Pic 3
Photo 1: The legendary links of Port (No) Rush, on the shores of the earthly Sea of Tranquility, the Mediterranean, where the first SHUT in yonks, as The Yanks never say, is being staged. THE SHUT, of course, for those poor souls unversed in the Royal and Ancient, is short for THE MALTESE SHUT.
Although today is Moving Day, thus far the galleries have stayed away in droves, as indeed have the golfers. Roars, in other words, have been at a premium. This is par for this horrendously difficult course. The only birdies to be seen are the seagulls; there has never been an eagle recorded while the one and only albatross was back in 1805. This coincided with the brief spell in residence of the ancient mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who served, by default, as the Acting Public Secretary of Malta in that year. As for an ace: fuggedit, Handicap O Hara.
Photo 2: Mr. Nobody was in the news earlier in the week and so, this acclaimed golfing non-event is being covered on a pay-for-view basis by Smart Drone TV. The ever optimistic Organisers, however, are still confident of a record-breaking walk-up crowd on Sunday and are urging the one-in-a-quarter of a million spectator to be in ‘no rush’. Hence the title of the course.
Photo 3: Perhaps no single hole captures the sheer hellish nature of the course better than this, the concelebrated ‘Amen Corner’. Indeed, this is where the name itself was patented, despite claims to the contrary (see Yanks, above), Malta being noted still for its strict religious observance.
All in all, small wonder therefore that THE SHUT 2019 had the 19th hole in mind, mainly, if not, indeed, exclusively. The hole where the Claret Jug is most at home and where it has no qualms about being pushed around. Bain fad as an Bata Mor !
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