Dan O'Neill
Dan O’Neill is a columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. O’Neill also writes a weekly column for GolfBrief.com, and is a regular contributor to MSNBC.com and Golfweek. He is the author of “Busch Stadium Moments” and “Sportsman’s Park.”
Size no factor for Woosnam
http://www.golfbrief.com/articles/859/1/Size-no-factor-for-Woosnam/Page1.html
By Dan O'Neill
Published on 03/30/2008
http://www.golfbrief.com/articles/859/1/Size-no-factor-for-Woosnam/Page1.html
Size no factor for Woosnam
In the 1990s, Ely Callaway promoted his oversized golf clubs with the notion that size does matter. It never has mattered for Ian Woosnam.
Over the years, the 5-foot-4 Welshman has become one of the most easily recognizable figures in golf — short of stature, long of distance, large of heart.
He made his rookie debut on the Champions Tour at the Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach, opening with an inauspicious 78 and following up with rounds of 75 and 72 for a 9-over 225 score.
But there is no questioning the size of Woosnam’s resume. He has 44 international victories to his credit, 28 of them on the European PGA Tour. He has made eight Ryder Cup appearances and captained the European squad to victory in Ireland in 2006.
He spent 50 weeks atop the World Golf Rankings in 1991, the same year he captured the Masters. No, size matters little where “Woosie” is concerned. The only issue surrounding his return to golf headlines has to do with health.
During the past year, Woosnam has struggled with postviral fatigue syndrome, more commonly referred to as “chronic fatigue syndrome.” Instead of coming out of his shoes to launch one of his prodigious drives, he hardly had the energy to put his shoes on. The malady robbed Woosnam of his strength, stamina and desire.
“It just made me very tired and my muscles got very tired and achy,” said Woosnam, who turned 50 on March 2 to become eligible for the silver circuit. “A lot of people say, after 18 months it goes away. I feel like I'm just getting to the end of it now.”
But Woosnam learned the lesson the hard way. Rather than a few weeks, he has had to take many months off. Last year, he appeared in only six events, missing cuts in each. Finally, after he had to withdraw from the Irish Open in May, he put away the sticks and made recovery a priority.
“I think over the last few years, I’ve been playing when I shouldn't have played and overdone it and that’s what got me into this situation,” he said. “Now, hopefully I’ve got a bit older and a bit wiser. As I see my body is getting tired, I need to take a few weeks off.”
Health has been a concern for Woosnam throughout his career. During Ryder Cups, the tension and stress of the competitions caused him to break out in cold sores. In 1987, he was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a rheumatic disease affecting the spine.
Looking back, Woosnam suspects he first began feeling the affects of his fatigue syndrome shortly after he mentored Europe’s glorious Ryder Cup win at the K Club in 2006. “You can’t fight it,” Woosnam said. “If you do too much, it knocks you back and you’re starting all over again. I expected it to go away much quicker than it did.”
His golf game, on the other hand, looks quite resilient. Although it had been more than 10 months since he competed in back-to-back rounds, Woosnam shook off the rust to finish fifth at the European Senior Tour’s DGM Barbados Open earlier this month.
“Playing the Barbados Open a couple of weeks ago, that gave me a little bit of experience in the seniors and obviously having a scorecard in my hand again and feeling the butterflies,” Woosnam said. “No doubt about it, when I haven’t played for a year, I felt very nervous.”
On Friday, when he mades his Champions Tour rookie debut in St. Augustine, Fla., Woosnam will be a new man – both literally and figuratively.
“It’s difficult when you you’re 50 years of age and you think you’re a rookie … To have an opportunity to win Rookie of the Year again is a great feeling,” he said. “This year is going to be exciting, and I’m looking forward to just trying to play some decent golf and see how it goes really.”
One thing you can count on, Woosnam won’t make a silly rookie mistake like … say … carrying too many clubs in the bag. That debacle during the final rouond of the 2001 British Open still haunts him.
“I had two drivers in the bag,” Woosnam said. “I just made a birdie at the hole to go joint leader, and the caddie said, ‘I think you're going to go ballistic.’ I think I did go ballistic.
“But that’s one that happened to me with one of the rules — make sure you’ve got the right amount of clubs in your bag to start off with.”
Woosnam plans to play in 22 events this season, 15 on the Champions Tour. Perhaps it is an ambitious schedule for one coming off such a serious illness. But Woosnam said he will quickly scale back if his body protests.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Woosnam said. “As I said I’m getting over (the illness). I want to play that schedule, but again I have to look after my body, and if I start getting tired, I'm going to have to take weeks off.
“So at the moment, I am being hopeful I can play as many as I possibly can and see how it goes.”
Getting back in a synch promises to be a big challenge. But remember, where Woosnam is concerned, size doesn’t matter.
Over the years, the 5-foot-4 Welshman has become one of the most easily recognizable figures in golf — short of stature, long of distance, large of heart.
He made his rookie debut on the Champions Tour at the Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach, opening with an inauspicious 78 and following up with rounds of 75 and 72 for a 9-over 225 score.
But there is no questioning the size of Woosnam’s resume. He has 44 international victories to his credit, 28 of them on the European PGA Tour. He has made eight Ryder Cup appearances and captained the European squad to victory in Ireland in 2006.
He spent 50 weeks atop the World Golf Rankings in 1991, the same year he captured the Masters. No, size matters little where “Woosie” is concerned. The only issue surrounding his return to golf headlines has to do with health.
During the past year, Woosnam has struggled with postviral fatigue syndrome, more commonly referred to as “chronic fatigue syndrome.” Instead of coming out of his shoes to launch one of his prodigious drives, he hardly had the energy to put his shoes on. The malady robbed Woosnam of his strength, stamina and desire.
“It just made me very tired and my muscles got very tired and achy,” said Woosnam, who turned 50 on March 2 to become eligible for the silver circuit. “A lot of people say, after 18 months it goes away. I feel like I'm just getting to the end of it now.”
But Woosnam learned the lesson the hard way. Rather than a few weeks, he has had to take many months off. Last year, he appeared in only six events, missing cuts in each. Finally, after he had to withdraw from the Irish Open in May, he put away the sticks and made recovery a priority.
“I think over the last few years, I’ve been playing when I shouldn't have played and overdone it and that’s what got me into this situation,” he said. “Now, hopefully I’ve got a bit older and a bit wiser. As I see my body is getting tired, I need to take a few weeks off.”
Health has been a concern for Woosnam throughout his career. During Ryder Cups, the tension and stress of the competitions caused him to break out in cold sores. In 1987, he was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a rheumatic disease affecting the spine.
Looking back, Woosnam suspects he first began feeling the affects of his fatigue syndrome shortly after he mentored Europe’s glorious Ryder Cup win at the K Club in 2006. “You can’t fight it,” Woosnam said. “If you do too much, it knocks you back and you’re starting all over again. I expected it to go away much quicker than it did.”
His golf game, on the other hand, looks quite resilient. Although it had been more than 10 months since he competed in back-to-back rounds, Woosnam shook off the rust to finish fifth at the European Senior Tour’s DGM Barbados Open earlier this month.
“Playing the Barbados Open a couple of weeks ago, that gave me a little bit of experience in the seniors and obviously having a scorecard in my hand again and feeling the butterflies,” Woosnam said. “No doubt about it, when I haven’t played for a year, I felt very nervous.”
On Friday, when he mades his Champions Tour rookie debut in St. Augustine, Fla., Woosnam will be a new man – both literally and figuratively.
“It’s difficult when you you’re 50 years of age and you think you’re a rookie … To have an opportunity to win Rookie of the Year again is a great feeling,” he said. “This year is going to be exciting, and I’m looking forward to just trying to play some decent golf and see how it goes really.”
One thing you can count on, Woosnam won’t make a silly rookie mistake like … say … carrying too many clubs in the bag. That debacle during the final rouond of the 2001 British Open still haunts him.
“I had two drivers in the bag,” Woosnam said. “I just made a birdie at the hole to go joint leader, and the caddie said, ‘I think you're going to go ballistic.’ I think I did go ballistic.
“But that’s one that happened to me with one of the rules — make sure you’ve got the right amount of clubs in your bag to start off with.”
Woosnam plans to play in 22 events this season, 15 on the Champions Tour. Perhaps it is an ambitious schedule for one coming off such a serious illness. But Woosnam said he will quickly scale back if his body protests.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Woosnam said. “As I said I’m getting over (the illness). I want to play that schedule, but again I have to look after my body, and if I start getting tired, I'm going to have to take weeks off.
“So at the moment, I am being hopeful I can play as many as I possibly can and see how it goes.”
Getting back in a synch promises to be a big challenge. But remember, where Woosnam is concerned, size doesn’t matter.