Sports Desk

The British Open

In golf a lot of attention is devoted to Europe’s Challenge Tour and the USPGA’s Nationwide Tour in the search for emerging talent, but recent evidence suggests it’s worth looking towards the golden oldies in search of golf profit. Often considered a glorified pension plan for top-level pros, the recent performances of some of the Champions Tour and European Senior Tour stalwarts in the majors is worthy of closer attention.

The physical demands of golf makes players less susceptible to the ravages of the aging process than most sports and as long as a senior pro still has the accuracy from tee to green, experience can go a long way to turning bogeys into par. So many of the younger stars play wonderful golf to get to the green, but a lack of nerve costs them in the putting department. Fred Couples at the Masters was a prime example of a senior player competing solidly on the main tour. Prior to that, Tom Watson and Greg Norman challenged for the British Open in 2009 and 2008 respectively only to fall short over the final holes. In the case of Couples, he notched up three wins on the senior Tour in the weeks before the Masters and there was more than enough evidence to suggest he was in a rich vein of form, but in general watching the results on the over 50s circuit could pay dividends when it comes to the majors.

For all the plaudits handed out, there is one trend from the cited examples — the lack of bringing it home. An important thing to note is the vast majority of events on the senior tours are contested over 54 holes, and it’s telling that over the fourth and final round, Couples, Watson, and Norman dropped the shots that ultimately cost them. That’s not to suggest they crawled over the finish line, but when we’re talking about the highest level of the sport, a slight drop in performance will be punished. One solution is the “To Lead After the 1st Round” market. By and large the prices mirror the prices to win the tournament overall, but obviously the stamina required is far less. Backing the older generation at big prices could really pay off.

As for picking the overall winner, the Open has thrown up several surprise champions in the last couple of decades, but one trend does jump out when looking at the roll of honour for the Open at St. Andrews — pure quality. Almost every name belongs in golf’s pantheon of greats and those who may have a more debatable claim to a place in the pantheon were certainly capable of momentary brilliance if not able to sustain it over the course of a career. In the post-war era, Snead, Thomson, Nicklaus, Ballesteros, Faldo, and Woods have got their hands on the claret jug in Fife.

Tiger showed little signs of a man in turmoil at the Masters, but his ongoing problem is accuracy off the tee. With his drives still going awry, it’s hard to back him at such a short price. Phil Mickelson was superb at Augusta, but his record on the links courses doesn’t inspire confidence and the quality of his recent form combined with patriotic money means you won’t be getting real value for money on Lee Westwood. The name of Ernie Els wouldn’t look out of place on the St. Andrews’ roll of honour. He’s got a remarkable record at the Open and since 1992 has managed an incredible 12 top 10 finishes. The “Big Easy” of this year has looked more reminiscent of Els at his peak and a claret jug would be an apt way of capping a hard-earned renaissance.

Cricket

In a summer of relatively uninspiring teams coming to visit England, the one-day series against Australia stands out as a highlight. With the Ashes just a few months away, the events of five one-day internationals against the Aussies will get extrapolated far beyond what they actually mean. Without accusing the tourists of anything untoward, the Australians won’t be overly concerned with this series of matches. They won’t want to show their hand with cricket’s fiercest rivalry not far away, so expect experimentation and where there’s experimentation, you won’t want to put your money down. England should record a series win, but don’t think that’s going to have any bearing on events during the Antipodean summer.