Del Piero Down Under [comment]

Juventus and Italian football legend Alessandro Del Piero has agreed to a six-month contract with Sydney FC in the Hyundai A-League. It has to be the biggest signing in the history of the A-League with Sydney FC officials, including CEO Tony Pignata, working tirelessley over the past week that involved a few video conferences with Del Piero's agent, brother Stefano. Syndey fought of deals from some off Europe's biggest clubs, such as the Premier League's Tottenham, Scottish and Champions League participants Celtic, and Swiss side FC Sion.

Del Piero will play his first game for Sydney FC against the Wellington Phoenix, in Wellington, on October 6th.

The contract for Del Piero, who played 19 seasons with Juventus in Italy's Serie A, is worth a reported $2 million. The loyal man that he is, Del Piero never considered playing for another Italian team. He even stuck with Juventus when they were relegated to Serie B for the 2006/07 season while others chased the big money at other top-league European clubs.

"This is huge for Sydney FC, huge for the A-League and huge for Australian football," - Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow.

There is no reason even debating the influence Del Piero will have on football in Australia. He truly is one of the greats; a legend and superstar in not only Italy but throughout most of the world. Where do I begin? World Cup winner in 2006, Champions League winner in 1996, 5 Serie A titles with Juventus, 91 caps for the Italian national team (4th highest) and 27 goals, the all-time leading goal scorer for Juventus and highest capped player as well.

"The pitch [proposal] was focused heavily on what he could do for the game in Australia, what he could do for the fans here. Much like what David Beckham has done for the MLS, 'ADP' [Alessandro Del Piero] could do for us in Australia" - Syndey FC CEO Tony Pignata

Del Piero scores Italy's second goal in the 2-0 extra time win over Germany in the 2006 World Cup semi finals

He might be past his best at 37 years of age, and had a limited role for the Old Lady in his last season, but he scored an amazing goal against AS Roma early on in 2012, in exactly the same style in which he is famous for, curling the ball into the top corner. His free kick against Lazio in April 2012, during his 700th appearance for Juventus, reinforces my argument that Del Piero still has so much to offer. It came in the 82nd minute when the game was evenly poised at 1-1, with Juventus looking for the win to consolidate their position at the top of the Serie A table. It does not get more important than that.


Del Piero has previously stated that he wants to keep playing until he is 40. I am a bit upset that the contract is only for 6 months, but who knows, he might just decide to stay the full season. I cannot wait for October the 6th!

European Ryder Cup Team - Overview

Europe's Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal named his two captains picks this morning: Nicolas Colsaerts and Ian Poulter. Unfortunately, Irishman Padraig Harrington misses out on the team for the first time since 1997. His form this year has been patchy and his inability to string good rounds together throughout 2012 was too much for Olazabal to ignore.

Jose Maria Olazabal and Nicolas Colsaerts with the Ryder Cup

Here are the 12 members of the European team who will head to Medinah Country Club, Illinois, to defend their title:

Nicolas Colsaerts: Belgium. 1st appearance. Qualified by captain's pick. 35th in the world. 8th on the Race to Dubai. Won the Volvo World Matchplay in May by defeating Graeme McDowell in the final and finished 7th in this year's British Open.

Sergio Garcia: Spain. 6th appearance (won 14, halved 4, lost 6). Qualified by finishing 7th in World's Points List. 14th in the world. 10th in FedEx Cup. In great form with a win at Wyndham two weeks ago and a 3rd place finish in The Barclays last week.

Paul Lawrie: Scotland. 2nd appearance (won 3, halved one, lost one). Qualified by finishing 3rd on European Points List. 30th in the world. 7th in Race to Dubai. Has won twice this year including last week's Johnnie Walker Championship. Returns to the Ryder Cup after his only appearance in 1999.


Ian Poulter: England. 4th appearance (won 11, halved 0, lost 3). Qualified by captain's pick. 26th in the world. 14th in Race to Dubai. Although he hasn't won this year, Poulter has had 3 top 10s out of the 4 majors.

Paul Lawrie returns after his only previous appearance in 1999

Peter Hanson: Sweden. 2nd appearance (won 1, halved 0, lost 2). Qualified by finishing 6th on European Points list. 34th in the world. 12th in Race to Dubai. Hanson finished tied for 3rd at the Masters this year.

Lee Westwood: England. 8th appearance (won 16, halved 6, lost 11). Qualified by finishing 4th on World Points List. 4th in the world. 10th in Race to Dubai and 27th in FedEx Cup. Won the Nordea Masters this year and recorded top 10s at the Masters and US Open.

Martin Kaymer: Germany. 2nd appearance (won 2, halved 1, lost 1). Qualified by finishing 8th on European Points List. 27th in the world. 30th in Race to Dubai. Has struggled for form this year, with his best finish in the majors a 15th place at the US Open in June.


Graeme McDowell: Northern Ireland. 3rd appearance (win 4, halved 2, lost 2). Qualified by finishing 4th on European Points List. 13th in the world. 6th in Race to Dubai and 33rd in FedEx Cup. McDowell finished inside the top 12 of all four majors in 2012.

Luke Donald: England. 4th appearance (win 8, halved 1, lost 2). Qualified by finishing 2nd on World Points List. 2nd in the world. 9th in Race to Dubai and 14th in FedExCup. Although yet to win a major, Donald has won 2 tournaments this year, one on each side of the Atlantic, including the PGA Tour's Transitions Championship in a four-way playoff.

McIlroy would relish a head-to-head singles battle with Tiger

Rory McIlroy: Northern Ireland. Qualified by finishing 1st on both the European and World Points Lists.1st in the world. 1st in Race to Dubai and 4th in FedEx Cup. Winner of the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, McIlroy jokingly said he would like to "kick" Tiger's "ass" in the Ryder Cup in a press conference before the Barclays. Tiger was present and laughed along with everyone else. Later they both had lunch together, and Tiger told McIlroy "There is no way you are kicking my ass."



Justin Rose: England. 2nd appearance (won 3, halved 0, lost 1). Qualified by finishing 2nd on European Points List. 8th in the world. 2nd in Race to Dubai and 15th in FedEx Cup. The South African born Englishman had 2 top 10s in majors this year and won the WGC Cadillac Championship in March.

Francesco Molinari: Italy. 2nd appearance (won 0, halved 1, lost 2). Qualified by finishing 5th on the European Points List. 25th in the world.4th in Race to Dubai. The consistent Italian won in Spain earlier this year, has 2 runner-up finishes, and has recorded 8 top 10s and no missed cuts in 19 events on the 2012 European Tour.

8 players return from the triumphant team at Celtic Manor, Wales, in  2010. Colsaerts is the only rookie and England has the most representatives with four players. A run down of the USA team will follow when captain Davis Love III names his 4 captain's picks and 8 automatic qualifiers.

Pull yourself together - Golf tuition

Lately I have been pulling the ball, usually quite low. I think I have sorted it out now, though! The ball starts left and continues along the same line. It is a horrible shot, not just to hit, but to look at.

Through some analysis of my own swing I hope I can help you out if you also want to prevent a pull shot. Without seeing your swing, it is hard to pinpoint an exact reason, but I will give a run down of some things to look out for.

First of all, if you are hitting a straight pull that does not have sidespin, it means you are releasing the club properly, in other words, squaring the clubface at impact by rotating the wrists correctly. A pull slice would start left then curve back to the right, meaning you have not correctly released the club. A pull hook is ugly, not only does the ball start left but curves even further left. You have over released the club and might want to check that your grip is not too strong.

The 9 ball flight laws in golf. We are focusing on the 3 left arrows, which show an over-the-top swing path.

 
But with the straight pull, there is one important thing you should check - how do you start the downswing? With your arms of lower body? This is where the problem lies. When a person starts the downswing with their arms, the shoulders will open early and the arms will come over-the-top, that is, the arms and the club go outside the line of the ball. The swing path is out-to-in and therefore the ball with start left of the target. Also, during this movement, the body will tend to tilt to the left.


Solution: start the downswing with the lower body, in particular the hips. Here is what you can do - take your normal backswing, and start the downswing by turning your hips toward the target. DO NOT start by moving the arms. If you start by turning the body, the club with tend to drop "in the slot." By that I mean the club will drop down slightly inside the target line, which is exactly what we want to do when curing an over the top swing. You will also feel that when you make this move, the body will tilt slightly to the right, decreasing the chance of a low pull.

If you do not have alignment rods ... get them!

It never hurts to check your alignment. Who knows, your swing might be alright, and you just need to shift your feet and close your stance or shoulders a little. Important: ALWAYS PRACTICE WITH AN ALIGNMENT ROD!!!


Do this - hold your arms out in front of you, parallel to the ground. Swing the arms back, then rotate your hips to the left. You will find that your arms follow naturally. This is the feeling we want when you hit the ball.


Another drill for practice - place something, like a club head cover or tee, outside the ball. Your goal is to avoid hitting this object on the downsing. If successfull, it means your club is approaching the ball from an angle that will prevent a left-starting shot, assuming you are not using a super strong grip position. You now have a flatter downswing.
club to promote a flatter downswing.

Hopefully through hundreds and hundreds of reps (repititions) (yes that's right, it takes hundreds of these to engrain the feeling ... BE PATIENT!!! ... I will post another entry on how I changed my swing late last year) you will now be confident to hit the course again.

Know this - the starting line and sidespin of the ball are directly affected by the angle of the clubface in relation to the path of your swing. In other words, always check your swing path and position of the clubface at impact.

These tips are from my own knowledge of golf that I have gained over the past six years. I hope these tips helped. If they didn't, remember, I'm just an average amateur who is trying to help you with your golf game. Pay someone if you want reliable, professional help :-)

Fed Ex Cup update, Lydia Ko sensational

 Wide-eyed Watney claims number one

Congratulations to Nick Watney who won The Barclays and now leads the FedEx Cup race. Watney had struggled for form since July but played solid golf to shoot 69 and win by three shots over Brandt Snedeker.

Watney's fifth PGA Tour victory

I guess back-to-back wins was too much for Sergio Garcia in the end. I saw an interesting stat pop up on the TV while Garcia was on hole 14 - he only missed 5 putts inside 5 feet over his first 3 rounds, but had already missed 5 of these over his final round. However, he seems a changed man and his improved putting and attitude on and off the course have contributed to his return to form. Garcia will skip the second playoff event, the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, in favour of a rest before three big tournaments in four weeks: the BMW Championship, Tour Championship (presuming he holds his place in the top 30) and Ryder Cup.

Here are the current top 10 in the FedEx Cup (change in brackets):

Nick Watney         3,269    (up 48)
Brandt Snedeker   2,694    (up 17)
Tiger Woods         2,417    (down 2)
Rory McIlroy        2,299    (down 1)
Zach Johnson        2,166    (down 1)
Jason Dufner         2,110    (down 4)
Bubba Watson      2,080    (down 2)
Dustin Johnson      1,972    (up 18)
Carl Pettersson     1,898    (down 2)
Sergio Garcia        1,810    (up 23)

In addition, Masters runner up Louis Oosthuizen gained 13 places and now sits at 21st, Brit Lee Westwood moved up 24 positions to 27th, 2011 Australian Open winner Greg Chalmers climbed 40 spots to 38th, and Canadian Graeme DeLaet, who finished tied for fifth at The Barclays, jumped a massive 62 places to 44th.

Tiger shot a dissapointing 76 in his final round

The field for the Deutsche Bank is 100, and a further 30 players will be cut before the BMW Championship commences. Notables sitting between the 100-70 positions include popular Korean KJ Choi, South Africa's Rory Sabbatini, 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, and thirteen time PGA Tour winner David Toms. All will need a strong performance this week to sneak into the top 70. A finish outside the top 10 could be damaging.

A proud day for New Zealand sport

A special mention must be given to New Zealander amateur golfer Lydio Ko, who became the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour (ladies equivalent of the PGA Tour) at 15. In what was her second professional win, Ko won by three shots over Korea's Inbee Park at the Canadian Open, which featured many of the top women's golfers in the world. Ko won the US Women's Amateur Championship a few weeks ago, and her hard work is second to none it seems with her dedication to practice rivaling the world's best.

Lydia Ko receives her well-deserved trophy.

Ko's coach Guy Wilson, who works at New Zealand's Institute of Golf, should be commended for his dedication in coaching Ko since she came to New Zealand at the tender age of seven. Ko will play in next month's women's British Open and, quite possibly, enters the tournament as one of the favourites. Could the year get any better for her? Is a Halberg Award a realistic possibility? With the success of New Zealand Olympians such as Lisa Carrington, it will be difficult, but surely Ko has a firm grip on the Emerging Talent Award.

In what is a good decision in my opinion, Ko has decided to maintain her amateur status, resisting the temptation to turn professional and chase the big dollars. Ko argues that she still has "so much to learn" as an amateur. Time is on her side, and assuming her love for the game continues, Ko will be flying New Zealand's flag throughout America and around the world for many years to come.

Fed Ex Cup Preview, Sergio's win.

It is only for the "highly skilled." The top 125 players on the PGA Tour this year will make their way to Bethpage Black for The Barclays, the first of four playoff events in the 2012 FedEx Cup. Dustin Johnson is the defending champ of The Barclays.

After The Barclays, the field will be cut to 100 for the Deutsche Bank Championship, 70 for the BMW Championship, and finally 30 for the Tour Championship at East Lake.

A sign near Bethpage's first tee

Here are the current top 10:

Tiger Woods        2,269  (3 wins)

Jason Dufner        2,110  (2 wins)

Rory McIlroy       2,092  (2 wins)

Zach Johnson       2,019  (2 wins)

Bubba Watson     1,777  (1 win)

Hunter Mahan      1,739  (2 wins)

Carl Pettersson    1,691  (1 win)

Keegan Bradley   1,670  (1 win)

Matt Kuchar        1,600  (1 win)

Steve Stricker      1,456  (1 win)

The Fed Ex Cup has its pros and cons. I like the fact that players who decide to skip an event are punished severely, with more points on offer during the playoffs (2,500 for a win, as opposed to 500/550/600 in the regular season). Jason Dufner has decided to sit out the Barclays, and I'm sure this will come back to bite him if he wants to consolidate his spot for the last event, The Tour Championship, which is cut at 30 players.

However the current format means that a player, such as one ranked between 100-125, is able to make a great jump into the top 10, even though they have not played well all season. Sorry to pick on one guy, but for example, America's Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III sits on 443 points at 105th, but a win would catapult him to 2943 points, and possibly 1st place depending on other results. But I guess the FedEx Cup rewards those who can perform when the pressure it at its highest. For that, I concur. 

Also, the fact that the points are reset for the finale means that all 30 have a mathematical chance of winning. I will always remember the somewhat farcical situation in 2008 where Vijay Singh was so far ahead going into the final playoff event, no one could possibly catch him. All he had to do was avoid disqualification to win the FedEx Cup and the ridiculous $10 million prize.

Bill Haas lifts the 2011 Tour Championship and FedEx Cup trophies

Other notables worth a mention: 2011 winner Bill Haas sits in 21st place. Sergio Garcia, who prevailed in the last regular season event, is in 33rd place after previously being ranked 102nd, one place behind his good friend Adam Scott. US Open champion Webb Simpson is in 13th place, and world number 2 Luke Donald is safely poised in 16th.

I never have much luck with predictions but I shall go through the formalities anyway.

Obviously there is Tiger Woods. With 3 wins already this year, and a good record at Bethpage Black which includes the 2002 US Open, it would be wrong to go against him. I will come out and say it - Tiger will win the FedEx Cup and claim back his world number one ranking! Big call, but I want to see it!

Do not ask me why, but I am not a fan of McIlroy. It probably comes from jealousy in the fact he is one year my senior and has such a perfect swing. Quickly becoming a confident finisher of tournaments, McIlroy's power will give him an advantage this week. It is the putting that can let him down at times.

Pettersson won the RBC Heritage earlier this year

Carl Pettersson has been one of the form players this year and also over the past month, with a strong showing at the PGA Championship and a top 10 finish at Wyndham last week. The likeable Swede should have a good outing this week.

Graeme McDowell has been there or there abouts over the past two years in most of the majors and other big tournaments worldwide. I am thinking he will win one of the four playoff tournaments, but maybe not this one.

Adam Scott came back well after his British implosion (gosh it is terrible thinking back to it!) to finish 11th in the PGA Championship. Before the FedEx Cup was established, Scott won the Deutsche Bank in 2003 and the Tour Championship in 2006, so drawing on those memories could help him.

Then there is rookie 22 year old American Bud Cauley, who was impressive in finishing 3rd at Wyndham last week. Positioned in 35th place, he has performed very well this year for such an inexperienced PGA Tour pro. Perhaps he will surprise a few over the next month.

It will be interesting to see what Sergio does after his win last week. Remember, he won with a caretaker caddy, local David Faircloth, after parting ways with long time caddy Garry Matthews. 

I will digress here to move on to something that Sergio said in his post-tournament press conference regarding his caretaker caddy: "He’ll probably get 75 and a tip" Garcia joked, but then went on to say “He’s going to be happy with what he gets. Obviously he’s not going to get what a normal caddie would get, because his job was fairly easy. But he’ll be happy with whatever he gets.” 

This has been met with some controversy. But Faircloth did not have the usual hands-on role of most PGA Tour caddies. Sergio also said that he made most of the decisions himself and that this was a good thing for him going forward, because in the past he tended to be indecisive and rely too much on the caddy to make the decisions for him. 

Garcia acknowledges Faircloth after the win

Usually, top, full time caddies earn 10% of winnings. Garcia pocketed $960,000 US for this win, but it would be unlikely that Faircloth would receive $96,000. We will probably never know the figure, but I would like to think that Garcia would give him a generous $40-50,000.

On a final note, Garcia seemed to get a bit worked up at the ignorance of the American media after his win, and I did too. Actually, it got me quite angry. It is true that this was Garcia's first win on the PGA Tour since 2008, but the media kept explicitly driving home the idea that this was Garcia's first win since 2008. Garcia rightly pointed out that he won two European Tour events late in 2011, and said that just because they were wins in Europe doesn't mean they aren't important. Exactly Sergio!

Sergio's resurgence

Sergio Garcia has just won the Wyndham Championship, his first victory on the PGA Tour since the Players' Championship in 2008. Too long for such a talented golfer.

His second round 62 was his lowest round on the PGA Tour in a decade. Usually struggling with his putter, Sergio made 42/42 putts inside 8 feet up until the 14 hole of his 3rd round. Incredible.

What impressed me the most about Sergio was his attitude. It was quite unusual to see a more composed, focused and confident golfer, as opposed to the Sergio who adopts the "woe is me" attitude all too often and gets down on himself after an unlucky break. 

Another positive for Sergio is that he closed out a tournament, something he has found difficult to do in the past. He led going into the fourth round of the 2009 staging of this event, only to have a disappointing final round and finish in fourth. His bunker shot on the 18th to get into the playoff came up an inch short. He has also surrendered the lead in a few majors, in particular the British Open at Carnoustie in 2007, where he entered the final round with a 3 shot lead - he also lead the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds - only to lose in a playoff to Padraig Harrington.

Although Sergio has had a habit of falling at the final hurdle, or not being able to finish the job, he can rise to the challenge. Last year in 2011 Sergio was just outside the world's top 50, in danger of missing out on participating at the US Open, and had used up his major exemptions from winning the 2008 Player's Championship. He just made it to the US Open and British Open through last minute qualifying, and went on to finish tied for 7th in the US Open and tied for 9th in the British Open. As of the 2012 PGA Championship, Garcia has played in 54 straight majors, the longest current streak of anyone.

It is great that El Niño is finding his "A" game just in time for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He goes to the Barclays at Bethpage Black in 33rd position, a remarkable climb from entering Wyndham in 102nd place. He still has a bit of work to do to get inside the top 30 for the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

 But I am sure his main focus was the getting into Europe's Ryder Cup team beginning on September 28. Sergio sat outside the automatic picks in the "World" points list, and this was effectively his last chance to not rely on a captain's pick from Jose Maria Olazabal. He has only missed one Ryder Cup since 1999, in 2010, where instead he played the role of vice-captain.

Sergio has an exceptional history in the Ryder Cup, with a 14-6-4 (win-loss-draw) record. His strong showing this week at a wet Sedgefield Country Club has probably done enough to convince Olazabal that he would be an asset for the European team at Medinah. Sergio loves the Ryder Cup and when getting excited, pumped up, ready to go, he will show you.

All Black, Warriors, Tennis,

 I need to rush through this blog post ... got to get that essay finished!

I will get the negative out of the way first. Do I even need to tell you who I am talking about? There was a feeling of inevitability as the Penrith Panthers scored their second try with twenty minutes to go and get to within 4 points of the Warriors. Deep down I just knew that the Warriors would blow it again, and sadly, they did.

There are so many ways to approach this issue so I write this without much thought. You cannot blame Warriors coach Brian "Bluey" McClennan for his players' inability to catch a ball and get off the tackled player in time, but you can blame him for picking the same culprits. Yet again, if these guys were given professional contracts in the first place then surely they can catch, pass and tackle, regardless of if they are first team material.

The Warriors are not fit. I cannot remember a game this season where they have played the 80 minutes! Again, how can you be given a professional contract without being fit? Right from the first game against Manly where they conceded a few tries in the first 20 minutes, the same old problems have continued and are getting worse. Getting off to slow starts, getting off to fast starts then falling asleep, not closing the game out, and so on.

Do the players have faith in their coach? In themselves? Their team mates? Are the Warriors players proud of their team? Stupid question, of course they are, but they do not seem to be showing it. Maybe if they stuck to two strips - home and away - instead of switching from pink paint splatters, green, red, white, black, and grey.

Bluey has been unlucky with injuries but so too have other teams. Being without a fully fit Michael Luck for most of the season, Jerome Ropati was lost early on, Kevin Locke has been in and out and so have Simon Mannering and Nathan Friend. It is hard for a coach to put together a plan when players are coming in and out and dropping like flies.

The Warriors' former coach Ivan Cleary has been struggling with his Panthers just like Bluey is with his new team. I genuinely feel sorry for Bluey as it wasn't more than a year ago that many people wanted him brought in to the Warriors. I am prepared to give Bluey next year to write his wrongs, but if no improvement is evident after several games into 2013, then panic stations it is!

On the All Blacks 27-19 victory over the Wallabies in Sydney, I heard a statistic that there was only 14-15 minutes of open play in the second half. Alain Rolland could not keep the whistle out of his mouth and made the game, in my opinion, the most boring, stop-start, discontinuous game of rugby I have ever watched!

However, the two tries the All Blacks scored were spectacular, with Carter linking up with Israel Dagg who went on to beat Kurtley Beale one on one down the sideline. Then there was twinkle toes Cory Jane doing what he does best. Sonny Bill Williams and Ma'a Nonu had a quiet night but their presence was certainly felt in providing a distraction for the Australian opposition.

The All Blacks were far from their best and the Australians could not say much either. Even though Robbie Deans had an extra two weeks to solidify his team after no Australian Super Rugby Franchise made the top-four, they looked out of sorts and the embarrassing case of the ‘dropsies’ from Beale and Scott Higginbotham was quite entertaining. Predictably, the All Blacks will be even better at Eden Park this week in securing the Bledisloe Cup for the tenth consecutive year.

The pressure continues to mount on Robbie Deans who, in his first Bledisloe Cup match back in 2008 was labelled a hero in Australia, has made very little progress with this his side. They won the Tri Nations last year, so what? Graham Henry had other priorities in 2011. For Robbie, losing home matches to Scotland and Samoa over the last two years does not help his cause.

What a shame it will be when Rafael Nadal does not take the court at Flushing Meadows next week for the last tennis major of the year, the US Open. The amount of power Rafa has in his game is obviously putting pressure on his knees, much like Tiger Woods and golf, and I just hope that it is not too serious in the long term. Roger Federer convincingly bet Novak Djokovic 6-0, 7-6(7) in the final of the Cincinnati Masters in the lead up and, being the huge Federer fan that I am, would love nothing more than to see the Fed Express lift his 18th major trophy.

Talk about consistency, here is an incredible statistic - from Wimbledon 2005 to the Australian Open in 2010 (19 major appearances), Federer made all but one final, the 2008 Australian Open, after losing to Djokovic in the semis. Must of been my fault, cause I was there!

Until next time, ciao.

Olympics - does population influence medal prospects?

Some statistics from the London 2012 Olympics. Data taken from www.medalspercapita.com

 There seems to be a pretty strong relationship between GDP and total medals won, with a few exceptions.

There is not a very strong relationship between total medals won and total population. However, if you take out India and China, the odd ones out, then this relationship is slightly stronger, but not as strong as the GDP-Medals comparison.

Tiger, where art thou?

At last. Rory McIlroy becomes the first golfer to win multiple majors since Padraig Harrington in 2008. It has been a long time, 17 majors in fact, too long in my opinion, for someone to show some consistent dominance in the majors. Two is nothing to get excited about, but the fact that McIlroy has won his first two majors at a slightly younger age than Tiger Woods (one month), sets up well for the future of golf. Some are already talking about Rory catching Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors. Take it easy, he has only one 2, let's wait till he hits double figures before getting anywhere near discussing this. He probably will reach 10 majors, but until then, let's wait. Emphasizing how hard it actually is to win multiple majors, Rory, at 23, joins 36 year old Woods as the only two pros under the age of 40 to do so. 

Once again Tiger had failed to play a good round on Saturday, traditionally known as "moving day." Tiger did move at the US Open and British Open this year, but in the wrong direction. Amazingly, Tiger failed to break par in the weekend of all four majors this year and has been near, or taken the lead, into the weekend of the last three majors. Once upon a time, Tiger would never surrender the lead in a major. We could even trace this back to the 2009 PGA Championship where, entering the third round, he had a 4 shot lead. Tiger then began Sunday with a 2 shot lead and went on to surrender his first "lead in a major when entering the final round" to YE Yang of South Korea.

I have said this since the beginning of Tiger's partnership with new coach Sean Foley, which began 2 years ago. I said I would give him two years to adjust to his new swing. Those 2 years have now past and, from 2013 onwards, I do not want to hear Tiger talking about the "process" of adjusting to Sean's methods. Essentially, if Tiger does not win a major next year - cause ultimately that is how you are judged in the golfing world - then it would be pretty safe to say that Tiger's drought is more than just physical, it is mental.

The dedication to the full swing and implementing those changes has come at the expense of Tiger's putting and short game wedge shots. Over the past few months Tiger has hit many wedge shots that have not gone pin high, in other words, his distance control with the short clubs is non-existent nearly all the time now. Tiger ranked very highly in most putting statistics in 2007 and 2009, but from 2010-2012 has not performed as well. Similar arguments can be made for his chipping and pitching from looking at PGATour.com

This will sound ridiculous to most of you, but Steve Williams understood Tiger's golf game more than anyone. Obviously with all his talent, Tiger would have won bunches of tournaments without a caddy at all, but the caddy's role is more than just stating distances. His current caddy, Joe LaCava, is experienced and has caddied for the likes of Dustin Johnson, but Stevie's knowledge of Tiger's game is second to none. This was evident during the final round of the 2008 US Open where, needing a birdie on the 72nd hole, Williams persuaded Tiger to change his club for the approach shot. Tiger ended up pin-high, and the rest is history. Williams could draw on years and years of knowledge of the world's best golfer to make this well-informed decision. LaCava has only been caddying for Woods just under a year now and it could take a few more years for Tiger to reap the full benefits of his current caddy. Similarly, Steve Williams has been caddying for Adam Scott for near on a year, and last month's British Open will only help Williams develop understanding of Adam's golf game and mental frame of mind.

So should Tiger fanatics panic that he has been stuck on 14 majors for just over four years? Tiger himself has said it at times; Jack was 46 years old when he won his 18th major, the Masters in 1986, his sixth green jacket. So assuming Tiger remains injury free he has 10 more years, in other words 40 majors, to win 4. Winning ten percent of majors for the next 10 years? That sounds straightforward even for a less-dominant Tiger. People argue that Tiger has gone 4 years without a major but it is hard to count 2010 and 2011 as genuine years cause of all sorts of reasons. He has still been one of the dominating players this year without actually playing that well, winning three times, more than any other pro on the PGA Tour. I would love nothing more than to see Tiger reach, or even better pass, that magic number of 18. The fact that he has misbehaved off the course does not in any way hinder my judgement on him as a golfer.

Picking the cherries from New Zealand's Olympic campaign

The recently completed London Olympics have engrained memories in me forever. Highs, lows, tears of joy and defeat, moments that make me proud to be a New Zealander. Seeing representatives from your country, standing in for your national identity, are what makes sport so enthralling even if you are not in to it.

I have no time for equestrian and little time for both BMX riding and sailing. But put a New Zealander in those sports and I instantly become a passionate follower, immersed in the hype and emotion that surrounds the athletes themselves. What a fantastic sight it was to see Mark Todd, the 56 year old who was competing 28 years after his first Olympics, win a bronze medal in the Teams Eventing. I don’t think I appreciate how hard it must be to a control a horse, get it to follow your orders, and I probably never will, but I recognize that it must take long years of training to become a perfectionist, which is what Todd is really when you consider what he has done over the years.

The same goes for BMX rider Sarah Walker. The 24 year old finished fourth at Beijing in 2008 but improved on that outing to leave London with a silver medal. The final of the women's 470 sailing race is another example of a sport that I am unfamiliar with. However, Olivia Powrie and Jo Aleh are names that will go down in New Zealand's sporting legacy. In the final race, all they needed to do was finish ahead of Britain, regardless of what the other pairs did, to win the gold. Forget that, they finished first, with Britain well behind in 9th place, an amazing feat.

The number one highlight for me was the men's rowing double sculls final that featured the duo of Joseph Sullivan and Nathan Cohen. The Kiwi pair was trailing well behind the leaders with only 500 metres to go, but staged a remarkable comeback to hurl in the leading Italian crew. I found myself cheering for both, but ultimately there could only be one winner, and I take my hat off for the way Sullivan and Cohen reinforced the do-or-die attitude during the race and the way the Italian pair congratulated the New Zealanders afterwards at the medal ceremony. For more opinion on New Zealand's rowing campaign, check out this blog.

Another bright light for New Zealand, albeit a medal-less campaign, was the excellent performance of the women's Blacksticks hockey team. Notable performances include a win against Australia and a draw against 2nd ranked Argentina. They were world class against the number 1 ranked Dutch side, taking the lead twice, before suffering in the heartbreak that is the penalty shootout. After the Games, they moved up to 3rd in the world, a just reward for an incredible two weeks. I am confident this young team will be world beaters in the near future and a gold medal prospect come Rio 2016. On a sour note, it was a shame to see the men's Blacksticks lead Germany 5-2 into the second half of their group match, then concede 3 goals, including 1 with 90 seconds remaining. To rub salt into the wounds, the Germans won the gold medal, which shows me that they can compete with the best. It was a disappointment to see them finish 9th out of 12 teams.

Then there was the embarrassing gloating of the New Zealand media where, after seven days of Olympic competition, Australia only had one gold medal and New Zealand had 3.  It became even more ridiculous when the Sydney Morning Herald published a medal table with "Aus Zealand" listed as a country. Now when I think about it, "New Australia" just does not sound right either! As it turns out, the Australians had a flourish of gold medals over the next few days, and normality was restored.

It was a shame to see flag-bearer Nick Willis not live up to expectations when he finished outside of the medal positions for the men's 1500 metres. But this was largely a media construct, with other runners in great form and Nick winning the silver four years ago in Beijing. It was always going to be hard for him, but he has done New Zealand proud.

The joy on the face of New Zealand cyclist Simon van Velthooven after winning bronze in the Keirin race was great to see. At 23, what an experience it must of been for him, especially when he had to wait in anticipation for several minutes while the judges analysed the "photo-finish" between him and Dutch rider Teun Mulder. This incident revels the true spirit of the Olympics, the competitors were too close to separate and it would of been unfair to give the bronze to just one of them. Sometimes, equality can be a good thing.

It is lucky that I am writing this blog after the revelation that Nadzeya Ostapchuk, gold medal winner in the women's shotput over New Zealand hopeful Valerie Adams, had taken metenolone, an anabolic steroid. I was going to ramble on about that New Zealanders should just accept defeat and give credit to the better opponent on the day, but as it turns out, this better opponent was a cheat. Ostapchuk will now relinquish her gold medal, meaning that Valerie was successful in defending her Olympic title. Brief research into metenolone reveals that it is, indeed, banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and has testosterone like qualities. In everyday language, without sounding too un-politically correct, that means it can give females the advantages or characteristics of males. Ostapchuk fits this category and the appearance of her skin adds to the truth. I do feel sorry for Ostapchuk, she has to live with the shame of being labelled a "cheat" for the rest of her life. Then again, as Valerie has rightly pointed out, why would you take such a risk?

So after all that, I was upset at the thought of no more Olympics for about 1500 days. London has staged a remarkable event with great pride and enthusiasm. Watching Uganda's Stephen Kiprotich win the men's marathon and his country's first gold medal in 40 years, as well as Gabon picking up their first ever Olympic medal through Anthony Obame in taekwondo on the second to last day, capped off a wonderful fortnight of sport. Now there are the final stages of the Warriors' dismal season to look forward to, or not. The Black Caps tour to India? Don't know about that either. Four years is too long to wait for another global spectacle that is the Olympics. Then again, it wouldn't have the same aura about it if it was a regular occurrence. Can't wait for Rio 2016.

I am sorry Black Caps - calling for a hero

The Black Caps recent tour to the West Indies has almost confirmed for me that I have fallen out of love for this team. To say that I watched more than an hour of this series would be an overstatement, replays and live coverage combined. The timezone factor is not relevant - I have stayed up to watch the Olympics - it is just that I have little, if any, desire to watch our national team play cricket anymore.

For the record, the Black Caps managed just one win from 9 matches, that included two Twenty20 games, five one day internationals and two tests. 

 New Zealand is now ranked 8th in Tests, 8th in One Day Internationals (ODIs), and (hooray) 6th in Twenty20s, which I have little time for anyway.

In the last test, New Zealand lost their last 8 wickets in the second innings for 74 runs. 7 out of 10 wickets were lost to spinners, with Guptil and BJ Watling being dismissed by a part timer. The Indians, who the Black Caps will tour to next, have spinners of higher quality so there is a lot of concern here. Trent Boult has my backing since he seems to swing the ball a bit. Wagner, after all the waiting to get him into the team, has not impressed me so far after his success with the Otago Volts. 130 kmph is not exactly going to scare the likes of Chris Gayle, let alone the upcoming Indian batsmen.

I concur with former New Zealand cricketer Craig McMillan when, on a radio talkback show, he pointed out that our batsmen cannot seem to learn from their mistakes. McMillan used the example of Ross Taylor, who was dismissed after going for a cut shot in the first innings, only to go out in the same fashion in the second innings.

Vettori, although he did not take part in the second test and is unlikely to go to India because of injury, is a great economy bowler and remains useful for limited overs cricket. But his inability to take wickets, which is more important in test cricket, puts the other bowlers under intense pressure. Therefore, it is vital that we develop some world-class spinners, possibly starting with Tarun Nethula or Roneel Hira. 


What I am longing for is the performances that win games. Where are the heroic performances that I witnessed during my childhood? The epic moments that send a chill down my spine and make me proud to call myself a New Zealander. The only one in recent memory I can think of is Bracewell who, in December 2011, took 6/40 against Australia in Hobart to lift the Black Caps to their first test win on Australian soil since 1986. But apart from that nothing (in the last 4 years) stands out. It's not that I'm not thinking deep enough, because I can clearly remember moments from the early 2000s that I will never forget.


In the final of the 2000 ICC Knockout Tournament (now known as the ICC Champions Trophy) in Kenya, New Zealand needed about 90 runs from the last 10 overs. Cairns was struggling with a knee injury and did not play in the semi-final victory over Pakistan. It came down to the last over, with Cairns flicking a full toss to square leg for the winning runs, finishing on 102 not out. An amazing illustration of guts and perseverance.

I will never forget the moment Shane Bond, in his first taste of international cricket, humiliated the Aussies in the 2001/2002 VB Series. He terrorised Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist with 140kmph-plus in swinging yorkers. He even tripped Gilchrist up in one instance.

Although it came in a losing team performance, Nathan Astle's 222 not out was one of the finest displays of power-hitting from a Black Cap. To this day, Astle still holds the record for the fastest double century in test cricket - 153 balls. Remarkably, the second hundred came off just 39 balls.

Then there was the man that never, in my opinion, fulfilled his potential. Maybe it would of been better if he did not start his career on such a high. Matthew Sinclair, on debut at the Basin Reserve against the West Indies in 1999, scored 214. Then there was one of the best catches I have ever seen, in the 2001/2002 VB Series, where he took a diving one-hander on the boundary after a Matthew Hayden pull shot. Sinclair turned around to the crowd and pointing his finger, as if to say "stuff ya!"


There are several others that I could mention, but I think you get my point. It seems that, for the short term at least, I am better off spending my time reminiscing on the good ol' days of New Zealand cricket. Hopefully this current crop of cricketers will find it in themselves to inspire a new generation of youngsters, just like the guys from the late 1990s to mid 2000s did for me.

2012 PGA Championship - Preview

The final golf major of the year takes place this week at one of my favourite courses in the world - The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in North Carolina. Situated adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, the course provides its users with a conundrum of sorts: spectacular views but also blustery winds. Players can find themselves hitting the same shot on different days, but with every possibility of an 6,7 or 8 club difference depending on the wind. Keeping the ball low, shaping your shots, and controlling spin around the greens will be paramount this week with large bunkers and heavy links-style rough ready to punish the wayward golfer.

This course does not seem to have a lot of blind shots, that is, shots where you cannot see the flag. However, there are many other problems as mentioned above. Many of the greens function as upside down bowls, with the 3rd green giving little breathing space in this regard even though there are no bunkers in the surrounding area. But sand plays its part almost everywhere. Hitting the green on the par three 8th will be a tough ask with its small landing area encompassed by a drop off into the sand. The majority of the 10th fairway and green is also bordered by sand and beach grass. The 238 yard par three 14th mirrors these qualities and could well prove to be the toughest hole on the course if the wind, as predicted, blows hard.

But challenging the 14th for the label as "toughest hole" could well be the very next hole, the monster par four which measures 497 yards. Water all along the right side from tee to green could prove a major challenge.

The par threes are massive. All four are above the 180 yard mark with two being over 225 yards. Some will be hitting woods into these greens if the wind comes into their faces.

I am glad that this tournament will contain a par 3, 4 and 5 in the last 3 holes. A 5-3-4 finish is just what I love to see as it asks golfers to do the lot. This finish will be one of the best in recent memory. Do you have the guts and confidence to make an eagle to tie the lead? Can you handle the narrow approach to the 17th which is the toughest 17th hole I have seen in a while? How will you manage to overcome the 501 yard 18th and avoid the trap to the left?

Well enough on the course, let's talk about the contenders. Arguably the two best players to have never won a major will be playing together during the first two rounds - Adam Scott  my man Sergio Garcia. It would be risky to give Sergio any chance due to his recent run of form, including a missed cut at the British Open, a tournament that is usually to his liking. Cannot see Adam winning as it might be too soon since his collapse at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

Tiger Woods has really been struggling with his putter of late and also his wedge game from 120 yards in. He simply isn't leaving his approaches close enough to the hole for genuine birdie chances and had some awkward-looking three putts at Bridgestone last week. But to be fair, he found some form with the short stick during his last 2 rounds at Bridgestone and now looks in good shape. Tiger also managed to handle himself well at the British Open in windy conditions, putt average, and still finish in the top 10. I'm sure he will handle the wind this week, but I'm not positive he can win unless he putts like he know he can. Remember, Tiger does not enjoy winless streaks and has just had consecutive top 10s for the first time in three years.

Apart from his dramatic collapse last week with a double bogey on the 72nd hole, Jim Furyk has been in great form of late. The 2010 Fed Ex Cup champion  finished in the top 5 at the US Open back in June, where he also managed to collapse on the last hole, hooking a 100 yard wedge into a bunker.

Jason Dufner (multiple winner this year), Louis Oosthuizen (runner up at the Masters and top 10 finisher at Bridgestone), Luke Donald (a consistent last outing and current world number 1) American Matt Kuchar, and Rory McIlroy also make my contenders cut. Could this finally be Luke Donald's chance to silence all his critics and win his first major?

Overall there will be 156 players making their way to Kiawah, with all of the world's top 100 taking part. It shapes up as the most exciting major this year, for me anyway. I just hope that the winner actually wins it, rather than being witness to another choke which has happened in the last two majors and frequently throughout this year on the professional golf circuit.