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    <name><![CDATA[Corny]]></name>
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  <title>The Match</title>
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    <body><![CDATA[If you are into golf, &quot;The Match&quot; is a wonderful narrative. Golf writers tend to romanticize the game and Frost is no exception with endless over the top descriptions. He has canonized his subjects, Nelson, Hogan, Ward and Venturi to such an extent that it interferes with the flow of the story. These men were great golfers at one time and Nelson was a revered idol of the sport, but Hogan, Venturi and Ward were not. That they happened to play a great four ball match at Cypress Point in 1956 is just a happy coincidence. The match did not as Frost states &quot;Change the course of golf forever.&quot; What changed the course of golf was the ascendance 2 years later of Arnold Palmer and later his battles with Nicklaus that produced the ratings needed to make a golf a TV bonanza and increase players earnings exponentially.<br/>Nevertheless, Frost tells a good story, weaving the match narrative with biographies of the four players. Indeed, by the last few holes of the match, I was hanging on every shot, so well described by the author. I have my doubts about the veracity of every comment made but this does not detract from the story. Oral histories always contain some imperfections. What is clear is that this was an amazing day from start to finish, pitting 2 old pros against 2 up and coming amateurs. By the end, I was wishing I could turn back the clock and be among those who must have witnessed one of the greatest if not the greatest four ball match in history.<br/>]]></body>
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