And mad golfers at midnight
It’s half an hour past midnight on Sunday, 12th July and after a whole day (and half the night!) of watching history unfold at Wimbledon, it’s time for the golf.
But first a tasty summary of the tennis. What a delight it was to see the world number one Novac Djokovic defeat Roger Federer and seize his third crown and a cheque for 1.9 million pounds. It was magical to marvel at 34-year old Martina Hingis as she delighted fans with a “double double” victory – an incredible 17 years after winning her singles title at Wimbledon! And then, before you could reach for the remote control for a break, suddenly there was the Dutch pairing Jiske Griffioen and Aniek van Kost displaying tremendous tennis prowess in the Wheelchair Ladies’ Doubles. The girls just lost out in an exciting 2 hour and 36 minute-long final. Yes, after all of this tennis sporting splendour, it’s time to get up and catch up with the golf now on BBC 2. Perhaps Holland will be in celebratory mood again …
It had seemed a good idea – a late dinner then an hour’s kip in order to let the tennis sensations settle before heading for the fairways of the Gullane links golf course in Scotland. The beeb are showing the final day’s play of the Scottish Open in a one-hour late night highlights programme. Golf lover’s verdict: I must be mad!
Well, I must admit that I’m beginning to feel a little sceptical. And that’s not really in my nature. Golf lover has been viewing the scores on his app all afternoon under strict instruction not to reveal in any way, shape or form what the scores are and how Dutch player Joost Luiten is doing. He is keeping to his word. Then, all of a sudden, retires to bed, “exhausted from two weeks of tennis”, he says. But I’m suspicious. My guess is that Joost has slipped away. Perhaps a poor round today – one bad round among the four just as has happened all too often lately. Just hope I’m wrong. At worst, possibly a level par round of 70 today to still finish in the top-10. That’ll put him in a good frame of mind for The Open at St Andrews this week and may even boost his world ranking to inside the top 50 again.
It’s now 12.40 Amsterdam time, I’m ready for the action. Let the BBC golf highlights begin …
Wendy Hoad