Tom Watson - sports is also for the young at heart

The British Open golf championship has produced several dramatic final round melt-downs. The two that stand out from recent history are:

Frenchman Jean Van de Velde's disastrous triple bogey on the final hole at Carnoustie in 1999 to hand the title to a relatively unknown Paul Lawrie.

Dane Thomas Bjorn needlessly attacked the pin at the 16th hole at Royal St George in 2003, leaving himself stranded in a deep greenside bunker from where he failed to get out in his first two attempts. The eventual winner, American Ben Curtis, was unknown even in his home country!

Stewart Cink, this year's Open winner, is better known and definitely a more consistent player than either Lawrie or Curtis. It wasn't just Tom Watson's missed 8 footer that enabled him to win. He applied the heat on his older countryman when he courageously birdied the 72nd hole to become the leader in the clubhouse. Lee Westwood should have learned a lesson or two from that.

I still can't get over the off-the-green putt that Watson knocked 8 feet past the pin. Was it bad luck that the perfectly struck rescue approach didn't stop on the green? I think it was Nicklaus, who famously said: There is no good luck or bad luck in golf, just good shots and bad shots.

Putting from the fringe is always dicey if the ball has nestled down in the grass. Solid contact isn't possible. More often than not, the ball will jump up and roll farther than you intended. The two shot swing on the 72nd hole sealed Watson's fate.

Under pressure of defending a final round lead, adrenaline plays a negative role. Where calmness and deliberation is required, one ends up rushing and making a jerky swing. Padraig Harrington's pitch from behind the 16th green squirting into the water under pressure from Tiger's fantastic birdie at the Bridgestone Open at Akron, Ohio is the most recent example.

To be leading a Major Championship at age 59, till the final stroke on the 72nd hole, was an achievement that warmed the cockles of the heart of every elderly person who has ever played any competitive sport. Even for youngsters, it was an example of what a combination of skill and will power can achieve.

Why didn't Tom Watson win? Why couldn't he become a 'Cinderella Man'? Because that is life. Some times, dreams do come true - just look at it from Stewart Cink's perspective!

(Note: Another Tom has written an excellent piece about the tragic end to Watson's run at becoming the oldest person to ever win a Major championship. Read it here.)

A sports potpourri

A travesty of cricket

When a person stands with his feet close together and makes a full swing with a 9-iron and completely misses the ball, it is called a 'whiff' or an 'air-shot' in golf, and counts as 1 stroke. A similar situation, but on a baseball diamond, is counted as a 'strike'. Three strikes, and the batter is out.

On a cricket pitch, one can go on swinging and whiffing to one's heart's content - and other than making a complete fool of oneself, it doesn't count at all! Neither should the travesty of cricket - as recently witnessed during the 20-20 World Cup in England.

Pakistan won the tournament deservedly, beating Sri Lanka in the final. The country has become a pariah because of its political adventurism that has closed the door to any home engagements in international sports. This victory should be a moral booster for the sports loving public.

Sania vs. Saina

Two young girls from the same town in India. Both participants in different forms of racket-sports. Attractive personalities. Almost identical names. One's star is ascending, the other's descending.

Sania's slam-bang 20-20 version of tennis initially bewildered opponents and allowed her a modicum of success. But a hit-or-miss style used repeatedly without any planning or thinking does not produce results in the long run. No wonder her progress is limited to the 1st or 2nd round in Grand Slam events, and an occasional doubles victory in third rung tournaments.

Saina, an intelligent and thinking player, has shunned publicity, made steady progress up the badminton rankings and has been a top 10 player for a while. Her recent victory at the Indonesian Open against the World No 3, Ling Wang of China was highly commendable. This performance should move her into the top 5 in the world badminton rankings. Hail Saina!

Lucas Glover's US Open Golf victory

At the top echelons of world sports, the margin between defeat and victory is small - often decided by who makes the least errors and not so much by who has the better skills. This was exemplified at Bethpage Black by Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes. Barnes set the record for the lowest 36 holes total and the 2nd lowest 54 holes total and led by a shot over Glover after the 3rd round.

The final round scores? Glover shot a +3; Barnes a +6 to lose by two shots. It also confirmed my theory, that under Grand Slam final round pressure, the guy with the wonky swing will wilt! Kenny Perry's loopy swing collapsed against the smoother swing of Angel Cabrera at the Masters. Ricky Barnes' off-balance swing went haywire against the more classical swing of Glover.

Oh! The joy of scoring goals!

It was sheer joy to watch the first half of the FIFA Confederations Cup group match between Brazil and World Champions, Italy. It was fascinating, thrilling, exhilarating and exciting.

Italy was kicking the ball around in the mid-field, playing in the European style of possession and distribution. Precise passes, interchanging of positions, looking for a chink in the opposing defence.

Brazil was only interested in scoring. Everything else was only a means to that end. Once they got possession, a wave of yellow jerseys would lash upon the opposing penalty box in the blink of an eye. A feint here, a flick there and one of the players would suddenly be free and taking a shot at goal.

Twice, the woodwork came in the way. Several times, Buffon helped the World Champs avoid the blushes. But it was obvious that the question was when, not if. Two strikes by Fabiano late in the first half was followed by a desperate lunge by Dossena to save a certain third goal, only to guide the ball behind a diving Buffon. 3-0 at half-time. The World Champions were thoroughly outclassed.

Is Federer the greatest tennis player ever?

Roger Federer has won the French Open, finally. He beat an over-awed Robin Soderling, playing his first Grand Slam final. Roger had beaten Soderling on all the previous 9 occasions that they had played. So the result was a foregone conclusion. The monkey is finally off Roger's back. He can now play without a care in the world, and win a few more slams.

Federer has achieved parity with Pete Sampras' 14 Grand Slams - but has the edge because Pete never won at Roland Garros. Neither did Ashe, Becker, Connors, Newcombe, Edberg. McEnroe never won the Australian Open or the French Open. Rosewall and Lendl never won Wimbledon. Borg never won the US Open or the Australian Open. Nadal hasn't won the US Open - yet. Is Federer the greatest ever?

Let us have a quick look at his competition. Only 5 other players have won all 4 Grand Slams in their career: Andre Agassi, Don Budge, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Fred Perry. Perry and Emerson can be ruled out because their wins came during the amateur era - when pros were not allowed to participate in Grand Slam events.

Don Budge belonged to the amateur era as well. But he won a Grand Slam in the same calendar year and still holds the record of 6 consecutive Grand Slam singles victories. According to another great, Jack Kramer, the greatest tennis player ever is a toss-up between Budge and Ellsworth Vines.

In the Open era, only Agassi, Federer and Laver have won all four Grand Slam events. Great player that he was, I feel Agassi doesn't quite belong in this league. His base-line only game and counter punching style was not suited to playing well on grass. The fact that he won Wimbledon in 1992 was because his opponent was a very nervous and inconsistent Goran Ivanisevic (who finally won Wimbledon as a complete outsider).

That leaves the last two men standing - Federer and Rod Laver. Did I mention that Laver has won the calendar Grand Slam twice? Once as an amateur in 1962 and once as a pro in 1969. In 40 years, no one has come close to touching that record. There are some other interesting tit-bits.

In 1963, after Laver turned pro, he became an instant whipping boy of the pro stalwarts. Lew Hoad was 8-0 and Ken Rosewall was 11-2 against Laver before he started adapting and asserting himself. He ended the year at No 2, behind Rosewall.

From 1965 to 1967, Laver was undoubtedly the No 1 player in the world. In 1967, he won the unofficial Pro Grand Slam of Wembley, French Pro, Wimbledon Pro and US Pro. In 1968, when the Open era began with only 8 open tournaments, Laver was runner-up to Rosewall at the French Open and won Wimbledon by beating Tony Roche in straight sets. That was followed by the calendar Grand Slam in 1969.

I'm not even including Laver's doubles wins and Davis Cup victories. He won 11 Grand Slam singles titles in all. Wonder how many more he would have won if he was allowed to participate during his 5 years in the pro circuit from 1963 to 1967.  But the two Grand Slams in a calendar year - one during the amateur era and once as a pro - should be more than enough evidence to decide who is the all-time great.

For those who have never had the privilege of watching the Rockhampton Rocket in action here is one final clinching piece of evidence. To be called the greatest ever, a player should have a better win-loss record against his best adversaries. Rod Laver beat every one in sight - whether it was his idol Lew Hoad, or an aging but supremely gifted Pancho Gonzales, or the evergreen Ken Rosewall with the greatest backhand ever. What about Roger Federer? His win-loss record against Rafa Nadal (current rank: No 1) and Andy Murray (current rank: No 3) is in the negative.

I looked up the definition of 'great' in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary. There are 11 definitions, out of which 'remarkably skilled' seems most appropriate for a tennis player. In terms of remarkable skills, there is little to choose between Laver and Federer. Laver was by far the better at serve-and-volley. In fluidity of motion, almost ballet-like in its beauty, Federer tops.

Gunners gunned down

The Emirates stadium was full of colour and expectations on a brilliant spring evening. Thousands of happy Arsenal fans were waving myriad red and white flags in what looked like a pre-victory celebration.

Almunia's brilliant 'keeping had kept the marauding Reds at bay in the 1st leg semi-final at Old Trafford. Only O'Shea's opportunistic goal separated the two teams. A 1-0 victory at home would give Arsenal a chance to go through to the final of the European Cup (or is it the UEFA Champion's League?) via a penalty shootout.

11 minutes into the 2nd leg semi-final, the collective hopes and aspirations of Gunners fans at the stadium and in front of a live telecast lay tattered in shreds.

Manchester United scored the first goal after 8 minutes on a counter-attack. Gibbs - a far-from-adequate substitute for the exceptionally talented but injured Clichy - had left the slippery Park unmarked. Rushing to foil him inside the box, he slipped and fell. Park quickly bulged the net with a sharp right-footer above an advancing Almunia.

Barely had the fans recovered from the away-goal shock when Van Persie needlessly brought Christiano Ronaldo down. From the resulting free kick, Ronaldo hit a right-footed pile-driver past the wall and a diving Almunia who was beaten by the sheer pace of the shot.

The glazed look on Almunia's face was priceless. Memories of the Foreman-Frazier title fight at Jamaica in 1973 came flooding back. Frazier had a look like that after Foreman knocked him down for the fifth time early in the second round. The fight was called off soon after.

The second half saw Ronaldo score another goal after an exquisite one-two counter attack with Rooney. A late penalty score by Van Persie was little consolation for Arsenal - after an unfortunate red card was shown to Fletcher on what looked like a fair tackle on TV replays.

The Gunners fans badly wanted a trophy. The last one had come 4 years back. The charismatic Arsene Wenger's talent spotting ability had landed several brilliant ball players - Walcott, Nasri, Song, Sagna, Vela, Fabregas. They are young, skilled, enthusiastic and fast. Ideally suited to Wenger's style of crisp one-touch passing, finesse and all-out attack that turns bruising body-contact football into beautiful, flowing, mobile works of art.

There are a couple of problems with this style. Defenders moving up the flank to help the attack often leave large territories uncovered and susceptible to quick counter-attacks. And the talent and vibrancy of youth is difficult to sustain through a grinding season of the English Premier league.

No wonder Arsenal is in 4th place while Manchester United is on top. The 4th place is no guarantee for an automatic entry into the European Cup next year. The rules have been tweaked. Only the top three go through. The 4th placed team will need to play a qualifying round.

Shakespearean tragedy at the US Masters

The recently concluded US Masters at the Augusta National had all the ingredients of a Shakespearean tragedy. Since I'm a sports loving engineer morphed into a stock market investment analyst, readers may question my credentials about commenting on the fine arts.

So, I am following the advice of the late great Master himself (Falstaff: 'The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life.'  Henry IV, Part One) - and quoting from this article:-

"A Shakespearean tragedy is a five act play ending in the death of most of the major characters...Let us consider several characteristics common to Shakespeare's four great tragedies. Each play is especially concerned with one central figure or tragic protagonist. Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth are the protagonists of their respective plays. It is significant that each is the story of a man because the paradox of tragedy in real life is experienced mostly by individual men. Thus as we identify ourselves with the protagonist the sense of tragedy is aroused in us...Each play contains an element of hope that is disappointed or ambition that is frustrated."

Let me introduce our central figure - the 'tragic protagonist'. A 48 year old journeyman pro, bearing the scars of many a battle, a few of which he had won, still not able to clinch that one Major victory. After 69 holes of this demanding 72 hole layout, he was two shots clear of his nearest rival.

Would he become the oldest pro ever to win a Major, or would this Masters become his last hurrah? For thousands of spectators on a gorgeous spring evening, and millions of TV viewers across the globe, the air was tingling with anticipation and excitement.

But I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. There were other major characters in this 'play'. One by one, frustrated and disappointed, they fell by the wayside.

Phil Mickelson set the course alight with a birdie spree that equalled Augusta's front nine record score of 30 and brought him to within a shot off the lead. Of particular brilliance, among many shining stars, was the hooked approach from behind the trees to an elevated 6th green, the ball finishing a couple of feet from the hole.

Lefty's playing partner, and everyone's favourite to win, the great Tiger Woods was trying hard but achieving little. A superb second shot on the par 5 8th got the ball hole-high, about 30 feet to the left. To no one's surprise and everyone's delight, he drilled the putt home for an eagle 3 on a difficult undulating green. The Tiger was on the prowl.

Meanwhile, the leader seemed like he was playing to a plan. While Lefty was charging and Tiger's fans were roaring, Kenny Perry cut out the frills and quietly but steadily parred all the front nine holes.

Chad Campbell, the sole leader after the first round and joint leader with Perry after 36, was also playing unspectacular, grinding golf and staying in the hunt.

Perry's playing partner, a veteran pro from Argentina, Angel Cabrera was playing the worst golf among the leaders. Missing greens with approach shots, incorrect club selections and even a horrid shank, but a never-say-die attitude and a fantastic short game kept his chances alive. The stage was set for the finale.

Mickelson hit a fat 9 iron into the water on the short but very difficult par 3 12th, and completely lost momentum. Tiger kept hitting his approach shots far away from the difficult pin placements and never had reasonable chances to cut the deficit.

His poor luck was epitomised by what happened on the 18th. His tee shot went into the pines. The second shot ricocheted off a tree trunk. A wonderful approach over a tree to about 8 feet, followed by a missed putt for bogie. It was that kind of a day.

Chad Campbell had finished at -10 and had no option but to sit and watch the drama unfolding on TV. Flash back to where the 'play' had started - a little too early.

The 70th hole was the tough par 3 16th with the pin tucked left, close to the water. Like a would-be champion, Perry hit the ball a couple of feet below the hole for a 'gimme' birdie, to the delight of the huge crowd. Cabrera was about 10 feet above the hole and had a tricky, downhill left-to-right breaking putt.

This was a do-or-die moment. The Argentinian relied on the memories of his only victory on the US tour, the 107th US Open at Oakmont in 2007, and smoothly slid the ball into the cup to remain within two.

Tragedy struck on the 17th. Perry pulled his second shot and missed the green back and left. Cabrera also hit long to a green sloping up from front to back. Outwardly calm but obviously shaken, Perry jabbed at the chip, rolled it well past the hole, down the slope, all the way to the front of the green. The only sensible choice was a two-putt bogey. Cabrera deftly chipped to within a couple of feet, parred the hole and was 1 shot down with one to play.

The golf swing is one of the most complex motions in all of sports - perhaps because this is the only game where a stationary ball has to be propelled long distances. To get a repeating swing under the psychological pressure of championship golf, the club needs to go back and then forward along the same inclined plane.

Forget Woods. Look at the swings of other multiple Major winners. Els, Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Watson, Nicklaus, Player, Snead, Hogan. All with smooth, classic golf swings. No going back inside, making a loop and then coming through from the outside. (Like Furyk - one Major and Kenny Perry - none. Trevino and Palmer were notable exceptions - but they had extraordinary talent and will power.)

Anyway, cut to the chase. The final hole. Another pulled second shot to the left of the green by Perry. A chip 18 ft away and a putt that oh-so-heartbreakingly slid by the cup. Bogey. The Argentinian, nicknamed the 'Duck' - probably for his lackadaisical walk, looked like he deliberately played short and chipped and putted for a three-way tie with Chad Campbell and Perry.

Campbell showed his lack of experience by staying in front of the TV till Cabrera's putt dropped. He had little time to warm up or practice before the threesome headed back to the 18th tee for the first sudden-death hole. Tiger would have been hitting balls for half an hour if he was in Campbell's place. Whether he made the play-off or not. No wonder, Campbell made a bogey and dropped out of the race.

For the second sudden-death hole, Cabrera and Perry teed off from the par 4 10th. Under immense pressure came another jerky, loopy swing that sent Perry's ball way left into the trees. Cabrera was safely on in two. Barely able to take a proper swing, Perry chipped past the hole, missed the putt and lost the only realistic chance he ever had of winning a Major.

Cabrera two-putted for his second US tour victory. Another Major. But the main 'protagonist' had 'died'. End of 'play'.

End of Cricket in Pakistan?

Imran Khan had attained notoriety with his huge reverse swings with a doctored cricket ball. So his oft-repeated assertion, that terrorists will never attack cricketers, should have been taken by the Pak security establishment with a large dose of salt.

The Lahore attack on Sri Lankan visiting cricketers was shocking, to say the least. But these were no run-of-the-mill terrorists out to create mayhem. A dozen terrorists with automatic weapons, rocket launchers and grenades could not blow up the Sri Lanka team bus? No security cordon fighting back? Not a single terrorist even slightly injured - let alone captured or killed?

No, this wasn't a terrorist attack at all. The whole situation seemed stage managed by the Pak army and/or ISI to create an impression that Pakistan is as much under terrorists' threat as USA and India. And to divert attention from the fact that Pakistan is the epicenter of world terrorism.

Pak spokespersons - suffering from severe foot-in-the-mouth disease - were promptly on TV channels blaming India. One even went so far as to compare the Lahore attack to 9/11 in 2001 and the Nov 26, '08 Mumbai attacks.

Come on, neighbours! Get real! More than 3000 dead in a day's coordinated attacks in different cities in the USA in 2001. Nearly 300 dead in 3 days of mayhem in different locations in Mumbai last year. 6 Pakistani cops shot in a 2 hours operation in a city roundabout in Lahore. Are these events comparable??

The Sri Lankan cricketers fortunately escaped with minor injuries and my condolences go out to their families for the trauma and agony they suffered. But why did the team make the unscheduled visit to Pakistan in the first place?

Did the Sri Lanka authorities feel that India was exaggerating the security threat by cancelling their scheduled Pakistan trip? Or were they over confident after cornering the vicious LTTE terrorists in their own country? Either way, it was a terrible call.

The time has come to stop molly-coddling the Pakistan establishment because they have a few nuclear weapons. The time has come for the world to realise that a Frankenstein has been created and unleashed. The time has come to stop the flow of money to the Jihadi movement nurtured by the CIA and Saudi Arabia. The time has come to stop all international cricket events in Pakistan.

Tsonga on Song at the Australian Open

2008 was meant to be the year that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga would become a household name among sports lovers. He started off with a bang, beating 9th seed Andy Murray in the first round of the Australian Open.

He then handed Rafael Nadal one of his worst straight-set thrashings on a tennis court, before losing to Djokovich in the final. But while Nadal won the French Open (again!) and Wimbledon for the first time to rise to the No. 1 rank displacing Federer, and Andy Murray became a force to reckon with by the end of the year, a long knee injury lay off almost pushed Tsonga out of the limelight.

After a lacklustre US Open where he lost to Robredo in the 3rd round, Tsonga won the Thai Open by beating Djokovich in the final, followed by a victory in the Paris Masters where he beat Djokovich in the pre-quarters before defeating Nalbandian in the final. That enabled him to qualify for the season-ending finale at Shanghai.

But he didn't get past the round-robin stage, losing to Davydenko of Russia and Argentine sensation Juan Martin Del Potro, before a consolation victory over - you guessed it - Djokovich.

2009 hasn't started off great. Tsonga won a doubles title at Brisbane partnering countryman Marc Gicquel but lost in the quarters to another Frenchman, Richard Gasquet. A back injury forced him out of the next tourney and there were some doubts whether he'd be able to play in the Australian Open.

But those doubts were firmly set aside when he took on Juan Monaco of Argentina in the 1st round. A slow start cost him his first service game but he won 4 in a row to lead 4-2 on his way to a 6-4 win. Tsonga still looked rusty and short of match practice - making several wild shots and committing silly errors.

In the second set, he began to look more assured and jumped to a 4-0 lead before a lapse of concentration allowed Monaco to claw back to 4-3. But the fight ended when he won the set at 6-4.

The third set saw Tsonga truly on song. This exciting all-court player was all over his opponent - hitting 200KM+ serves, vicious forehand winners, dinking drop shots and rushing to the net to put away volleys. One felt sorry for Monaco, currently ranked 43 - getting humiliated in front of a world wide TV audience by a player nicknamed 'Tsunami'. The set score? 6-0!

The opposition will get tougher in the next few rounds and Tsonga will need to tighten up his game. There are few better sights in world tennis today than watching a talented player at his uninhibited best.

In other action, former champion and World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt continued his slide down the rankings, losing a Ist round encounter against 2007 finalist Fernando Gonzales in 5 sets.

And in a David-Goliath 1st rounder, spindly 61st ranked Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan produced the best tennis of his life to outplay burly 10th seed David Nalbandian, also in 5 tough sets.

The Australian Open of 2009 promises to be one of the truly 'open' grand slam events in a long time.