out of touch.

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          #5
          Can't believe I failed to predict that "Captain America" Patrick Reed would get caught cheating on camera. Again. And, golf being golf, lie through his teeth to a rules official and get away with it. Again. Well, we all saw it. If he did this playing in a club tournament and tried to claim the trophy he'd get the shit kicked out of him in the car park.
          Last edited by Rogin the Armchair fan; 31-01-2021, 09:23.

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            #6
            I was trying to work out what happened there for ages before finally realising that he just cheated. I love watching Torrey. It’s such a difference actually knowing the holes (even if the tee boxes are in places that us mortals never venture).

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              #7
              https://twitter.com/rcamcole/status/1355981677458153473

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                #8
                Reed really looks like a petulant spoilt child. Like he’s one of the bad kids in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and somehow his cheating at golf is going to result in him drowning in a vat of hot sugar or something.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View Post
                  Reed really looks like a petulant spoilt child. Like he’s one of the bad kids in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and somehow his cheating at golf is going to result in him drowning in a vat of hot sugar or something.
                  Or shamelessly walking off with €1.3m prize money.

                  Just seen the incident. As bad, if not worse, than previous misdemeanours. Why would he think moving the ball before an official had arrived was okay?

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                    #10
                    I think about all the rules, and all the rules officials, and think what a state of affairs it is that the game the rest of us play has all these rules that nobody knows - and in fact where different rules officials would give different rulings. It makes imp's refereeing thread seem fairly benign because at least his scenarios don't happen every week. I genuinely didn't know that I could lift and drop an embedded ball until Saturday.

                    With Reed, meanwhile, when there are rules officials out on the course, his behaviour looks shocking. It is what I would do (now I know) if I were playing the local course with my wife, who doesn't want to come over and determine if my ball is plugged and trusts me to pick and drop and to keep play moving and not annoy the group behind me. Reed did what a Thursday afternoon hacker would do and stay within the rules and not get a penalty. Because you have to trust Reed at his word. I trust Reed to have not cheated to improve his lie in the same way that I'd trust Donald Trump on the golf course to have not cheated. But because it's a game of honour where you have to trust a player's word, there's nothing you can do.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View Post
                      I genuinely didn't know that I could lift and drop an embedded ball until Saturday.
                      Oh, Patrick Reed did. And did so before everyone else in the world realised it WASN'T "embedded" in this instance.

                      He's a fucking cheat. In a game where the only rule, really, is to be honest. If he turns up at the Open next year I'm following him round all day in a dayglo orange T-Shirt with "CHEAT" written on it and I'll hug him on the 18th green.

                      "Captain America". Says it fucking all, that.

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                        #12

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                          #13
                          Perhaps Reed could partner Steve Smith in a pro-am.........

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                            #14
                            Runner-up at Pebble Beach at the weekend was 25-year-old Maverick McNealy. Wonder what his Dad's favourite film was.

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                              #15
                              What I’ll remember from the tournament is Nate Lashley tied for the lead on the 16th in the final group in the centre of the fairway 150 yards out managing to make triple bogey after 4 putting from 15 feet.

                              Cantlay didn’t impress with the pressure of being highest ranked in the field after his opening day course record.

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                                #16
                                As a keen golfer in the UK I am looking forward to the 149th Open tournament to be played at St George's Golf Course. Mcllroy is favourite to win, and I do think he'll be up there but it is hard to see past Dustin Johnson. I have to say its one of the most gorgeous courses we have in the UK, I found this golf course site the other day which lists all the UK courses, including the famous St Georges golf course. Looking forward to seeing it host the open this year (covid-dependent!)

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                                  #17
                                  After Bryson DeChambeau carried the ball 320 yards straight over a lake at Bay Hill last weekend, putting himself 150 yards closer to the green than all the other players who took the only option open to them of driving down the actual fairway (which dog-legged around the hazard), the PGA have installed a new "internal out of bounds" rule at Sawgrass for the Players Championship. DeChambeau had intimated he might try the same trick again, taking on the challenge of not finding the lake that runs all the way up the left side of the closing 18th hole by driving all the way over it onto the 9th fairway on the other side, then pitching back onto the 18th green from there. The PGA have said "not on your life sunshine" and said any such shot finding the 9th fairway will be deemed out of bounds.

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                                    #18
                                    Good. They do that at the municipal course on Coronado (and many others) to make sure people aren’t pissing about on other peoples’ fairways and slowing down pace of play. Why should the pros get to play a different game to the rest of us? I’m sure whoever’s on the 9th tee would be mightily annoyed about Bryson appearing out of the blue in front of them when they’re getting ready to swing.

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                                      #19
                                      The 18th at Sawgrass, together with the 17th (the famous 'island hole') are the only two non-Augusta golf holes that I'm familiar with in the US. This is thanks purely to a demo of PGA Tour Golf II that came on a floppy disc with MacFormat or MacUser magazine in 1994, which included only these two holes and which my brother and I played endlessly for the next couple of years due to our dearth of actual games to choose from.

                                      Aside from the two memorable holes, it was also responsible for introducing me to just how weird American [golfers'] names can be. Alongside the more conventionally-named ones I knew from real life already like Mark O'Meara and Fred Couples, it was where I first came across the likes of Davis Love III and Fuzzy Zoeller, names (and associated tiny low-res portraits) that would remain stuck in my head now even if I'd never come across them again since. The game, as gently lampooned in the magazine's accompanying review, only included US players of course, so as a result loads of the more well-known global faces were absent; I still get a chuckle today from remembering their line "Who the hell is Brad Faxon anyway?"

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                                        #20
                                        Nobody else watching Micklelson win the US PGA and become the oldest major winner?
                                        Last edited by Ray de Galles; 23-05-2021, 23:35.

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                                          #21
                                          I did. Amazing stuff. That course looked ridiculously difficult.

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                                            #22
                                            I watched it. He did so well to hang on at the end there when it would have been easy to buckle. Winning at his age is impressive but i think a lot of sports are seeing more and more older competitors challenging at a high level due to the improvements in fitness.

                                            Off the top of my head you have Federer and Serena in tennis, Nadal and Djokovic aren't youg either. Ronaldo and Messi are still the top scorers in their leagues, Brady is the Superbowl champion, Lewis Hamilton is 36 and lots of boxing champions are mid to late 30's. They won't be as dominant as they were when they were younger in most cases but they can still compete.

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                                              #23
                                              It’s interesting that he’s talking about how his problem is concentration. It’s not the physical side. It’s retaining the mental state for that length of time.

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                                                #24
                                                I don't think there was a thread so I'll say here, not for the first time the Solheim Cup produced quite incredible entertainment. Once again the outcome of the contest was only decided in the final and 28th match, and the majority of those 28 matches were themselves only decided on the last hole. Quite brilliant stuff, and I'd recommend even non-golf fans to watch the bbc highlights programme today. Ryder Cup next, which similarly is normally a superb contest. I probably will start one for that, after Stricker announces his team on Wednesday.

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                                                  #25
                                                  Wasn't there some kind of scandal on the first day when someone got unfairly penalised?

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