It's easy to forget what a joy links golf is when you don't play it for a while. It's even easier to forget how great it is to watch links golf, and what a feast the Dunhill is each year. Four days of golf around Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, and St. Andrew's - what more does a real golf fan want?
It was, once again, a great tournament this year. Going into the final day there were still a dozen guys with a great chance of winning it. By Sunday morning I had it between Kaymer, Karlsson, and Harrington. Unfortunately Padraig had a rough day at the office, but that's surely a sign of the fatigue he's still battling. Only the truly great players could have put in the fantastic performance he had over the first 3 days, and still give himself a chance at a third title on Sunday. He showed us again why he's a double Open Champion, and you can bet your bottom euro he'll be right up there at Turnberry next July.
Robert Karlsson. Once again, in what was his 11th top-10 finish of the season, Karlsson played great golf. He's won two events back-to-back with a solid Ryder Cup performance in the middle, and he's risen to 8th in the world rankings. I can't remember the last time there were 4 Europeans in the top 10, and now they're in with 4 Americans, a Colombian, and that fine Fijian fella.
Karlsson has a pretty good run in the majors this year, and he's got to be a good bet for one next year. His putting has improved tremendously over the last few years, and he is in such great control of both his body and mind. He's not a guy who gets rattled easily - he'd have no trouble whatsoever playing with Tiger or Phil in front of a partisan crowd. He also showed his class on links, which obviously pays off big-time whenever the Open comes around. You can expect to see him challenging in the majors next year, and I won't be surprised if he ends the year with a new jacket, jug, or really big trophy.
As to the Order of Merit, what's going to happen there? Harrington was top until Sunday, but remember that he got there with over 70% of the winnings being from those 2 majors, not that that's a bad way of doing it. He's only played 13 events in the year whereas Karlsson's played 21. That commitment to the European Tour looks like it's going to pay off. Can you see Big Robert not making a title challenge at Valderrama? It'll take some great golf from Westwood, Padraig, or Miguel Angel to take it off him now. Wonderful! We're set for a hell of a finish to the season. When Padraig picked up his maiden OM title in 2006, he only scraped by Casey to do so, and it can come down to the last few bucks. I think it was Eamonn Darcy, who either just got into or just lost out on a Ryder Cup spot in the 1990s by less than £100.
It'll be exciting again this year, but I think Karlsson will hold on, and with a season like the one he's had he deserves it.
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