Yes The Great Rabbino prefers baseball, basketball, football, and wrestling…but I also really like the Masters. I am not the biggest golfing fan but ever since my I met my wife and realized my father-in-law’s passion for the game, I have gotten more involved. But…its hard for TGR to write about it.
We have a handful of baseball and football players. The popularity of basketball and hockey are growing. We even have Jewish skaters and wrestlers. But for some reason golf is just one sport we can’t really make it in.
It is one thing to not have any good players, but we barely have any players. None in the masters. None ranked.
We do have a few players who were born Jewish or have a Jewish parent. Corey Pavin was born Jewish but has publicly converted to Christianity and preaches Christ. Jim Oppenheim has a Jewish father but doesn’t consider himself Jewish at all. Jonathon Kaye is Jewish but isn’t really a factor in the golfing world. Also, Skip Kendall is supposedly Jewish, but I have no confirmation on that. So the PGA tour seems to be without a real J-E-W.
What do we have going for us in the Jewish golfing world?
The LPGA does have Morgan Pressel, who is actually pretty good. You can check out her website morganpressel.org/index.php.
Tony Kornheiser is Jewish but not a golfer. However, he holds a charity golf tournament every year. Go to www.kornheiserwilbongolf.com to learn more about it.
Lastly, we have Tom Watson. No, Watson is not Jewish. But he married a Jewish woman. And while I am not saying intermarriage is a good thing for the Jews, Watson has stood up against anti-semitism. One of the first articles TGR ever posted was about Waston’s stand. If you haven’t been with us since day one, check it out at www.thegreatrabbino.com/2009/07/tom-watson-i-salute-you.html.
If you love golf and the Masters and you are having trouble finding someone Jewish to root for, I say root for Watson. A friend of the Jews and it would make for an amazing story for the 60 year old. He has fallen a little back since day one and as of now is -2 (10 off the leader), but we can root for a good finish for Watson.
And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine
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