If a successful play could be written about Munster's historic win over the All Blacks, why not an opera about golf? American hightech investor, Eddie Orton, clearly thought so when writing his tale of a young Italian golfer who moves to Scotland to follow his dream, only to experience what proves to be a tragic round.
"Il Giocatore", with a score by Joyce Whitelaw, was produced by Orton for two, recent performances at the Julia Morgan Theatre in Berkeley, California.
Sounds a splendid concept. Indeed how do we know it wasn't a great love of golf which prompted Gluck to compose the aria "What is life to me without thee", for his opera Orfeoed Euridice. Or that Puccini hadn't golfing weather at Rosses Point in mind with his celebrated composition "Your (not-so) tiny hand is frozen." And wouldn't Tiger Woods make a wonderful operatic hero?
This day in golf history
]. . . On June 23rd, 1910, Lawson Little was born in Newport, Rhode Island. And on the same day in 1963, Colin Stuart Montgomerie first saw the light in Glasgow. In a sparkling amateur career, the British Amateur Championship was to elude Montgomerie, who lost to Jose Maria Olazabal in the 1984 final at Formby. But Little gained the unique distinction of clinching the double of the US and British Amateur titles in 1934 and again in 1935. And for the 1934 final at Prestwick, we're told he had 23 clubs in his bag when thrashing the hapless James Wallace by the record margin of 14 and 13.
Teaser: A three-ball is about to go off the first tee in competition. The opening hole being a par three, players A and B discuss with each other their club selection. Player C then advises them that they are in breach of Rule 8-1 covering advice and have incurred a two-stroke penalty. Is C correct?
Answer: No. Rule 8-1 applies only during the play of a round.
