How much have you enjoyed your Covid sport viewing?
I can’t do rugby or football, killed stone dead by the empty stands. Test match cricketers scrambling into the stands to retrieve the ball felt wrong; I preferred the radio. This week’s ATP tennis finals has been my best TV sport in 2020.The O2 crowds always sits in the dark during games; British crowds watch points in silence unlike New York or Paris so it felt NORMAL. My grouchy lockdown spirits have been raised from the basement by exciting matches and the high standard of play.
After many false dawns, the week may have answered the perennial question,”When will the next generation turn up to stay?”.No Fed but Djokovic and Nadal both turned up fit. Djokovic had even taken the previous week off to prepare. The two rising stars in the final, MEDVEDEV and Thiem, had both beaten both the ageing maestros during the tournament. Another enthralling match saw the Russian come out on top. You greybeards may say that the last two ATP winners have been gangly youngsters. This time it felt different. It’s possible that if and when the tennis circuit gets to Melbourne in 2021 that the men will look at their draw and say” Never mind Raf;blimey, I have got Medvedev in my half of the draw.”
Quiz HQ has worked our North American correspondent Neil Dewhurst hard the last few months. Here’s his report on the TWO questions about Masters golf. His Dad John, our Rugby League guru, will be be reporting on the crucial(for Quizzers)St Helens v Wigan Grand Final in the last update.
“So as one fight for supremacy in Georgia was undergoing a recount, there was no need for anything similar at Augusta. AMERICAN golfer & world number 1 Dustin Johnson, emphatically won the Masters by a margin of FIVE strokes finishing on 20 under par & in doing so breaking the lowest total record by 2 shots. Most quizzers thought the result would be much closer; only two were on the money. Ben Rogers is a Scot living in Wales-plainly anything to avoid Boris’Covid chuntering. The other ,clever girl Ruby Newall, keeps an overflow toy cupboard in the Quiz HQ basement.
After a recent quarantine due to testing positive for COVID-19, DJ returned to action at the Houston Open finishing tied 2nd before taking that form into the Masters to go one better around Augusta National.
DJ started on Thursday with a 7 under 65 for a share of the lead. He consolidated that position on Friday & Saturday with a 2 under 70 & another 7 under 65 respectively, shooting 2 below the rest of the field in round 3 & creating clear daylight with 18 holes to play. Despite a couple of bogeys on the 4th & 5th on Sunday where his lead was cut, DJ birdied holes 6 & 8 to take charge once more. From there he never looked in danger & a further 3 birdies on the back 9 iced the cake; all that was left was to be fitted his first green jacket by Tiger Woods.
The final round, as it has often done, eats up its fair share of victims who had dreams on Saturday night of overturning the deficit to the leader, storming through the field & sinking the winning putt on 18. Almost half the field posted over par final rounds with notable rounds of 76 for Tiger Woods & 77 by Paul Casey. Both were perhaps in the hunt before their rounds started; both dropped down the field to finish tied 38th, 19 shots back. Defending champion Tiger Woods notably carded a 10, a score that most amateur golfers would be extremely disappointed to shoot on a par 3.His reaction was somewhat different to what this golfer would have done. Rather than sulk, claim the world is against him & shout that he’s never playing this stupid game again.Tiger went on to birdie 5 of the last 6 holes to get back under par for the tournament. A different mindset separates us methinks (& perhaps a little ability)!!
That’s it for the 2020 golf majors. Luckily we won’t have to wait a full 12 months to enjoy the splendour of Augusta again, back in the calendar for its usual April slot next year. By then a lot could have happened, not least the end of what seems like a never ending presidential election stand-off. It’s likely there will be a new man in the White House though the man he replaces may be plotting revenge in his own club house!! “
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