Sports fans received a glorious twofer July 19 when fast golf and slow soccer flashed across their electronic devices for the better part of nine hours.
First came the British Open, or Open Championship as Euros call it, where Ryan Fox, a Kiwi built like a dump truck, hoisted the Claret Jug for his first major championship title. Fox wasted little time hitting his dimpled Srixon around the burned out fairways of Royal Birkdale. The 39-year-old plays refreshingly fast, proving that good golf can be played relatively quickly (it still took Fox five hours to finish his round, but only because he had to wait on the slowpokes ahead of him).
Within minutes of the Open closing shop from the west coast of England, the World Cup final kicked off from the New Jersey Meadowlands, where Spain dispatched Argentina 1-0 to collect the nation’s second title. The Spaniards dominated the match methodically, as is their style. They played with patience, finishing with 762 accurate passes compared to 357 for Argentina. The “slow” play paid off, as Spain had 20 shot attempts, including 12 on goal. Argentina managed just two attempts, none on goal.
I watched nearly every minute of the golf and soccer and came away appreciating both, largely because both the New Zealander and Spain succeeded by being true to who they are.
Spain’s ball-control style of play is easy on the eyes
Spain’s style of play epitomizes why soccer is nicknamed “the beautiful game.” (Note: snooty soccer fans who deride golf as a game, not a sport, need remember that international football prides itself on being labeled a game.) Spain taps into the beauty of soccer by treating it as expressive art, where creativity, athleticism and teamwork combine to produce moments of joy. La Roja truly is poetry in motion.
It was hard not to feel a little sad for 39-year-old Argentinian attacker Lionel Messi, whose World Cup career may have ended with the loss. One of history’s top five players, Messi could have cemented the No. 1 legacy with a victory, but coming up short shows again why sports remain unrivaled as a reality series. Storybook endings are earned, not handed out based on resume. To the winner goes the jubilation. Messi’s tears tugged at the heart but also cut through any conspiracy theory that the World Cup was fixed to allow Messi to ride into the sunset triumphant.
Fox, on the other hand, was all thunder and lightning fast at the British Open, where he won admirers not only for his humility and transparency – “I couldn’t feel my hands on the [winning birdie] putt,” he admitted – but also for his pace of play.
Golf was never meant to be played at a sprint, but neither is it designed to be a crawl. Yet, increasingly, the game screeches to a halt as pros and amateurs study the wind like meteorologists and read greens like they’re “War and Peace,” taking forever to finish putting. From a broadcast standpoint, the calamity of slowness is a bit overblown; cameras cut back and forth from one golfer to another often enough that the sloths don’t muck up the action too much, but anyone who has waited with two other groups on a city municipal course par-3 understands the agony of waiting … and waiting … and waiting for the group ahead to clear the green. On TV, the tendency is to picture yourself on the course, feeling the frustration as the turtles take way too long.
Ryan Fox plays fast enough to keep golf interesting
It was delightful watching Fox address his golf ball for only a moment before striking it, unlike the dozens of statues on the PGA Tour players who take forever. His decisiveness, even when facing difficulties like how to hit from a pot bunker, stood in stark contrast to the sidebar subtext of the tournament, when Bryson DeChambeau was penalized two strokes for improving his lie on the fifth hole during his second round.
Reasonable people can disagree whether DeChambeau deserved the penalty or whether the R&A singled out the LIV golfer for payback punishment. What cannot be argued is how DeChambeau reacted in the aftermath, threatening to withdraw from the Open after dropping a few rungs on the leaderboard. His petulance makes Fox’s working-man win all the more admirable.
Not everyone enjoys watching soccer. Fewer still enjoy following golf. The two sports tend to attract divergent crowds. Soccer bros and gals salivate over non-U.S. football. For many of them, golf is an outdated game – like baseball. Golfers are not anti-soccer, but will always choose to watch the John Deere Classic over Arsenal vs. Coventry City.
What made Jan. 19 special was that fans did not have to choose between the two sports, but also if they watched both they were treated to the best of what golf and soccer bring to the table. Scintillating theater from beginning to end.
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ryan Fox played fast. Spain played slow. Both played perfectly
Reporting by Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rob Oller, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
