;DTwo nicer mid-antipodeans you will not find in Messrs Huckaby and Daley.
The vernacular of Down Under differs in some respects quite markedly to that used in America.
A term of jocular affectation in Australia and NZ is "How are ya, you old bastard?" something, which I believe, would cause at the very least, resentment if said to an American who did not understand the nuance of the salutation.
In regard to poa annua on the greens at Paraparaumu Beach, it is my opinion that NZ is one of the greatest cultivators of poa in the world.
Around seventy per cent of the country is given over to pastoral endeavours, and many of the farms and cattle stations abound with poa.
In fact, on my many trips to NZ over the years, I have only found one course that did not abound with poa - Gulf Harbour, a newish facitily built by RTJ Jnr, with possibly the best greens I have putted on anywhere in the world, including Royal Melbourne.
For the rest, one has to get used to the poa. As Mike Clayton said, after a few days use, they get bumpy and poa greens are nearly always soft.
I still wouldn't count Tiger out of the reckoning at this stage, it would be dangerous to do so. My attention has been on the 13-year-old Jae An, who has now qualified for the final two days, thereby becoming not only the youngest qualifier for a professionally-sanctioned tournament, but also the youngest to make the cut in such a tournament. And he is only half of Tiger's Age!!!!
One of his (Jae An's) playing partners yesterday was the Victorian professional David Hill, who said he was astounded that he was three times the age of his playing partner.
Finally, may I direct the collective attention to an article in this morning's "The Age', one of Melbourne's two morning dailies.
Under the heading, "In awe of the Tiger out in the Open", Mike Clayton's caddy, John Carroll, has submitted a highly-readable article on his experiences of caddying at Paraparaumu Beach over the past two days, and in so doing, making an observation of the Tiger circus.
John Carroll is not your everage caddy, as besides toting the bag for Michael, he is a reader in sociology at Melbourne's La Trobe University.
It is quite compelling reading.
The links are:
www.theage.com.au.
Then go the "news" section (NOT the sports section) and look for the heading: "In awe of a Tiger out in the Open".