Shane Lowry and Brian ‘Bo’ Martin were shoulder to shoulder on the 18th green in Augusta on Saturday night.
It wasn’t their best day at the office but it wasn’t their worst either and by the end of it, they stood together united. And that should be enough to shut the do-gooders up.
But as is always the way, and as you’ll always find, they’ve had plenty to say and there’s been plenty of them talking, preaching and pontificating. Do as we say, but not as we do.
It’s these sorts of people who, through their Twitterati tendencies, have forced an unreasonable expectation on the shoulders of modern professionals that, just as important as being the best performers in the world is the need for them to act like angels from heaven.
Shane Lowry is not an angel and if he was then he probably wouldn’t be one of the best golfers in the world. Because in the real world, especially in the real world of top-level sport, life is not about keeping up appearances and it’s certainly not about keeping everyone happy. Do you honestly think that, if the mics were as hi-tech in Seve’s or Tiger’s heyday, that Steve Williams and Billy Foster would never have heard a bad word?
“Apologies for the language there,” fessed the Sky Sports commentators after Shane Lowry had a few words with his caddie on the 13th hole.
“Left myself no shot,” was what Lowry had said.
“What a f****** s*** layup that was. Well done, well done Bo. Only 30 yards out. Well done.”
Lowry was worked up about what must have been a botched yardage from his bagman but if that’s a ‘foul-mouthed tirade, as one Irish newspaper called it, then you really need to get out more.
Shane Lowry is out there trying to win the US Masters. He’s not in the hunt for some sort of good behaviour award, served up by some busy body who, if Lowry hadn’t said anything, probably wouldn’t have known he was playing.
Becuase while Lowry may regret it and while he may apologise to his caddie – he may not either – he shouldn’t need to because Brian ‘Bo’ Martin is around long enough to know the score.
Golf is a high-pressure game, it’s a game in which every little mistake is punished and at this level, mistakes like the one Lowry made on 13 can end a tournament.
And with that much on the line, with Lowry slipping from five back to seven back from the irresistible Scottie Scheffler, every caddie knows that, while outbursts like these may be unnecessary and unjustified, they are par for the course. And that’s why, for Brian Bo Martin, it was like water off a duck’s back.
Shane Lowry is not perfect. He curses, he drinks the odd pint and like the rest of us, he loses his temper from time to time.
But him and his caddie clearly have a great relationship. They have had tremendous days in the past and they will in the future too.
So get over it. Because the most important thing in all of this is that ‘Bo’ isn’t as sensitive as you are.
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