Many sports are great to participate in or watch because they are metaphors for life. In particular, football represents a wonderful analogy for corporate capitalism. First, there is a free market for finding and signing recruits. Then there are business plans that include physical strengthening and conditioning, offensive and defensive schemes, and training camp. Finally, the business opens and each week presents new obstacles to overcome in the form of rival firms. The obstacles require customized strategies and tactics known as game plans.
The football game itself is a metaphor for military combat, but that also mirrors corporate competition in a more violent version. A single game is a battle and an entire season is a war. Avoiding injuries and disabilities are as crucial to the success of a team as building improvement, attitude, and teamwork. Football is a beautiful thing.
But this little column is not about football. It's about an individual sport, not a team sport. It's about golf, PGA golf, TPC Sawgrass golf: the Players Championship played last weekend in Florida.
Like most major popular sports, the PGA has too many events on its calendar. Too many mediocre courses, mediocre purses, and mediocre fields dilute the tour's quality. However, when the course is great, the purse is huge, and the field is strong, PGA golf is a wonder to behold. A confluence of these elements, a perfect storm, occurred last weekend in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, where a great field of European, Asian, Australian, and PGA tour players joined to do battle with one of the most spectacular courses in golf, the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course.
The beautifully ridiculous 17th island-green hole created great drama, with big-name pros dropping shots into the water with greater frequency than one would expect. Of course, many of those shots started decently, landing on firmament. Only after did they roll, bounce, or dribble off the grass and into the lake on the par 3.
What makes golf so unique and great was on display at the Players Championship: down the stretch on Sunday, the three golfers atop the leaderboard were all over 40 years of age. You won't find three semifinalists over 30 in any big non-exhibition tennis event. Also, Phil Mickelson showed grace, sportsmanship, and charisma in defeat. After a frustrating round where he could never string together consecutive birdies and lingered nine shots behind the leaders, he appeared enthusiastic and friendly with the 17th's rowdy crowd, planting his tee shot only three feet from the pin. That's called charismatic cool.
And now for the point of this column: the drama of the Players Championship on Sunday illustrated global socioeconomic trends. Only Monday, May 16, did Consumer Reports announce that a Kia sedan made in South Korea beat the Honda Accord in performance. Hyundai automobiles have been surging in reputation and sales recently as well, due to better vehicles and Japan's earthquake/tsunami vehicle and part shortages.
With South Korea peaking economically, native K.J. Choi made the fewest mistakes to win the Players in a one-hole playoff. He wasn't perfect, just better than the competition. It was an American, David Toms, who wilted under pressure after staging a brief comeback in regulation. Much like the reliability of Dodge vehicles, Toms missed an easy four-foot putt to finish second. Coincidentally, the United States is expected to drop to the world's second largest economic power to China by 2016.
In the final threesome in regulation, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland totally choked, too, having four splashes en route to an uncharacteristic 79 and a finish well back in the pack. England's Luke Donald didn't have enough to finish higher than a tie for fourth with America's Nick Watney, who had his own mini-collapse, but Donald did have enough to rise in the world rankings to the number two position. Has anybody bragged about the reliability and engineering of their British Jaguars and Land Rovers lately?
No, Asia is the new economic giant, soon to overtake Europe and America. With that in mind, Choi was a deserving and predictable winner.
Three more positive PGA comments must be made before closing. First, NBC's coverage was outstanding, spearheaded by an always candid Johnny Miller. Second, smart and witty American Paul Goydos, who has already had one tragedy this year in the loss of his ex-wife to painkillers, had a solid four rounds of under-par golf to finish in third only two shots back. For that effort, he received a $600,000-plus payday. Third, Sergio Garcia once again showed flashes of brilliance, shooting the lowest score for the fourth round on Sunday of 65. Garcia reminded observers that he remains the most talented golfer of his age yet to win a major. He is due.
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