Rory, it's OK to be nice!!!

Usually when I watch a golf tournament on TV, I like to root on my favorite players. Whether it be Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Davis Love III, Zach Johnson, K.J. Choi or one of my other favorites, half the fun in watching is cheering for one of your guys to win and then seeing them pull it off... The same goes for the LPGA tournaments - if Lorena Ochoa, Morgan Pressel or Natalie Gulbis is competing (and what guy in his right mind doesn't root for Natalie???), I follow and cheer them on...

Golf is a gentleman's game. It always has been, and hopefully always will be. Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Ben Crenshaw... do any of those names sound familiar??? Players such as Woods, Mickelson, Couples, Love, Johnson and Choi appreciate the game and it's history and treat it as such.

This past week, Rory Sabbatini once again called out the world's number one ranked player. Why??? Is he that insecure with himself that he has to try cause trouble with Tiger? Remember what happened the last time he did that??? He got paired up with Tiger in the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational. Rory went into the final round with a one stroke lead... in that final round, Tiger tore up the course shooting a 5-under-par 65. Rory flat out choked, shooting a four-over par-74 and finishing eight strokes back of Tiger. Game, set and match!

I hate to admit it, but I watched the final round of the Barclay's Championship today not so much rooting for Mickelson or Choi to win as much as I was rooting for anyone but Rory to win!!! Yes, watching PGA Tour golf events where Rory is in the hunt has brought it to this, unfortunately. Other fans feel very much the same way about Rory and rightfully so. Check out this article I found called Rory Sabbatini: OK for Me to Drop F-Bombs, Not OK for You to Ask Me a Question. The article and it's comments make for some very good reading, and further elaborate on how Rory has alienated himself from the fans and the other touring pros. There was even a poll taken amongst PGA Tour players recently, and the question was asked as to whom you would least like to play a round of golf with. The winner (garnering 25% of the vote) was not at all surprisingly Rory.

Rory Sabbatini is undoubtedly one of the tour's best players today. I'm not a fan of guys like Vijay Singh or Colin Montgomerie but do I openly root for "anyone other than them" to win? Of course, not. Singh, Montgomerie and the other tour players (whether they are my favorites or not) have my respect as they are usually gracious in both victory and defeat. I do not respect Rory Sabbatini. I don't think most golf fans respect Rory Sabbatini. I don't think most professional golfers respect Rory Sabbatini. I'm not sure how it feels to be an outcast on the tour, but I do know in my 35 years or so of watching the tour, never has a player caused me to actually dislike him so much that I want him to lose. Rory, it's OK to be nice, or just attempt to be nice. You will be a much better person for it, and heck you just might get a few people to actually root for you one of these days!

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