A Man For All Seasons

P.G. Wodehouse, in The Letter of the Law, admitted that for all its grand-sounding name, the President's Cup at the Oldest Member's club ranked somewhere between the Grandmothers' Umbrella Competition and the Infants' All-Day Sucker (open to those not yet having finished teething).

 The World Cup. Those words invoke strong emotions, whether thinking about Pickles finding the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1966, Diego annoying Terry in 1986, or, for the Irish, David O'Leary in 1990 and Ray Houghton in 1994.

 The World Cup of Golf. While this name may not curry as much favour with TV fans, it still sounds impressive. However, if you expected Adam Scott and Robert Allenby to be teeing up against Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim, think again. You'll be watching Brandt Snedeker and Brendan Jones. Top players will play the World Cup a couple of times at the beginning, and then get on with their own game. 

And so the World Cup goes largely ignored by a large proportion of the golfing population. This year, however, we were treated to a magnificent display of golf that can only help what should be a wonderful event. Will Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington ever play in it again? Probably not. But that doesn't mean it can't be a top-class event.

 Sergio's avoidance of the week meant a start for young Pablo Larrazabal, one of the brightest sparks on the European Tour. He teamed up with the legend that is Miguel Angel Jimenez, and they put on a display that will have the 2010 Ryder Cup Captain rubbing his hands with glee. Despite a disappointing final day, they played superb, passionate golf, and almost single-handedly made it a tournament worth watching.

 Other countries had great showings as well. Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka were a fancied team at the beginning of the week, and lived up to the expectations until a 73 today ended their hopes. Australia shot themselves out of contention on Sunday too, but Brendan Jones and Richard Green showed themselves to be quite a pairing.

However.

During the Ryder Cup, two tall Swedish men were paired together. As European heads were in hands (mine included), the one claim I stuck to was that if you have a couple of Swedes together, it doesn't matter if they're 2 or 3 down. They'll just calmly keep on playing, won't get hassled, and will do the business.

 Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson are two of the best players in the world today. Karlsson has had a busy year - top 10s in three majors, two victories, eight other top 10s, and an Order of Merit title. He's played the best golf of his life throughout the spring, summer, and autumn. Time for a winter break? Not at all! Get Henrik and we'll play a few games of golf!

They played wonderful golf all week, shooting 65-67-66-63, and justifying their status as pre-tournament favourites. Admittedly, their closest challengers helped them on the final day, but they did what they did best - calmly walked around, ignoring what other guys are doing, and getting on with business.

 Of course it's a different format, but this performance only accentuates what we've been saying for the last few months - one of these boys will have a major by the next Ryder Cup.

The Race to Dubai travelled to Australia this week, and Rod Pampling and Marcus Fraser set up a playoff for the home crowds to enjoy. The experienced Rod came out on top, but Fraser certainly showed signs of wanting to build on his steady 2008 season in the New Year.

Robert Allenby let me down again with a final day 73 - he's declared an intention to play in the Race to Dubai this year, and we're delighted to have him. However, if he's going to start winning again, he's got to start holing putts to supplement his magnificent iron-play. If he'd holed a handful more putts during the last year, he'd have been a multiple winner in America.

The Race has a week off now, before heading to Leopard Creek for the Alfred Dunhill Championship, where Lee Westwood will be looking to get his campaign off to a winning start.

There is golf this week though, with the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City. Trevor Immelman is defending champion, and will be joined by 11 other top players from around the world, including Sergio, Westwood, and those two Swedes again. I think I'm going to go with Stenson for the victory - he won't want 2008 going by without a win and the World Cup will have him confident.

Apologies to those of you who have visited over the last two weeks expecting up-to-the-minute self-satisfied over-opinionated twaddle, only to find that I was holding my peace (that's a self-satisfied phrase right there). Such a delay will not occur again. In the interim, Rory McIlroy narrowly missed out on a maiden victory in a playoff to Wen-Tang Lin, but I'm confident that young McIlroy will have a win under his belt by the end of the winter (which I, being Irish, extend to at least the end of February).

All the best. Take care.

It's On

I came to my computer today with a wonderful, catchy, unoriginal blog title in my head for this week's column, only to see that Ewen Murray nicked it for his Sky Sports article. So, "Let the Race Begin..." will have to wait until next year...

I've already spoken about the Race to Dubai, and how I've come around to its way of thinking. I must say, I'm confident now that it is the dawning of a new era for the European Tour. It will provide more competition for all, which can be tough on the journeyman pro, but in the long run, it's a positive. The first event sees Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, Mike Weir, and Camilo Villegas to name but a few teeing it up in Shanghai. Kim and Villegas are the new stars of the game, and to have them playing on both sides of the pond is a huge positive for world golf.

Congratulations to Soren Kjeldsen (I finally got a tip right in last week's column) and Robert Karlsson on taking the final Volvo Masters and the Order of Merit respectively. In the end the OM title was almost an anticlimax, but Lee Westwood put up a spirited battle until midway through Sunday. I said last week that Kjeldsen just needed to hole a few putts early, and that's exactly what he did. On Thursday, he only hit 9 greens, and yet had 8 birdies. He played great golf and ground out a win on a very tough course. 

 I hope Valderrama retains a place on the circuit - it's too good a course to miss out on having an event; it's never eaten up by the players and anything can happen down the last 3 holes, so a tournament's never over until the last putt is holed.

Before leaving Spain for Shanghai, just to update you on Seve - he's making good progress apparently, and was speaking to his family yesterday, but he'll remain in intensive care. As always, our best wishes go to him and his family.

So, who's going to lead the Race to Dubai after week 1? I'm going to stick with the guy I've been backing all month. He had a poor start at Valderrama put played solid golf in terrible conditions on Friday and Saturday to come in 11th. He lost in a playoff to Mickelson here last year, after a God-awful chip on the last that ran into the water, when he only needed a 5 for the championship. As long as he gets through that hole on Thursday ok, I think he'll be in the top few come Sunday.

Paul Casey's got a great record at the course - 3 top 10s from 3 starts. He's had a quiet time recently, but if he gets his putter going he'll be in there.

For once I'm not going with Karlsson and Harrington, and I'll probably be punished. I think Karlsson will just have felt such a relief in wrapping up the OM, and he needs a rest. Harrington had a torrid time last weekend, and he needs a good winter break to bring his game back to its best.

Anthony Kim is playing, and that makes it exciting enough. He had a phenomenal year on Tour, with 2 wins and a few more top 5s. He starred in the Ryder Cup, and he's declared his intentions to world golf. He wants to win, and he wants to win everywhere. Don't be surprised if he gets his European Tour career off to the perfect start.

Finally, Sergio. He had a quiet day on Sunday at Valderrame - he just never really got it going. The important thing is that he's playing good golf and putting pretty well. I expect him to be in the top 5 in this once again.

The best thing about golf is that the new season starts 4 days after the old one ends. I'm excited about this - the only problem is it'll be on too early in the morning for me to watch it.

I think it'll be a great event, and a great year for golf.

Enjoy.

The Final Countdown - Europe's No. 1

As has happened so many times before, it comes down to this.

Valderrama has seen quite a bit of action over the last 20 years. Forget about the Ryder Cup (if you can) - how many times has the Harry Vardon Trophy still been up for grabs on the last green? Ronan Rafferty did it in '89; Harrington nicked it from Casey by a mere €40k in 2006.

It's here again.

Four men can win it. Karlsson, Harrington, Westwood, and Jimenez. With over €700,000 as a 1st prize, it ensures an exciting finish. However, Miguel Angel effectively needs Big Bob to finish way down the list, and Westwood certainly couldn't afford to have him in the top 7 or 8. for a victory on Sunday to be enough.

Let's face it - Karlsson's played great golf all season - he's going to be in the mix again come Sunday afternoon. It's down to him and Paddy.

The Irish in me would love to see Padraig take it again - he's had good runs at Valderrame and, as a double major champion, he's done so much for European golf this year. But you can't argue with Karlsson's stats. He had 9 top 10s in the season 2 weeks before the Ryder Cup; he then picked up 2 wins and a 3rd. He's played 22 events to Padraig's 13. He's finished in the top 10 in 3 majors, and 20th in the PGA. He's risen to 6th in the world, one place behind Harrington. He has showed his class.

I can't see Karlsson losing his cool over a little matter like the Order of Merit. He'll be in the showdown, and I think Harrington's going to have to win to take his second OM title.

I don't care what sort of form Harrington's in. That no longer matters with him. It's like Tiger. If he needs to play well, he will. At the Ryder Cup, he wasn't playing well, but he still didn't miss a putt on Friday. He's the best clutch putter in the game at the moment, and you can bet your life on him making one if he needs to on the 72nd hole. Poor old Harry Vardon lost his touch on short putts after tuberculosis damaged his wrist, but no one today's going to win his Trophy if they can't make those putts when they count.

 Harrington will be in contention on Sunday afternoon; he's too much of a fighter not to be. Don't let his talk of Karlsson being a deserving winner fool you - he means it alright, and he'll be the first t congratulate Karlsson if he finishes the job - but he's going out there to win. He doesn't know how to do anything else.

Who else?

Westwood wants a win. He's going to get it soon, but will it be this week? As long as he holes his short putts, he won't be too far off and, to be fair, he's improved them all season.

Ryder Cup heroes Ian Poulter and Justin Rose have fond memories of Valderrama, and they're probably hungry for a victory as well. Poulter showed his strength and guts at Valhalla and he'd love to give the world a bit more proof of how good a player he knows he is.

 Graeme McDowell finished 4th here last year, alongside Harrington - he's had a quiet run since the Ryder Cup, but a win here could put him in the top 4 or 5 of the OM, and he's too good to stop playing well for long.

I've been picking Ross Fisher the last few weeks, and he's had a couple of top 5s. He's definitely ready for another win, but he just needs to keep his cool under pressure. At St. Andrew's we saw this failing with the driver on the 73rd hole, and he dropped 3 in a row two weeks ago to fall out of the running. If he can be calm under pressure, he'll be fighting for it on Sunday.

Finally, my last three picks. Kjeldsen, Dyson, and Soren Hansen. Hansen's form hasn't returned to its pre-Ryder Cup levels yet, but he'll want to ensure his place in 3 majors next season with a top-15 spot in the Order of Merit - he's in 15th now, but he won't be sitting back just yet.

Dyson and Kjeldsen both showed good form last week, and they lost out to Rose on a playoff last year; they'll want to go one better. Kjeldsen's problem last Sunday was his putting - nothing dropped for him, but his long game was steady. If he rolls in a couple early on each day it'll do wonders for his confidence.

I'm not going to go on, because I'll only end up naming every player in the field. That's how good this tournament is going to be, and I'm confident we won't know where the Vardon Trophy's going before the back nine on Sunday.

Enjoy.

We Have to Stop Calling Him El Nino

Much like his country in world and European football championships (until this year), he's been an underachiever. He's failed to finish the job on a number of occasions. His game hasn't been complete. From Thursday to Sunday last week, Sergio Garcia looked more like what we know he is - a world class golfer.

Sergio's always been as close to Tiger as anyone as regards natural talent. Over the years, his main failing has been with the putter, and he's won a handful of tournaments when he starts to hole a few. A couple of years ago, Adam Scott gave him a tip on the greens on Wednesday, and Sergio beat him by one on Sunday evening.

He putted solidly this weekend - the whole four days showed his class. He's risen to number 3 in the world, and now, surely, he's ready to take a major.

We've been saying that for quite a while now. Ok, the PGA in 1999 was spectacular, but he couldn't have been expected to finish it off at 19 - the last player to win a major that young was Johnny McDermott in 1910 or -11 - but he's had his chances since then. Paddy's nicked a couple from him, and the more you miss, the greater the pressure gets.

Will he win a major next year? No one can say. But he is now fully ready. His putting this year has been better than any year before - he won the Players, which is as close you get to a major - and don't underestimate the pressure as the home boy at Castellon at the weekend.

His mental game has improved enormously since he was the exciting, and excited, kid who scissor-kicked his way up the fairways at Medinah, and he just needs that final piece of self-belief.

Harrington has obviously been the headliner in the majors this year, but with Karlsson taking 3 top 10s, and Sergio and Westwood coming close again, you've got to believe in a few more European winners over the next dozen majors. Sergio, Westwood, Karlsson, and then the next level coming up - Fisher, Kaymer, and McDowell, to name but a few. The US will be putting up Mahan and Kim, but at a time when there are more Euros than US in the World's top 10, it's got to happen.

The Youth Movement Continues

Last week in this column I made a prediction. It involved Robert Karlsson and Ross Fisher. At about 16.30 on Sunday afternoon, I was feeling quite smug. Fisher was tied for the lead with some youngster called Alvaro Quiros, who'd been enjoying a good week, but was beginning to show a bit of tension. Karlsson meanwhile, was lurking two shots, visibly licking his chops as he crept towards a third successive win.

An hour later, Fisher had dropped three in a row, Karlsson dumped his ball in the water on the 17th, and Quiros was calmly holing out to take a two-shot lead up the last. Which he birdied.

Ok, we had heard of young Quiros before - he won at Leopard Creek last year on his first appearance with a full card (the rest of the year was fraught with injury), and had a decent season on the Challenge Tour the year before, but who would have bet that he would have managed himself so calmly down the stretch with the world's best player (at this time) breathing down his neck. He bombs the driver, but has a wonderful putting touch which saw him hole clutch putts on the 15th, 16th, and 17th. This boy is here to stay, and adds his name to the young guns powering through the fields these days.

He played great all weekend, finishing his third round off solidly on Sunday morning before going out for the final act. He was put under pretty much as much pressure as you get outside a major championship and a pairing with Tiger. He showed both talent and guts, and, along with Pablo Larrazabal, will be flying the Spanish flag for a long time to come.

It was nice to see him cite Seve as an inspiration for the win; in my opinion, there are few players of his his age who wouldn't - Seve did so much to stir up excitement and love for the game, and I'm sure he'll continue to do so for many long years. (Just to keep you updated, Seve had a second operation at the weekend to remove a small piece of his skull which was placing pressure on the brain after the first operation. He is currently stable and in intensive care. Once again, we send him our best.)

Briefly, in America - Mark Turnesa picked up his maiden PGA Tour victory at Justin Timberlake's tournament in Las Vegas, holding off a pack of players including Ryder Cupper Chad Campbell, Zach Johnson, who continued his good form from the week before, and Chris DiMarco. I'm delighted to see DiMarco back in a bit of form - he's had a torrid year and he's too good a player to stay out for long. I'm confident we'll see him back in the winner's circle before long.

So, the Order of Merit race is still open, and will come down to Sunday evening at Valderrama. Who will take it? Well, Miguel Angel is playing this week in Spain, and he realistically needs a strong performance, as I somehow don't think big Robert will be too far from the action at the Volvo. I'd love to see Harrington do it again, but I don't think anyone can argue that it would be a just dessert for Karlsson, putting the finishing touches on a season that has seen him become one of the game's greats. 

As ever, it will be fascinating.

Given the current state of the world, I think it is important to remember our priorities, and, for now, I leave you with a quotation from Robert Lynd:

"It is almost impossible to remember how tragic a place this world is when one is playing golf."

Portugal Masters; Grand Slam

The European Tour stays in Iberia this week, as it heads to the Portugal Masters at the Oceanico Victoria Course.

Once again, there's a stellar line-up on the way, with six of Europe's defeated Ryder Cup men teeing up on Thursday.

Pre-tournament favourite, Robert Karlsson, is looking for a chance to extend his lead at the top of the Order of Merit, and force Padraig Harrington into needing a win at Valderrama. It's difficult to see him being beaten, I must say. He's not the sort of guy that gets tired too easily, he takes his wins in his stride, and he likes the event, having finished 2nd here last year. Don't be surprised to see him take his third title on the trot on Sunday evening.

 

However, Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer, the men he beat in the playoff at St. Andrew's are both here as well, Fisher after a week off and Kaymer continuing a run of three weeks play. They both had top 10s here last year as well, and will be looking to ensure a high finish in the Order of Merit, as well as a bit of revenge for the near miss at the Dunhill.

Aside from these three guys, I fancy Westwood. I reckon he's finally got a bit of energy back after a week off last week, he had a top 5 finish here last year, and, let's face it, after the year he's had, who's going to say he won't get a win before it finishes? He's still in the Order of Merit race, but a win here is pretty vital to keep his hopes alive, as it is for Miguel Angel as well, as you can bet Karlsson will be up there as well.

McDowell, Wilson, and Soren Hansen are the other Ryder Cuppers appearing here this week, all trying to consolidate their position inside the top 10 in the OM. Wilson's the only player to play in a Ryder Cup without a tournament win, but after the year he's had I can't see that duck lasting much longer. He's another guy who's been a bit tired since the Ryder Cup, but if he's got a bit of energy back I expect him to be in the mix come the back nine on Sunday.

Just a brief look at Bermuda, where the Grand Slam is being played. Harrington and Furyk are both -2 after the 1st of 2 rounds, while Goosen is on level par, and Immelman's shot himself out of it with a +6 76. It's not the biggest tournament on my radar, but I'd like to see Padraig pick it up, and I think he'll do enough to edge out Furyk.

The PGA Tour heads to Vegas this week, and I'm not even going to go into any detail on this. I think Hunter Mahan will win - he's had a good season, a great Ryder Cup, and he'll be licking his chops now regular tournament play is back.

Once again, I just want to send my best to Seve. I understand there was a biopsy yesterday, but I still haven't heard any more news. 

Take care.

Our best to Seve

I just want to briefly take the opportunity to send my heartfelt best wishes to Seve Ballesteros and his family. It must be avery difficult time for them now, and I hope and pray that Seve will be able to fight this illness and make it back to full health. He has been a wonderful ambassador for the game of golf and, by all accounts, a wonderful person. My sister had the privilege of receiving a lesson from him last year and I was unsurprised to hear that he was a true gent.

Take care Seve, we're all thinking of you, and we know that you have the strength to beat this thing and come back.