(Feelin' Good) x 12

How about those British Open picks I made on Wednesday: Jason Day ... +9, tied for 30th
Mahan, Quiros, Karlsson ... cut

Hey, it's not like the answer was right under my nose.  Like the rest of the planet, no one had Darren Clarke winning the Open Championship this weekend.  Sure there were other dynamic names racing up the leaderboard in pursuit of the title. As the wind howled and took it's turn on stage with rain, fog and sun, Thomas Bjorn caved on Friday, Chad Campbell croaked on Saturday, Dustin Johnson crumbled on Sunday, and Phil Mickelson tickled our imagination for 10 holes before returning to Planet Phil on Sunday's final eight. Clarke, native to the elements and refreshed with perspective, was the only entrant to fire four rounds at or under par. Seems like a rather simple formula for success, no matter who thinks you can win or not.

Clarke's is a story of tremendous triumph that we can play over and over if we wanted to teach lessons in fortitude, fundamentals and functionality.  There has been one exquisite piece after another about his capture of the Claret Jug in the cacophony of weather in Sandwich and how Northern Ireland is now the epicenter to the game of golf.  Or is that just to story we crave?

Here's a little quiz for yourself as you ponder how awesome it must be to win a golf tournament: Can you recite the last 12 major champion winners in the game of golf (preferably in order, please?)  If the answer is yes, what do you notice about these dozen names?
1) None of them are repeated.
2) None of them are named Tiger.

We have spanned three full calendar years witnessing some of the best golf in the world from many of the games up-and-comers.  Some have been thickened with drama (Stewart Cink's '09 British Open title) and others have been runaway clinics (Rory McIlroy's US Open stranglehold in June.)  All have been coated with a story of the individual that, if it doesn't tug at the heart a bit, it at least teaches us the foundation for that man's success.

So now we are left to make this fundamental decision: is this what we want?  Matt Crispino - good friend, future frequent reference and sidekick for the weekend - and I debated many sports topics that ranged from Jay Cutler's legacy to Syracuse Orange fans IQ to whether Hartford Whaler fans should be Carolina Hurricane fans.  Crispino stumped me with this query: What golfers do I root against?

I could not think of any.

So many of the stories that have garnered my attention are worth rooting for.  I would imagine there's plenty of ego, wealth and circumstance that all successful professional golfers possess that may be tagged unattractive, unpopular or uninspiring.  I enjoy the theatre that unfolds on the back nine of any golf tournament and further enjoy the recipe for that player's ascension.  Certainly it's heightened in major championships and tournaments with slightly higher stakes, like the Players Championships, the Accenture Match-Play and the Ryder Cup.  Winners accelerate their level of focus and execution; let's hear how it happened.

Now that Woods is not in the picture - and will stay that way until he wins something - more golfers are taking the bull by the horns, even if the bull is resting passively in his stable.  I enjoy it.  The field is wide open.  But most casual fans want to latch-on to a story or rivalry, eager and hopeful McIlroy and/or Mickelson win 10 more times this year.

Darren Clarke's victory, close to his 43rd birthday, at 150 to 1 odds, an afterthought to his countrymen's charge up the rankings, is just what golf needs.  The twelve most recent major champions have stamped their names on trophies and in history books as it becomes more and more challenging to prognosticate the champ. 

Here's hoping we can make it 13 in a row one month from now.