Those who have walked that one say it is even more spectacular than Bahrain and the
Posted in General on 03. Oct, 2010
Those who have walked that one say it is even more spectacular than Bahrain, and the idea of back-to-back Middle Eastern grands prix has an encouraging ring to it.All of which is the reason it was so disappointing to see a red tide sweep across the Gulf come the pukka qualifying session, as things defaulted to normal 2004 mode. The taxi drivers and hoteliers appear to believe that Formula One translates into the word double, and that the people who are acting as unpaid publicists of their desire to enhance their tourism industry are there to be ripped off. In some of the less cultured hotels the ladies of the night have developed a new marketing strategy by becoming ladies of the early hours, calling to every room around one o’clock in the morning, soliciting business. Early in the week Dubai launched its own F1-standard circuit, designed not by the Sepang and Bahrain architect Hermann Tilke but by Dick Bennetts and his West Surrey Racing team, who guided the late Ayrton Senna to his Formula Three successes in 1983. Free enterprise is not all they want to embrace.But, looking at the big picture, if the Bahrainis get a good race and a reasonable crowd later today, other Middle Eastern countries will soon want in on the act.
Palm trees and cream-painted walls add the necessary desert flav-our, and the garages are huge.Any European organiser – and let’s be clear on this, not just from Silverstone but from Imola, Magny-Cours, the N?rgring or Barcelona – would be as green as the meagre grass strip located in the final corner. If this is the new shape of Formula One – and you had better believe that is precisely the way Bernie Ecclestone sees it – then the others had better start looking for major investment here and now.Of course, there is a flipside. The Bahrainis have embraced Formula One, and those gauntlets you see jellabah-clothed natives wearing as they balance predatory falcons on their wrists have firmly been thrown down to European tracks.The Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir, an easy 40-minute drive from the capital, Manama, only became fully operational days before the biggest sporting event in recent Middle Eastern history, but unless you took the trouble to walk the circuit you wouldn’t have known. The paddock cuts a wide swathe through air-conditioned team rooms, which are more opulent than anywhere else.
There should be fun for Paul Casey and Ian Poulter on their debuts, but most entertaining of all may be the return of John Daly. A third major for someone who has already won this year, in what way could that be a shock?CARD OF THE COURSE HoleYds ParHole YdsPar 1st435410th 4954 2nd575 511th 4904 3rd350 412th 1553 4th205 313th 5105 5th455 414th 4404 6th180 315th 5005 7th410416th 1703 8th570 517th 4254 9th460 418th 4654 Out:3,640 36In: 3,65036 Total:7,290 72. His astonishing back-nine charge at Sawgrass left even Tiger in awe. Last year he was also second in the Players, but the Sawgrass form-line proved unreliable as Harrington missed the Augusta cut. He is not the sort to make the same mistake twice.Darren Clarke remains puzzlingly very good or very bad, while Sergio Garcia has shown glimpses of form but his putting remains suspect. There appears to be a new resolution, even a willingness to lay up on occasion, but to became a second successive left-handed champion he will have to conquer the ghosts of many a missed three-footer.That Harrington is again clearly Europe’s top performer is no surprise given we are getting to the meat of the season.
Singh has a green jacket, Els desperately wants one, which is maybe why he is turning into the Greg Norman of his generation where the Masters is concerned, while Mickelson’s four third places put him just behind Tom Weiskopf’s four runners-up finishes.There are those who still question Mickelson’s thinking, although his new policy is “to be aggressive from the fairway, not from the tee”. Like any other golfer it will be a matter of finding his game and holing the putts, which is exactly what perennial Aug-usta challengers Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson will be trying to do, too.You hope Augusta, which during last year’s wave of major upsets at least gave us the worthy Canadian left-hander Mike Weir, canrestore some order to proceedings. The fact that Harmon works with other players may have had a hand in his separation from Woods 18 months ago.Tiger is likely to have a similar problem with any other of the leading coaches. Woods has made it clear he is only after himself and presumably only wants to surround himself with people who can fall in line. Yet it remains the height of arrogance for the world No 1 not to be guided by the best coaching around. Mark O’Meara, his friend, acts as some kind of observer, but at the start of last week O’Meara and the rest of their neighbours were away, leaving Woods a lone figure on the practice range as he attempted to figure out his problems.Currently Woods could produce a heated debate between the world’s two most reasonable people. His 46th place at Bay Hill was his worst finish for five years, a statistic other players would kill for.