News

Why The Asterisk?

Published

16 years ago

Jul 19, 2008

Before you decide to flame me or call me names, just hear me out. I think the fact that some believe the winner of the British Open should have an asterisk is absolutely absurd. Seriously. I’m totally open for suggestions here. Give me one good reason that someone’s hard-earned win should have a footnote that Mr. Tiger Woods was not playing?

These golfers have spent their lives preparing for professional golf. They train hard and practice. If they play their game right and work the course, they come out on top. It is truly a shame that when they are interviewed they are consistently asked about Tiger Woods. They deserve their own press without mentioning another player.

Incidentally, I’m definitely a Tiger Woods fan. I’ve watched his entire career and truly admire him as an athlete, a golfer, and a human being. He is one of the elite and has elevated the sport. Even so, there should not be a special note next to those who win tournaments he is not in. In addition, there should be no special accommodations for those who beat him. In 2007, Tiger finished 12^th in the British Open. Does the winner of that event, Padraig Harrington, have an asterisk next to his win? If this year’s winner must have a footnote that Tiger wasn’t playing then Harrington should have one saying he finished in first in spite of Tiger’s presence.

If there is a sidebar to this year’s British Open winner then there are several more that need to be added. For example, there needs to be an asterisk next to the New York Giants Super Bowl winning season. They deserve a bit extra since they beat the previously undefeated New England Patriots. In addition, any team that beat the Chicago Bulls after Michael Jordan left should have an asterisk next to their win.

It all sounds very silly, doesn’t it? The British Open winner this year deserves to be called just that, the winner.

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10 Comments

Joe

Aug 10, 2008 at 8:07 pm

well said. i cant believe somebody even suggested an asterisk??? thats like saying EVERY tourney that someone wins that Tiger wasnt playing in should have an asterisk next to their name. thats just absurd and ridiculous.

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rio

Jul 26, 2008 at 1:49 pm

Agreed.

There’s no asterisk next to major winners the year after Hogan was mauled and crushed in that car wreck. While on that subject, had Tiger Woods been in a similar auto accident and subsequently performed like Hogan did afterwards, today’s media would talk about Woods in the same breath as God himself.

Oh, and there’s no asterisk next to all the major winners after Jack turned 50, either. You must show up at the first tee and hit it. It’s that simple.

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bullard

Jul 26, 2008 at 2:09 am

“The British Open winner this year deserves to be called just that, the winner*.”

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interossiter

Jul 23, 2008 at 12:08 pm

Agreed the asterisk is silly. All you can do in a tournament is play whoever shows up. Should there be additional asterisks because Nicklaus, Hogan and Bobby Jones weren’t there?

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8thehardway

Jul 23, 2008 at 11:24 am

The asterisk would be a nasty little reminder that for purposes of comparison ‘conditions were significantly changed’ by Tiger’s absence and would unfairly single out the few winners lucky enough to play while Tiger was recourerating. There’s a better approach — all golf records should be recategorized into Before Tiger (BT) During Tiger (DT) and After the reign of Tiger (AT). The Gregorian calendar enjoyed wide acceptance casting Christ as their central figure (BC, AD) and golf should do the same. This format has the benefit of lumping together all those lucky golfers who won without having to compete against Tiger – Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, etc. – and might even sell some calendars.

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juliogolf

Jul 22, 2008 at 6:19 pm

I meant “breaks” not “breaks”

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juliogolf

Jul 22, 2008 at 6:17 pm

I agree everything but one point: Tiger Woods WAS playing.

Well, he actually wasn’t in the championship but let me use an example to explain my point:

In a F1 race when someone brakes hi car and needs to go to the boxes to repair, it use to be because he’s been too aggressive and has taken his machine to the limit to win the race. But it’s still in the race.

Tiger is now in his boxes fixing his machine and getting ready to go back to the race and become the greatest golfer in history.

Congratulations to the Champion Golfer of the year (no asterisk)

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bobsuruncle

Jul 22, 2008 at 12:40 pm

Here, here…you’ve hit the nail on the head…good call

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Don

Jul 22, 2008 at 12:18 am

Who won The Open Championship last year when Woods was in the field?

Paddy, that’s who! He’s already proven he can beat the toughest competitors in the toughest conditions.

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Chris

Jul 21, 2008 at 10:21 am

Amen brother!

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Tour Rundown: #QueenMel and a “Bland” U.S. Senior Open

Published

2 days ago

Jul 1, 2024

Ronald Montesano

A wee bit to the north and east of my hometown is a jaunty little ‘burg called Medina, NY. No one would ever consider it to be a golf mecca, but for this week at least, it is. Why? The 2024 Amateur Champion of the world, Melanie Green, hails from Medina. With a sense of regional pride, I salute #QueenMel, who emerged from 36-hole, medal qualifying and six head-to-head matches, to win 2-up in the 36-hole final at Portmarnock. Miss Mel won the last three holes, two with birdies, to join great USA winners like Babe Zaharias, Louise Suggs, and Kelli Kuehne.

The winning moment for The 121st Women’s Amateur Champion ?

And what a way to do it ? pic.twitter.com/WSyXQQaNLF

— The R&A (@RandA) June 29, 2024

Now, let’s run down all the world’s tours this week. We followed a national championship (Men’s US Senior Open) from storied Newport Country Club, the PGA Tour at Detroit, the DP World in Italy, the LPGA doing the tandem thing around Michigan, and the Korn Ferry down Illinois way. We’re spoiled during these summer months, full stop. Might as well enjoy these riches.

PGA Tour @ Rocket Mortgage

The results that came out of Detroit Golf Club on Sunday caused a few heads to be scratched. Nowhere to be found were the mid-60s numbers that traced across the leaderboards like sunflowers in Carmona. Missing, too, as the sun waned in the sky, were the expected, clutch performances of golfers chasing victory.

We’ve grown accustomed to birdies down the stretch, and numbers like Bhatia’s 72nd-hole bogey, and Young’s closing five-five-five, seemed strange and unfamiliar. Bhatia’s take that he knows how to close tournaments, and that it simply didn’t happen on this day, was equal parts explanation and compensation. Teachers teach well, writers write well, and golfers put the ball in the hole. That’s the measure of victory.

The lifting of the tournament trophy was left to Cam Davis, who did what the others could not. He concluded play with 70 for -18 on the week, hoping for a second RMC in four years. On his heels, all tied for second at -17, were Davis Thompson, Min Woo Lee, Aaron Rai, and Bhatia. Beyond Akshay, none has tasted tournament success on the US PGA Tour. Davis posted birdie at 17, then waited. Thompson made a late rush, with birdies at three of his final five holes. He needed one more. Lee took five shots at the final hole; he needed one fewer. As for the two-gloved Rai, his even-par 72 on the day left him a shot away from playoff.

A classy up-and-down birdie for @CamDavisGolf.

He leads by one @RocketClassic. pic.twitter.com/HSrJuetSzD

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2024

USGA @ Senior Men’s Open

Any hope that Hiroyuki Fujita held for finishing off the US Senior Open at Newport, went distantly away, courtesy of two unregistered opponents: fog and rain. The golfer that had played so brilliantly over 3.5 days (16-under through 63 holes) was forced to consider the ramifications of his situation. The golfer whose five cuts made in regular-tour majors included zero, top-forty finishes, stood three shots clear of the field, with no tourist guide to bring him home. Sunday’s dawn proved that he was mortal, and the game was afoot.

No worse pursuer than Richard Bland might have appeared. The Englishman had won his last USA start, and it was also a senior major championship. Bland captured the Senior PGA Championship in late May, winning by three shots over Australia’s Richard Green. The SPGA runner-up was also among the chasers at Newport, but a top-five finish would once again be his destiny. As for Bland, he did what experienced winners do. Consecutive birdies at 14 and 15 on Monday served notice that there would be no easy stroll home for Fujita. The Japan Tour stalwart stumbled over the same stretch of holes, posting bogey on three of his first four holes on day five.

Precisely when it appeared that Bland would conclude matters in regulation, he posted bogey at the 18th and dropped back to 13-under par. Fujita found the same number, and the duo went off to the first, two-hole playoff in US Senior Open history, and the first overtime session since 2014 in Oklahoma. After two pars each in the regulation session, they went to single-hole elimination. Each made bogey at the 18th, but the fourth hole gave resolution. Bland was able to earn a sandy from the greenside bunker, while Fujita was unable to secure par. Congratulations to Richard Bland on a second senior major in 2024.

Richard Bland is making a charge ?

He grabs the U.S. Senior Open lead after back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15. pic.twitter.com/5lOxI3EyEA

— USGA (@USGA) July 1, 2024

LPGA @ Dow Championship

Both Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) and Yin Ruoning (China) will represent their nations in the 2024 Paris Olympic games. Olympic competition is individual-only for golf, which is a missed opportunity. Teaming to win medals for your country is the epitome of Olympic success. It’s a bit odd, then that the two would find success in a team-style, warm-up event on the LPGA circuit.

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Paired with them, Thitikul and Ruoning were also finding par after par as they headed for home. At the watery 18th, Thitikul stuffed her tee ball inside fifteen feet, then read the surface flawlessly, and hit her mark. The putt broke slightly right, into the center of the cup. With that closing birdie, a playoff was avoided and a send-off celebration of Olympic calibre was in the works.

Team @jeeno_atthaya and Ruoning Yin fighting for the solo lead ?

Tune in on @CBS to catch the rest of the action! pic.twitter.com/Y4CkPBF7sc

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 30, 2024

DP World Tour @ Italian Open

16 months had passed since Marcel Siem last savored a DP World Tour win. His triumph at the Indian Open, in February of 2023, might have been a bit distant to leave residue of confidence. As he traversed the final arc of the Cervia golf course, his gaskets had unsealed and oil leaked everywhere. An outward 32 was undone by four bogeys from holes 11 to 17. The last one had dropped him from the lead, and only a majestic finish could return a chance at salvation. After he drove the fairway and reached the green at the closing trace, Siem assessed a 22-feet putt for birdie and found cup bottom.

In that moment, the round of 65 that England’s Tom McKibbin had fashioned, was no longer enough. He would need to do a bit more work, to secure a second Tour title. The duo returned to the final tee deck, and Siem once again faced a birdie putt. His approach was played brilliantly to about ten feet, but the putt drifted right. By the grace of gravity, it caught enough of the circle to fall downward, and a sixth career title belonged to the German champion.

The moment @SiemMarcel claimed his SIXTH Tour win ?#ItalianOpen pic.twitter.com/YysmH9FKAh

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 30, 2024

Korn Ferry Tour @ MHC by LRS

Max McGreevy has tasted the bitterness of defeat and savored delicious victory on the professional golf tours. He has lost a playoff on the PGA Tour, and now won twice on the Korn Ferry orbit. This week, McGreevey overcame a wee miss on the penultimate hole, to secure victory at green 72, with a xxx birdie putt. He and runner-up Steven Fisk each clinched a PGA Tour card for the 2025 season, based on 2024 peformance.

McGreevy eased a 36-yard pitch within two feet of the hole, at the par-five 16th, on Sunday. He converted the birdie putt and moved a shot lower than Fisk, with two holes to face. At 17, he played safely away from the tucked flag at the watery par three, and eased his 55-feet putt to precisely the same distance (26 inches.) And then, he missed. Gone was the lead, and present were the doubts.

As champions do, McGreevy refocussed and found his spot on the 18th fairway. His approach from 186 yards settled a dozen feet from the flagstick, and his read on the downhill slider was accurate. The putt dropped, and McGreevy avoided overtime.

Back to the winner’s circle ??@MaxMcgreevy brings home his second title @MHChampionship. pic.twitter.com/LIqPI1iXnO

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) June 30, 2024

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