| Extreme fickleness of golf can drive you nuts (perhaps that’s why we love it!)  (Courtesy: Aramco Team Series) Sitting in a cavernous room filled with journalists, and the event being broadcast live across the globe, it can be extremely embarrassing if Tiger Woods corrects you in the middle of your question. There was a delayed start to the Aramco Team Series press conference in Thailand. As we waited, I found myself standing next to the superstar of the show – the 2021 ANA Inspiration champion, Patty Tavatanakit, who was the highest-ranked player in the world that week. She has such a ready and endearing smile...initiating a conversation with her seems the easiest thing to do. Dubai was a good starting point – Patty said she’d heard so much about the city and the Dubai Moonlight Classic and that she’d love to visit the city and play in the tournament. Since the press conference wasn’t starting anytime soon, and because I did not want her to get bored with my company, I asked her if there was a favourite topic she can talk about non-stop. I was hoping she’d say ‘golf’, but that didn’t happen. “I hate talking about golf. But we can forever discuss coffee!” was her reply. Thankfully, I am not too bad with my coffee – I once managed to hold Phil Mickelson’s attention on the subject for nearly 5 minutes, and Lefty literally lives on his coffee – but that is not the point of this story. Patty may not have wanted to talk golf, but it didn’t mean she did not care about her sport. That was very evident when she broke down after shooting a battling round of 66 on Friday of the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open last week. As it happened, her tied third place finish that week of April in Thailand was the last cut made by the major champion, considered by many as one of the most exciting stars in the game, on any Tour. Thereafter, she kept missing getting into the weekends, including in three consecutive majors. So, when the world No. 19 started the tournament last week at Dundonald Links with a 76 and an opening bogey on Friday moved her to +5, another missed cut looked very possible. But Patty knuckled down, made five birdies in five holes from the fifth onwards, and came back in 66 to progress to Saturday. The tee areas are close to the spectators, which is the case on every golf course, but you are going to struggle to appreciate the action on most other parts. After the round, the ever-cheerful Patty could not hold back her tears, and compared her situation to a “rainbow after a storm”. Having said all this, there is also the most amazing sight around the course’s legendary Road Hole (17th) and the finishing 18th hole. There is a public road, called The Links, that runs adjacent to the 18th hole. The R&A, in keeping with the spirit of the city and the Old Course, does not cordon this street and allows public to walk and use the businesses on it. They also do not hide the action that unfolds on the 18th hole. You can stand on the end of the road and enjoy the action unfolding on the 17th hole. It was a touching moment, and it got me thinking about so many parallels recently that just show how maddening the game of golf can be. Let’s start with the example of Indian amateur Shubham Jaglan. The 17-year-old was at Bandon Dune in Oregan for the US Junior Amateur Championship. He cruised through the strokeplay part, and then posted a stunning win in his Round of 64 match play. Two-down with four holes to play, Jaglan made four nerve-racking putts for four straight birdies to advance with a 1-up win. The next day, he took on the eventual champion, China’s Wenyi Ding, and lost on the 14th hole. In those 14 holes, he made as many as six three-putts. For someone who could not miss the hole 24 hours ago, Jaglan could not have bought a putt the day after even if he had all the money in the world. Then there is Tony Finau, the man who just can’t stop winning. On Sunday, he added a second title in two weeks when he blitzed the Rocket Mortgage Classic field in Detroit with a 26-under par total. Less than a year ago, fans and experts were collectively scratching their heads as to how the affable American was just not able to breast the tape. The stumbles, with the finishing line within touching distance, were becoming a recurring theme with him. Once his title drought of over five years (since the 2016 Puerto Rico Open) was over with the win in Northern Trust Open in August last year, he has become an unstoppable force. Week before the five-shot win at Rocket Mortgage, he won the 3M Open by three shots. In the rankings released on Monday, Finau has now climbed to No. 13 in the world. And then, how about this round by Sahith Theegala? On Friday, he briefly took the lead in Detroit with a five-under par effort that included five birdies in a stretch of six holes on his front nine (back nine of the golf course). Playing exceptional golf at that point, Theegala then proceeded to finish his back nine in even par. In that stretch, believe it or not, he said he “bladed his wedges and flopped his drivers”! Also, take a look at this tweet from Scott Michaux, a very respected journalist colleague and a reservoir of knowledge on the Masters, having worked several years with Augusta Chronicle... These are some moments just from last week that highlight how fickle golf can be. Things can change within minutes. The worst of shots can take the best of bounces and end up in the hole. There are instances when players have found some key with just one shot that transformed their prolonged run of poor form. The pursuit of perfection is a never-ending quest. It holds true in every sphere of life...even more so in golf. | 
