It’s lovely and heartwarming when the children give you a nice thoughtful gift on Father’s Day. Sadly, that wasn’t the case in the household of yours truly.
he youngest gleefully presented me with a t-shirt that has “Fart Zone – Inhale at Your Own Risk” printed on it, with a rather large toxic symbol for all to see, just in case they didn’t get the message immediately.
Given what I spent much of Sunday afternoon and evening watching, it may have been more appropriate if it had “Dart Zone” emblazoned across the chest of the garment.
We may have been denied a FIFA World Cup in the height of summer due to the governing bodies’ money-fuelled decision to award the tournament to Qatar, but at least I had the World Cup of Darts to keep me entertained for a few days.
Although Australia certainly won’t be winning the soccer equivalent any time soon, they managed to add the darts title to the likes of cricket, rugby union, rugby league and hockey as Simon Whitlock and Damon Heta superbly saw off all and sundry.
The Aussies certainly had to do it the hard way in Frankfurt, beating the formidable Welsh pairing of Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton in the final, after overcoming English duo Michael Smith and James Wade in the final four.
For Whitlock, in particular, it was a joyous and long overdue moment, having played in every World Cup since its inception in 2010 and suffering the heartbreak of missing two match darts in an excruciating loss to England in the 2012 decider.
The Wizard again missed a match dart in the doubles, that would have completed a 3-0 whitewash, but in the end it mattered little as his partner overcame Clayton 4-2 in the reverse singles to secure a 3-1 triumph.
It was a particularly emotional win for Australia, with Kyle Anderson, who represented the country four times at the tournament alongside Whitlock and sadly passed away last year at the age of 33, never far from the minds of the winning pair.
Given that it was Father’s Day, I then availed of the freedom of the remote control to tune into the final round of the US Open after watching the Australians doing a bit of dad dancing on the stage to celebrate their sensational success.
I’ll readily admit that I’m at best a part-time golf fan, usually just tuning in for the majors, or occasionally a bit of the Ryder Cup.
I’m often left bemused by the amount of times the commentators and players feel the need to remind the viewer of what they’re watching.
It always seems to be a fantastic golf shot or golf swing, instead of just shot or swing, and we hear about how difficult the golf course is playing, rather than just course. We know what bloody game they’re playing. You’d never hear a commentator saying that was a great football shot when Harry Kane hits a sweet volley.
That may get stuck in my craw, but it’s not nearly as annoying as the gobshites that shout “get in the hole” when a player is standing over a tee shot on a par five.
Anyway, on to the positives, and there were plenty of them as Matt Fitzpatrick continued his rise through the golfing ranks, picking the perfect time to win his first event on the PGA Tour, helped by a stunning bunker shot at the last.
The Englishman showed nerves of steel, and skill to match, to finish a shot clear of world number one Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris in Brookline, the same course where he won the US Amateur title in 2013.
Fitzpatrick has broken into the world’s top ten for the first time after his maiden major victory and will surely be among the contenders for the big ones for many years to coming, starting with The 150th Open next month.
The winds of change are blowing but thankfully, unlike the message on my t-shirt, it won’t have everyone gasping for air.
As the bould Phil Collins might say, “I can feel it coming in the air tonight”. Oh lord is right.
