Pretty sure the "Phil sucks" comment doesn't have to do with his golf ability.
Great tourney. Wish Phil won. Keegan is such a spaz. Love bill for the Deacs! But he ain't no Phil until he grows a personality.
Great tourney. Wish Phil won. Keegan is such a spaz. Love bill for the Deacs! But he ain't no Phil until he grows a personality.
I love Bill's personality. I doubt he gives an exciting press conference but you gotta love his personality on the course. He just gets up to his ball and hits it - a welcome contrast especially when he is playing against someone like Keegan. He is clutch - see famous shot from last year and the putt yesterday. Also, I don't know him personally, but he seems like a pretty regular guy and a huge Wake fan as I've seen him tailgating at numerous Deac football games.
Philhas been known to be quite generous with with tips for the golf course staff, even when losing big tournaments. That said, he has always been very "confident" which some players do not appreciate. One joke on tour has been that Phil's boobs are real and his wife's personality is real....
It was the correct call. Faldo agreed with the driver as did Kostis. No one laid up and made a birdie on Sunday.
FIGJAM
I've always said Phil is the best golfer in the world from the neck down. Phil has won 4 majors and 40 tourneys - pretty rarified air. Both he and Tiger, especially Tiger, are absolutely great for the sport in terms of generating interest in the sport from the non-golfing public. When they're both playing, ratings go up. Just look at the ratings from last weekend at Pebble. That said, there is a difference between moving the needle and being likeable. Neither Tiger nor Phil are the most popular guys on tour. And while the galleries are more than willing to eat up all of Phil's figjam (and he is great about signing autographs), that doesn't necessarily endear him to the folks on and around the tour.
Hard to be truly elite and not an asshole at the same time. Jordan = asshole. Nicklaus during prime = arguable asshole. Tiger = asshole. Bird = asshole. Magic, Kareem, Ali, Jim Brown, etc., etc., etc. The guys who have dominated their sports have almost universally been assholes.
Maybe it is Deacon bias, but to me, that is the incredible thing about Arnold Palmer. I wasn't around during his dominance, but I just never heard anything about his fellow players not liking him, or fans not liking him (obviously), or anything of the sort. Granted, he didn't dominate after Nicklaus arrived, but I don't hear the stories of him being a jerk during his dominant run, either.
With golf, there seems to be a split between the top players in history. Off the top of my head:
Rather jerky: Bobby Jones, Hogan, Nicklaus, Seve, Norman, Sir Nick, Tiger, Phil
Nice guys: Arnie, Snead, Nelson, Player, Trevino, Watson
I think kinda the same in other sports. I'll give you Jordan and Bird, but I wouldn't include Magic and Kareem in the jerky category. Not sure about Jim Brown either - seemed to have immense respect from his peers - they just didn't enjoy tackling him. And again off the top of my head, Aaron, Ruth, Frank Robinson, Unitas, Montana, Barry Sanders, Payton, Peyton, Deacon Jones, Reggie White were all good guys. I don't think everyone has to maintain their competitive edge by dreaming up reasons to hate their competitors. Tiger, Bird, Jordan and guys like that did, but it seems just as many did/do not.