Hank Haney has little hope of an American victory at The Open Championship
Hank Haney, Tiger Woods' former coach, and although an American himself, has little hope that any of his countrymen will go all the way to lift the Open Championship title this week at the Royal St, George’s.
Haney is one of the most sought after swing coaches in the business and has trained both Woods and Mark O’Meara, guiding them to a collective eight major titles on separate occasions.
“I will be totally surprised if an American wins the Open this week,” contends Hank Haney, “I expect one of the top European players to win at Sandwich.”
His comments came out at a point where the budding young golfers from the other side of the Atlantic have recently bagged consecutive major titles, depriving the American brigade to snatch any of them. Notwithstanding the fact that several prominent American
players will be featuring at this week’s Open Championship, and some of them have won PGA titles at home in the current season, the golf critics and not just Haney, are still reluctant to place their bets in the American lap.
Haney left Woods after a series of disagreements right at the peak, when Woods was battling a deteriorating form and was facing scathing criticism for his undercover philandering which were exposed some two years ago. The duo, although parted on a pacifying
note, their animosity shot to new heights when Haney reportedly argued about Woods plans of a possible change in swing with his new coach Sean Foley.
Woods has already stated that he will not be playing at the third major for the season due to his ongoing rehab with his knee injury, and his absence has dealt a severe blow to the American hopes for not only the approaching major but also for the rest of
the season. But Haney’s opinions are nothing new to surface in recent times, when the Europeans have managed to overtake the American hegemony in the sport and are currently ruling the sport in all facets.
“In the past, when Americans did win the Open it was invariably because we simply had better players. But that isn’t the case anymore. Now, the Europeans have more talent. So it will be a pretty large upset if an American does win this week. I mean, what
do we have, six players in the top 15?” Haney added.
Steve Stricker is currently the top ranked American golfer, poised at number five in official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), just ahead of the celebrated Phil Mickelson. He has won twice on the PGA Tour for the season and has also bagged in some strong finishes.
Stricker won the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour last week for the third straight year, to become one of the few noted players in the history to clinch a three-peat. He is followed by Mickelson and Matt Kuchar at the number six and seven respectively
on the OWGR while Nick Watney is poised at number ten.
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