The Serve

Aaron Baddeley wins but still yet to fulfill hype

Remember when Aaron Baddeley beat out Greg Norman at the Australian Open to win the crown as an amateur, before promptly turning pro? Not done quietly mind you. An enormous media event, hosted by Bruce MacAvaney. Wow, this must be important. I don’t remember Bruce hosting Brett Rumford’s turning pro celebration. The excitement. The anticipation of the Shark’s place being filled so quickly. That was, what, four, maybe five years ago? This year it will be, wait for it, eight. Eight years we’ve been on hold. That’s a hell of a lot of anticipating.

Yesterday we saw a glimpse of that hype, that Shark like quality. A stunning seven under par 64 to win the FBR Open in Arizona. Forget that he beat no names Jeff Quinney and John Rollins, Badds.com nailed three birdies in the last four holes to clinch the trophy by one. A Sunday charge the Shark would be envious of.

Let’s not get too excited though, as Baddeley has a habit of doing something early in the year and failing to kick. He announced himself in the States in 2003 when he took Ernie Els to a playoff in Hawaii. January. Next season a 2nd placing in February. Last year he won the Hilton Head event, the one with that awful picnic rug doubling as a winner’s jacket. Easter. Performances that were in spite of his year rather than the making of. Now a February win in the desert. Is it just another one off or will it actually mean something this time?

Baddeley has hard markers.

We tend to forget he is only Twenty-five. Two wins on the toughest tour in the world at Twenty-five is a hell of an achievement (something Vijay Singh couldn’t boast, or David Duval. Not even the Shark. All world number ones). Put those feats on someone named Joe Bloggs and you’ve got a terrific career in the making. The hype machine though demanded that the kid deliver, and deliver quickly. We were led to believe that it was going to be Tiger and Badds, then everyone else. Was it anyone’s fault? Probably not. His father Ron was the instigator, but young Aaron seemed quite happy to revel in the grandiose promises of world domination. In hindsight, the weight of expectation almost rendered Baddeley’s game useless, but it was doubtless a smart business decision. Here’s a kid who just beat the Shark (and world number 3 Colin Montgomerie), a kid who in reality had only won a minor tournament on a global scale, but he had a fresh look and a bold demeanor. Corporates jumped on him like a millennium dot com. He even had his own dot com.

The media lapped it up of course, while the golfing public were also ready to indulge. A public which new its king was about to abdicate and had a ready made prince to elevate to the throne. It was so convenient. So perfect.

Too perfect.

Baddeley, eight years on, now has a real chance to make a dent on world domination. To do that he has to win majors. To do that, he has to be in majors. Starting with Augusta. First time around he was given his spot. This time he has to earn it.

Badds.com is now in the world’s top 50. Just. He has two months to stay there. Either that, or stay in the top 10 on the PGA money list. Whichever way you look at it, he has to be consistent. Yes, we know he can win. But can he be reliable? It’s his greatest flaw. So far.

We are hard markers indeed.