How can golf be so exciting? Whenever I've watched golf on the BBC or Sky the coverage has reached a high standard, but the basic game of golf rarely brings up any drama. The tempo is so slow, victories can be sewn up an hour before they are officially announced, and until recently most tournaments of note were won at a canter by Tiger Woods. But this year something has changed.
Martin Kaymer became the third new major winner in a row, following Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen. However, its not the fact that they are first time winners, its that they are not American. Suddenly the rest of the world, and Europe in particular, have come to the fore, and it is not with one stand out player amongst those from the USA. The number of European winners on the US tour has increased dramatically and the renewed belief in their abilities can almost be seen on the tee.
Woods' fall from grace certainly helped things. The world number 1 is still a long way from his best, but even if he does find his finest form his rivals no longer fear him. Confident in their game, and able to hit as long if not longer, Tiger no longer dominates the major-chaser's every thought.
The Ryder Cup is always an interesting viewing as Europe take on the brash, bold United States, and this year sees the strongest European team (or weakest American team) yet.But even still, that does not explain why I watched the USPGA championship until 1:30 am. And it does not explain why my heart was pumping away when Martin Kaymer putted for his birdie on the second play-off hole.
Kaymer isn't English. He's not even British. However, I wanted him to win so badly for no reason other than he was European, and in golfing terms that puts us all in the same camp.
Watching the drama unfold did reveal the levels of concentration and composure that professional sportsmen have to reach to be successful. I could barely stand still watching thousands of miles away. My nerves would have been shot if I was standing over a four foot putt to win a major.
Congrats to the German, and commiserations to Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson. While its fun to root for the Europeans, most of golf is an individual sport and no matter what nationality, its nice to have a new name and a fresh face holding the trophy aloft.
Suddenly, golf has become exciting, and until Tiger Woods or someone else starts dominating the sport, it will continue to be exciting (relatively speaking, anyway)
