A new year always presents some expectation or hopes of what might lie ahead. 
Of course, there are dreams of more money in the payslip, perhaps an overseas holiday or even purchasing a big ticket item.
We might already be three months into 2011 but I found myself jotting down a ‘bucket list’ of sorts on the back of a beer coaster while holidaying recently. The list was not so much a menu of ‘to do’ adventures or resolutions for myself but more a list of things I would like to see happen this year.
There were some personal entries but 95 percent of the list seemed to focus on golf. The list went something like this.
I’D LIKE TO SEE …
Adam Scott hole more short putts.
I can’t help but think that if Scotty reduced his putts per round from about 30 down to 28 he would become a prolific winner on Tour and put himself in contention to win plenty of majors.
Robert Allenby sell his boat.
Allenby was forced to withdraw twice from major championships last year because of injuries sustained while on his luxury cruiser. He hurt his wrist on the eve of the US Open and pulled out. Two months later he had to undergo knee surgery after slipping on the deck of his boat while on a fishing expedition in the Bahamas. That injury kept him out of the PGA Championship. Rob … put the boat on the market for the sake of your health.
Jason Day play an Australian tournament.
Jason Day is one of this country’s most exciting prospects on the world stage but we’ve haven’t seen him in action at home for a while now. His honeymoon in 2009 and sinus surgery last year conspired to keep him from contesting the early summer events at home. Perhaps this year. It might even be in the Presidents Cup.
A plan put forward to guarantee the future success of the Australian Open.
The Australian Open has been given the dream date of the week before the Presidents Cup and it is expected that a selection of players from both the American and International teams will compete. But what happens next year? I don’t think I’m alone when I say that it appears Golf Australia looks ahead to the next Open and never beyond. Admittedly they have a tough gig when the total prizemoney is only a fraction bigger than 1990s levels and they are usually competing with big events on the same date abroad. The Australian Open is our most prestigious trophy and, as such, it should carry a fatter purse than it currently does to put it back in world spotlight.
My handicap to head back into single figures.
That’s not too much to ask … really.
Tiger to win again.
I want this to happen so all the talk about his swing changes and the scandal might die down. He will win this year, I have no doubt, and the sooner it happens the better. I’ll be having some hard-earned cash on him at the Masters. If he can hit it as bad as he did there last year and still finish in the top-five then he can win at Augusta in 2011. All I need now is for the bookmakers to think he can’t.
Someone to simply explain the ‘slope’ handicap and rating system.
Impossible! I must be dreamin’.
Briny Baird finally win.
The American has played 330 PGA Tour events since 1999 and is yet to claim a winner’s cheque. He’s finished second a few times but he just can’t get to the line. Not that we should be worried about him surviving out on Tour. He’s accrued more than $11.5 million in prizemoney in his career, which is $2 million more than Jack Nicklaus earned in his career.
Karrie Webb claim another major.
The Queenslander can still mix it with the best but it has been five years since she last won a big one. Two top-fives in majors last year suggests her game is still potent enough to be a force. If she can take her major tally to eight she will join the legendary Betsy Rawls, who won eight majors between 1951 and 1969.
No more trial-by-TV viewer.
The latest round of disqualifications as a result of TV viewers calling in rules infractions has got to stop. Golfers have, with a few notable exceptions, been policing themselves under the Rules of Golf for more than 500 years and the last thing we need is a player to lose a major or a significant tournament because a TV viewer “saw something” that not even the player noticed.
Am I hoping for too much here? I think not.