Sudeshna Guha Roy
The year 2009 would have been like any other year for international golf; great players emerging out to be ‘the Majors’ winners, some reaching an all time high, some plunging into the deepest lows.
However, what changed the sport altogether this year was not an outstanding win from an underdog golfer, or a tragic loss of a great player; but it was a scandal that rocked the very foundation of an ace golfer, who was otherwise idolized by all. No points for guessing here as you all know who we wish to mention here; Tiger Woods and his 14 mistresses (the number could even increase by the time you read this article)!
Let us revise our memories a bit, a take a look at Golf in 2009.
The Majors
The year started with Argentinean Ángel Cabrera adding another Majors trophy to his shelf after he grabbed ‘The Masters’ at the Augusta National Golf Club. His classic 12 under par made him the first Argentine to win either The Masters or the US Open (2007). Cabrera beat American Kenny Perry to claim the USD 7,500,000 prize money.
Later in June, American golfer Lucas Glover went on to claim his first Majors title, The US Open at the Black Course of Bethpage State Park with a 4 under par score of 276. Glover fought under the influence of continuous rains to win the extravagant prize money of USD 7,500,000.
A month later, in July, Stewart Cink from Scotland also went on to clinch the first Majors trophy of his career, that is, the Open Championship. Competing for prize money of USD 8,600,000, Cink defeated 59 year-old Tom Watson after a four-hole playoff, having not held the outright lead during regulation play. Watson, who had the chance to win his sixth Open, could have become the oldest major champion in history during regulation play, but was unable to make par on the final hole to drop into a tie with Cink.
And finally, the last of the Majors championship, the PGA Championship, too went to a new title-holder, South Korean Yang Yong-eun. Yang’s three strokes victory marked the historical moment of the four-time champion Tiger Woods failing to win a Major he had led after 54 holes. Yang also became the first Asian-born player to win a men’s major championship.
Tiger’s Hunting Trail!
Tiger Woods would have never thought that a car accident would cost him so much. What happened with Tiger Woods a few days back can easily be called the shocker of the year in the golfing world!
It all started with a mysterious car accident outside Woods’ Florida mansion on Thanksgiving, an event on which both Tiger and his wife Elin Nordegren decided to remain tight-lipped, to everyone’s surprise. His wife used his golf club to smash a window of his vehicle to get him out of his SUV. Things became more suspicious after Tiger declared on his website (point to be noted here is that he avoided facing the media directly since the crash) a pull-out from the Chevron World Challenge, a tournament that benefits his charity foundation. He ostensibly stated that he wanted to recover from his injuries sustained from the car crash, but the reality was obviously a very different one.
Slowly and steadily, the can of worms opened and secrets began to unfold about the private life of the ace golfer, who found himself amidst one of the biggest sex scandals controversies in international sports, and now, has decided to take an indefinite break from his golfing career.
In what came as a bolt from the blue for everyone, the highest earning sportsman in history, Tiger is alleged to have been involved with 14 different women sexually, apart from his wife. The list of his mistresses includes names like porn stars Holly Sampson and Joslyn James, Rachel Uchitel (a VIP hostess), Jamie Grubbs (a reality TV star) and many more.
A sex addict to the core, it is also known that he signed a prenuptial agreement, according to which, his wife Elin was supposed to get five million dollars to keep from walking away from the marriage and an additional 80 million for staying with him as ‘Mrs. Tiger Woods’ for seven years. However, the money couldn’t hold her back and she, reportedly, has decided to divorce him, deciding to claim half of his earnings of the past five years.
It is not only Woods’ family life that has been disrupted. Financially, Woods may have got the shock of his life as many big brands pulled out their advertisements featuring the mottled golfer from the broadcasts and cable channels in the States. To add to his misery, technology outsourcing and consulting firm Accenture Plc ended its six-year sponsorship arrangement with Woods altogether.
According to media research group Nielsen, the last prime-time commercial starring Woods - a 30-second advert for Gillette - played on November 29. Woods has also lost his own brand of Gatorade sport drink named Tiger Focus, which was launched in March 2008. However, the company claims that the decision has nothing to with the scandal and that they had planned to discontinue with the product several month ago.
Meanwhile, Woods ranking as a celebrity product endorser plunged from 6th to 24th on the Davie Brown Index.
Muniyappa; the Star of 2009
The year 2009 for cannot be claimed to be on of the finest for our Indian golfers. Where on one hand, they clinched three tournaments on the Asian tour circuit; on the other hand, they failed to make a significant mark on the Japan Tour.
Unlike in 2008, Jyoti Randhawa this year in March claimed a title for himself on the Asian tour, that is, Singha Thailand Open, a new addition to the circuit.
In July, Ganganjet Bhullar won the second Asian Tour trophy for India after he won the Indonesian President Invitational. He also won five PGTI Players Championships throughout the year, marking it to be the most successful year of his career so far.
Later in October, Chinnaswamy Muniyappa brought back the Hero Honda Indian Open trophy back home, thus, also winning his first trophy on the Asian tour circuit. The victory also earned the caddie-turned-pro Muniyappa the Asian Tour Rookie of the Year award.
The Bangalore pro with a humble background was the lone Indian in Asian Tour’s annual roll of honour in which Thai star Thongchai Jaidee, winner of an unprecedented third Order of Merit crown, has been voted by his peers as the 2009 Asian Tour Players’ Player of the Year.
The unheralded Muniyappa wrapped up his season in 10th place on the Order of Merit with USD 223,269 through one win and three other top-25s.
Meanwhile Ace Indian golfer, Jeev Milkha Singh, though failed to win any major tournament, finished second at the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup. The defending champion was just two strokes off the pace at tied second after turning in a brilliant five-under 65 in the penultimate round.
The pro also teamed up with Jyoti Randhawa at the prestigious Golf World Cup at the Mission Hills Club and finished tied 14th in the event.
