Capelle On Golf

If you are a big Tiger Woods fan, then you’re work is cut out for you. You know who you are going to be rooting for at the Open. Ladbrokes now has him at 5/2.

If you are not pro Tiger, then you’re choice is not easy. In fact, given the parity in golf (under Tiger there are no other bona fide major winners a la Trevino and Watson that you can expect to see contend), then you may have to wait for the weekend for the contenders to emerge to before making your choice.

Still, there are a few that it would be nice to see on the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon, though in each case their chances seem remote. Here is my short list and their current odds at Ladbrokes. What’s yours?

Rory McIlroy (40/1) – Golf needs him now as a major player. Greatness doesn’t need 5-10 years of major losing experience (Woods won his first at 21 and Nicklaus at 22), so it would be awesome for this young breakout player to actually breakout. Rory was at 20/1, but he went on the Golf Channel and said that was not right, so I guess the oddsmakers listened.

Geoff Ogilvy (50/1) – He needs a second major to validate his win at the 2006 US Open and to build some momentum in the majors. But if the winds blow, then his one dimensional swing and the high ball it produces gives him little chance of winning.

Jim Furyk (33/1) – It would be cool to see him own both Opens, and a win would put him on the cusp of the Hall of Fame.

Sergio Garcia (33/1) – Hopefully he can get the monkey off his back and turn into the rival for Tiger we hoped he’d be when he first finished second in a major nearly TEN years ago.

Anthony Kim (50/1) – It would be great to see this American mega talent mature into a contender  - and sooner is better that later.

Martin Kaymer (40/1) – Based on his two straight wins and 11th position in the WGR, maybe this overlooked 24 year old could be the next big thing that golf is desperately seeking.

No Long Putters!
As the plot thickens, perhaps some other name will create that emotional bond we look for from those we root on in hopes of victory. But one thing is for sure - I know the group of players I’ll be automatically be rooting against – those wielding the long putters and belly putters. And I’m not alone. In the August issue of Golf Digest, equipment editor Mike Stracha lambasted these unsightly weapons, much to my glee! Says Mike:

What makes the belly and long putters such tools of disgust to me is the way they bastardize how the game is supposed to be played. Wedging the butt end of the shaft into any body part to overcome the shakes should be against the rules, and anyone with the intellectual capacity of a pile of divot mix recognizes that.