General 
/ Romilly Evans / 02 August 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Stewart Cink is a keen Twitter user
"Social media streams are fast-becoming the first-stop shop for sports fan and punter alike. No longer are press conferences or daily newspapers snagging the scoop. International sportsmen and women are more likely to drop you a hint through their micro-blogs."
Far from a childish pursuit, Romilly Evans argues that following Twitter can give your golf punting a cutting edge
Considering some of his recreational pursuits, you might think Tiger Woods would be all for silence these days. So it was perhaps surprising that the World No.1, absent from the golf circuit for three long months, chose to announce his return to professional action via social networking site Twitter. "Feeling fit and ready to tee it up at Firestone next week," announced the new World No.28. "Excited to get back out there!"
As personal insight goes, it's hardly revelatory. Still, coming from a man who has shrouded his life in secrecy and couched his thoughts in banal media-speak, it at least represents a step in the right direction for improved interaction with his loyal fanbase and perhaps even the wider media.
But if the game's old top dog was learning a new technological trick, its excitable young pup was barking up the wrong Twitter stream. Rory McIlroy, darling of the press throughout his embryonic career, finally put a step out of line when attempting to rebuff The Golf Channel's Jay Townsend for tweeting that McIlroy's course management at the Irish Open resembled someone participating in "under 10s boys' golf."
The American commentator went on to lay the blame for this squarely at the doorstep of the Ulsterman's caddy, JP Fitzgerald, for not getting a stronger handle on his young charge, suggesting instead that McIlroy "should hire Stevie Williams" (Tiger's former bag man).
McIlroy, clearly riled, swiftly registered a volley of abuse in riposte. "Shut up. You're a commentator and a failed golfer. Your opinion means nothing!" This might seem harsh (especially as Townsend was a pretty decent pro, despite not approaching Wee Mac's towering talent), but the 22-year-old was merely defending a friend who couldn't defend himself. I haven't checked if Fitzgerald's on Twitter but even if he is it's a safe bet his followers won't rival Townsend's 4,000 - let alone his own boss's 500,000.
But whether you consider McIlroy's defence petulant, or counter that Townsend had no business effectively calling for another man's sacking without knowing the facts, one thing remains incontrovertible: the fact that Townsend never reached McIlroy's level of golf does not make him ill-quipped to criticise it. Otherwise, David Cameron would have a far easier ride as Prime Minister.
Now you may mark this all down as careless tittle tattle, or idle banter at best. Fair enough. Certainly nothing grounded or meaningful enough to affect your punting proclivities, surely? Well, that's where you could just be wrong. Even Tiger's banal statement of impending action immediately caused ripples in the ante-post markets for next week's final major, the USPGA.
McIlroy, for his part, suddenly found himself caught in a mini-media frenzy which clearly impacted his subsequent play. The game's most exciting player finished in a tie for 34th at his home Open, a relative mire of mediocrity, where not once did the tournament favourite manage to defeat his playing partners in any of the four rounds (a pivotal stat for two and three-ball fans).
This week's WGC at fabled Firestone should provide another tough, major-like venue where McIlroy should excel. However, the stateside media (home of The Golf Channel) will be lying in wait to crank up the pressure on golf's new poster boy. After all, they didn't take kindly to him refusing to join the PGA Tour in a splendid show of allegiance towards the European Tour, his family and friends. He will have to be resilient.
Regardless of how it plays out, though, social media streams are fast-becoming the first-stop shop for sports fan and punter alike. No longer are press conferences or daily newspapers snagging the scoop. International sportsmen and women are more likely to drop you a hint through their micro-blogs - and that's when swift reaction times can pay dividends. Injury or illness, practice-session updates, personal state of mind, even a player's social calendar - all these can better inform and flex your backing or laying muscle.
This is particularly so in golf where a big night out, the flu or a new swing thought can massively alter a player's performance. In most sports, if you're even slightly sick, you're benched or won't make the team sheet. In golf, where sponsor commitments and appearance fees can lead to players soldiering on against the odds, you can sometimes get an edge.
Take Lee Westwood, who in the BMW PGA of 2009, complained of migraines but said he wouldn't withdraw from the Tour's flagship event. Two 77s later, he had missed the cut by a mile. By the second round, most betting markets had reacted accordingly, but in today's Twittersphere of almost instantaneous news there remains a window of opportunity.
Of course, some golfers are better at posting salient updates than others - and you should usually monitor the younger players most carefully (Stewart Cink being a notable exception). After all, kids always tell it like it is. Or, at least, they're more likely to run their tweets before a savvy agent gets to filter them.
You wouldn't think you could get into much trouble in just 140 characters. McIlroy now knows differently. And you might also find that they can make the difference between punching the blue or pink button.
Rory McIlroy has been over-hyped and under-priced since he won the US Open. However, on home soil this weekend, he's the man to back, says Paul Krishnamurty....
Customer scoops big win on Betfair Arcade. Find out how he did it here......
Tiger Woods has parted company with his long serving (suffering?) caddy but, as Ralph Ellis explains, it's still too early to write off the former-world number one....
No comments:
Post a Comment