Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement

 
 
Tuesday, 2nd December 2008

Premium Article !

Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button.

Options

Premium Article !

To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the n/a site.

Subscribe

Registered Article !

To read this article in full you must be registered with the site.

Brits fail to repay my faith in them



Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 15 April 2008
EVERY year I promise myself I will not stay up late to watch the final day of the Masters and every year I break that promise.
But this time I mean it.
I am sick to the back teeth of having my hopes raised for a British victory only to spend the night watching the challenge crumble.
Paul Casey, self-proclaimed second best player in the world Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose all made moves up the leaderboard at varying stages of the first three rounds.
But in the end they did not have that little bit extra to make it to the finish line.
Former champion Ian Woosnam had it right when he said it was all about finishing the job.
And while the current crop of Brits are all magnificent golfers, they appear not to have the mental fortitude to see it through.
That begs the question why?
I am not a golf expert, as anyone who has seen me swing a club would know straightaway.
But it is pretty obvious that the problem is all in the heads of those who get into contention.
Again, I have to ask why?
Trevor Immelman had a wobble late on and a final round 75 - three over par - is hardly worthy of a champion.
But he had the mental ability to lead from very early on day one right through to the finish despite the increasing spectre of Tiger Woods in the background.
So instead of cheering on a Brit, I was left to fall asleep to the sound of players with the most ridiculous names - like Brandt Snedeker, Bubba Watson, Heath Slocum and Arron Oberholser - being lauded as up and coming players on the American scene.
Early to bed for me in April 2009.

HAVING claimed 24 medals and a remarkable 42 national records at the world short course championships in Manchester, the British swimming team is being tipped for great things at the Beijing Olympics.
And following on from the magnificent efforts of the track cyclists in the same city the week before, it has raised hopes of a massive medal haul in China.
The reaction to both teams' successes is understandable but much can happen between now and August when the world's athletes gather behind the bamboo curtain.
There will be no home crowd in Beijing and the pool for the swimmers will be twice as long, which makes an enormous difference.
It is great to be able to reflect on a couple of successful world championship performances, just don't get too down on the same athletes if they are unable to replicate those performances in the summer.

ON Friday Bangalore Royal Challengers will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in a game that is set to change the face of cricket forever.
It is the first game in the new Indian Premier League, the Twenty/20 with the cream of the world's cricketers - apart from the English - set to take part.
The shortest form of the game is popular and given the increasingly low attention span of the sports watching public, it is ideal.
The competition will be watched by millions around the globe and even though the ECB would like it to, it is not going to go away.
The challenge for the game as a whole is to ensure that Test matches survive alongside, not in opposition to, this new venture.

The full article contains 576 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 15 April 2008 9:02 AM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Halifax
 
 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
 
  

 
 

Today's Vote

Sing a Song for Christmas 2008: Choose your favourite
All Saints
Bailiffe Bridge
Barbara's
Beech Hill
Burnley Road Primary
Burnley Road Singing for Fun
Cragg Vale
Elland
Field Lane
Hebden Royd
Lee Mount
Lightcliffe
Ling Bob
Lorraine
Maltings
New Road
Northowram
Parkinson Ln
Sacred Heart
Savile Park
St John's
St Joseph's
St Malachy's Primary
St Malachy's Singing for Fun
St Mary's, Halifax
St Mary's, Mill Bank
Sowerby Village
Stubbings
Triangle

Featured Advertising



Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.