What Garmany had to say struck a chord with one saddened spectator who said subsequently that he had been following golf for 30 years - and that there had been little to keep him amused since Tiger first took the game by storm with his Masters’ win of 1997.
"The modern player," said the disillusioned one, "plays more from logic and less from passion than in the past and this makes for a dull watch for television viewers. Even Tiger seems to be “toned down” as far as showing emotion goes.
"Like others, I look to players such as Bubba and Poulter to see a little emotional life on the links but I am not holding my breath for any sparking repartee from these two.
"Even the golf swing," he added, "has become an imitation of 'Iron Byron'. I remember the varied swings of the older players on the old Senior Tour; Arnie's corkscrew follow-through, Jack's back-breaking "Reverse C", and Trevino's "Figure 8", now used by Jim Furyk."
Giles Morgan, Global Head of Sponsorship and Events at HSBC, said that for someone like himself who looks at golf with a commercial eye, characters are a must.
"If I were a manager," said Morgan, "I would be working on the players’ demeanour, fostering the things which make them stand out. The thousand-yard cowboy stare into the distance isn’t what people want to see."
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