Golf, like the measles, should be caught young...

P.G. Wodehouse features again this week. In A Mixed Threesome, he penned the above, saying that if it is postponed to riper years, the results may be serious. Mortimer Sturgis, the hero of the tale, takes up golf at 38, and pursues it above all else in life. He fiancee parts with him upon finding him playing out of the clubhouse piano with his niblick (despite the aptness of the club for that particular shot).

It would hardly be correct to say that comments have flooded in since this blog's inception, but we saw one drip in this week regarding my comments on young Rory McIlroy.

James, perceiving my ill-concealed patriotism in this column, questioned my faith in McIlroy over the more seasoned Damien McGrane, citing his greater consistency in 2009, and McIlroy's mental meltdowns costing him titles.

 McGrane was a actually bet I kept to myself last week - I had him to finish in the top 10, so that went down as well. I might add that of the 5 players I tipped here, the only one I didn't bet on was Richard Sterne...

I agree with you, James, that McGrane had a great season last year, and that McIlroy has, as yet, failed to get his head in the right place in those pressure-filled moments. However, I can't see this being the case for much longer. I was delighted to see McGrane pick up his victory in China (I got up at 4 to watch him finish) - it was one of the best putting performances I've ever seen - under 100 for the week. However, I find it hard to see him rising to the heights of a multiple winner, Order of Merit winner, major contender, and Ryder Cup player. I hope I'm proved wrong, but I think his strengths are in his consistency and battling, and while these are essential, I don't see him making the top 20 or 30 in the world. The fact that he's 37 doesn't necessarily mean anything - Vijay's won 22 of his 34 PGA Tour titles since hitting 40. 

However, I think the winning measles have come too late for him to become the type of player that McIlroy can be. I think Damien will win another handful of events on Tour, and he's certainly shown a lot more confidence since that win, but I don't see the same drive.

As for young Rory...well, I'm going with him again this week, in the South African Open. I think this week will be a great indicator of how the next few months will go for him. I agree with James that the pressure got to him a couple of times last year, most notably in the loss to Jean-Francois Lucquin. That's only made it more difficult for him to break into the winner's circle - every time is in the hunt his mind's going to try and drag him back to that missed 2-footer.

 When he does pick up that first title (I still say in the next 3 months) that'll be gone for good.

This week, he's lying at 50th in the world. To make it to Augusta in April, he's got to hold on to that spot until Sunday night. There's pressure on from below - Peter Hanson's in 54th - and it's going to be in his head all week. Dealing with that, and putting in a finish good enough to keep that Masters berth, puts him under as much pressure as the two playoffs he's lost.

I think he'll make it through, and I'm backing him for a good finish again this week.

Henrik Stenson's the favourite this week, and no prizes for guessing why. He's hit form at last this year, picking up wins in the World Cup and the Nedbank, following on from a solid finish at the HSBC Champions. Pearl Valley's a long course with a lot of water around, and Stenson, along with Lee Westwood, is driving the ball as well as anyone. He's happy to leave the driver in the bag - he hits the 3-wood as far as most players hit the driver, and he keeps his accuracy. He's putted well the last few weeks as well, and it's tough to see him finishing outside the top few.

Westwood - I'm going to keep the faith, and say nothing more about it. Read last week - the same applies.

I went with Charl Schwartzel last week, and he has a quiet weekend, always just too far back to threaten. He's always a good player on home soil though, and is worth a shot this week.

Finally, Peter Hanson. I've talked about the Swedes before - if we could all play with their demeanour we'd be twice as good. He had a good finish in Shanghai in November, and has had a solid year overall. I'm confident he's going to pick up a couple of wins during the year, and while it might not come here, he'll be in the mix on Sunday.

Great win for Richard Sterne last week - he showed a lot of bottle coming down the home stretch, including a nervy par on the last. His last win, in the Joburg Open, saw him hit the green of the 72nd hole needing two putts for the title. He was 1/100 to win it. He proceeded to 3-putt and edge it in a playoff against Magnus Carlsson and Garth Mulroy. This time, his competitors sank balls in the water on the last and he could breathe freely. I mentioned him as a player easy to ignore, but there's no reason he can't turn this into a great season.

Congratulations again to Padraig Harrington on taking his second successive Golf Writers' Award, only the 3rd player to do so (after Tony Jacklin and Peter Oosterhuis). Paddy's planning a few weeks off in the winter to work on his game, and we'll see him again early next year.

Finally, a brief departure from golf: the UK Snooker Championship is on this week and Ronnie O'Sullivan looks in dangerous form - expect him to defend it and maybe pick up a 147 on the way.

All the best.

He Hasn't Won Either...

For once, they listened to me. Henrik Stenson heard I'd backed him and did the decent thing by winning at the Nedbank by 9 shots.

I know that one of the reasons I gave for my prediction was that he wouldn't want to end 2008 winless - I HATE when people give that reason. Of course he doesn't - neither do I, but I'm going to. The fact that he hasn't won makes it LESS likely. However, it is sometimes true of a top-class player that he can pull it out of the bag when he feels a bit of pressure.

It worked for me, though, and I'm going to stick with that abhorrent justification this week as you'll see below...

The Race to Dubai comes to South Africa for a three-week visit before heading up to the Middle East.

This week, it's the Alfred Dunhill Championship played at Leopard Creek in Mpumalanga.

Heading the field is Lee Westwood, still winless in 2008, and still looking good to get rid of that stat. He's had a great year in every other respect - his putting has improved beyond all recognition since a woeful display at Augusta in April which left me with my head in my hands. However, my money's on him again this week; it's difficult to see him not challenging come the back nine on Sunday. Ewen Murray cites the course as being one to suit good drivers of the ball, and in my opinion, Lee's the best driver of the ball around these days. His ironplay's solid - if he holes the putts this week, he wins.

The field is lacking the last three winners of this event, in John Bickerton, Alvaro Quiros, and Ernie Els, which is always a pity, but the man who won in 2004 is another who's on my list to be in the top 5. Charl Schwartzel - I've been talking about him for about 5 years, and he's only recently shown the form that we know he's capable of. He's got a magnificent game, and he picked up a win in Madeira towards the end of last season - perhaps it's finally time for him to break through, and where better than at home.

Rory Sabbatini and Richard Sterne are also local favourites this week (if Sabbatini is a favourite anywhere - Vijay Singh once commented "How does a guy get so unpopular", which is pretty damning, coming from Vij), with Sabbatini coming off a strong performance at the Nedbank. Sterne is another one of these steady players who slips under the radar week-in week-out, and  then pulls out a good performance.

However, my pick for the week to join Westwood is Rory McIlroy. He's had a decent year, with 2 playoff losses in the past few months. I said last week that he'd have a win by the time the spring comes round, and I stick by that. Why not this week?

McIlroy could well have won by now if he'd putted better. From watching him, he seems to lack a consistent and convincing pre-putt routine - he rushes into some of them, and while his holing out from short range is pretty solid, he doesn't hole his share of 15 to 20 footers. Taken on their own, it's easy to disregard, but if you don't hole any in a round you won't win the tournament.

He also seems to put a hand out after every miss, bemoaning the break he didn't see, or the pace that wasn't there. I don't expect him to be happy with missing putts, but that can only make them linger in the mind. I don't know who his short game coach is, but there are some great putting coaches out there, including Ewen Murray and Mark Roe, and I'm sure that any of them would be delighted to get the chance to work with an exciting young prospect like McIlroy.

Despite this harangue, I'm confident of him this week, and expect him to be in the mix on Sunday evening.

For any of you who haven't already heard, I'm delighted to say that Seve is back out of hospital and appears to be recovering well. He had his fourth brain operation last week, and his doctors are very happy with the progress he's made. As always, our thoughts go to him and his family.

Michelle Wie has got her hands on a full LPGA Tour card for next year - providing her mum and dad don't caddy for her we might see her show some of the talent we know she has.

Congratulations to Padraig Harrington for picking up the European Player of the Year for the second year running. He definitely deserves it - a month ago I said that I though that Karlsson deserved the Order of Merit over him, but I don't think Harrington's spectacular season can go unrecognized. He's opened the door for major winners from Europe, of which I expect at least one this year.