A week is a long time…
Supposedly in politics, at least – but the same could also be said of golf. Virtually all season whenever I have thought about the Ryder Cup, and I try not to do that too much until the event is almost upon us, it has been with a quiet, almost smug sense of confidence that Europe is going to bring Samuel Ryder’s small but perfectly formed trophy back where it belongs. We have, after all, 49 of the world’s top-50 players – or so it seems – and Europeans have won seven times on the US Tour this year (including Majors, and Justin Rose’s two victories). It is necessary to remind ourselves, perhaps, that a British or European winner in America, until comparatively recently, was as rare as Monty congratulating an on-course photographer for a job well done. Our marquee players were content to be the big fish of the comparatively small pond that is the European Tour but now they’re mixing it with the best in the world on a regular basis and, as it turns out, proving themselves to be voracious sharks rather than timid minnows (okay, enough of the water-borne metaphors, Ed). In addition, to boost our confidence even further, Tiger’s game remains in freefall, Phil Mickelson hasn’t won since The Masters in April, and several of the names already confirmed for the American team – such as Hunter Mahan, Jeff Overton, Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson, for example, don’t exactly clutch your heart with an icy fist of foreboding.

And yet… A little closer analysis suggests that the US side is shaping up nicely. The players I have mentioned are in the team on merit, and there looks to be a good balance of youth and experience, along with a nice mixture of dramatically exciting bomb it merchants, like Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson, alongside steady-Eddie dependables such as Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker.

In Europe, meanwhile, Colin Montgomerie has painted himself into an uncomfortable corner regarding his captain’s selections. Being on record as saying: ‘I expect there will be about eight candidates for my three wild-card picks and it should be a given that they turn up at the final event,’ these words are now a hostage to fortune because we know that none of the ‘name’ players on the fringes of selection – Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Justin Rose – will be at that event at Gleneagles on Thursday. So if Monty is true to his convictions, he will pick none of them, (but no-one believes he will be that bold) which leaves him having to go back on his word and disappoint people like Francesco Molinari and Simon Dyson, who have been working their backsides off to stay in contention.

Whatever Monty decides he will face serious criticism and quite possibly a divided team-room at Celtic Manor.

Ultimately, however, I think it may come down not to Monty but to his American counterpart, Corey Pavin. Two years ago in Valhalla almost every observer was struck by the unity, cohesion, and willingness to scrap for each other that characterised the US team, all qualities we had previously considered the exclusive trademark of the Europeans, and I think it was no coincidence that Tiger wasn’t in the side. If Pavin applies logic he won’t pick the world number one this time – his form simply does not justify it – and if that happens, I believe the Americans will be stronger as a result. However, I’m not sure Pavin is brave enough to be that radical and if so, the chances for Europe look just a little bit better.

Either way, it’s shaping up to hopefully be the closest Ryder Cup, certainly of those played in Europe, for quite some time.

Does size matter?
Watching Martin Kaymer’s impressive and fully justified victory in the US PGA championship, and the post-victory presentation, reminded me yet again that the Wanamaker trophy he held aloft is certainly the biggest, and probably the ugliest, major trophy of the four. And I don’t think it is a coincidence that the fourth Major of the year has always been regarded as the weaker or less prestigious of the big championships (despite the fact that recently it has also proved to be the most exciting and therefore best to watch) but has the biggest pot awarded to the winner.

On the European Tour over the last decade or so we have seen the Middle Eastern countries of Dubai, Qatar and Abu Dhabi trying to establish their golfing credentials and one of the ways, it seems, is to have the biggest, ugliest prize – witness the hideous, overblown coffee pot given to the winner of the Omega Desert Classic, which takes at least three strong men to lift. It used to be said that if you wanted to know how corrupt and dictatorial a South American president was, just look at his police force or military – the greater the despot, the more elaborate and be-medalled his flunkeys tended to be.

I think the same applies to golf trophies – the greater the feeling of inadequacy, the bigger and gaudier the prize.

Quote of the Week
If you think it’s hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball.
Jack Lemmon

Going Low 1
Unless you’re the sort of person who slows down to look at the scene of an accident in the hope of seeing a bit of blood, or still enjoy pulling the wings off butterflies, you will take no pleasure at the sight of Tiger Woods hacking it round like a high-handicapper, and being unable to find a fairway with GPS a compass and several guide dogs. Whenever great champions go into decline, no matter where they fit into your own list of personal favourites, it should arouse sympathy and I find myself averting my eyes, so as not to share the anguish a moment longer than necessary. The problems faced by Woods are too well-known to be regurgitated here but whatever your opinion on the circumstances that have led him to this nadir, you would need the heart of a stone, or banker, to not feel just a smidgeon of concern for his plight. He is clearly desperately unhappy and his one place of refuge, the only part of his life where he previously felt not only unassailable but where, perversely, he could exclude all outside influences and get on with what he does best, is now denied him. Being inside the ropes with his caddy was always his sanctuary and now even that, it seems, offers no solace. Let’s face it, his form is such that he couldn’t beat a fat man in a race to the bus stop.

Under these circumstances, and considering the way he is playing, it seems remarkable that the issue of whether or not he merits a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup is even being discussed. Of course he doesn’t, and to suggest otherwise is to blindly ignore the mountain of available evidence, like some golfing creationist. There is having faith, and then there is wild-eyed, irrational refusal to take note of any proof, substantiation or confirmation that your belief may, in fact, be predicated on extremely unsound data.

And then, as if to confirm that the world really is in the grip of some bizarre, shared delusion, comes a press release this morning (Monday) reporting that bookmaker William Hill is offering Tiger at 10-1 for the US PGA Championship, which starts Thursday – on a course that demands long, straight driving above all other virtues. Right now I would imagine his odds of making the cut are about 40-1.

Big Girl’s Blouse
A few years ago, before Phil Mickelson made his breakthrough win in Majors at the 2004 US Masters, I nicknamed him Phyllis because it seemed that every time he was in contention for one of the Big Four, he would, like a big girl’s blouse, find ever more inventive (and dumb) ways to screw up. It was a monicker I was delighted to stop using but it may have to be resurrected in light of the big man’s continuing inability to put in the one performance needed to become world number 1. As in those distant pre-Major days, he plays as we know he can – which is sublimely – and then goes into meltdown just as the prize hoves into view. He looks like a nervous teenager who, having successfully negotiated every aspect of their practical driving test, crashes into a wall as they return to the test centre.

I do wish he would stop.

Going low 2
From being the near-unattainable holy grail of golf, the score of 59 is becoming almost commonplace. A few weeks ago Paul Goydos achieved the feat in the first round of the John Deere Classic (where he didn’t win, incidentally, but finished runner-up to Steve Stricker). His score was made over the TPC Deere Run course measuring 7,257 yards. Then, in the run-up to the Irish Open Graeme McDowell reported that during a practice round at his home track of Royal Portrush (albeit on the smaller Valley Course, at 6,203 yards) he also cracked to 60 barrier. And lest we forget, as recently as May, Japanese phenom Ryo Ishikawa  went one better, with a 58. Then, course, just over a week ago week Stuart Appleby tamed the Old White Greenbriar Course, a par 70 of 7,020 yards by firing 59 on the last day to win.

The portents had been favourable, as the day before in the same event JB Holmes carded a 60 and fellow US Tour pro DA Points had a 61. As yet there has never been a 59 on the European Tour but the way things are going you might want to see what odds you could get on it happening before the end of this season – William Hill (I’m not being paid to mention them, I promise) is currently offering 25-1, which seems pretty good to me.

Quote of the week
Golf is a game invented by the same people who think music comes out of a bagpipe. Anon.

Where did the Season go? Here we are at the last major. Not to worry, we have ages to go before the weather gets grotty and the evenings too short.

So, you know the form, predict the winner of the 2010 USPGA and, for a tie breaker, the winning score. We’ll give GoKarts to the first two correct entries out of the hat after play finishes on Sunday (there’s a rollover from the British when nobody guessed the winner, hence the extra prize!).

To make your entry, type your name and email address below, and put your prediction for the winner, and their final score, in the comment box. Only one entry per person and the polls close as soon as play starts on Thursday.

This year’s event is at Whistling Straits, the same course where Vijay won in 2004 with eight under (the par is 72). It hosted the 2007 US Seniors which was won by Brad Bryant at six under.

It’s a shame that Lee Westwood has pulled out with a leg injury – always a popular bet and surely will walk away with a major soon.  Next year Lee!

If you find that all the popular players have people betting on them already, maybe try to find a player who hasn’t had any votes. We’ve had some obscure names raking in the trophies the past year or so. So it’s worth a punt and good luck!

The winners for the last decade;
2009 Yang Yong-eun, Hazeltine National Golf Club (−8)
2008 Pádraig Harrington, Oakland Hills Country Club (−3)
2007 Tiger Woods, Southern Hills Country Club (−8)
2006 Tiger Woods, Medinah Country Club, (−18)
2005 Phil Mickelson, Baltusrol Golf Club (−4)
2004 Vijay Singh, Whistling Straits (−8)
2003 Shaun Micheel, Oak Hill Country Club (−4)
2002 Rich Beem Hazeltine, National Golf Club (−10)
2001 David Toms, Atlanta Athletic Club (−15)
2000 Tiger Woods, Valhalla Golf Club (−18)

Here are the players;
Ames, Stephen
Andersson Hed, Fredrik
Appleby, Stuart
Balin, Daniel,
Barnes, Ricky
Beckman, Cameron
Benzel, Ryan
Bettencourt, Matt
Bohn, Jason
Bourdy, Gregory
Brooks, Mark
Cabrera, Angel
Campbell, Chad
Casey, Paul
Choi, K.J.
Cink, Stewart
Clark, Tim
Clarke, Darren
Crane, Ben
Curtis, Ben
Daly, John
Davies, Rhys
Davis, Brian
Day, Jason
de Jonge, Brendon
Donald, Luke
Dufner, Jason
Dyson, Simon
Elkington, Steve
Els, Ernie
Fernandez-Castano, Gonzalo
Fisher, Ross
Flinton, Kyle
Fowler, Rickie
Fujita, Hiroyuki
Furyk, Jim
Gallacher, Stephen
Garcia, Sergio
Gay, Brian
Glover, Lucas
Goosen, Retief
Goydos, Paul
Haas, Bill
Hansen, Anders
Hansen, Soren
Hanson, Peter
Harrington, Padraig
Hebert, Scott
Hiratsuka, Tetsuji
Holmes, J.B.
Horsey, David
Howell III, Charles
Hutsell, David
Ikeda, Yuta
Immelman, Trevor
Ingraham, Stu
Ishikawa, Ryo
Jacobson, Fredrik
Jacquelin, Raphael
Jaidee, Thongchai
Jimenez, Miguel Angel
Johnson, Dustin
Johnson, Zach
Jones, Matt
Karlsson, Robert
Kaymer, Martin
Kelly, Jerry
Khan, Simon
Kim, Anthony
Kim, Kyung-tae
Kjeldsen, Soren
Kuchar, Matt
Labritz, Rob
Laird, Martin
Lamely, Derek
Lehman, Tom
Leishman, Marc
Leonard, Justin
Liang, Wenchong
Love III, Davis
Lowe, Mitch
Lowry, Shane
Mahan, Hunter
Marino, Steve
Matteson, Troy
McClellan, Robert
McDowell, Graeme
McGowan, Ross
McIlroy, Rory
McNeill, George
Merrick, John
Micheel, Shaun
Mickelson, Phil
Molder, Bryce
Molinari, Edoardo
Molinari, Francesco
Montgomerie, Colin
Moore, Ryan
Moss, Robert
Na, Kevin
Noh, Seung Yul
Oda, Koumei
Ogilvy, Geoff
O’Hair, Sean
Ohr, Keith
Oosthuizen, Louis
Overton, Jeff
Palmer, Ryan
Pare, Troy
Pavin, Corey
Perry, Kenny
Petrovic, Tim
Pettersson, Carl
Points, D. A.
Poulter, Ian
Quiros, Alvaro
Rose, Justin
Sabbatini, Rory
Schmuhl, Jason
Schwartzel, Charl
Scott, Adam
Senden, John
Sheftic, Mark
Sim, Michael
Singh, Vijay
Skinner, Sonny
Slocum, Heath
Small, Mike
Smith, Bruce
Snedeker, Brandt
Stadler, Kevin
Steinmetz, Rich
Stenson, Henrik
Stricker, Steve
Sullivan, Chip
Sutherland, Kevin
Taylor, Vaughn
Thelen, Tim
Toms, David
Trahan, D.J.
Van Pelt, Bo
Verplank, Scott
Villegas, Camilo
Walker, Jimmy
Watney, Nick
Watson, Bubba
Weekley, Boo
Weir, Mike
Wi, Charlie
Willett, Daniel
Wilson, Oliver
Winner of the WGC
Winner of the Turning Stone
Wood, Chris
Woods, Tiger
Yang, Y.E.

Also, it was confirmed yet again that St Andrews is a terrible venue for spectators – they can pretty much only get to the right-hand side of holes and there aren’t many changes of elevation, so you invariably find yourself looking over the heads of people packed three, four or more deep.

During the practice rounds there were a couple of places where, thanks to the armband that got me inside the ropes, I could stand directly behind the advertising hoardings at the rear of the tee (always the best place to get an idea of how well someone is swinging). It was noticeable that Asian and American players, as they walk onto the tee, acknowledge whoever happens to be present, such as journalists and marshals. Europeans usually don’t.

It was also impossible not to contrast the attitude of the hot young talents in golf, strutting their stuff at St Andrews, with their senior counterparts last week at Carnoustie. The current crop of Tour stars often view the baggage that comes with being near the top of the heap – autograph-hunting fans and interview-seeking journalists to name but two – as a necessary irritant. The round bellies, in contrast – even some of the former grumpies, like Ian Woosnam, Mark James and Sam Torrance – seem to appreciate the attention so much more, now that it is a currency in decline. It was tempting to tell the young turks: ‘You needed and wanted us on the way up, and will need and want us again on the way down,’ but of course, I didn’t.

After Louis Oosthuizen the man no doubt happiest at the end of Open week was coach Pete Cowen, who works with the players who finished 1st, 2nd (Lee Westwood) and tied 3rd (Henrik Stenson). I hope he’s on a percentage.

The fifth Beatle?
It only recently occurred to me that Phil Mickelson is America’s Paul ‘Macca’ McCartney (sorry about the ‘Macca’ but as a member of the National Union of Journalists it is de rigeur to mention the nickname at least once in every piece about the man). They have an identical permanent grin and each appears to take the same delight in meeting fans, writers, commentators and anyone else who passes across their radar.

And now Phil has begun to adopt the obligatory Macca thumbs up whenever a photographer nears.

Getting the mojo working
For about three months now the golfing mojo has been working overtime and I have been in one of those phases where I seem able to consistently strike the ball well and score at, or below, my handicap (although of course, the putter has been playing up). Throughout this period I have played as often as I can, in order to milk every possible sub-par round available because I knew it wouldn’t last and lo, yesterday evening it came to pass that my form disappeared as inexplicably as it had arrived. To give you an indication of just how dramatic the turnaround is, I got trounced by my wife, who was herself playing like a donkey. The odd thing is, I was almost relieved, so my question is – does golf only appeal to pessimistic doomsayers, or is there something about the game that makes us always see the glass as half empty, because of its limitless capacity to bite us in the backside?

Golf Pride pride
In advance of the Ryder Cup, Golf Pride, makers of fine grips, has introduced two nationalistic putter grips to the V-RAD Rivalry line that, says the company: ‘Captures the intensity of the United States versus Europe golf competition.’

Be sure to wield yours with pride (ouch).

Quote of the week
Golf is a day spent in a round of strenuous idleness
William Wordsworth

So we have a rollover for the USPGA, when we’ll have two GoKarts up for grabs.  We’ll announce the new comp a couple of weeks before the tournie when the line up is definite.

And in honour of the week we have a wee Scottish themed limerick from Mr. W;

Old Jock the Scots pro passed away
He’d shot eagles and birdies each day
As they lowered him down
Said his caddy Jim Brown
“That’s his first hole in one I would say.”

Bring it on
As GoKart likes to regard itself as having its finger on the pulse, ear to the ground and any other insider, informed, access to the skinny cliché you can think of, you will no doubt want our view on who is going to win the Open. But the truth is, what the heck do we (or anyone else) really know? Who, for example, could have predicted Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton or Paul Lawrie to lift the claret jug over the last decade or so? And how about Trevor Immelman and Zach Johnson to don a fetching green jacket; Lucas Glover, Angel Cabrera and Graeme McDowell to lift the US Open trophy; or YE Yang, Shaun Micheel and Rich Beem to take the year’s fourth Major, the USPGA?

As a general rule of thumb, two of the year’s big ones are captured by players who already have a Major win under their belt, while the other two go to debutant victors, and so far in 2010 that pattern has continued, with Phil Mickelson grabbing the Masters on behalf of the been-there-done-that-got-the-T-shirt brigade, and Northern Ireland’s finest being the representative for the gosh-what-just happened contestants, who are supposed to be there just to make up the numbers.

So when in doubt, follow the bookies and right now they seem to have Tiger Woods firmly ensconced as favourite (7-2), closely followed by Phil Mickelson (12-1), Lee Westwood (14-1), Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els (16-1), and Rory McIlroy (18-1).

I don’t know whether it is inevitable home-pride cock-eyed optimism but it seems to me that we have a very real chance of seeing a home grown winner this time. Lee Westwood’s form has not been great recently but between him, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Ross Fisher, Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy, the chances of a home victory are stronger than ever (and of course, we regard anyone from Ireland, whether north or south, as one of ours). For an each way bet you could do worse than Stephen Gallacher, a streak player who just finished fourth at Loch Lomond after a 69, 68 weekend. He has now fully recovered from injury problems and although he has only one European Tour victory under his belt, it came at St Andrews, in the Dunhill Links Championship.

The right venue?
For several years I toyed with the idea of writing to Peter Dawson, chief executive of the R&A, with the suggestion that he consider bringing golf’s oldest Major to a links course I had just opened. The course had, I would explain, the easiest opening and closing holes in championship golf, only two par threes, at least four driveable par fours, several double greens which tend to make play ridiculously slow, and was a layout where you could hit it left all day and never find trouble – because that, in a nutshell, is the Old Course and I believed that it was no longer a good enough test for the best in the world.

Like so many, however, who have had the good fortune to play the Old Lady a few times I have been obliged to reconsider because it remains a place of endless subtlety, charm and challenge. And there is nowhere else in the world that can say: ‘Every great golfer who has ever played the game has tested themselves on this course.’ Even Ben Hogan, who only played one Open Championship, and that at Carnoustie, stopped off at St Andrews on his way home (although he walked off the 17th green straight onto a train and didn’t play the last).
That history is unsurpassed and I’m pretty sure that for me the highlight of the week will be on Wednesday, when 25 former winners will take part in the four-hole Champions Challenge that celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first Open, at Prestwick in 1860. Everyone who attends will have their own favourite group but I might wait for the final threeball of Tom Weiskopf, Ernie Els and Tom Watson – two of the smoothest swingers ever seen, and the modern era master of links golf.

The elephant in the room, of course, will be Seve Ballesteros, who has had to pull out on the advice of his oncologist but we all know he’ll be there in spirit and in our hearts.

Water torture
It is understandable that people like us (and by this I mean club golfers with dodgy handicaps) do not particularly like water hazards on a golf course. They cost us money, in the form of lost balls, but more damagingly they cost us strokes, which unlike golf balls, are impossible to replace. It is less easy, however, to comprehend why a bit of aqua gets into the mind and consequently buggers up the swing, of gnarled, tough-as-old boots Tour pros.

Only a week ago we witnessed Miguel Angel Jimenez – and they don’t come much more experienced or laidback than him – standing in the middle of the 72nd fairway of the Alstom Open de France with a two-stroke lead over the field and a 7-iron in his hands with which he only needed to hit a regulation piece-of-cake, no-worries shot to the green. Anywhere on the putting surface would have done but he chunked it into the water. In the subsequent playoff his compatriot Alejandro Canizares, who is young enough, we would think, to not yet have the accumulation of mental scars that accrue with a lengthy career, decided to out-perform his senior colleague by dumping his ball into the water twice.

My home course has a beautiful par 3 over water to a virtual island green. The good news is that it only plays between a wedge and 8-iron, depending on the mood of the greenkeeper when he sets out the tee markers in the morning, and yet I have personally dumped more Titleists into the pond than I can count. In any other situation an 8-iron to the green would have me purring in anticipation but on this hole I find limitless ways to miss the target. If we see our ball heading for the rough or trees we may not like the fact but it doesn’t produce the same jolt of fear as that ominous splash and yet it should. Fail to find your ball in the jungle and it’s the long trudge back to the tee; find the water hazard and more often than not you can drop out, especially if it’s a lateral, and lose only one stroke, as opposed to hitting three from the tee. In the early days of the European Tour, one wily veteran, if his ball was off line, would often say, where appropriate: ‘Damn, it’s going into the water,’ trying to convince his playing partners that it was wet, rather than lost, so that he could drop out to the side if necessary (and it often worked).
Perhaps the last word should go to Tommy Bolt, he of the famed titanic temper. He once said: ‘Only bullfighting and the water hole are left as vestigial evidence of what a bloody savage man used to be. Only in golf is this sort of contrived swindle allowed.’

Quote of the Week
May thy ball lie in green pastures – and not in still waters.
Anon