Bomb threat (aka Rory Sabbatini) at Nissan Open on Sunday

Rory Sabbatini is leading the Nissan Open going into Sunday’s round; fortunately for us, we won’t even need Tiger in contention to see fireworks, because our current leader is more likely to explode than any other player on tour. Sabbatini, who was already famous for a short fuse, left no doubt about his temper or his character last year at the Booz Allen Classic when he played out of turn because Ben Crane was taking too long. The argument that Sabbatini did nothing wrong because Crane caused them to be timed is absolutely absurd; there are some things you just don’t do in golf, especially on the PGA Tour, which is why Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo reacted the way they did.

It seems that whenever I am watching a tournament and the coverage is following Sabbatini, he is doing something to ensure that everyone knows he is a jerk. Once, I saw him throw his wedge down after hitting a poor shot from around 50 yards; he was openly angry for at least the next three holes, and his round was ruined (I’m not saying I’ve never thrown a club, but it’s a different story to do it on television and in front of spectators). On another occasion, I saw and heard him yell at his caddie about club selection after his approach came up short; although it was impossible to hear every word, it was clear that he was not being either friendly or reasonable. Finally, we had the Ben Crane situation, and I needn’t describe Rory’s actions.

I do not believe Sabbatini will win tomorrow for one simple reason- all it will take for him to explode is one adverse situation. He will be playing with Fred Couples (according to thegolfchannel.com), and with the crowd on Couples’ side- he is a “hometown-favorite"- Sabbatini won’t be able to handle hearing all of those people pull for his competitor. The minute that a fan who has had one-too-many Budweisers makes a critical comment to Sabbatini, all hell will break loose. The minute he gets one bad hop or one bad break on the greens, he will play himself out of the tournament.

When Sabbatini gets agitated it will become immediately apparent; he will begin scowling (although he never really stops scowling), he will basically run down the fairway, he will throw at least one club and yell, and he will smack his gum so ferociously that he could pass for Burt Reynolds. If you watch the tournament on Sunday, you will see Sabbatini’s temper, and you will see someone else holding the trophy at the end of the day.