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In honor of the Master tuh-nahment (that’s how the patrons at Augusta are required to pronounce it) this weekend, we at the18 examined several professional golfers that are die-hard football fans and analyzed what their choice of club says about them as a person and a golfer.
Rory McIlroy
Photo: blacksportsonline
It seemed fitting to have the first person on our list be the #1 ranked golfer in the world. Though he was raised in Holywood, Northern Ireland, McIlroy has been a rabid Manchester United fan since he was a boy, when he would dream about playing for the Red Devils. McIlroy’s fandom is so well-known that after winning the Open Championship last July at Hoylake, which is located on the outskirts of Liverpool, he was booed by Liverpool supporters.
At the age of only 25, McIlroy has already won 4 major championships, including the last two coming into this weekend’s Masters. With Tiger Woods on the decline due to injury and poor form, Rory has established himself as the #1 star in golf around the world, even taking over Woods’s spot in the EA Sports golf video game. And yet as he warms up for the final round on Sunday at Augusta, he will have one eye on the Manchester Derby.
How is Rory like Manchester United:
Just like Manchester United, he is a winner, and just like the Red Devils, he is not afraid to cut ties when things are not going well. Just as Manchester United sacked David Moyes before he had completed a full season in charge, Rory broke off his engagement to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki after the wedding invitations had gone out. After. The. Wedding. Invitations. Had. Gone. Out.
Rory was so upset about this that he went out and won the next two major championships that he played after the breakup. Gentleman Alert. Things have not gone quite as well for United this season, but Louis Van Gaal has them poised to return to the Champions League, so things are looking up in Manchester and their talented fan.
Ian Poulter
Photo: siwengu.com
This sharply-dressed Brit is a dedicated Gooner, as shown by his frequent live tweets of Arsenal matches and back-and-forth repartee with fellow Gunner Piers Morgan. Poulter has been a stalwart on the European Ryder Cup team, compiling a stellar record and serving as a permanent thorn in the U.S. team’s side, playing on 4 winning sides while only losing once.
How is Ian like Arsenal?
Just like Arsenal over the last few years, Poulter has been good, but not quite good enough to win a title. He has yet to break through and win a major championship, but came very close, finishing 2nd in the 2008 Open Championship and 3rd at the 2012 PGA Championship and 2013 Open. Both he and Arsenal are very good at Cup competitions, however. So there’s that.
Sergio Garcia
Photo: golfdigest.com
Sergio burst on to the golfing scene in 1999, when at the tender age of 19, he battled Tiger Woods down the stretch of the PGA Championship at Medinah. Although he has been devastating for the Europeans in the Ryder Cup, he has been unable to break through and win a major title, finishing 2nd an incredible 4 times without a victory.
Sergio’s football loyalties are split between Real Madrid and CF Borriol, his hometown club from the province of Castellon on the east coast of Spain. How dedicated is he to his hometown club? Sergio is the Chairman of the club and has even suited up for them and played on the left wing during a match in 2010. The small club plays in Tercera División, Group 6 (which, despite its misleading name, is the 4th division of Spanish football), in a stadium that only holds 1,000 spectators.
How is Sergio like these clubs?
He dreams big thinking he can be the Real Madrid of golf but...ok who cares, if you’re still reading this after seeing that picture of Sergio’s girlfriend, I’ll be shocked.
Martin Kaymer
Photo: mercedes-benz.com
The two-time major winner, who hails from Germany, came into the Masters ranked #14 in the World Rankings. Although his club loyalty is a mystery, Kaymer is a dedicated fan of his native German national football team, even training with them and offering tips to the lads around the green.
How is Martin like the German National Team?
Just like Die Mannschaft, Kaymer is an emotionless, cold-blooded killer on the golf course. You will never see him get too up or too down during the course of a round, whether he is calmly strolling to an eight stroke victory in last year’s U.S. Open or blowing a ten shot lead in the final round of this year’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. It is that same emotional stability that has allowed the German National team to be so successful at penalty shoot-outs over the years.
Happy Gilmore
Photo: cloudfront.net
The movie came out in 1996, which was the first year Major League Soccer was formed, so there was not enough time to establish which club Happy supports, but given his love of the Bruins, he seems like a hardcore New England Revolution hooligan to me. Bob Barker is originally from Washington, so this is probably just part of Sounders-Revolution global brawl.
Follow Mike Smith on Twitter @thefootiegent
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