This time Ian Poulter is getting it in the neck for claiming that Tiger won’t finish in the top five at Augusta this week. Why is he being chastised for that? He’s only saying what the rest of us are thinking.
In reality, he was in fact asked whether he thought Tiger would finish in the top five and he simply answered ‘no’. It’s not like he made the comment off his own back. Then he would have looked a little silly.
Of course Poults has always had a tendency to tie himself in knots of hyperbole – the quote a few years back about being the best in the world bar Tiger raised eyebrows then and still rumbles on in the background – especially so now.
Tiger’s response clearly nodded at that comment when asked about Poulter’s latest one – ‘well, Poulter’s always right, isn’t he?’
Even so, instead of being on Poults case, we should be applauding him. In a sport that can often be laden with monotonous, placid answers to press questions, the likes of Poulter et al shoot from the hip and most fans love that.
And why is it so frowned upon to criticise Tiger? In only March this year we had a host of tut-tutting and frowning when Rory McIlroy dared to suggest that Tiger had lost his aura. Not forgetting the storm between the same two before last year’s Ryder Cup.
In a sport driven by sponsors across the business spectrum, it is understandable that golfers tread carefully – often too carefully – when answering press questions. But surely a bit of straight-talking and honesty is a good thing, right? It makes it interesting.
It’s a shame that both McIlroy and Poulter now feel they have had their fingers burnt. Poulter has now gone on record (his Twitter feed to be exact) saying that he won’t be so candid with the press in future. That is a shame.
Instead I’ll have to say it for them. I don’t think Tiger will finish in the top five either. There, I said it.
No comments:
Post a Comment