Given that they are locked in by winter for up to six months every year, it is not surprising that Canadian golfers are passionate about their sport. They cling to its vivid reminder of warmer climes, dreaming of April days when the ice finally melts, the greens are no longer covered in carpets of white, and they eventually live up to their name.
Just as in northern Europe, the Masters Tournament holds a special place in their hearts, a rite of Spring signalling the start of their own golf season. For many, not even a Claret Jug matches up to the mystique of a Green Jacket.
So imagine what it was like in Canada as the 2003 edition of the Masters Tournament came to its heartstopping conclusion. Imagine one of those sacred days when a nation stops what it is doing and holds its collective breath. Imagine a couple of hours when even those with no affinity for golf take the phone off the hook and stay glued to the television.
And imagine what it was like at the finish, when one of their own, a man so proud of his roots and the support that stems from them, went from golfing hero to national sporting icon. No wonder, therefore, that Mike Weir fulsomely thanked Canada and its golf fans at his gracious victory speech.
Twenty years earlier it transpired that, as a 13 year old, Weir had written to Jack Nicklaus and asked for advice about his game. “Should I stick to playing left-handed,” Weir wanted to know. “Or should I switch?”
Nicklaus's reply was unequivocal. “Left handed is your natural game, and that is the one that you should play.” The Golden Bear was as pleased as anyone that this advice should lead all the way to a Green Jacket, that 15 minutes out of a busy day had delivered such a momentous result.
Not in contention for a place amongst the azaleas this year was Sweden’’s Fredrik Jacobson, but all that will change in 2004 thanks to a fantastic 2003, which began to build to a crescendo the week after the Masters Tournament with his second win of the season, in the Algarve Open de Portugal.
He clinched victory with a magnificent pitch in for eagle three on the penultimate hole. The shot facing him was a potential winner, but it was not easy. He may have required inner strength as his ally, but it was perfect technique and soft hands that sent the ball rolling gently into the hole.
After his maiden European Tour victory in the Omega Hong Kong Open, Jacobson had fallen prey to an injury to his left wrist that took ten weeks to heal. It was still giving him pain before the tournament but he stuck to his intention to play. How propitious it was he did.
If The European Tour is all about enjoyment then perhaps there was no more fitting venue for the final tournament in April than the Island of Tenerife, a place you automatically think of people having fun. The bars and discotheques of Playa de las Americas continually throb with the sound of youth having its fling.
It was fitting appropriate then, that across the shimmering bay at Golf Costa Adeje, it was the younger end of The European Tour spectrum that sparkled in the sunshine which blessed all four days of the Canarias Open de España. And no-one prospered more than Kenneth Ferrie.
The 24 year old Englishman became the seventh first time winner of the 2003 season when a birdie four was good enough to beat Sweden’’s Peter Hedblom and Peter Lawrie of Ireland at the second play-off hole after the trio had tied on 22 under par 266. Tenerife, the Island of Eternal Spring, had just seen another career blossom.
The action in Tenerife was, as always, expertly covered by Sky Sports, so it was appropriate that they chose April to make an important announcement about its future links with The European Tour.
The broadcasting company announced they had secured exclusive live rights to The Ryder Cup Matches, two Major Championships and a minimum of 34 tournaments on The European Tour International Schedule in a series of new long-term agreements.
The contract will see The Ryder Cup broadcast exclusively live on Sky Sports for the rest of the decade and ensure Sky Sports viewers can see live international golf from January to December every year for the next five years.
- The above article features extracts from The 16th Edition of The European Tour Yearbook which is available now at the special price of £20.00 including postage and packing. Please send your cheque, made payable to The European Tour (you can order as many copies as you wish, but please send the individual addresses to where we should send the book) for £20 for each book to:
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