You just can’t bottle it

 This article is a summary of and an extension to a recent conversation had with a friend about a long held belief.  Sports players and teams can only really be great if they win major competitions and that one major title is more significant than infinite lesser crowns.

The prime example of this is Paul Lawrie, who despite a forgettable career won the British Open in 1999. Therefore while the man was never one of the golfing greats of our generation, his one major victory makes him a more successful golfer than Colin Montgomery, whose endless tour titles, money list winnings and Ryder Cup god-like status only highlight what a failure his career was.

Obviously Montgomery had the ability to win one of the defining trophies of golf, but could never string together four rounds when it really mattered. In lay man’s terms he was a bottler. He can never claim, unlike Lawrie, that for one four day period he was the greatest in the world.

In the future when both mens’ careers have slipped from the memory, golfing pundits will look at the honour roll before the British Open and pause for a brief second at 1999’s entry.

“Paul Lawrie, who was he?” They may ask.

“Never heard of him.”

“Nor I.”

“Ah well, who won it in 2000?”

In essence history can never forget Lawrie, Montgomery may be remembered because his Ryder Cup points tally is so impressive, but he will never have felt on top of the world in the same way that Lawrie must have.

Rory McIlroy recently won his first major title and while much of the talk is on how many he will win, the player himself must reflect on the fact that he will now never be forgotten. The 2011 entry for the U.S. Open will always bear his name. He has achieved the pinnacle of any golfer’s career. A major trophy. 

Greece will never compare to the England team of this generation, but while England have never won anything in world football, Greece won the European Championships of 2004. Similarly the All Blacks in rugby may have had the best player in almost every position from one to fifteen, but they have never reached the holy grail since 1987. Hence none of the players on the current team can claim to have conquered the rugby world, despite their amazing out of competition feats.

As a perpetual loser on the pitch myself (some would say an even bigger one off it), I have never really understood the extreme winning mentality. It must be something that cannot be taught or coached but an innate desire within the individual, borne out of intense desire and a fear of losing.

As a gambler winning mentality is something I look out for and with the addition of the exchanges it is something I try to expose in those who do not have it, through the lay option. Closer to the rugby world cup I will most likely choose to lay New Zealand, however I would not commit my money just yet.

Luckily for me there is no internet access in my house at the moment for I would have laid the proverbial house on McIlroy not winning the U.S. Open, due to the mistaken belief that he did not have the bottle to win on the big stage. What a fool.

While this article has so far focused on bottle, nerve alone is not sufficient to win anything of note. Genuine ability must be present. Perhaps my all-time sporting idol, Tim Henman, never won the coveted slam event, despite having the heart of a lion or a tiger as his moniker suggested. It was always one of my biggest sporting disappointments that he never won Wimbledon.

He reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon four times, including a quarter final victory over a youthful Roger Federer in 2001. Slight of frame, wimpy even, he always battled to the last, justifying his Tiger Tim nickname.

Four semi-final appearances at Wimbledon was an achievement given that his best ever ranking was 4. Some may suggest that his best performances came at the All England club because he was raised on grass court tennis. In the other slam events he was less successful, once reaching the semi-finals of both the French and U.S. Open and never getting beyond the fourth round in Australia.

However I like to believe that Henman rose to the big occasion at Wimbledon because he had bottle in spades and when a nation expected he strived to deliver.

Unfortunately Tiger Tim never won a slam and therefore his career will be forgotten, despite having the nerve he lacked the raw physique and natural talent to ultimately win the elusive major. Linking this point back to the original subject of this article, Paul Lawrie, his winning mentality and the peak of his ability came together in that final round and playoff, where he beat Jean van de Velde, but of more substance Justin Leonard.

Therefore while not the greatest of golfers he did manage to maximise his ability with his ambition when it really mattered, something better sportsmen and women have failed to do in my lifetime and most likely throughout history, however we will not know about these historical bottlers, as their names do not appear on claret jugs or equivalent trophies.

Till next week,

M.C.