Steady. Reserved. Composed. If Jim Furyk were a Foreigner song, he’d be “Cold as Ice.” But Sunday in Hilton Head at the RBC Heritage after nailing back-to-back birdies in the playoff, the second dunk putting the kibosh on Kevin Kisner’s tartan jacket dream, Furyk let his flatstick hit the green with the macho gusto of a mic drop. Then he gave a triumphal air punch while wearing an ecstatic grin on his face as if he’d topped the leaderboard for the very first time despite this being the 44-year-old Tour stalwart’s 17th W. It had been quite awhile though, one hundred starts and five years since the last time calls for maximal exuberance, don’t ya think?
Can Jordan Spieth add the plaid jacket to his wardrobe? Back-back-tourney wins is a tough feat to pull off and after the whirlwind press tour will Spieth be phased or be able to put all that aside and get right back into the swing of things? While the Heritage's winners gallery pales in comparison to the Masters there's been many top tier champs over the years including Arnold Palmer (1969), Jack Nicklaus (1975), Tom Watson (1979 and 1982), Payne Stewart (1989, 1990), and Jim Furyk (2010) to name a few. So Spieth will be gunning to join their ranks and who doesn't want to hang a tartan jacket next to the green one.
Ok, this is derived from an old joke but seeing as I just got this ole email joke thought I'd share:
"Taking a wee break from the golf course, Rory Mcllroy drives his new Ferrari into an Irish gas station. An attendant greets him in a typical Irish manner, unaware who the golf pro is..."Top o’ the mornin to ya"As Rory gets out of the car, two tees fall out of his pocket."What are those things, laddie?" asks the attendant."They're called tees," replies Rory."And what would ya be usin 'em for, now?" inquires the Irishman."Well, they're for resting my balls on when I drive," replies Rory."Aw,Jaysus, Maryan' Joseph!" exclaims the Irish attendant. "Those fellas at Ferrari think of everything... Naturally, everybody's going to be focused on the final group of Jordan Spieth/Justin Rose with many eyes also peeled to the machinations of the Rory/Tiger pairing too, but there's another monumental Sunday pairing that tees off at 2:20 p.m between a couple of fellers tied for fifth place. Sure they may both be ten strokes back of the lead, but a green jacket isn't the only prize, "Kevin" supremacy is also on the line today. Which Kev will come out on top, Na or Streelman?
The smooth swinging and clutch putting Aussie strung together a five-in-a-row birdie binge on hole No. 12 thru 16 at Augusta National. He's tied with Ernie Els in the two spot on a leaderboard that is for the moment being lorded over by a young and overflowing with confidence Jordan Spieth who is sitting on a three stroke lead. This is a familiar spot to be in for Day. After all he's been the runner up at the 2013 U.S. Open, the 2011 U.S. Open and the 2011 Masters but we've got plenty of golf left to play. Sportscasters fixated on the half baked concept of "due-ness" as a means of assessing karmic worthiness may speculate that the stars are aligned in his favor and that this time he's taken care of custody of the silver medal spot early so come Sunday we just might see "Day's Break." While I don't put much stock in the idea of being ripe for victory, when you're gunning for the green jacket and came oh so close in the past it does push his desire to get it done above most of the field.
In an interview with Golf.com, Gary Player, 80, yet fitter than a fiddle after a 24-hour Bluegrass jam session and still the biggest gym rat in the game, calls this latest theory nonsense and hogwash.
The Black Knight debunks the overtraining theory by using his fountain of youth sipping, still shooting 70 baddass self as an example as to why the gym is always a golfer's BFF: "Two days ago I pressed 310lbs with my legs, he begins before adding in the qualifier that this poundage was below the usual because he'd laid off for a few days. "Now if I went to the gym today I'd press 400 lbs. I do 1300 crunches and the last two I do with a 100lb weight on my chest.” He then drops his age again and reminds the interviewer that he could beat most 30-year-olds in a fitness contest. You just know Back 9 Network and Golf Channel execs were scratching their chins thinking, now that’s a show idea: Can you do more push-ups than Gary Player? Nike's Ripple commercial launches On the heels of the NYT piece with that chestnut about a 9 year old Rory McIlroy still heady from topping the leaderboard at the 1998 Doral-Publix Junior Golf Classic in Florida penning a fan letter to Tiger Woods “No one can recall the note’s precise wording, but its general thrust, as Brian McIlroy, Rory’s uncle and godfather, paraphrased in an email, put Woods on notice: “I’m coming to get you. This is the beginning. Watch this space.” You have to soulless to be left dry eyed watching the new Rory ad below, a dramatic representation of a bright eyed and bushy tailed McIlroy learning to play golf while watching Tiger revolutionize the game on the telly. |
Mike Dojc
When Mike isn't repairing impossibly large divots or alphabetizing his impressive ball marker collection, he’s slinging copy for a diverse range of editorial and corporate entities. Clients have included Nike, AAA, Maxim, Esquire.com, Metro, Inside Fitness, Sharp, Huffington Post + tons more. Reach Mike at [email protected] Archives
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