I’m fond of a list – I’ve told you that before and, seeing as this is our final blog of the season, I thought I’d indulge myself with an end-of-year congratulations list to a few well-chosen folk.

I’m starting with Nelly Korda, world No 1, pictured above in her rather Christmassy Met Gala dress from last May.  Korda won six times in seven starts at the beginning of the season and won again at year’s end, managing to capture in a matter of months what would be a decent career’s worth of titles for anyone else.

But more than that, she stepped out into the wider sports’ world embracing for the first time being the face of women’s golf.  This is not a position she’s ever sought or wanted.  Rather, this naturally understated individual has found herself forced into it because, well, because her golf is just too LOUD to allow her to remain in the shadows.  Women’s golf is well represented.

Next, effusive praise and congratulations must go to Scottie Scheffler, the men’s world No 1, for a phenomenal season.  Eight wins is pretty special but we have seen that a couple of times before – think Vijah Singh, think Tiger Woods.  However, when you consider that Scottie’s wins included a green jacket, a gold medal and a season-ending Fed-Ex Cup title, you realise it’s a season a little out of the ordinary.

For me, though, it was his gracious handling of that ridiculous arrest while driving to the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, that marks him out as a wonderful human.  Humiliatingly photographed in an orange jump suit and placed in a cell, he waited patiently for the dense fog of the local police force to lighten somewhat.  Afterwards, not a word of criticism passed his lips.  Class, class and more class.  Can you guess I’m a Scottie fan?

Keep a look out next year for more success from our newest star from the Ladies’ European Tour (LET), Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland.  Chiara swept the boards, winning three times and taking home the Rookie of the Year award as well as the Order of Merit title.  The cherry on the cake was being voted Players’ Player of the Year, the ultimate accolade accorded a player by her peers.  What price Tamburlini will become the second Swiss player to represent Europe in the Solheim Cup, following on from Albane Valenzuela’s debut this year?

Readers of this fluffy nonsense that we Madills churn out weekly (health and holidays notwithstanding) will be aware of the highlight of my year – namely the Curtis Cup at Sunningdale where GB&I recorded an outstanding victory over a very talented American team.

It’s a real joy to have so many friends gathered together in one place at the same time and the home team certainly gave us a lot to cheer about and a lot to enjoy.  Congrats to captain Catriona Matthew and all the players (it does take two teams to make a match, after all) and congrats to Sunningdale, one of my all-time favourite places, whose hospitality was exceptional.  I get a warm glow just thinking about it all.

Back last February one of the founder members of the LET, Chris Langford, took matters into her own hands as regards marking 45 years of the tour’s existence.  She organised a get-together of the founders, and assorted folk who were around near the beginning of things, at her club, Thorpeness.  Members of the tour’s current media department were also invited and a series of thought-provoking interviews and wonderful insights have now been documented on the LET website.

Single-handedly Chris has kick-started the tour into documenting some of its history which had been in danger of being lost because of huge gaps in the archive.  Bravo Chris – what a job.  Congratulations and thanks in equal measure……and looking forward to the next get-together in February.

Any congratulatory list from 2024 would be found sadly lacking were Kiwi golfer Lydia Ko not included.  This is the year she finally made the requisite number of points to gain entry to the Ladies’ Professional Golfers’ Association’s  (LPGA) Hall of Fame, arguably the toughest to access in all of sport.  She gained the final point required in Paris when she won the gold medal at the Olympics but there was certainly no resting upon her laurels.  Shortly afterwards she won the Women’s Open round the Old Course in St Andrews, the acknowledged Home of Golf.  Not too shabby.

Talking of the Home of Golf, I was delighted to hear that Karrie Webb, Australia’s seven-time major champion and mentor to so many of that country’s current stars, has been made an honorary member of the R&A.  A former world No 1 Karrie is not unlike the current holder of that position, Nelly Korda, in being of a quiet and unassuming nature.  Reluctant heroines, you could say.

I couldn’t be more thrilled to tell you that Karrie will have a great pal of mine as a fellow member.  Pam Valentine, against whom I played my first-ever match at full international level (she won!), has been a stalwart of Welsh golf for well over four decades.  Player, manager, captain, administrator, committee member, referee – you name it, Pam’s done it.  We’re all thrilled for you, Pam.  Enjoy being a member of the most famous club in the world.

And finally, congratulations and thanks to all our faithful readers who have stayed the course over the last eight and a half years.  Talk about stamina and resilience.

A very happy Christmas to you all and we shall see you when we reconvene some time in 2025.

 

The sister having given up golf (that construction is a blast from the past, reminding me of Latin classes), my bucket list has been revised.  It included playing Cypress Point again and taking up residence in Oregon for enough time to play all the courses at Bandon Dunes (think there are about nine now?)  Both are off the agenda because I wanted to enjoy them with Maureen, even though it is – was – a lot of a comedown for her to play with me, there being a bit of a Grand Canyon gap in class.

Cypress Point was on the list because the Walker Cup is there  again next year, for the first time since 1981.  Dai and I were there and were lucky enough to play the course.  GB and I, with a team featuring Philip Walton, Ronan Rafferty, Roger Chapman, Paul Way and Peter McEvoy lost 15-9 to a USA side containing Corey Pavin, Hal Sutton and Jay Sigel.

Here’s Dai’s note on the back of the 16th photo.

 

There were other players, of course, not least Duncan Evans, who won the Amateur Championship in 1980 but later fell from grace in a serious way with tax fraud and money laundering landing him in jail.

Duncan’s dad David was a goalie who played for Crewe when they drew 2-all against Spurs at Gresty Road in the 4th round of the FA Cup in 1960.  In the replay (none of those nowadays), in front of 60,000 people (squished and squashed in to White Hart Lane if there really were that many), Spurs won 13-2.  They lost to Blackburn, the eventual winners, in the next round.  At least David could say he’d played against one of the best teams ever – the next season Spurs were the  first winners of the Double (league and FA Cup) in the modern (ish) era.

It’s been very difficult writing this blog because I’ve been bouncing up and down and screeching (mostly silently, for a change) as I listen to Rangers battering Spurs at Ibrox.  Where’s our midfield?  Are they even on the pitch?  Don’t my lot know that one of the basics is to pass to players wearing the same shirt?   Not to the opposition!!!  Heaven help us.

It was always going to be a difficult night, especially with Ange’s Celtic connection and I suppose the good thing is that you can’t teach young players what frantic European nights, away, in front of a hostile crowd, with players playing above themselves, fighting for every ball, are like; they have to experience it;  and, with luck, learn and improve.  And realise that you have to be on it yourself, working, making your tackles, getting to the ball first, thinking, concentrating, never letting your levels drop….Dream on, Patricia.   Perhaps too many of this batch of Spurs players don’t speak Australian. (For the non footie fans, Ange, our manager, born in Greece, is from Oz.)

We managed to scrape a draw, 1-all but at this rate, it’ll be Tamworth in the hat (or, more accurately, the bowl) for the 4th round of the FA Cup.  Spurs won’t like the Lamb ground and if they play like wimps, they’ll be blown away.  Plus, should the game go to pens, it’ll suit Tamworth down to the ground because Jaz Singh, the goalie, a building surveyor of some kind, has a habit of saving at least two per shoot-out.  So good is he that Tamworth stalwart Andy Farrington, a guest on Colin Murray’s show on BBC radio 5 Live last Sunday morning, said that he was completely relaxed and confident when the match against Burton Albion went to penalties.  Colin couldn’t believe it – who is ever relaxed during pens? – but Andy was adamant.

And on Tuesday, away at Hartlepool in the FA Trophy, the mighty Lambs won 3-nil on pens.

Anyway, I texted Colin saying that I was a Spurs season ticket holder who had started watching Tamworth and he asked Andy which part of the ground I should go to when Spurs came to town.  “She’ll be welcome anywhere,” the gallant Andy said.  “Tell her to come and find me and I’ll look after her.”  Wow, thank you Andy, I’ll take you up on the offer and hope to catch up with you on Saturday, when we’re playing York.  And, looking at the programme, the Tamworth chairman is called Scott Harrington…Come On You Lambs – COYL.

I missed the usual manic match against Chelsea last Sunday because friends and I were booked in for a viewing of Love Actually with wine, wine tasting with a cinematic bent.  The film was paused every 20 minutes or so, so we could sniff and slurp a wine chosen by the master of ceremonies, a showman in his own right, every bit as compelling as Hugh Grant.  (An exaggeration perhaps but not too far off the mark.)

This is the last blog of the year and I’d like to thank you all for reading and wish everybody a Happy Christmas and New Year.