(by Steve Hopkins)
Later today Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau will battle in the final pairing of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Course. McIlroy had an amazing round on Saturday and will enter the final day with a 2 stroke lead. However, he faces extra pressure as this is the only major tournament that he has never won – and he hopes to create what golfers call a “career grand slam” – making him the sixth golfer to ever accomplish this feat (along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. Biting at his heels is Bryson DeChambeau, who has won this tournament, and the last time these two were in the final pairing of a major tournament together it was DeChambeau who won – taking the 2024 US Open Championship. Both players felt the pressure at the end of the US Open, with DeChambeau’s lead disintegrating under the pressure, and ultimately a short missed putt by McIlroy being the difference.
For many table tennis players, golf is fun second sport. Like our game, anyone can play golf – as you can pick your partners to be at your level and its not uncommon to see young and old and male and female on a community course – all out together having fun. Interestingly, for many golfers, table tennis is fun second sport. In recent years both the PGA and LIV tours have often traveled with tables, giving players something to do during downtime. Its not uncommon for there to be side-events during rain or other delays – and there have been past articles and media coverage featuring golfers competing at ping pong, or a pairing of golfers and professional table tennis players in exhibitions.
The final pairing today should be of special interest to table tennis fans, as both of these elite golfers enjoys table tennis. For McIlroy, he has often spoken of competing against other players – and in 2012 when BMW ran an exhibition at their event in Shanghai, McIlroy was one of the players who stepped up for a chance to compete against Timo Boll. As noted in the press release at the time “Rory McIlroy could be seen snapping away on his smart phone as Martin Kaymer failed with his tenth attempt to return a serve from Timo Boll.” And when it was his turn, “McIlroy even clenched his fist when he unleashed a powerful forehand to claim a point from the European champion”.
The stronger player of the two is likely Bryson DeChambeau. He was asked in a recent interview about alternate career choices and he said in High School he played ping pong every day. His family had a table tennis robot, and he and his friend practiced. DeChambeau has a table tennis room in his home, and there are numerous photos and videos of him playing and enjoying the game – including this video of a forehand topspin hit with a penhold grip (and pretty good form). At one point in another interview, DeChambeau described his golf swing adjustment as feeling like a topspin shot in ping pong.
When these two play golf, they are aggressive. Perhaps at some point we’ll get to see if that same style would translate to ping pong. We can imagine that with some time to practice, these finely tuned athletes could excel in any number of sports. They clearly have great reflexes and explosive power – and the ball is about the same size (even if it isn’t a moving target).
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