Beware, the English are here!

Danny Willett can't believe it.

When I asked 2014 Nedbank Golf Challenge winner Danny Willett (pictured), what the key was to English success in South African golf tournaments, little did I know how relevant that question would be down the line.

Although Willett was awarded the crystal golf ball for his heroics at the Gary Player Country Club, most people do not remember who finished right behind him? Besides, who remembers second place?

Well there was something glaringly obvious about the leader board that December afternoon, apart from Willett’s four-shot win.

St George’s Crosses occupied the top three spots, thanks to efforts of Ross Fisher and Luke Donald.

The English dominance was, well, so dominant, that the next competitor was Germany’s Marcel Siem who finished nine shots adrift.

The best placed South African was Tim Clark, 15 shots behind.

Three more co-sanctioned events have since been held on our shores since then, with the English - specifically Andy Sullivan - winning two of those.

So what is the key to this English success?

Willett’s answer to me at Sun City was: “I really don’t know to be honest, three guys up there, obviously three different games as well.

“Personally for me it’s a lot about to do with the grass… Down here, I’ve always enjoyed it you know, it feels similar on the greens to back home, that’s for me, but I don’t know about the other guys.”

While Willett believes that the greens here are similar to the ones in England, recent triumphs suggest the English actually enjoy playing in South Africa more than they do back home.

Apart from the Alfred Dunhill Championship, Sullivan has had a South African Safari to remember clinching his maiden tour victory at the SA Open and followed by another win in Joburg.

As I write this, Sullivan is struggling after the first round at the Africa Open in East London, but two of his countrymen are currently sharing third place while another, Matt Ford, is tied for the lead.


While we may not be able to pinpoint the key to their success, one thing is clear, the English are here!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A numbers game

Image
Tiger Woods and Liverpool might have more than just the colour red in common. After enduring dark times, the two celebrated big wins this season. Woods won the Masters, adding to his majors tally, which had been stagnant since 2008 and Liverpool - champions of the FA League Cup in 2012 - lifted the Uefa Champions League trophy to end a seven-year wait for silverware. But this is not the first time these two giant sports brands have accomplished this feat in the same year. In 2005 Woods won the Masters and Liverpool completed one of the most memorable come-backs of the Champions League final. I know this because as a sports betting man, I am frequently searching for such patterns. An attempt to travel back to the future, if you will. So when Tiger Woods earned his fifth Green Jacket at Augusta on April 14, I thought a trip down memory lane was in order. In 2005 when Woods won the Masters, the following also happened: Liverpool were crowned champions ...
Read more

Afcon - Bafana’s fall from grace most evident upfront

Image
South Africa’s struggle in front of goal at the Africa Cup of Nations was once again highlighted by the team's showing in the group stages of the 2019 edition. Against the Ivory Coast and Morocco, Bafana Bafana failed to register a shot on target (Caf website says Bafana had two shots on target against Ivory Coast, other sites say zero) and lost both matches 1-0. It’s not hard to see that South African football has regressed since the 90s but the striking department in particular seems to have suffered the most. A sad reality really, considering that the country once produced some of the most lethal forwards around. Apart from the 90s and early 2000s, Bafana Bafana have not had a great record in front of goal at Afcon tournaments. In 1998 when South Africa finished second behind Egypt, Benni McCarthy was the joint top scorer alongside Hossam Hasan, finding the net seven times, including four goals against Namibia. McCarthy still holds the recor...
Read more

Transformation cloud hangs over the Boks

Image
The 2015 Springbok squad before leaving for the Rugby World Cup. The year 2003 was one of the most controversial build-ups for the Springboks ahead of a Rugby World Cup campaign. Back then, Rudolph Straeuli was the head coach and South Africa had their worst finish at the quadrennial showpiece – a quarterfinal exit to the All Blacks. Matters got worse for Straeuli and his staff when details of the infamous Kamp Staaldraad emerged. It was later revealed that players were forced to take part in barbaric team building tasks while cold and naked. Kamp Staaldraad had been designed to unify the players, but succeeded in tearing the team apart. Twelve years later, the team is faced with a different kind of challenge –transformation. Some might say the team is being dragged through the mud, while others believe it is about time Saru was stripped bare on this subject. Either way, we are at a crossroad in South African rugby. Be as it may, hundreds of f...
Read more