IBF and Royal Sydney

[Ran Morrissett]

I followed Ian Baker-Finch around Royal Sydney on Sunday at a low key pro-am tournament for the members.He was one under for the nine holes I saw and made it look easy on a very blowy, wintry day. More importantly, what really strikes you is the reports on what a nice man he is UNDER sell the point.He would chat to any and everybody and made his nervous playing partners feel at ease.It would indeed be great to see such a nice man make it back to the top of competitive golf - the sport would be better for it.

[Tom_Doak]

I spent three days with Ian in February walking around our potential golf course site on the Mornington Peninsula, occasionally hitting shots out of the tall grass while evaluating possible golf holes.  It was one of the most fun experiences I've had in design.He is just genuinely a nice guy and extremely humble [although his experience over the past three years must make that easier].  I'm extremely curious to see his new links design near Perth, and have my fingers crossed that we'll be working on the site south of Melbourne soon.

[Lloyd Bickerton]

Gee, I always thought Ran was the nicest guy in golf...

[Ran Morrissett]

Lloyd,A very fine point but please read Tom's post carefully - he is not saying that I am not.

[George Blunt]

As a curious footnote to this, what does the amatuer playing partner of IBF and Jean Van De Velde have in common?They both needed a 7 on the last hole to win - and both lost!I concur with Ran regarding IBF, as a sportsman and a gentleman he sets a standard that is sadly lacking in today's professional sportsperson.  Professional golf does its best but we still have the temper tantrums, spitting, glares at the crowd etc.  This pales in comparison to the antics forced upon us by the NBA, MLB, NFL etc.  One day we will all vote with our remote controls and the overpaid sports stars of today will contemplate a few beers with their scrambled golden eggs!