Golf Monthly

neil.tappin@futurenet.com As you will have seen from the cover of this issue, we are celebrating the 50th birthday of the greatest golfer of the modern era, if not of all time. Tiger Woods might not dominate the golfing landscape as he once did but his achievements continue to shine brightly. In fact, the emergence of Scottie Scheffler as a standout World No.1 has only served to underline the extraordinary accomplishments of his predecessor. Allow me to throw some numbers at you. At the time of writing, Woods has played in 378 PGA Tour events and won 82 of them. That gives him a winning percentage of 21.7%. He made 339 cuts and finished inside the top ten on 199 occasions. He also spent 683 weeks as World No.1. For context,…

An ode to the game we love I stand there just like Seve, with my golf club in my hands,I wiggle everything I have, then settle in my stance,I stare straight down the fairway, then at my golf ball on the tee,Then I swing and hit the thing… and hear it hit a tree. It sort of shoots out sideways then I find it in the rough,I look at where the golf ball lies; this could be quite tough,I take a club I think is right and swing it good and hard,I hit the ball and off it goes, about 47 yards. At least it’s on the fairway now, I might just have a chance,So, I stand and wiggle once again, with an iron in my hands,This time the ball…

Kristoffer, congratulations on winning the Nedbank Golf Challenge. How does it feel? It’s really hard to sum up how I feel. I had a lot of nerves out there during the final round, but to get it over the line in the end is a better feeling that I can describe! I’m trying my best to deal with nervousness and fear and it’s really, really difficult. I’ve managed to do that really well ever since mid-season last year. It keeps getting increasingly difficult, but I’m glad to have dealt with it in a good way to win the Nedbank. It means so much to me - I’m so pleased. At what point did the nerves kick in during the final round? I hadn’t been in this situation before in my…

“I DON’T KNOW WHY THEY WEREN’T AT ALL WHAT KEEGAN HAD ASKED FOR”Justin Thomas told the No Laying Up podcast that Team USA ‘argued with’ Bethpage staff over Ryder Cup green speeds “AFTER 450 DP WORLD TOUR EVENTS, I’VE DECIDED IT’S TIME TO STOP CHASING AND START EXPLORING NEW OPPORTUNITIES”Two-time DP World Tour winner Oliver Wilson announced he’s calling time on his professional career “MAN, I WISH SOMETHING MAJOR WOULD HAPPEN, BUT I DON’T THINK IT’S GOING TO”Bryson DeChambeau says he can’t see golf’s great divide being healed any time soon “THE FACT TWO OF OUR BEST TOURNAMENTS OF THE SEASON ARE ON THE SAME WEEK IS JUST MIND BLOWING”Richard Mansell questioned the decision to have the Australian Open and Nedbank Golf Challenge on at the same time…

Former Masters and US Open champion Fuzzy Zoeller, born Frank Urban Zoeller Jr, died in November aged 74. The man from Indiana was the last player to win The Masters on debut, triumphing at Augusta in 1979. “I’ve never been to heaven and, thinking back on my life, I probably won’t get a chance to go,” Zoeller joked years later. “I guess The Masters is as close as I’m going to get.” He went on to lift his second Major five years later at Winged Foot. However, his career was marred by controversy over a racist joke he made about Tiger Woods in 1997. He later wrote: “I’ve cried many times. I’ve apologized countless times for words said in jest that just aren’t a reflection of who I am.” 68.68…

Yes Says Fergus Bisset The lowest medal score I’ve ever posted at my home club was played in persistent rain. It was a Wednesday competition towards the end of the 2007 season. I played brilliantly and putted like a god. I narrowly missed a putt on the final green to match the course record. I enjoyed that round… a lot. So, yes, I can enjoy playing golf in the rain. It all depends on mindset. If you approach a rainy day on the course as a chore, you will find it to be a chore. If you approach it as a challenge, you may find it hugely rewarding. Battling the elements and not being beaten by them is one of the great feelings in golf, as far as I’m concerned.…