Chris Riley's not so tired now...

[Trueblue]

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.

 

[ace_in_the_pack]

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.

 

[Trueblue]

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!!!

 

[swingstar1]

apparently he was a real boss of the moss - used to take Tiger's dollars for fun on the putting green

 

[furyk_or_unique]

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....)

 

[muttleee]

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.