Larrry Canning
This time last year I wrote… and hopefully you read it?… my wish list to the great god of golf – Callawaymus for 2025.
One of my pleas was for Rory to add another major trophy to his cabinet with a lovely silk lined, single breasted new jacket with gold buttons, and maybe in vivid “Pine Tree Green”.
I also remember longing for an Aussie major winner and if there was any change left for one last beseech, a PGA tour title to be served up to the “Chef”
Well, you could have knocked me over with a cuff link when the majestically talented leprechaun nervously trickled that 2 footer into the right side of the cup to claim his 5th major; and Minjee Lee rode her magic broom putter through a cyclone at Fields Ranch in Texas for her third major, the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship… but wait, there’s more!
Just a few weeks later, Grace Kim did what no other human who’s owned a set of clubs has done by playing her last hole, and two more in a play-off, in 5 under to claim her first major, the Amundi Evian Championship in France.
Yep readers, you know what’s coming now, don’t you? By keeping world number one Line Dancer, Scotty Scheffler, flat footed in Texas, Min Woo proved to the golfing world that if Mr and Mrs Lee decide to write that instructional book – “Making kids that make you rich” it would sell more copies than “Harry Potter”! And probably see Mum disguising her name behind the pseudonym – J Woo K?
So that brings me to 2026. If I was smart, I’d consider not pushing my luck with Callawaymus and leave the poor god of golf alone. Sadly there is a list of adjectives as long as my ball scoop that have been used to describe me but none of them include the word – ‘smart’.
So for 2026 I would love to see Cam Smith get back on the major train and not get off on Friday afternoons anymore. Despite missing the chop at the Aussie PGA, Cam looked like he was hitting enough great shots to feature in a tournament soon. As it turned out, he only had to wait a few days and there he was on the 18th green at Royal Melbourne tied for the lead with his opponent stranded on an evil island with little chance of rescue. History will show his competitor made it home safely and Smithy misread a couple of putts, but I think we can now shout it from the clubhouse roof… “Cam Smith is back!!”.
I’d love to see Tommy Fleetwood crack a major. I know what we see on TV doesn’t always reflect the true character of a person but I would be totally stunned if Tommy is anything but a ripper bloke and he’s earned the right to make that long awaited speech.
I know it’s a tough conversation, but can we have it anyway? Presidents Cup and LIV Golf players? If you haven’t already worked it out, The PGA Tour own this event, and they don’t allow LIV players to compete, meaning they don’t have the best international team available. Surely we all see this potentially wonderful tournament in danger of dying a non-significant death unless the Internationals win the bloody thing!!
It can be argued the Yanks wont have Bryson DeChambeau but they will have the next best 12 players. We will miss out on Joaquin Niemann, Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Oosthuizen, Abe Ancer, Carlos Ortiz and there’s a good argument for Lucas Herbert and Dean Burmester!
I thought the American Tour’s cooks saw the Presidents Cup as a bread winner but are they the only people who don’t see the need for an International win? Or if the LIV players remain banned, then a change of format that involves most of the best female players on the globe?
Speaking about LIV, I’d really appreciate it we could do a little switcheroo from one of the nighttime performers including Dom Della, The Jungle Giants or Royal Otis to … maybe The Doobie Brothers?
I wish for the CEO of Golf Australia, James Sutherland, to suddenly hold an urgent Press Conference around March to make an extraordinary announcement. Along the lines of this –
“My fellow Australians… After talks with both the Commissioner and CEO of the PGA Tour I can confirm today, the 2026 Aussie Open will not only again be co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour but now also be a co-sanctioned PGA Tour event.
With the remarkable success of the 2025 Championship seen all around the world, combined with its rich history within the global game, the Americans had absolutely no choice but to acknowledge their responsibility to help grow the game around the world. Thank you, and may Callawaymus be good to you all”
And while were at it, I hope there is some way to have our Women’s Australian Open return to its rightful place on the LPGA Tour. The Aussie women aren’t exactly hiding in a fairway bunker on the world’s golfing stage, are they? The girls from down under had their names scattered all over major leaderboards like snags on a BBQ!
Thank you, O holy god of golf. When I get the chance I will donate my last winning Proshop voucher to the less fortunate golfers who have to pay for their golf balls. Given it was from 1998, It has probably expired, but it’s the thought, right?
