2017 has started with a bang with four unlikely names making January a great start to the sporting year.
It didn’t come as any surprise when 23-year-old American Justin Thomas became the youngest golfer to fire in a 59 on the way to winning the Sony Open in Hawaii in mid-January, opening and closing with eagles.
He was ranked 12th in the world at the time. He’s now eighth and a major winner sooner than later.
But Adam Hadwin’s 59 in the Career Building Championship came from left field, and was indeed a career building round.
The 30-year-old journeyman was ranked 191 in the world to become the first Canadian to achieve the feat on American soil – he’s now ranked 112th.
Then it was the maestro Roger Federer’s turn to return to Slam champion status after a drought of 1688 days.
The 35-year-old hadn’t won a Slam since the 2012 Wimbledon when he beat Andy Murray in four sets.
At two sets apiece, with Rafael Nadal owning a 23-11 head to head lead, Federer lost his opening serve in the fifth, but held his next serve to be down 2-1.
He had more break points, but Nadal held serve for 3-1 as Federer fans starting fearing the worst.
It was time for the real Federer to stand up against the trend of play by holding serve and breaking Nadal for 3-3.
But no-one could possibly have thought what was in store.
Federer held to love and broke Nadal to love to win eight points in a row and a 5-3 lead, serving for the match.
He lost the first two points and after two aces, was still down 30-40, but fought back to deuce.
That he won the title on a Hawk Eye decision only added to the drama, and more than three hours and a half hours of tension for the meritorious win.
Sports lovers thought nothing could top Roger Federer’s fifth Australian Open and record 18th Slam.
Marcus Stoinis tried his best to top it, as he walked to the Eden Park centre yesterday with Australia 5-54 chasing New Zealand’s 286.
The top order was gone, and to all watching so were Australia’s hopes – an humiliating loss was just around the corner.
Not to the 27-year-old Stoinis, playing only his second ODI.
He had a 13-run stand off 32 with newcomer Sam Heazlett (4) who has only played 13 Sheffield Shield games for Queensland – 6-67.
In came and went James Faulkner (25) in an 81-run stand off 97 with Stoinis (61) – 7-148.
Pat Cummings (36) added some belief to the scoreboard with a 48-run stand off 39 with Stoinis (73) – 8-196.
Mitchell Starc (3) had a 30-run stand off just 12 with a now rampaging Stoinius (98) – 9-226 still way short.
In came Josh Hazlwood who was in the centre for 26 minutes and never faced a ball as Stoinis continued on his one-man mission impossible.
That they got to within six runs off a freakish victory did no justice to Marcus Stoinis’ epic innings – the best all-round ODI performance by an Australian with 3-49 off 10, and 146 not out, an Australian record for a No 7 batsman, with nine fours, and 11 sixes – the latter only bettered by Shane Watson’s 15 sixes against Bangladesh
It’s also the highest total by any country from six wickets down.
But Australia failed by just six runs, thanks to Hazlewood having a brain explosion and being run out at the bowler’s end, backing up too far.
Dumb dumb cricket when the most unlikely of all wins was just a shot away.
Hazlewood denied Marcus Stoinis, and the team, a victory for the ages.
But to Justin Thomas, Adam Hadwin, Roger Federer, and Marcus Stoinis, your spine-tingling feats have 2017 international sport off to a flying start.
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The Aussie needed every centimetre of his height and reach to reel that one in!
