I attended the final day's play of the Australian Open at Royal Sydney Golf Club. I endorse entirely Robert Allenby's criticisms of the organisers of this event and of the attending Aussie print media. The hounding of the visiting American professional John Daly because he smashed a spectator's camera against a tree was stupid. The foolish fan rammed the illegally-held camera (cameras were supposed to be banned at the event) in Daly's face while Daly was taking a difficult shot. Also stupid was the positioning of a booze-centre at the back of the 17th green from where offensive, drunken louts hurled insults and hooted at players who hit bad shots or indeed anyone who they took a dislike to. It was an ugly interlude in what was otherwise a fascinating day.
I followed Allenby for a while that Sunday. What a great golfer and what a genuinely decent guy he is. He chatted amiably with spectators and played entertaining, aggressive golf - Allenby is a star and hardly a prude. His comments should be taken seriously by golf officialdom and the gutter press.
Why is it that so many Australians cannot enjoy watching sports without getting aggressively and moronically drunk? Why cannot the Aussie media ever resist the temptation for a bit of cheap scandal?
Monday, December 15, 2008
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2 comments:
Very offputting
Robert Allenby always plays with a certain confidence. He stands out to me as a very business-like, gentleman yet never a doubt a competitor. He has achieved great success on the European Tour. John Daly, on the other hand, is becoming more of a bother making us Americans look bad. John Daly should take an etiquette lesson from Robert Allenby.
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