I usually tend to watch only recorded highlights of golf on TV except for the Open Championship and the Ryder Cup, both of which unfortunately have been postponed this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. I don’t usually watch much USA golf but if European players are in contention I watch the 2 hour highlights on Sky Sports on Monday making sure I avoid knowing the final outcome. Of course this year’s first major of the year was in San Francisco anyway some 8 hours behind British Summer Time so all but the most avid of British fans would want to stay awake until at least 4am and beyond if there happened to be a playoff. Last weekend that was a distinct possibility with at one stage 7 players including Paul Casey sharing the lead at 9 under par after completing most of the first 12 holes. Two other English golfers had been in contention before the final round commenced, but Tommy Fleetwood fell away early doors and Justin Rose was never really in touch after a poor start.
Anyway score a birdie and one had an outright lead, but record a bogey and a player had a lot to make up considering that so many players would all be ahead of him. It wasn’t until the 17th hole that Collin Moriwaka, an American I confess I had never heard of, eagled a hole and then went on to win by 2 shots. He was magnificent and although I wanted Paul Casey to win it made for great viewing especially with Sky’s own commentators instead of American commentators. Casey eventually finished joint second with Dustin Johnson, but the big bonus for me was only scant mention of Tiger Woods who was well down the field, and there being no crowd bawling out “in the hole” at every opportunity. Of course we are more civilised in Britain and crowds add to the atmosphere, but for once I really enjoyed those 2 hours.
This got me thinking though now wouldn’t it be nice if throughout European football we had 7 teams with the chance of being Champions with only a couple of games left to play instead of Liverpool winning last season’s Premier League by a street, the same in Germany, Italy, France and Scotland. I’d take that every time, well almost every time unless Boro were involved, then I’d prefer promotion to be settled by Easter, but then I’m probably biased.
Jarkko
I’m not too aufait with Finnish golfers except for Mikko Ilonen and more recently Mikko Korhonen both 40 year old, but a new star on the horizon in 22 year old Sami Valimaki who has just finished 2nd in the difficult Celtic Manor course in Newport which has hosted the Ryder Cup a few years ago? I hadn’t heard of him until the last weekend but he does have a strong drive and sank some long putts. Maybe coming from Nokia a town near a river helps him to avoid water on a golf course. I’m assuming Nokia gives its name to telecommunications and not far from Tampere a City I’m aware of because of football. I was just wondering if you live somewhere near that region and if you had heard of this golfer?
Jarkko
I’m not too aufait with Finnish golfers except for Mikko Ilonen and more recently Mikko Korhonen both 40 year old, but a new star on the horizon in 22 year old Sami Valimaki who has just finished 2nd in the difficult Celtic Manor course in Newport which has hosted the Ryder Cup a few years ago? I hadn’t heard of him until the last weekend but he does have a strong drive and sank some long putts. Maybe coming from Nokia a town near a river helps him to avoid water on a golf course. I’m assuming Nokia gives its name to telecommunications and not far from Tampere a City I’m aware of because of football. I was just wondering if you live somewhere near that region and if you had heard of this golfer?
Ken, I do play golf occasionally with my missus but I do not follow it much on TV. But I first heard about the young guy last summer. As you said he is young and is just coming to everybody's' lips over here, too.
Yes, Nokia is an old company and the name comes from the town near Tampere. In my youth they made rubber boots and tyres, too. And they had some paper mills in the old days - so even WC paper was Nokia! Also gables. Then some TV sets in the 1970's and 1980's which lead to electronics and finally mobile phones. I think the first NMT phone call in the world was made to the Finnish President by Mr Gorbatschow - when the latter was visiting Finland.
We can still buy Nokian (note-n as genitive in Finnish) rubber boots ( https://www.nokianjalkineet.fi/) as well as car tyres ( https://www.nokiantyres.com/tyres). Actually the tyres are still made in Nokia (the town). The gables company is called NK gables now (Nokian & Kaapeli=gable). The company sold all the other businesses when they become the market leader in mobile phones. Nowadays the company still exists and concentrate on making data centeres for mobile technology - competing with Huawei (China) and Eriksson (Sweden).
I am located close to the International Airport of Helsinki. So some 2 h drive from Nokia.
Thanks for all that information. I was hoping to watch some golf from The Belfry the venue for the Ryder Cup for 3 years from 1985 to 1993 but play has been suspended due to heavy rain. What’s more I was also looking forward to see some 20 overs cricket from Headingley at 6.30 on Sky, but the forecast doesn’t look very good there for this evening. Not raining at Redcar as yet but a cool 16 degrees. So much for the English summer!
With perhaps only 4 or 5 exBoro strikers to review I’m already thinking about my next project to keep me awake throughout lockdown, but at the moment I’m really enjoying the golf from America especially the renaissance of England’s favourite golfer Lee Westwood. He’s always been my favourite since Nick Faldo, but three years ago I couldn’t see his winning another tournament never mind being Europe’s top golfer last year at the age of 47 and the now real prospect of winning in America tomorrow. One of the commentators remarked that his demeanour never changes whether he shoots a 66 like he did yesterday, or whether he shoots 76 and his new found form must be because he isn’t dependent on a proper caddy, just relying on his fiancée to carry his bags and weighing up his shots himself. As in most forms of life, there is usually a good woman behind a good man, and that shines brightly in Lee’s golf. He’s happy after going through a rather tempestuous relationship and divorce from his wife and settling down in Newcastle. He’s always been a fitness fanatic and his current form suggests that it’s not inconceivable that he might yet win one of golf’s majors later this month at the US Masters in Augusta.
As for my next project I’m considering reviewing the careers of the those exBoro players who through their loyalty have made over 270 appearances for our favourite football club. I’ll probably make one exception to that criteria by starting with ‘Gentleman’ George Hardwick who because of the Second World War made only 166 appearances for Boro, and then continue with ‘Tiny’ Tim Williamson who made over 600 appearances as Boro’s goalkeeper. I’ll exclude those strikers who’ve I’ve already written about but that still leaves over 30 players to review of mostly players that have been stalwarts for Boro since the Second World War. But not until I’ve enjoyed my quota of watching golf and God forbid I’m still alive