The Common Golfer

Wait…what?

Titleist Australia is actually having a contest to win a round of golf with Adam Scott.  Now before everyone quits reading this article and clicks on the link to enter, I have some bad news:  you have to live in Australia.  But unless you’re a single woman (because let’s face it, he is easy on the eyes), who is really interested in this?  I’m not.  What’s next…win a round of golf with Ian Baker-Finch?  I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but if I’m going to play in a pro-am, I’d like to play with a pro that isn’t going to shoot in the 80’s like I will!

I do feel bad for Scott.  This time last year, he was the #3 player in the world.  Now he’s in a year-long slump of epic proportions.  Maybe their having this contest to find someone for Scott to play against for a day that he can actually beat.

I hope Scott can bounce back from this slump…it was fun to watch him play next year.  My advice is to take some time off during the offseason.  Surf every morning.  Make love to Kate Hudson every night.  Then come back refreshed in 2010, ready to kick some ass!

The Presidents Cup has always struggled to be as important as the Ryder Cup, and now thanks to Greg Norman, it struggles to be relevant at all.  Yesterday, Fred Couples and Greg Norman announced their captain’s picks.  Couples selected Lucas Glover and Hunter Mahan (statistically 1st and 3rd in the points after the 10 automatic selections), and Norman selected Ryo Ishikawa and Adam Scott.

I know what you’re thinking.  Is that the same Adam Scott who’s ranked 53rd in the world? Yes it is.  Is that the same Adam Scott who’s missed 10 cuts out of 18 events? Yep.  Same guy.  Is that also that guy that didn’t have enough FedEx points to even make it to the second event in the playoffs? You get the point.

In my opinion, I don’t see how this can be looked at as anything short of a mockery of golf.  I don’t mean to pile the hate on Scott; as Norman put it, “When you look back a year ago, Adam was the No. 3 player in the world. So everybody goes through a slump.”  However, the key word is slump – something Scott is still in the middle of, and likely will still be having next month during the Presidents Cup!  There are quite a few well-deserving players that are playing better than Scott right now – actually, I think I’d even qualify as playing better than Scott but unfortunately I’m from the US.

People defending Norman’s picks (if there are any out there), will point out that Scott was 14th in the international standings.  It’s a valid point, but that is almost entirely due to his great play last year.  And really, when you look at it, Norman’s pick of Ishikawa was pretty questionable.  However, I think it’s a very smart move to capitalize on the growth potential in Asia for the game of golf (especially on the heals of Yang’s major victory).

“Maybe somewhat unexpected. Obviously it’s been a tough year,” Scott said. “But I really am humbled. I feel like I can contribute points and contribute in the team room, as well.”  I just hope Adam didn’t have to cancel any vacation plans with Kate Hudson!