Chipping In - Spieth missing a piece of the puzzle

PGA Tour:

Kaymer back to his best

The life of a professional golfer is a tumultuous one. Even legendary players like Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson go/went through peaks and troughs, which can be brought on by a range of factors, from off-course issues and unexplainable losses of form to dips in the relentless dedication levels required to be the very best. Kaymer’s career path, though, has been brought about predominantly by psychological factors and perceptions of his own game. After reaching the summit of the world rankings, he felt he hadn’t earned the accolade, that he wasn’t the best player on the planet and that someone with an unremitting one-dimensional shot shape simply didn’t warrant a place atop the list of the world’s best golfers.

Whether you agree or not with Kaymer’s assertion is another matter, but only those exposed to the pressure and expectation of being world number one are truly qualified to critique the German’s seemingly strange determination. Kaymer’s fall from world number one to outside the world’s top 60 was harrowing indeed, but few doubted his slide down the rankings would be anything other than temporary. His form over the last six months or so has been steady, if unspectacular, but you sensed a special performance wasn’t far away. He opened up with a flawless 63, followed it with a three-under-par 69 and shot level par on Saturday to head into the final round tied for the lead with young Jordan Spieth.

But what makes Kaymer such a good golfer isn’t just his playing ability, but his command of emotion, mental strength and steely determination in the heat of the moment. He looked untouchable for the first 14 holes of round four, and bounced back from a timely double-bogey 6 at the par-4 15th following a 90-minute weather delay with two gutsy pars at 17 – where he holed a 27-footer after a poor chip – and 18. And who was surprised? Kaymer, after all, was the player who holed a 15-footer on the 72nd hole at the 2010 PGA Championship to force a play-off (one he’d end up winning) and the man who drained the winning six-footer at the Ryder Cup with everything on the line. It’s great to see him back in the conversation, because a confident Kaymer is undoubtedly someone who can threaten the world’s top players once more. He looked back to his aggressive best and Sawgrass and additions to his impressive resume – including The Players, the WGC-HSBC Champions and the PGA Championship – now look inevitable, instead of questionable.

Spieth: one missing piece to the puzzle

Jordan Spieth one again demonstrated his immense ability at the Players Championship, playing the first three rounds without a bogey. While the post-tournament rhetoric has focused on the fact he’s now failed to convert great chances at the Masters and the Players, it’s his exceptional raw ability I’d prefer to discuss. His final round performances in the two biggest tournaments of the year haven’t been up to the level we’d expect (itself a mark of how highly rated this 19-year-old is) but the fact he keeps putting himself in position is rather ominous for his peers. He’s a brilliant young player with the complete game and someone who’s able to rise above the pressure and produce his best golf in the biggest tournament. Yes, he didn’t close out the Masters and The Players, but he’s young and relatively inexperienced at this stage. Let’s not allow his tender years to cloud the bigger picture, which is rather straightforward: when he learns to win,he could be unstoppable.

Rose’s rules mishap

I was glad to see Justin Rose’ two-stroke penalty in the third round of The Players Championship rescinded. As he went to address the ball he suspected it might have moved, but after consulting playing partner Sergio Garcia and watching a replay on the giant screen behind the 18th green, both agreed it hadn’t. But his ball was later revealed to have moved after replays, and Rose was penalised two stokes. However, a new rule states that if movement was not discernible to the naked eye and only evident through ‘enhanced technology’, no penalty should be applied. Rose was notified immediately and restored to the top 10.

In this case, the right course of action prevailed, but I can’t help but feel the situation is a touch pedantic and overcomplicated. Most golfers who play this game do so with the utmost integrity, with opportunities to cheat largely removed by technology. I simply don’t see the need to penalise anyone if their ball moves a miniscule amount either on or off the green. Obviously the term ‘miniscule’ would need some clarification, but if no advantage is gained and the mishap isn’t intentional, why does anyone need to be punished? I understand this could lead to concerns in the amateur game with golf’s lack of bifurcation, but surely it’s something to think about.

European Tour:

Brooks’ win overshadowed

Congratulations to Daniel Brooks, who won his first European Tour event at the Madeira Islands Open. Sadly, it’s an achievement that will be overshadowed by the tragic death of Alastair Forsyth’s caddy Iain McGregor, who collapsed on the 9th hole of the steeply undulating Santo da Serra Golf Club. After a long pause, the decision (a correct one in my opinion) was made to continue the tournament to its conclusion.

My sincere condolences go out to Iain’s family, and to all those – like Forsyth – who witnessed the heartbreaking incident. Let’s hope it provides a sense of perspective next time someone reacts angrily to missing a cut or failing to finish inside the top 10.

Next week, the European Tour heads to Spain for the Open de Espana, while the PGA Tour moves to Texas for the Byron Nelson Championship.

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