Hoppy New Year for O’Grady

The Times Online gave European Tour chief George O’Grady an end of year accolade when he won the publication’s Hoppy Award for Administrator of the Year.

The quirky awards, presented by and named after The Times’ golf correspondent John Hopkins, hails O’Grady for his initiative in helping to launch the $10million Dubai World Championship, which offers the largest prize pool in world golf.

Hopkins described the Dubai event as “the most significant response to the world dominance of golf by the PGA Tour in the US”. He continued:

“Starting in Dubai in December 2009 it will be the culmination of what is currently known as the Order of Merit but from 2009 will be renamed the Race to Dubai.”

Hopkins also paid a back-handed tribute to Laurena Ochoa, who unseated Annika Sorenstam as the women’s world number one and also removed the hype from so-called teen sensation Michelle Wi.

While Wi struggled, Ochoa went about her business by winning eight tournaments, including the Women’s British Open.

However, she didn’t win Woman of the Year. That went to Gaynor Knowles, who got engaged to Colin Montgomerie.

An awards list would not be complete without Tiger Woods, and sure enough, the world number one earned his place in Hopkins’ roll of honour.

Not, however, for anything he did on the golf course, but his inability to be present at his daughter Sam’s christening.

In giving Woods the Mistake of the Year Award, Hopkins writes:

“Woods has made an awful lot of his devotion to his daughter. How come he was in the US while the important family ceremony was taking place in Sweden?”

Maybe readers can come up with their own categories and awards for the year-end.


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