USGA post awaits golf-minded US Secretary of State

       

Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, pictured at the 2009 Presidents

   Cup match at Harding Park, San Francisco (image from the GolfWeek website).

CONDOLEEZZA RICE MIGHT COME

OVER FOR CURTIS CUP AT NAIRN

                                                By COLIN FARQUHARSON
What's Condoleeza Rice, US Secretary of State during George W Bush's second term as President, got to do with the 2012 Curtis Cup match, to be hosted by Nairn Golf Club?
Hopefully, plenty would be the organising Ladies Golf Union reaction if the speculation - and it is only speculation at the moment - turns out to have some hard fact in it.  
The facts are at the moment:
1 Ms Rice is a keen golfer, having taken up the game five years ago.
2 Mrs Rice is a keen golf tournament spectator - pictured above among the gallery at the 2009 President's Cup match between the United States and the Rest of the World at Harding Park, San Francisco.
But it's the third fact that might well lead to Condoleeza's presence  heightening the general interest, beyond the realms of simply golf, in the Great Britain and Ireland v United States three-day women's amateur international match at Nairn from June 8 to 10, 2012. 
The well-informed American GolfWeek website has broken the news that Ms Rice, is to be appointed to an important committee of the United States Golf Association. In terms of American golf, the USGA is the equivalent of the RandA of St Andrews.
The USGA organise the Curtis Cup match when the biennial fixture is played in America and when the Ladies Golf Union are hosts, as they will be in 2012, the USGA party of officials to travel to Scotland will include their high-ranking officials.
Now whether Condoleezza Rice will be one of those "high-ranking officials" is where the speculation comes in.
Ms Rice had her 56th birthday on November 14. When her place on the world stage of politics disappeared with a change of US government, she returned to her top job at a top university - professor of political science at Stanford University, California, which numbers Tiger Woods and Mhairi Mackay among its past students.
Not many politicians would have the brains to hold down such a post, but Condoleezza was never your ordinary politician - clever, stylish, at ease with world leaders, in short, a classy lady.
At the USGA’s annual meeting in Phoenix during the first week of February, she will be named as one of five members for the USGA’s 2012 Nominating Committee which decides the make-up of the Executive Committee, the 15-member body that runs the USGA and makes all final decisions.
“We’re certainly interested in having highly qualified women involved in leadership roles,” said USGA president Jim Hyler.
“We’re excited to have Condoleezza Rice participating in the nominating process. She brings a lot to our organisation, although I should say that the slate is wide open for women in the USGA. You don’t have to be famous like she is. We look forward to welcoming more women across the board, both as volunteers and as staff.”
Rice began playing golf five years ago under the watchful, if not impatient, eye of President Bush. She plays mostly at Stanford University’s own golf course.
She also is a member at Shoal Creek Country Club in her home town of Birmingham, Alabama.
In the 116-year history of the USGA, there has been only one female president. That was Judy Bell in 1996 and 1997.
There appears to be unanimous agreement among USGA insiders that Rice, with her political experience and influence, could be a huge asset for the association – as a member of the Executive Committee or as an officer.
Rice has been seen on the golf course in the company of several powerful political figures.
During an interview, Rice said, “I would describe my game today as coming along. The problem with it is that one shot looks like Lorena Ochoa hit it and the next one looks like Bozo the Clown hit it, and I’m never quite sure what the difference is at any given time, but I think that’s just golf.“For me right now I’d rather be 167 yards from the hole than 67 yards from the hole. My short game is what needs work.
“I’m a very aggressive golfer. My challenge is to be sure that I’m not trying to hit shots that I really don’t have in my repertoire, so I wish I were more of a thinking golfer.”
If Condoleezza Rice were to show up at Nairn for the 2012 Curtis Cup match, she might draw more spectators than the players! Only joking - the match is expected to be an all-ticket sell-out. This development might mean the tickets will be harder than ever to obtain.
Ms Rice, if and when she comes to Scotland, would certainly not be short of invitations to play a Scottish links course for the first time.
Remember where you heard it first.