If Margaret Thatcher played golf: rated 78, best at nerve

Margaret Thatcher as a golfer: scouting report

Margaret Thatcher would be the golfer who simply refuses to give back a shot. Nerve is the top mark on her card. She became the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and held the office from 1979 to 1990, the longest continuous run of the twentieth century, and the nickname the Iron Lady followed her for decades. That kind of resolve is exactly what a golfer needs when a lead starts to shrink on the back nine.

Her course IQ is right behind her nerve. Before politics she studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and worked as a research chemist, then trained as a barrister. Someone with that background in experiments and argument would approach a golf course methodically, testing a plan and sticking to it. Putting is the best of her shotmaking skills, and her short game and irons sit just behind it, a balanced scoring game that keeps her in contention. She was famous for working long hours on very little sleep, which suggests she would be the first one on the practice green and the last to leave.

Driving is the weak spot on her card. She would never be a long hitter, so The Long Course Championship, where distance off the tee decides most holes, is her toughest fit. Her best course is The Links Open, where steady ball striking, patience and nerve in the wind count more than length. She grew up above her father's grocery shop in Grantham, and that upbringing shows in how she counts every stroke and wastes nothing. Draft her as a steady, unflappable middle round piece and pair her with a big hitter to handle the power layouts.

Plays like A determined grinder who never gives an inch on any hole

Put Margaret Thatcher in your lineup

5 rolls, a team of five, four majors. Can you win the Grand Slam? Free, no account.