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

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.

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.”

It might be dramatic, in the way that car, plane or rail crashes are dramatic, but it’s not what I want to watch.

All credit though, to Graeme McDowell, who did what he needed to do. He is a man, as my mother would say, who has no ‘side’; what you see is what you get and being in the public eye hasn’t changed him at all. His swing is not the most orthodox but, and here is a lesson some of his peers might want to absorb, it repeats flawlessly, even when the pressure gauge is turned up to 11.

Last thought
I was at Pebble Beach in 1992, the year that Tom Kite won, and we pampered journalists are usually offered the chance to play the championship venue the day after the final round. Playing Pebble Beach is a long-time ambition but having watched the world’s best struggle for survival for a week I thought: ‘What’s the point of dragging myself around, and shooting a joyless 120, just to say that I have played Pebble?’ so I turned the chance down.

It’s a decision I have never regretted.

Tiger’s a sour puss

For Tiger Woods, returning to the venue where he lapped the field in 2000 and played at a near-deity standard must have filled him with hope, if not expectation. His subsequent disappointment must be bitter but he is not, it has to be said, coping particularly well with performing at a lesser standard. I have tried hard over the years not to damn him for his on-course demeanour – the refusal to acknowledge playing partners or fans, the tossing aside of clubs, bad language and general air of bad-tempered grumpiness – because I think the life he leads would test the patience of a saint. Those of us lucky enough not to be exposed to the demands he faces, and the level of examination he undergoes every time he steps out of his house can have no idea what he has to endure.

But the most recent example of his general sourpuss persona, where he repeatedly blamed his caddy Steve Williams for giving him the wrong club at Pebble Beach, is a moan too far, for me at least. The caddy makes suggestions, Tiger, but the decision is yours so suck it up.

Go East young man
We have been predicting an Eastern takeover of golf for many years now, and although it started on the LPGA Tour in America a decade ago, we are now finally seeing its fruition in the men’s game. YE Yang became to first Asian winner of a Major in last year’s US PGA Championship, Ryo Ishikawa is just about the hottest prospect in the game, along with Rory McIlroy, and now a South Korean has won the Amateur Championship. Jin Jeong must have holed about three miles of putts in the 36-hole final at Muirfield en route to beating Scotland’s James Byrne 5&4.

Just wait until the Chinese really get into golf.

Nonsensical nomenclature
The US Ryder Cup captain, Corey Pavin, made it to a playoff over the weekend in the Travelers Championship which was won by Bubba Watson. It caused me to wonder, again, where the Americans get their names from. Monikers like Bo Van Pelt and Brandel Chamblee have always intrigued me, although my favourite of all time is the veteran golfer Kermit Zarley. So I looked up the name Corey and discovered it can have several possible sources. One derivation means ‘dweller in or near a hollow’ from the surname stemming from the Gaelic ‘coire’ meaning a cauldron, a seething pool or a hollow. According to the 1990 United States Census, Corey was the 182nd most popular male first name, the 1,379th most popular female first name.

GoKart – our mission is to inform and entertain.

Brace yourself
Among items on the agenda of the US PGA Tour’s advisory committee earlier this month were two that caught my eye and filled my heart with dread. First, is the proposal that players and caddies be miked up and their discussions with each other broadcast to the TV audience, (on a time delay so that expletives can be deleted). Second, that players be interviewed between holes, as already happens at events on some of the lesser Tours.

Even if these suggestions are vetoed now, I suspect they will be re-submitted and at some point approved. And we all know that what happens in the US (especially the bad stuff) soon makes its way across the Atlantic.

We’ll run the competition for a month, and the winner will have their limerick illustrated by Geoff Waterhouse and sent to them in a posh frame, completely unique and ready to display with pride.

So to start the ball rolling, a quick one from Mr. W himself -

Simply enter your creation, along with your name in the comment box below.

With thanks to Paul Gorton for this inspired idea. We can’t see any problem with it (as long as they not used on the European player’s backswings of course).

Just predict who’s going to come away the winner of this year’s US Open, along with their finishing score. If more than one person gets it right we get our competition hat out and draw a winner. There’s a list of all the players here, and a list of the last ten winners with their winning scores to give you a bit of a jump start.

To enter, put your name and email below, and type your prediction in the comment box – don’t forget; player and score. Only one entry per person please and no more entries after the first player tees off Thursday 17th June (about 15.00 our time) and we’ll announce the winner Monday 21st June. Good luck!

This year’s field:
Robert Allenby
Stephen Ames
Byeong-Hun An
Ricky Barnes
Matt Bettencourt
Angel Cabrera
Michael Campbell
Paul Casey
K.J. Choi
Stewart Cink
Tim Clark
Ben Crane
Luke Donald
Jason Dufner
David Duval
Simon Dyson
Ernie Els
Ross Fisher
Fred Funk
Jim Furyk
Sergio Garcia
Brian Gay
Lucas Glover
Retief Goosen
Soren Hansen
Peter Hanson
Padraig Harrington
Yuta Ikeda
Trevor Immelman
Ryo Ishikawa
Thongchai Jaidee
Miguel Angel Jimenez
Dustin Johnson
Zach Johnson
Robert Karlsson
Martin Kaymer
Jerry Kelly
Anthony Kim
Soren Kjeldsen
Matt Kuchar
Marc Leishman
Justin Leonard
Hunter Mahan
Stephen Marino
Ben Martin
Graeme McDowell
Ross McGowan
Rory McIllroy
Phil Mickelson
Edoardo Molinari
Francesco Molinari
Ryan Moore
Kevin Na
Geoff Ogilvy
Sean O’Hair
Louis Oosthuizen
Kenny Perry
Ian Poulter
Alvaro Quiros
John Rollins
Rory Sabbatini
Charl Schwartzel
Adam Scott
John Senden
Michael Sim
Vijay Singh
Heath Slocum
Henrick Stenson
Steve Stricker
David Toms
Scott Verplank
Camilo Villegas
Nick Watney
Tom Watson
Mike Weir
Lee Westwood
Oliver Wilson
Tiger Woods
Y.E. Yang

Previous winners:
2009 Lucas Glover (Bethpage)  -4
2008 Tiger (Torrey Pines) -1
2007 Angel Cabrera (Oakmont) +5
2006 Geoff Ogilvy (Winged Foot) +5
2005 Michael Campbell (Pinehurst) level
2004 Retief Goosen (Shinnecock Hills) -4
2003 Jim Furyk (Olympia Fields) -8
2002 Tiger (Bethpage) -3
2001 Retief Goosen (Southern Hills) -4
2000 Tiger (Pebble Beach) -12

To enter, just put in your name and email address below, and type your winner and their winning score in the comment box. Only one entry per person please

“A great deal of unnecessarily bad golf is played in this world.”

“If your opponent is playing several shots in vain attempts to extricate himself from a bunker, do not stand near him and audibly count his strokes. It would be justifiable homicide if he wound up his pitiable exhibition by applying his niblick to your head.”

“Never concede the putt that beats you.”

“Moderation is essential in all things, madam, but never in my life have I failed to beat a teetotaler.”

“I hold firm the opinion that from this date the essential attitude towards accuracy was completely lost sight of. This was the start of the craze for length and still more length.” (on the advent of the rubber ball)

“Golfers find it a very trying matter to turn at the waist, more particularly if they have a lot of waist to turn”

“Do not be tempted to invest in a sample of each golfing invention as soon as it makes its appearance. If you do, you will only complicate and spoil your game – and encumber your locker with useless rubbish.

“More matches are lost through carelessness at the beginning than any other cause.”

“Never saw one who was worth a damn” (describing left-handed golfers)

“I’m the best and I’ll thank you to remember that.”

Putting it in perspective
You have possibly never heard of Erica Blasberg but her memorial service is being held this coming Wednesday, May 19, and will no doubt be attended by a number of LPGA golfers, for Erica was a member of that Tour since 2004. This was her sixth season as a pro golfer but she only managed one victory, and that was on the Duramed Futures Tour. Because of her outstanding amateur record, great things were expected of a young woman (she died aged 25) who was both admired for her ability to play golf, and liked for her courtesy, charm and thoughtfulness, although some have suggested she could be introspective and difficult to truly get to know.

The cause of her death is still uncertain but her tragedy is made all the more heart-breaking because there is at least a likelihood that she took her own life, possibly because the promise suggested by her outstanding amateur record was never realised in the pro game. I once chatted to a golfer who had taken the decision to leave one of our satellite Tours and felt emboldened enough to ask him, in effect: ‘What’s it like to be supremely gifted but to realise you will never quite make it?’

‘It’s absolutely bloody awful,’ he replied. ‘I know I can play this game but if I miss, rather than make, a couple of 6-10 footers a round, that’s the difference between success and failure.’

If that was the case for Erica, we can only hope that she has now found some peace.

The honourable thing
Staying with the distaff side of the game, Yuko Mitsuka is a Japanese pro of whom you may also have not heard but her behaviour, in part at least, should be an object lesson to us all. Two weeks ago, while competing in the World Ladies Championship, she was penalised for slow play and was so angry that she stormed off the course, only to be slapped with a fine of £14,400 – the biggest penalty ever imposed by the Japanese LPGA Tour. Ms Mitsuka was so ashamed of herself that in an act of contrition she has voluntarily withdrawn from her next 11 events, eight domestic and three overseas.

Some commentators have suggested that she decided to jump before she was pushed – that she in effect anticipated severe retribution from her Tour and chose to pre-empt any punishment it might mete out. I would rather believe that she originally acted in haste, had time to repent at leisure at felt she had no moral choice but to do the honourable thing.

A good old ‘un
And for a final word on wimmin, can we raise a toast to Laura Davies, one of my favourite golfers in the world, who has just notched up her 40^th Ladies European Tour title with victory in the Ladies German Open, at the age of 46. It’s Laura’s 78^th win around the world and she won in great style, shooting 68 in wet and windy conditions. Laura has always been so much more rounded than most of her peers, taking unashamed delight in gambling, fast cars and the occasional wee dram. In consequence, her mood and behaviour isn’t inextricably yoked to her fortunes on the course and she has always been able to treat those twin imposters of triumph and disaster just the same.

We all of us have particular golfers whose fortunes, for whatever idiosyncratic or quirky reason, we follow a little more closely than others, and Laura is definitely one of mine so seeing her triumph once again is always cause for celebration.

15 years too late
Another winner at the weekend, this time on the US Champions Tour (what we are now contractually obliged to call the Seniors Tour) is Dan Forsman, who I remember for the most personal of reasons. Back in the early 90s he was playing so well on the final day of the Masters that he briefly took the lead. Watching at home on TV, with a magazine to edit, I already had my headline for our Masters coverage – Steely Dan.

Of course, the big girl’s blouse dumped his tee shot into Rae’s Creek at the 12^th and I was obliged to come up with another headline. I can’t remember what it was, but I know it wasn’t half as good (and I’m still waiting for a chance to use Steely Dan).

But if you think your life is tough
One of Tiger Woods’ many paramours, the porn actress Joslyn James, is planning to cash in on her brief moment of celebrity by making a movie about her relationship with Tiger, called ‘The Eleventh Hole’. James will both produce and star in the film, which promises ‘never-before-told’ intimate details of the relationship between the actress and golfer.

Oh Tiger, will it never end?

Quote of the Week
The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody would put a flagstick on top.
Pete Dye