State of the Game

Morgan cited Phil Mickelson as one who knows what is good for him and good for golf. Besides winning the HSBC Champions in Shanghai a couple of times, Mickelson had never failed to hang back each day to sign autographs for every budding golfer in the land. Was it a coincidence that he currently has a series of course design projects on the go on the Chinese mainland? Morgan thought not.

In much the same breath, the Hong Kong-based Morgan talked about the 2014 HSBC Women’s Champions and Paula Creamer’s winning 75ft putt. Fuelled by the excitement, the American skipped and tripped her way to the hole in a little cameo which has by all accounts attracted a million views and more. Photographers at the conference gave a knowing nod at that. Newspapers everywhere had used a Paula picture because, as they said, her reaction to winning the tournament had been altogether different to that of so many of the current winners on the professional scene.

"As often as not," said one, "you get a player who manages nothing other than a half-hearted raise of the arm as he plucks his ball from the hole. It’s almost as if it isn’t cool to win any more."

Mike Kerr, the CEO of the Asian Tour, shared in the general frustration. Kerr marvels at his cosmopolitan constellation of players, all of whom, rich and poor, have their own very individual stories to tell of how they have come so far in the game. Yet, as he says, the moment they disappear into their expression-free zones, they might as well be all the same.

Recently, Kerr has picked out a dozen or so of his tour's players for special training and, with their approval, is putting them forward for every media opportunity on offer: "They ‘get’ it but I still have a few players out there who don’t."

It was the aforementioned “disillusioned one” who suspected there could be a light at the end of the tunnel and that all could come right with our royal and ancient game.

"Maybe in time," he hazarded, "new, well spoken, bright faces, with interesting things to say, will appear, and perhaps another ‘phenom’ like Tiger, abounding with enthusiasm and passion, will jump into the fray and Iron Byron will disappear back in the workshop."