The Power Fade Golf Blog

This week’s POTW goes to Australian Golf.

I have to admit, I’m not a fan of the Aussies. Like the Brits, they can be a little loud and obnoxious at times. But they got it right this year with the winter series. Maybe it was just dumb luck that Tiger woods decided to return to golf at the Australian Open, but the last few weeks have been wonderful viewing.

Particularly for those of us who work long days (and, some nights), the last few weeks of the Australian Open, President’s Cup, and Australian PGA Championship were tremendous. The time difference is perfect–I just come home from work, flip on the TV, and watch some of the best in the world duke it out…LIVE! No tape delay or DVR here! And when I say the “best in the world,” I mean it. Look at this leaderboard from the Australian Open:

Of the top 15 at the Australian Open, the field included John Senden, Tiger Woods, Geoff Ogilvy, Nick O’Hern, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Nick Watney, Aaron Baddeley, Bubba Watson, and Fred Couples. Quite honestly, I’d rather watch this field than the John Deere. That’s a pretty tremendous crowd–and a number of these guys were in contention at the 2011 Masters.

The next week, we watched as the US manhandled the World in the President’s Cup. And, just this weekend, Greg Chalmers (who no one had heard of before he took down the aforementioned field in Australian Open) put his name on the world stage by winning the Aussie PGA as well.

So thank you, PGA of Australia, for setting yourself up like this. And thank you Tiger Woods for deciding to make winter golf interesting again. And thank you to the President’s Cup for giving the US something to cheer about after that terrible Ryder Cup defeat last year.

I’m looking forward to more from the PGA in 2012.