One of my biggest bugbears about golf and, indeed, professional sport in general, is the curse of the avoidable injury. I have previously written about this issue when Paul Casey popped his shoulder whilst snowboarding back in January and, since then, there have been further instances of this which really winds me up. So much so, in fact, I feel compelled to write it down.
The catalyst for my reigniting this particular flame was the withdrawal from The Player's Championship of Paul Casey after 10 error-strewn holes of his first round. The pronouncement that he had suffered a recurrence of his shoulder dislocation was extremely disappointing to read and I'm sure Mr Casey is feeling pretty down on it too.
My initial reaction, whilst sympathetic towards an unfortunate injury, was brutal - he was reaping exactly what he had sown. Of course, with the benefit of 20:20 hindsight, it's easy enough to say he shouldn't have gone snowboarding, but the real issue is the denial that he has suffered a major injury which, if not treated properly, could put his career in jeopardy.
The speed with which he 'recovered' from the initial dislocation was on a par with Ian Poulter's recovery from pneumonia, itself a comeback worthy of Lazarus himself (appropriate apologies to S.Waddell, Esq). Hearing Casey accentuate the 'positives' of his injury lay-off, ahead of The Masters, by declaring himself fresher than he would otherwise have been was, to be honest, bullshit and bluster worthy of one Tiger Woods, the original king of smokescreens when it comes to talking down physical frailties.
I wish Casey no ill and I hope this problem is not as serious as has been reported. I, for one, would like to see him involved in the Ryder Cup in September but, having seen a university friend suffer multiple shoulder dislocations in the years following the initial problem, this one isn't going to go away by simply resting up for a few weeks. Casey needs to shut this season down and get himself properly fit before getting back on the course or he runs a very real risk of his career ending prematurely, and that would be an enormous shame.
In addition to Casey's problems, The Masters saw another late WD due to the avoidable injury when it was revealed Dustin Johnson who, like Casey, was only just fit again having undergone knee surgery, had put his back out lifting a jet-ski.
For feck's sake.
Even if you did have a burning desire to play on a jet-ski, ignoring the blindingly obvious risks to life & limb, surely a successful golfer with millions of dollars in the bank can afford to pay someone else to lift his jet-ski? Especially on the eve of one of the most prestigious events on the golfing calendar? It beggars belief.
Whilst there is an argument against my view that, for the players themselves, golf is merely a job and isn't the all-consuming obsession it is for us plebs, the other instance of the eminently avoidable injury really made me shake my head in consternation.
Billy Foster, the long-time looper of current world #3 Lee Westwood, suffered a serious knee injury playing football and seems set to miss not just the Players Championship but the BMW PGA, the US Open and, potentially, The Open.
Now this was extremely unfortunate for Mr Westwood, who had ditched his putting coach (shock) and decided to rely on the assistance of Foster on the dancefloor but, in the grand scheme of things, it's not the end of the world as Westwood still has to put the ball in the hole. For Foster, however, it's a different story. His financial reward, week-in, week-out, relies on Westwood's performances and, if he's unable to take part, there isn't a regular sponsor's cheque coming in the post to keep the family in cheese & biscuits.
Yet again, it's easy for me to sit behind my PC and lecture Foster on the avoidable injury but, with a series of high profile tournaments coming up, events in which his man has a pretty good chance of winning, is it entirely unreasonable to think he'd leave the Hi-Tecs at home for a few weeks?
To be clear, I am not bemoaning the accidental injuries that happen to sportsmen and women across the globe - Carlos Puyol, for example, looks set to miss Euro 2012 with a knee injury - and are, essentially, unavoidable as a risk when playing their chosen sport.
My beef is with injuries sustained through activities that are basically unnecessary at that particular time, given any inherent risk to physical wellbeing and, therefore, participation in their sporting field.
I am the Part-Time Golfer
No comments:
Post a Comment