Hooray! Lots of rather serious-looking men walking around dressed in silly
shoes and socks and the sort of collared T-shirts your aunty buys everyone
for Christmas.
Not your sort of thing?
Well don’t dismiss it completely, because what we will undoubtedly suffer in
the fashion stakes, we will gain in the WAGs department.
Because the world’s leading golfers offer us a rather unique group of partners
to look at, dissect and admire.
Hovering delicately on the sidelines at The Masters are a group of WAGs who
look alarmingly skin coloured.
That’s right! You read that correctly — the shock news in Augusta is not
whether Tiger Woods beats Britain’s leading golfer, Luke Donald, but that
the WAGs are NOT the colour of cheesy wotsits.
Unlike their footballing counterparts, the golf WAGs (GWAGs) are not vibrant
orange, bikini wearing, sunglasses-addicted shopaholics.
And as they assemble at one of the most beautiful events in sport, there will
be some seriously talented sportswomen in the mix.
Take Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.
He’s not just dating a sportswoman, he’s dating the sportswoman to end all
sportswomen — Caroline Wozniacki, the uber gorgeous and glamorous Danish
tennis player right at the top of her game.
Together they make the super sports partnership known as Wozilroy.
“It’s great that she understands how I feel when I play,” says McIlroy, using
words that have never knowingly been spoken by an international footballer.
“She understands what I need to achieve and supports me all the way.”
It’s alarming, to say the least, and you may wish to sit down as you read the
rest of this.
We’ve become used to WAGs who pride themselves on not understanding the
offside rule before staggering off on 9in heels, in tiny lime green
hotpants, in search of Bacardi and stupidly expensive champagne.
But this is golf — they do things differently here.
And McIlroy is certainly not alone in his penchant for a sports-loving
partner.
American Matt Kuchar’s wife Sybi is an avid tennis player. In fact, the duo
have entered tennis tournaments together.
There’s no record of how well they do in their doubles efforts but Kuchar
said: “I love the fact that she’s sporty. Life’s more fun with someone who
‘gets you’ and understands what you’re about. I like that we want the same
things from life.”
And what is particularly heart-warming is that the support and appreciation is
not a one-way street. McIlroy has been seen supporting his girlfriend in
tennis tournaments around the world, even going on to court and having a go
at the sport himself (the verdict on his tennis? He should stick to golf).
Sergio Garcia is another tennis enthusiast. He is WAG-free, but dated former
world No1 tennis player Martina Hingis, supporting her tennis as much as she
supported his golf. “We help each other,” he said. “That’s what a
partnership is.”
Sadly, someone who won’t be there today is Nick Dougherty, denying us the
sight of his golf-mad television presenter wife Diana, who says she lives
for golf — just like Victoria Beckham lives for football… not.
American Bubba Watson will be there though, ably supported by wife, Angie — a
world-class basketball player whose career was cut short by injury.
Angie is 6ft 4in and a mean golfer. “You wouldn’t argue with her on a golf
course,” says Bubba. Nor anywhere else if she’s 6ft 4in tall, I imagine.
For golf enthusiasts, one of the biggest stories at the Augusta National club
this year will be how the world’s most famous golfer — Tiger Woods —
performs, and how he plays against McIlroy. The more pressing question, for
WAG watchers, will be whether Woods is “Wagged up” for the occasion.
He’s been linked with Alyse Lahti Johnson since his marriage disappeared in an
explosion of newspaper headlines a few years ago.
He says he’s wary of bringing his new girlfriend into the spotlight and
subjecting her to public scrutiny, so the first Major tournament of the
season might not be the best place to bring her.
But then again — whenever he’s seen with her, there’ll be vast public
interest, so why not in the beautiful surroundings of Augusta? Another WAG
to look out for is former international gymnast Kate Rose, married to Justin
Rose.
She persuaded her husband to work through some of her old gymnastics moves
when he had a bad back and managed to alleviate all his pain.
“I’m a sportswoman, I understood instinctively what was needed,” she said.
Sadly, there are no pictures of him doing splits on the beam in a leotard.
“Going out with a former sportswoman has its advantages,” said Justin. So it
seems, judging by the number of leading golfers who do.
Left: Stunning birdie Kate Rose is married to England ace Justin. A
former international gymnast, she quit her job as a PA to travel the tour
circuit with her husband.
Right: Laurae Westwood met Lee at the 1995 Scottish Open through her
brother Andrew Coltart, another pro golfer at the time. They married in
1999.
Left: Amy Mickelson’s husband Phil is one of the most famous golfers of
all time. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, Amy is famous for her
charity work.
Right: Chicago-born Diane Donald met Brit Luke at university in
Illinois while studying fine art. They married in 2007 and have two
daughters.
Left: Caroline Harrington and hubby Padraig, 40, have been together
since their teens. They met when Caroline’s father took her to see a junior
golf match.
Right: Sonya Toms has been married to David, winner of 13 PGA Tour
titles, for ten years. She lists her hobbies on his official website as
“exercise and cooking”.
