Hank Haney would be shocked if an American won the British Open
If you've ever taken the time to listen to Hank Haney speak, or peruse his Twitter account, you'll notice something right away about Tiger Woods' former swing coach: He doesn't hold back when it comes to his opinion on various golf topics.
Over the last year, Haney has talked at length about his former pupil, and gotten into a verbal battle with a notable instructor. As you can see, he's more than willing to speak his mind.
While his comments may sometimes come off as brash and offensive, his honesty is beyond refreshing, and it's a big reason why so many people want his opinion on numerous issues, including the current state of the American game, where the major championship drought is at five going into the British Open.
The Scotsman's John Huggan asked Haney for his thoughts on the chance of an American winning the Open Championship at Royal St. George's. Of course, Mr. Honesty didn't hold back.
"I will be totally surprised if an American wins the Open this week," Haney said. "I expect one of the top European players to win at Sandwich.
"In the past, when Americans did win the Open it was invariably because we simply had better players. But that isn't the case any more. Now, the Europeans have more talent. So it will be a pretty large upset if an American does win this week. I mean, what do we have, six players in the top 15?"
While some American golf fans might be questioning his patriotism -- Hank's bashing the U-S-A! -- he does have a point. If someone gave you all the American players in the field or everyone else, you'd probably take the likes of Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald with a smile.
Sure, Hank's words may sting a bit, but it's hard to read his comments and not nod your head in agreement. Until an American player can snap the streak, there's a good chance you'll continue to hear comments like Haney's in the near future.
