Bear's view commands respect

So far there has been no reaction from Jack Nicklaus about the remarkable, six-iron shot played by Serio Garcia from between the roots of a tree at Medinah last Sunday. Which may seem inconsequential, except for the fact that the Bear has already chosen the effort of another Spaniard as "the greatest shot I ever saw".

Such a view commands respect, not least in the context of the shots Nicklaus would have witnessed during a career spanning 30 years. And the one which he selected above all others was by Seve Balleteros during the Ryder Cup at Palm Beach Gardens in 1983, when Nicklaus captained the victorious American team.

Level with Fuzzy Zoeller playing the long 18th, Ballesteros pulled his drive into deep rough from where he could advance the ball only into a bunker, 240 yards from the green. With what observers described as a stroke of absolute genius, he faded a three wood which finished pin-high in the fringe of the green. And naturally, he saved par for a halved match.

Of course there have been many great shots over the years and not surprisingly, the ones which have commanded most attention were hit on the way to victory in major championships. The first of these was by the great Bobby Jones in the 1926 British Open at Royal Lytham.

Level with professional Al Watrous with two holes to play, Jones pulled his drive into a bunker on the left of the 17th from where he couldn't see the green, 175 yards away. We are informed that seeing how cleanly the ball was lying, he took his mashie (five iron) and "with a smooth and seemingly effortless swing, struck it crisply, with just a puff of sand, up into the wind and onto the green where it dropped inside Watrous's ball, four feet nearer the hole."

Unnerved by this astonishing shot, Watrous three-putted, while Jones got down in two before going on to complete a winning total of 291, equalling James Braid's record score at Prestwick in 1908.

Then there was the "shot that was heard across the world", the 220-yard four wood which Gene Sarazen hit for an albatross two at Augusta's long 15th on his way to victory in the 1935 US Masters. But in recent times, the most celebrated shot was executed by Arnold Palmer on his way to victory in the 1961 British Open.

There is a charming story told of how Palmer, while at Royal Troon for the 1989 Open, went out with a photographer on a practice day to have his picture taken beside the plaque on the 16th. It had been erected to mark the spot from where Palmer had hit a classic, swashbuckling six-iron shot of 140 yards from heavy rough onto the green, where he two-putted for par.

Off they went, player and photographer, in search of the plaque. After about 10 minutes, Arnie turned to his long-time caddie, Tip Anderson and asked: "Tip, where is that plaque." To which Anderson, who was watching the antics of the pair with some amusement, replied: "About 200 miles south of here, Mr Palmer. It happened at Royal Birkdale, not at Royal Troon."

Note: The shot was actually played at Birkdale's 15th which, after a course revision, has since become the 16th.

"I always try to make the crowds enjoy and I have a lot of respect to them. That's why I always take my hat off. Not all the greens, but most of them." New-found favourite of the galleries, Sergio Garcia, after finishing runner-up in the USPGA Championship last Sunday.

Which British Open champion scored the winning goal in a soccer cup final? Indeed the same player was offered professional terms by Aberdeen and had a successful trial with Liverpool a few years later. Now, there's one for your local table quiz.

The information comes courtesy of Old Conna captain, Paddy O'Brien, who, on a recent visit, perused the 1990 centenary history of Conwy GC. It chronicled how one-time club professional, George Duncan, scored the winning goal for Conwy in a Welsh Cup final replay. But it also reported that his enthusiasm for soccer didn't endear him to the club members, who noted his penchant for "disappearing" on Saturday afternoons. In fact their displeasure was such that it cost him his job.

Duncan captured the British Open from Sandy Herd at Deal in 1920 and was later to gain a special place in the annals of the game on this side of the Irish sea. In August 1927, he became the inaugural winner of the Irish Open Championship at Portmarnock.

Organised by the GUI, it brought some decidedly patronising comments from the British media. Noting that the Irish were well known to be "thoroughly casual re organisation," it was reported that "they failed thoroughly to live up to their reputation." How about that for a back-handed compliment?

This was also the occasion when the great J H Taylor described Duncan's closing 74 in wretched conditions as "one of, or perhaps even the greatest round that has ever been played."

Now that Tiger Woods is back in his rightful position as the world number one, it is interesting to note the way the distinction has been spread through the golfing world, since its institution in April 1986. The first incumbent, incidentally was Bernhard Langer whose tenure, however, lasted only two weeks.

In all, 11 players have been world number one - four Europeans, four Americans, an Australian, a South African and a Zimbabwean. And, needless to remark, Greg Norman has dominated the process, having been a record 331 weeks at the top, between September 1986 and January 1998, including a record 96 successive weeks from June 1995 to April 1997.

From a European standpoint, it must be a cause for concern that they haven't had a world number one since January 1994, when Nick Faldo relinquished the position to Norman for the last time. Faldo had been there, on and off, for a total of 97 weeks from September 1990, when the system eventually recognised his victories in the US Masters and British Open earlier that year.

The other incumbents have been: Seve Ballesteros - 60 weeks from April 1986 to August 1989; Ian Woosnam - 50 weeks from April 1991 to March 1991; Fred Couples - 16 weeks from March 1992 to July 1992; Nick Price - 43 weeks from August 1994 to June 1995; Tom Lehman - one week in April 1997; Woods - 71 weeks from June 1997 to present; Ernie Els - nine weeks from June 1997 to June 1998; David Duval 15 weeks from March 1999 to August 1999.

With the European Ryder Cup team being finalised in Munich tomorrow, it seems timely to recall an intriguing piece from the August 1949 edition of "Irish Golf". It said: "Following his brilliant display in the Open at Sandwich (where he was beaten in a play-off), it was generally thought that Harry Bradshaw would be given one of the places on the short list for the Ryder Cup team against America at Ganton next month. But there was never a chance of this happening."

The piece explained: "The PGA have laid down clearly that they consider professionals from the 26 counties as being overseas members of their Association. It is as overseas players that they take part in the Open it- self and in such tournaments as the `Daily Mail' they had to qualify in the section allocated to overseas players."

This was at a time when the Royal and Ancient ruled that "Eireanns", as they were termed, were eligible for the Walker Cup team. But Bradshaw didn't make his Ryder Cup debut until 1953.

This day in golf history . . . On August 21st 1952, future LPGA professionals Mickey Wright and Barbara McIntyre clashed in the 18-hole final of the US Girls' Junior Championship on the 6,053-yard, par-74 Monterey Peninsula GC. Wright, who captured the title one-up, attributed much of her success to Harry Pressler, the professional at San Gabriel CC.

She later took lessons from such respected teachers as Lee Boltad, Stan Kertes and Earl Stewart by way of perfecting what the great Ben Hogan described as "the finest golf swing I ever saw, man or woman." Wright was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1964 and the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1976.

Teaser: A player's ball strikes his opponent's or fellow competitor's trolley and then strikes his own trolley. What is the ruling?

Answer: In matchplay, because the ball first struck his opponent's equipment, the player may re-play the stroke, without penalty, regardless of what happens thereafter to the ball (Rule 19-3). The player may not play the ball as it lies, because after striking his opponent's equipment but before coming to rest, his ball struck his own equipment, the penalty for which is loss of hole (Rule 19-2a). In strokeplay, although the ball first struck a fellow competitor's equipment, the competitor incurs a penalty of two strokes and must play the ball as it lies (Rules 194, -1, -2).