Northern Ireland: World’s smallest superpower
Why not move professional golf’s headquarters to Northern Ireland? After all, the North is the axis on which the game revolves.
Or so it seems.
How to explain this magical ride that corner of the globe is taking golf fans on? With Darren Clarke’s stirring triumph at the 140th British Open — a victory as emotional as the game has seen in years — it meant that three of the last six major champions have come from the North: Graeme McDowell at the 2010 US Open, Rory McIlroy at the 2011 US Open and now Clarke, who probably still hasn’t let go of the Claret Jug that was presented to him before adoring fans at Royal St George’s.
Correct that. We’re sure the gregarious man who recently returned to Portrush from London, where he had resided for 13 years, has loosened his grip several times since he received it last night to fill up the jug with the beverage of his choice.
Good for him and cheers to yet another major championship victory by a European or European PGA Tour product. For those who’ve lost count, since Phil Mickelson won the Masters in 2010, those who have reigned supreme have been McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy and now Clarke. If we accept that the majors are the Masters, US Open, British Open and US PGA championship, the starting point for any historical discussion must begin at 1934, which is when the Masters debuted.
That’s a span of 77 years and never has there been a stretch of six major championships in which an American player has not won.
But that is the point at which we now sit, only it would be foolhardy to suggest that it was another losing week for the Americans.
Yes, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson — two of the finest golfers shaded in red, white, and blue — shared runner-up honours, but this major championship had a different feel to it.
Unlike the way things unfolded at the US Open last month when McIlroy lapped the field and the leading Americans were Robert Garrigus and Kevin Chappell — go ahead, say it: Who? — or the Masters when it came down to a South African holding off a pair of Aussies, this time the lads from the other side of the pond distinguished themselves nicely.
Mickelson was out in 30 to plug electricity into the proceedings. Rickie Fowler, America’s answer to Europe’s McIlroy, went out in nine pars and was looking as if one putt could send him off. And though he lost a stroke on the outward nine, Johnson is a source of great power who figured to take advantage of dangerous holes coming in.
In the end, this major went the way the previous five had gone — to someone not from America. A European had won, yes. But still, it didn’t feel as if an American had lost, not with five of the top seven names on the leaderboard sitting with stars and stripes flags beside their names.
It’s a moral victory, perhaps, and considering that it wasn’t long ago (1995-2006) when Americans were winning nine of 12 Claret Jugs, some would snicker that Team Uncle Sam is clinging to moral victories.
Only the truth of it is this: To focus on how many major championships have slipped away since an American last won is to do grave injustice to the players who have prevailed. Pick a winner — McDowell, Oosthuizen, Kaymer, Schwartzel, or McIlroy — and celebrate their achievements, but first and foremost raise a toast to Clarke.
There has never been any question that he was one of the premier links players in the world. It was only a matter of Clarke rediscovering his passion and rejuvenating his interest.
Oh, how he accomplished that.
But as Clarke accepted the Claret Jug, it was hard to miss the smile on Mickelson’s face as he stood at the trophy celebration. For so many years, links golf in general, and this precious championship specifically, had confounded him, so leaving with his best finish ever and just his second top-10 in 18 tries showed that it had been a small victory for the Americans.
Not what they’re used to, but hey, baby steps when you’re on the comeback trail.
