The lack of comments on this blog does not concern me. I'm old enough and ugly enough to realise that if you really want to stir up the proverbial hornets' nest you need to poke it with a big stick.I've not done any poking yet. I'm not sure I necessarily want to be controversial just for the sake of it. I leave that to my newspaper columns.But some bloggers rejoice in riling people. Take American Eddie Shore as an example. He's decided to lay into the Open Championship, presumably because it's not the 'throwing darts' version of the game with which he's familiar.
He claims: - It's not real golf
- The Scots invented the game, but the Yanks "perfected it"
- It's not a proper major
- US greenkeepers get paid to "grow grass, not kill it"
- The Open is always played "in the middle of an abandoned WWII airfield"
- And it starts at 3am his local time
Yes, obviously the man's a plonker. Check him out for yourself at http://www.opensports.com/community/user/blog_entry/661851/debaa82d-9523-4ac8-aa1b-469b26aeebf7.He knows he's going to get abuse, but at least people are acknowledging his existence. I think I'm going to go away and pen a piece about how US baseball's FA Cup is called the World Series when 90 per cent of the world don't play the sport.BUNKY
Mmmm... Jaco Ahlers was 156th after the first day of the Open Championship at Turnberry. That's stone last.Expect to see Pete's putter somewhere at the bottom of Wilson's Burn today.BUNKY
You can guarantee much will be made of the fashion on display at Turnberry this week. John Daly, Ian Poulter et al will all be strutting their stuff trying to win the title for 'most outrageous outfit' in lieu of an actual golf success.But fashion quote of the week for me, goes to the tournament's early leader, Lee Westwood, who said: "I can't say I've pieced together my wardrobe for the week. I wear whatever's clean . . . "Wouldn't you just love to see him win it?BUNKY
Obviously, what's left of the team at Azalea Towers will be catching up occasionally on the TV coverage of the Open Championship at Turnberry.But we will be particularly interested in the performance of South African Jaco Ahlers. He is the touring professional of one of our clients: Legend Golf & Safari Resort, in Limpopo Province.What's more he's playing with a putter he's 'borrowed' from our very own Pete Richardson.Apparently Pete didn't take any clubs out with him when he legged it (. . . sorry moved) out to South Africa and bought himself a new putter. Jaco borrowed it one day and liked it so much he hasn't given it back . . . yet.Pete reckons it's so long since he's seen it all he can recall is that "it might be an Odyssey".If Jaco comes in at 750/1 - more if you look around I would suspect - expect Pete to take the credit. If he misses the cut with an average of four putts per hole and 100 per cent greens in regulation, we'll probably never hear about it again . . . BUNKY
