The Augusta curse

 

Roar Pro

By For & Against, 17 Apr 2009 The Crowd is a Roar Pro

Tagged:

 Angel Cabrera, Augusta, Augusta Masters, Golf, Kenny Perry, US Masters

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For golfing nuts (as one member of the For and Against team proudly is) watching the US Masters is the equivalent of ogling at golfing porn.

The sheer beauty of Magnolia Drive; the swelling background music as players stroll the immaculate virginal fairways; the tussle between the world’s best players on the greatest of all golfing stages; and the satisfying climax which often sees the victor win in a dramatic playoff.

Whilst some may rightly question these analogies given that the portly and middle aged Angel Cabrera and Kenny Perry are by no means John Holmes, there can be no doubt that each year the US Masters at Augusta produces an almost magical and unrivalled sporting atmosphere.

This years tournament had it all. Well, almost everything.

From an Aussie fan’s point of view, yet again we were left with no one to cheer as the contenders rounded Amen Corner on Sunday.

Australia’s woeful record at the Masters is well documented. Jim Ferrier started the trend in 1950 by crashing in the last 6 holes and basically giving the tournament away. In the years since, we’ve seen a litany of missed opportunities. Craig Parry was right up there in the final round in 1992 but wilted on the back nine – a choke partly attributable to the pressure cooker that is Augusta on a Sunday afternoon but also stimulated by the ugly super-patriotism and less than sporting antics of the US fans following the eventual winner Freddy Couples.

Sadly we must also mention the Norman/Larry Mize heartache in 1987; and of course, the bitter sequel, the Norman/Faldo meltdown of 1996. A litany of Saffie like chokes was rounded off nicely by Stuart Appleby in 2007. He led into the third round but faded like an aged magnolia when that Sunday afternoon pressure cooker was turned to the max and the ghosts of Amen Corner shrieked their unholy shrieks.

There is no reason why we shouldn’t win at Augusta. The current crop of Aussie golfers has serious depth and quality. Geoff Ogilvy is ranked 4th in the world and has a swing as smooth as a southern drawl; everyone knows Adam Scott should win more tournaments (but seems to prefer 19th hole activities with A-List glamours rather than practising his shaky 4 foot putts); and Allenby, Baddeley, Appleby, Senden and O’Hern have all won big tournaments on the PGA tour and should be contenders at majors.

We also have no shortage of British Opens, US PGA’s and US Opens in the national trophy cabinet – but alas no Green Jacket.

All of which leads me to suspect that somewhere, somehow, a golfing hex has been placed on Australia, in a similar manner to the Rhodesian witch doctor who in 1970 was so incensed that he wasn’t paid his £1,000 for a consultation with Johnny Warren et al, that he proceeded to place a hex on the Socceroos who thereafter struggled in vain to qualify for the world cup. It was only after John Safran travelled to Mozambique and retained a new witch doctor to reverse the Socceroos curse that we managed to qualify on the glorious night against Uruguay in 2005.

Golfing hex or not – nothing will stop Aussie golf fans from again subjecting ourselves to the magic of Augusta in 2010 and hoping that we can finally break the hoodoo.

For a wrap of the Masters as well as an off beat look at everything else in the last week of sport, tune in to our podcast at www.forandagainst.com.au.

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