BUNKER-TO-BUNKER….
By Michael Court
AN esteemed member of my golf club once told me ‘if you couldn’t putt, you’d be out the front selling hotdogs’.
Maybe Tony McAlister senior was right because I don’t strike the ball particularly well and my golfing highlight of the year did involve a putt to give my club, Roseville, a win against some worthy rivals in a Gibson Shield encounter.
Had I missed that putt, I was later informed, we would have missed the semi-finals.
Thankfully, with members of both the Gibson and Warren Shield from both clubs watching on (we were the last match left on the course) and I nailed that 12 footer (it will probably be closer to 50 feet by the time I retire) on the last hole at the testing little Bondi layout to win our match one-up and give our club a 2-1 win.
I have to give our manager David Bushell much of the credit for having the faith in me in the first place.
David did some earnest talking to encourage me to play in my first-ever pennants match of any kind: and it was a lot more fun than I expected. Even for a hacker like me.
And while that one stroke was a highlight, a close second was a round of golf with my two sons Dom and Chris at the famed Natadola Bay layout in Fiji, which sits awfully close to the top of my list as well.
Playing any round of golf with your kids is something special . . . seriously, it’s something that money can’t buy.
Particularly as I insisted on putting both boys off the back tees while I played off the whites . . . as I am considerably shorter than them off the tee.
That served to put our drives a lot closer together on landing – and it worked . . . I actually beat them (not off the stick, as I’ve been reminded countless times since).
Besides being one of the most spectacular courses in this part of the world, Natadola Bay was a joy to experience and I’m hoping we can go back and do it all again before I ‘adjourn’ to that great golf hole in the sky.
Golf does not get any better than that.
By Michael Davis
Justin Thomas said the shot was “one for the all-time history books.”
Phil Mickelson dubbed the man who played it a “stallion” adding, “no one works harder, deserves it more and is more fun to watch.”
Both were reacting to Bryson DeChambeau’s incredible bunker shot on the 72nd hole on his way to winning this year’s US Open at Pinehurst No 2.
DeChambeau had stood over his third shot knowing precisely what he needed to do to win: get up and down. He had been doing it all day — and all week – but this time there was no regulation golf remaining should he fail.
From 55 yards, DeChambeau wielded his 55-degree wedge to perfection, landing his ball short and watching it settle just inside four feet from the cup. He holed the putt to edge out Rory McIlroy by a shot.
Afterwards DeChambeau explained the seemingly simple process, saying his caddie ‘G-Bo’ (do any caddies go by the name their mothers gave them at birth?) just said, ‘Bryson, just get it up and down. That’s all you’ve got to do. You’ve done this plenty of times before. I’ve seen some crazy shots from you from 50 yards out of a bunker,’”
DeChambeau replied ‘You’re right; I need a 55-degree. Let’s do it.’”
DeChambeau’s reaction to the shot — and the subsequent putt – said it all. But he wasn’t the only one moved by his performance.
Celebrities, athletes, peers and everyone in between couldn’t help but explode as the 30-year-old hit one of the most extraordinary clutch shots to capture a major championship in recent memory.
What a pity Rory could not stick around to shake his hand.
By Peter Owen
My putting had been so bad that, when I stood over a one-metre putt on the 12th green, I murmured to my playing partner that if I made it, it would be my first one-putt green in three rounds. I missed it, and I missed the one back.
So, when I sank a five-metre putt on the last hole to win a round of drinks for my mate Shane and me, it ranked as my personal most memorable golfing moment of 2024. But I’m sure editor Rob had something more significant in mind when he suggested the topic for this month’s Bunker to Bunker.
As readers of this column may be aware, I’ve not so far been a flag-waving fan of LIV Golf. But I reckon the Ripper GC boys winning the teams award at the LIV tournament in Adelaide this year was just about the best golfing moment of the year.
I’ve struggled to comprehend why anybody would care which of the self-assembled groups of LIV golfers won a competition that seemed so contrived and meaningless. But I was wrong. For Aussies Cameron Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman and Matt Jones, success in Adelaide was as important to them as winning a Ryder Cup, and certainly more significant than winning any individual prize.
Their excitement, as well as the skill they showed to take the prize, made the Adelaide LIV tournament the most compelling of the year, for me anyway.
I’d put it just ahead of Robert McIntyre’s two wins on the US PGA Tour – with his dad caddying for him when he won the Canadian Open and, a few weeks later, winning his own national championship at the Renaissance Club in Scotland.
At a time when your average elite golfer seems devoid of personality, and programmed to be bland and unexciting, young Bob strikes me as a genuine young man who loves what he’s doing and doesn’t mind showing it. Good for him.
By Larry Canning
Three shots stand out to me for 2024 and they involve three Aussie superstars.
I know it was officially from 2023, but it kicked off the DP World Tour for 2024, so I’m going to use my loop hole because I saw it happening live and large.
Min Woo Lees chip eagle on the ninth hole during the final round of the Aussie PGA. It was the beginning of the end for his counterparts as he went onto to cruise to victory. Let me tell you, the only thing missing on that crazy, slopey green, is a windmill and a clowns face.
Number two, another chip shot this time played by Jason Day on the final hole of the Presidents Cup. At the time, it was a critical moment in the Cup when it looked like we could actually make history and beat the unbeatables! Well, that was until Captain Mike Weir decided neither Min Woo or Jason were good enough to play on Saturday as we lost 6 of the 8 matches.
The final shot is from my old mate Newmo, who doesn’t normally self-flagellate but on this day he broke the mould. I was only one down on the 17th and my new Ai triple diamond driver had sent my pill boring through a cyclone some 35 metres in front of my opponent. As soon as Newmo removed the cover from his hybrid, I might just have giggled in anticipation of a totally out of control ballooning ball flight and all square going down 18. “I’m going to punch this in low,” he mumbled. What followed was one of the greatest shots I’ve ever seen and me again asking; “What’s your favourite Keno numbers?”
Merry Christmas Min Woo, Jason and Newmo.
You’ve heard from our panel. What was your most memorable golfing moment in 2024??
Email – rob@insidegolf.com.au
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