Most of us regular hackers and thrashers will have spent many an hour on a golfing safari as we explore the flora and fauna that results from yet another wayward approach into the wilds but Rory McIlroy has enjoyed the real thing as he prepares to swing into 2017 at this week’s BMW South African Open. “It was one of the best experiences of my life,” said the world No 2. “They tell you that you’re safe in the car but then the lion roars and you feel the vibrations in your body.” Funnily enough, it’s a bit like the sensation the golf writers get when confronting Monty after he’s just bogeyed the last.
While the tournament host, Ernie Els, has been left disappointed by the no-show of a number of leading European Tour players – home favourite Charl Schwartzel is among that group – the appearance of McIlroy has given the first event of the new year a significant lift.
The 27-year-old has arrived in Johannesburg with a variety of new weapons in his golfing armoury – McIlroy has Callaway woods and irons and Titleist balls and wedges – and the Northern Irishman is eager to put his artillery into action as he chases the pots of gold in the Rainbow Nation.
"They (the clubs) are picked for this week but that could change week to week," he said of this golfing war chest. "You never really know until you have a card in your hand and at the end of the day the person swinging the club is more important than the club itself.
"I have been practising in the Middle East for the past week or so although I have spent the last few days here on safari. That may have made me a bit rusty but I’m in a competitive mode."
Elsewhere, Jim Furyk is set to be unveiled as the USA’s Ryder Cup captain tonight for the 2018 match with Europe in Paris.
The 46-year-old, who played in nine Ryder Cups and was a vice-captain during the American win at Hazeltine last October, is expected to get the nod ahead of Fred Couples.
It seems continuity appears to have worked in Furyk's favour, with his experience of a position on the backroom staff a significant factor, even though Couples has captained a winning Presidents Cup team three times.
On the amateur front, Scotsman David Inglis, the former British Boys champion and Walker Cup player, has been appointed head coach of the European team for the Palmer Cup match with the USA this season. Edinburgh exile Inglis had a largely unfulfilling career as a professional but is now a highly respected coach at Northwestern University in Chicago.
Meanwhile, Lionel Freedman, one of the driving forces behind the World Hickory Open, a title currently in the hands of the celebrated Sandy Lyle, has died at the age of 82 after a short illness.
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