CONNOISSEUR’S GUIDE TO THE UPCOMING PGA CHAMPIONSHIP AT KIAWAH
Canada
Cool
RBC Canadian Open winner Scott Piercy
Case Closed
With apologies to Inbee Park and Scott
Piercy, winners Sunday in France and Canada,
respectively, we begin this week’s columnette
with Fred Couples.
It has been suggested that Freddie’s win
at the British Senior in Scotland enhances his
credentials for the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Is that really necessary?
Are there five players, still active, more
“famous” than Fred Couples?
It’s a Hall of Fame, people.
This guy does clever TV commercials in fancy
cars; escorts attractive women hither and yon;
and has semi-revolutionized the golf footwear
industry by switching to casual shoes you can
wear on the course or to a backyard barbecue.
The only thing currently tougher than arguing against Couples’ case for Hall enshrinement
is navigating the social networks by day without
learning the Olympic gold medal winners in
advance of the nightly tape-delayed broadcast.
But we digress.
At historic Turnberry, Couples staged a
winning weekend comeback. Not bad for a guy
with a bad back who dreads long plane rides
and hates cool weather. Had to be the shoes.
At the Evian Masters, which becomes
a women’s major next year, Park caught
lightning in a bottle with her putter and held
off late charges by Stacy Lewis and Natalie
Gulbis, among others. Had to be the water.
And in Ontario, Scott Piercy outlasted William McGirt and Robert Garrigus, which meant
he won’t be defending his title in Lake Tahoe
this week because he just earned the last spot
in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in Ohio. Had to be the FedEx Cup points.
Brian Hewitt
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