Chris Riley's not so tired now...

Trueblue

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Saw some of the buick at the w e and heard a really interesting chat about Chris Riley - remember him? He was the American who said he was too tired to play 36 holes at the 2004 Ryder Cup...made him a bit of a laughing stock at the time over here so at first i was quietly amused to hear that he has had a disaster in the last couple of years, getting so bad that he walked out of US Q School mid round last yr, but is such a sad story that I began to feel for him!!

Baker Finch, Chip Beck - how many others just wake up one morning and it's gone? Must be a horrrible feeling.
 
I remember him, he always used to be up there. How could he go from being so good a few years ago to being incapable of qualifying for the tour?

I'm struggling to think of players who have disappeared so suddenly but I knwo what a horrible feeling it is get to the first tee and completely lose the ability to play the way you can.
 
Yeah know what you mean Sparrow - it's bad enough when we amateurs get it but at least we know we can hang up the clubs for a few weeeks and forget about it...or go and drown our sorrows!!!
 
Paul Way's the classic one from a European perspective. Strutting the fairways cockily one minute, winning tournaments from his late teens and playing Ryder Cup in his very early twenties; unable to hit his hat by the time he hit mid to late twenties.

Remember years ago reading an article by Tony Jacklin tipping Way up as a surefire future Open winner. Just goes to show - you can never be sure, and nothing lasts for ever (plus other assorted fatalistic cliches....)
 
I remember reading an interview with Ian Baker Finch in GM years ago but long after his loss of form. He was working as a club pro in some fancy resort in Australia as far as I remember. The interviewer played a round with him and he shot 65, so he made the point that he still had ability but it deserted him under the pressure of competition. Having said that, I remember he pointed out that at one point Ian hit something like a 30 yard bunker shot to 3 feet and missed the putt. That seemed to sum up the problem.
 
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