With today's announcement that Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts are to get the two wildcard slots for the European Ryder Cup team, the complete line-up is now known for the side that will take on their American counterparts.
The action is little over a month away from starting on the 28th September in Medinah,Chicago.
Here I'll take a look at those 12 men captain Jose Maria Olazabal will be hoping can keep the Ryder Cup on European soil for another two years.
Rory McIlroy: The only European to currently hold a Major title after winning the PGA championship by an incredible eight shots a fortnight ago.
McIlroy suffered a mid-season wobble when he failed to challenge at either the US Open or The Open, but showed his quality at the PGA.
In my opinion, the Northern Irishman is far and away the best golfer in the world when at the top of his game.
Having performed well at the 2010 Ryder Cup, he will be one of Team Europe's key men.
Graeme McDowell: Expect McDowell or G-Mac as he is affectionately known to be paired up with McIlroy, his fellow countryman over the first two days of competition.
McDowell has been tremendous this year in the Majors, finishing no worse than 12th place across all four, whilst coming so close to winning a second US Open at the Olympic Club in June.
He was of course the man who holed the winning putt at Celtic Manor in 2010. I wonder what price there is on him doing so again?
Ian Poulter: The Englishman will be one of Europe's talismen in Chicago in what will be his fourth Ryder Cup appearance.
His passion for the Ryder Cup holds no bounds and having contributed three points out of a possible four last time out and four out of five in 2008, his record is extremely enviable.
With top ten finishes at both the PGA and The Open, Poulter is bang in form and it would have been ridiculous if he was left out of the side.
Lee Westwood: Current World Number Four Westwood will be the most experienced member of Team Europe in a month's time, with this years event marking his eight straight appearance in the team.
There can be no doubting Westwood's talents despite the fact he's still to win a Major.
He's one of the world's best from tee to green but it's often the putter that lets him down.
He is also badly out of form having missed the cut at the PGA championship but I expect him to revel in his position as Europe's leader on the course.
Paul Lawrie: The oldest member of the European team as well as being the only Scot to make it to Chicago.
Yesterday he won the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles which was a welcome return to form in a season which has seen the 1999 Open champion enjoy a superb comeback.
It might be 13 years since Lawrie last played in the Ryder Cup, but he has been around for too long to late that faze him too much.
He's a real steady influence to have in the dressing room over the weekend.
Luke Donald: The world number two has never lost a Ryder Cup having been victorious in 2004,2006 and 2010.
Donald's remarkable putting will be such an asset to the Europeans and could well dig out a few more points than expected over the three days.
Whilst another Major has passed Donald by this season, he has been in fine form all year and at The Barclays last night finished in a tie for 10th.
He also finished in the top five at The Open as well as winning the Transitions championship in March and finishing sixth at the Players Championship.
A partnership with fellow Englishman Westwood could and should prove very fruitful.
Justin Rose: The Englishman is the most under-rated golfer in the world. For someone ranked eighth in the world and somebody who has performed well most weeks this season, he doesn't get enough praise.
A superb win at the World Golf Championship Cadillac event in March has been followed up with top 10s at the Masters and the PGA championship.
He also has top 10s at the Bridgestone Invitational, the BMW Championship and French Open to speak of, leaving him second in the European Tour's Race To Dubai.
Rose formed a superb partnership with Poulter two years ago and is widely expected to do so again.
Sergio Garcia: What a delight it is to see the Spaniard make the team. Whilst his presence was a brilliant inspiration to Europe in 2010, it should have been as a player, not as a vice-captain.
The way he won in America last week was superb to watch and he followed it up last night with a tied third finish at the Barclays.
He will be absolutely fired up to play by his countryman Olazabal and I fancy him to be Team Europe's top point scorer over the weekend.
His likeability is so wide-ranging that he could form a successful partnership with any other team member.
Francesco Molinari: The Italian is one of the best ball-strikers in the game, something which will come in handy on the lengthy Medinah course.
He might not be able to call on his brother Eduardo for support this time, but the Italian will be perfectly fine if his 2012 form is anything to go by.
He is coming into form nicely with a sixth place finish at Gleneagles this week, which followed up second place finishes at the French and Scottish Opens in July.
He might be used more sparingly by Olazabal compared to others but there can be no doubting his passion will be to the fore when he is called upon.
Peter Hanson: If Rose is the most under-rated golfer in the world then Hanson isn't far behind him.
The Swede has been magnificent this season and after helping the Europeans to victory last time out, he will be chomping at the bit to do so again.
He led the Masters going into the final round in April, before finishing a creditable third, which followed up previous top fives at the Cadillac championship and the Qatar Masters.
Most recently he finished seventh at the PGA Championship which once again showed Hanson is more than capable of dealing with American courses.
Martin Kaymer: Europe's weakest player and he gets that 'award' by quite some distance.
It is utterly remarkable to think that the German can now be viewed as a poor player having held the World Number One ranking for eight weeks during 2011.
In 2010, he was one of Europe's key players going into the Ryder Cup having just won his first major title at the PGA Championship.
Now there is talk of him only being played in the singles given how bad his form is.
He had a reasonable start to 2012 with top 15 finishes in Qatar and Dubai but since then he has only mustered one top ten finish which was way back in April at Malaysia.
Kaymer has been nowhere near to challenging at any of the Majors and most recently shot two dismal rounds of 79 in missing the cut at the PGA Championship.
A real worry for Jose Maria Olazabal ahead of the 28th September.
Nicolas Colsaerts: The only rookie on the European Ryder Cup team also makes history by becoming the first Belgian golfer to represent Europe in the event.
Getting the nod ahead of Padraig Harrington, Colsaerts selection will inevitably come under scrutiny.
So why has he been chosen? Well his ball striking is absolutely fantastic and whenever I've seen him recently he looks absolutely fearless.
He also just happened to win the Volvo Matchplay Championship in May, which is quite a handy thing to be good at in the Ryder Cup.
With a top ten finish at the Open under his belt as well as finishing tied 7th last week at the Wyndham Championship, the Belgian is more than worthy of his pick.
The twelve men that have made it onto Team Europe represent a very strong line-up indeed.
But with America boasting a host of top stars themselves who are keen to get the trophy back, all of the dozen players will need to be at their very best over the Atlantic.
I can hardly wait.
Monday, 27 August 2012
Monday, 13 August 2012
A Triumph Beyond Belief: My Favourite London 2012 Moments
With the London Olympics coming to a spectacular end last night, this blog is going to take a look back at my favourite moments of London 2012.
On the final day of competition, Samantha Murray completed the Team GB medal tally with a silver in the modern pentathlon.
That second place took Team GB's overall number of medals won to an astonishing 65- a mammoth eighteen ahead of the medal target ahead of the games.
Of course, this Olympics hasn't all been about Team GB. There have been endless World Records broken and I have watched numerous sports I wouldn't even have given an afterthought to outwith the Olympics.
Those two statements above are what the Olympics are all about. Athletes striving for greatness by pushing themselves to the absolute limit whilst thrilling us couch-potato's at the same time.
With that in mind, I present to you my top five moments of London 2012, in reverse order.
5: David Rudisha Breaks 800m World Record- 09/08/12
Although it would be fair to say that Usain Bolt's exploits on Thursday night in the same stadium overshadowed Rudisha's remarkable run, the Kenyan's world record breaking performance has every right to be in this top five.
By running a time of 1:40:91, he blew away the field to such an extent that everyone else in the field either ran a new personal best or seasonal best.
Britain's Andrew Osagie may have finished last in a time of 1:43:77 but he shouldn't be disheartened with his efforts.
His time would have won the 800m gold in the last three Olympic games- but noone had sent that memo to Rudisha.
From the word go, he treated the race like a sprint which was absolutely incredible to watch.
The 24 year-old never let up at one point in the race and to finally see someone go under 1:41 for 800m was breathtaking to watch.
The great thing is that Rudisha promises to get even better.
4: Jessica Ennis Wins The Heptathlon- 04/08/12
It says something about how good London 2012 was when Ennis's magnificent win in the Heptathlon only comes fourth in my list.
That doesn't take any of the shine off her achievement though and especially the manner in which she got the gold.
Ennis was the Team GB poster girl before the games began. The pressure on her to deliver was absolutely enormous.
But she dealt with it beautifully. From her incredible start in the 100m hurdles when she set a new heptathlon record to the finale when she won the 800m on a 'Super Saturday' for Team GB, Ennis was a joy to watch.
Ennis strove to do her best in each event and her performances in the long jump and javelin, in which she has notoriously struggled in the past were excellent.
Ennis's performance will be remembered for a long time.
3: Usain Bolt cements his legendary status- 05/08/12-11/08-12
When Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt burst on the scene at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, I was blown away.
His world record performances in the 100 and 200m races to winning gold in both were mesmerising to watch. A new charismatic superstar had been born.
However, like many others I was concerned about Bolt before the games. Yohan Blake, his training partner had been beating him in trials and he didn't seem to be fully fit.
I shouldn't have worried. From he moment he jogged to 9.87 in the 100m semi-final, there was an air of inevitability about it.
That didn't make it any less thrilling to watch though. The 100m final was billed as the fastest ever. How appropriate then that Bolt should run a time of 9.63- breaking his own Olympic record in the process.
The 200m was billed as "Bolt V Blake Round 2". And once again Usain shut up his critics. He even had time to slowdown and still record a time of 19.32 to complete a historic back-to back wins in the 100 and 200m.
But he wasn't finished there. On Saturday as part of the Jamaican 4x100m team, he ensured a new world record of 36.84 was set as he ran the last leg in an astonishing 8.8 seconds.
This Olympics ensured that Usain Bolt is a legend and it really is a privilege to watch him race.
2. Sir Chris Hoy Becomes Britain's Greatest Ever Olympian- 07/08/12
Just missing out on the top spot, is the incredible achievements by Sir Chris Hoy in the velodrome.
It's almost become second nature that the Scot will win gold after gold at the Olympic games.
And in front of his home crowd he didn't disappoint.
On 7 August, he won the men's Keirin to overtake Sir Steve Redgrave as Britain's most successful Olympian ever, a record that many thought would never be beaten.
Hoy's speed, strength and determination are marvellous to watch. He never gives up in any race, which is a quality that I love to see in any athlete in any sport.
I found myself once again yelling at the television screaming him over the line. He has that passion to bring out similar levels of passion in viewers such as myself.
Hoy's achievements over the last four Olympic games are remarkable.
Here's hoping he can crown his career in style at Glasgow 2014.
1. Mo Farah does the long-distance double- 04/08/12+11/08/12
Everyone do the Mo-Bot. My favourite moment of London 2012 simply has to be Mo Farah's incredible double gold in the 10,000m and 5,000m on successive Saturday nights in the Olympic stadium.
Farah's tactics in both races were absolutely spot on.
Often in the Olympics I find these long-distance races extremely boring until the closing stages but Farah changed all that.
His first gold in the 10,000m was show of brilliant endurance and remarkable intelligence.
By going to Africa to study his rivals training regimes, he was able to time his attacks to perfection and his reaction when crossing the line just endeared me to him even more with his fantastic Mo-bot celebration.
A week later he was at it again. And the 5,000m gold that he won was even more enthralling.
Personally I only watched the race on Sunday morning having been out on Saturday night.
Despite knowing Farah won I found myself jumping off my couch screaming him onto victory. It was that good to watch.
The atmosphere sounded electric and I felt so proud as I'm sure everyone inside that stadium did too when Farah crossed the line for an amazing double win.
His charisma, his physical feat of endurance and all round likeability make Mo Farah my moment of London 2012.
Overall I rate London as the best Olympic games of my lifetime. With Team GB surpassing all expectations, there was so many home successes to enjoy. Coupled with global stars such as Usain Bolt and David Rudisha, London 2012 saw athletes bring their A game to the games.
Rio 2016 sure has a lot to live up to. I can't wait.
On the final day of competition, Samantha Murray completed the Team GB medal tally with a silver in the modern pentathlon.
That second place took Team GB's overall number of medals won to an astonishing 65- a mammoth eighteen ahead of the medal target ahead of the games.
Of course, this Olympics hasn't all been about Team GB. There have been endless World Records broken and I have watched numerous sports I wouldn't even have given an afterthought to outwith the Olympics.
Those two statements above are what the Olympics are all about. Athletes striving for greatness by pushing themselves to the absolute limit whilst thrilling us couch-potato's at the same time.
With that in mind, I present to you my top five moments of London 2012, in reverse order.
5: David Rudisha Breaks 800m World Record- 09/08/12
Although it would be fair to say that Usain Bolt's exploits on Thursday night in the same stadium overshadowed Rudisha's remarkable run, the Kenyan's world record breaking performance has every right to be in this top five.
By running a time of 1:40:91, he blew away the field to such an extent that everyone else in the field either ran a new personal best or seasonal best.
Britain's Andrew Osagie may have finished last in a time of 1:43:77 but he shouldn't be disheartened with his efforts.
His time would have won the 800m gold in the last three Olympic games- but noone had sent that memo to Rudisha.
From the word go, he treated the race like a sprint which was absolutely incredible to watch.
The 24 year-old never let up at one point in the race and to finally see someone go under 1:41 for 800m was breathtaking to watch.
The great thing is that Rudisha promises to get even better.
4: Jessica Ennis Wins The Heptathlon- 04/08/12
It says something about how good London 2012 was when Ennis's magnificent win in the Heptathlon only comes fourth in my list.
That doesn't take any of the shine off her achievement though and especially the manner in which she got the gold.
Ennis was the Team GB poster girl before the games began. The pressure on her to deliver was absolutely enormous.
But she dealt with it beautifully. From her incredible start in the 100m hurdles when she set a new heptathlon record to the finale when she won the 800m on a 'Super Saturday' for Team GB, Ennis was a joy to watch.
Ennis strove to do her best in each event and her performances in the long jump and javelin, in which she has notoriously struggled in the past were excellent.
Ennis's performance will be remembered for a long time.
3: Usain Bolt cements his legendary status- 05/08/12-11/08-12
When Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt burst on the scene at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, I was blown away.
His world record performances in the 100 and 200m races to winning gold in both were mesmerising to watch. A new charismatic superstar had been born.
However, like many others I was concerned about Bolt before the games. Yohan Blake, his training partner had been beating him in trials and he didn't seem to be fully fit.
I shouldn't have worried. From he moment he jogged to 9.87 in the 100m semi-final, there was an air of inevitability about it.
That didn't make it any less thrilling to watch though. The 100m final was billed as the fastest ever. How appropriate then that Bolt should run a time of 9.63- breaking his own Olympic record in the process.
The 200m was billed as "Bolt V Blake Round 2". And once again Usain shut up his critics. He even had time to slowdown and still record a time of 19.32 to complete a historic back-to back wins in the 100 and 200m.
But he wasn't finished there. On Saturday as part of the Jamaican 4x100m team, he ensured a new world record of 36.84 was set as he ran the last leg in an astonishing 8.8 seconds.
This Olympics ensured that Usain Bolt is a legend and it really is a privilege to watch him race.
2. Sir Chris Hoy Becomes Britain's Greatest Ever Olympian- 07/08/12
Just missing out on the top spot, is the incredible achievements by Sir Chris Hoy in the velodrome.
It's almost become second nature that the Scot will win gold after gold at the Olympic games.
And in front of his home crowd he didn't disappoint.
On 7 August, he won the men's Keirin to overtake Sir Steve Redgrave as Britain's most successful Olympian ever, a record that many thought would never be beaten.
Hoy's speed, strength and determination are marvellous to watch. He never gives up in any race, which is a quality that I love to see in any athlete in any sport.
I found myself once again yelling at the television screaming him over the line. He has that passion to bring out similar levels of passion in viewers such as myself.
Hoy's achievements over the last four Olympic games are remarkable.
Here's hoping he can crown his career in style at Glasgow 2014.
1. Mo Farah does the long-distance double- 04/08/12+11/08/12
Everyone do the Mo-Bot. My favourite moment of London 2012 simply has to be Mo Farah's incredible double gold in the 10,000m and 5,000m on successive Saturday nights in the Olympic stadium.
Farah's tactics in both races were absolutely spot on.
Often in the Olympics I find these long-distance races extremely boring until the closing stages but Farah changed all that.
His first gold in the 10,000m was show of brilliant endurance and remarkable intelligence.
By going to Africa to study his rivals training regimes, he was able to time his attacks to perfection and his reaction when crossing the line just endeared me to him even more with his fantastic Mo-bot celebration.
A week later he was at it again. And the 5,000m gold that he won was even more enthralling.
Personally I only watched the race on Sunday morning having been out on Saturday night.
Despite knowing Farah won I found myself jumping off my couch screaming him onto victory. It was that good to watch.
The atmosphere sounded electric and I felt so proud as I'm sure everyone inside that stadium did too when Farah crossed the line for an amazing double win.
His charisma, his physical feat of endurance and all round likeability make Mo Farah my moment of London 2012.
Overall I rate London as the best Olympic games of my lifetime. With Team GB surpassing all expectations, there was so many home successes to enjoy. Coupled with global stars such as Usain Bolt and David Rudisha, London 2012 saw athletes bring their A game to the games.
Rio 2016 sure has a lot to live up to. I can't wait.
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Els Rolls Back The Years: How Ernie Won a Second Open
What a remarkable finish to The Open Championship.
For a long time it looked as though Australian Adam Scott was cruising to the 2012 edition of golf's longest running major and with it his maiden major championship.
However an almighty collapse in the final few holes let popular South African Ernie Els in to steal the claret jug from Scott.
Whilst the headlines will inevitably be about Scott's choke which was utterly remarkable, nothing should be taken away from Els's second Open victory and his fourth major victory overall.
Els began the day six shots behind Scott and went out in a disappointing two over par 34.
An immediate birdie on the 10th hole gave Els the impetus to kick on and when he holed a superb putt on the 18th to finish on -7, suddenly the pressure was on Scott.
And he choked big time. The Australian had led by four shots with four holes to play but bogeyed them all, including a missed 10 footer at the last to hand victory to Els.
Comparisons were instantly made with the epic collapses of Jean Van De Velde in The Open at Carnoustie in 1999 or Scott's childhood hero Greg Norman's meltdown at The Masters in 1996.
However, only Scott will know where and how it all went wrong. He undoubtedly has the talent to win Majors but it will take him a long time to get over this loss.
Let's focus on Ernie Els now though. You would be hard pushed to find a more popular man amongst the golfing public.
His speech at the end showed what a classy guy the 42 year old multiple major winner is.
Els's first thoughts were for his buddy Adam Scott. How many other golfers would have done that?
He also paid tribute to Nelson Mandela and the work he has done for South Africa over the last two decades. The man known as 'The Big Easy' has certainly done his fare share as well.
As for his golf on the course, his back nine was simply flawless. With the wind picking up and the pressure mounting, Els held his nerve to shoot an incredible 32 coming home.
It had been ten years since Els had won The Open in a play-off at Muirfield, but on the closing stretch this Sunday he had the look of a man who believed it was his time again.
He did require some help from Scott but he put in a lot of the groundwork himself.
Els showed their is life in the old dog yet and I wouldn't bet against him adding to his four Major titles.
Once again Open Sunday provided a bundle of dramatic viewing as it so often does.
Bring on Muirfield in 2013.
For a long time it looked as though Australian Adam Scott was cruising to the 2012 edition of golf's longest running major and with it his maiden major championship.
However an almighty collapse in the final few holes let popular South African Ernie Els in to steal the claret jug from Scott.
Whilst the headlines will inevitably be about Scott's choke which was utterly remarkable, nothing should be taken away from Els's second Open victory and his fourth major victory overall.
Els began the day six shots behind Scott and went out in a disappointing two over par 34.
An immediate birdie on the 10th hole gave Els the impetus to kick on and when he holed a superb putt on the 18th to finish on -7, suddenly the pressure was on Scott.
And he choked big time. The Australian had led by four shots with four holes to play but bogeyed them all, including a missed 10 footer at the last to hand victory to Els.
Comparisons were instantly made with the epic collapses of Jean Van De Velde in The Open at Carnoustie in 1999 or Scott's childhood hero Greg Norman's meltdown at The Masters in 1996.
However, only Scott will know where and how it all went wrong. He undoubtedly has the talent to win Majors but it will take him a long time to get over this loss.
Let's focus on Ernie Els now though. You would be hard pushed to find a more popular man amongst the golfing public.
His speech at the end showed what a classy guy the 42 year old multiple major winner is.
Els's first thoughts were for his buddy Adam Scott. How many other golfers would have done that?
He also paid tribute to Nelson Mandela and the work he has done for South Africa over the last two decades. The man known as 'The Big Easy' has certainly done his fare share as well.
As for his golf on the course, his back nine was simply flawless. With the wind picking up and the pressure mounting, Els held his nerve to shoot an incredible 32 coming home.
It had been ten years since Els had won The Open in a play-off at Muirfield, but on the closing stretch this Sunday he had the look of a man who believed it was his time again.
He did require some help from Scott but he put in a lot of the groundwork himself.
Els showed their is life in the old dog yet and I wouldn't bet against him adding to his four Major titles.
Once again Open Sunday provided a bundle of dramatic viewing as it so often does.
Bring on Muirfield in 2013.
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
The Perfect Warm-Up For The Open?: A Preview of the Scottish Open
Last year Castle Stuart links golf course near Inverness staged the Scottish Open for the first time after it had been staged at Loch Lomond since 1996.
It was heralded as a bright new start for the Scottish Open, since Castle Stuart is a true links course designed to help the world's greatest golfers fine tune their game before heading to play The Open the following week.
However, the event was marred by dreadful weather with landslides couple with heavy ruin ruining the course and reducing the event to 54 holes.
The course was also criticised by many for being too easy with current World Number One Luke Donald shooting a 19 under par total for the three rounds with many other low scores being shot in the Moray Firth.
I have even had many local club golfers tell me that due to the wide fairways and generous pin positions they didn't find it an overly taxing golf course to play.
Despite all that many of the worlds top golfers including Donald, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els are all heading to Scotland to take part.
They obviously feel it is the best way to make sure their golfing game is inch perfect before The Open starts in two weeks at Royal Lytham and St Annes.
It is clearly a better test for them than the parkways of Loch Lomond. Whilst Loch Lomond was a fantastic venue to visit for spectators, there was always a feeling it simply wasn't the right challenge for the world's best before they tried to win the Claret Jug.
Conditions this week surely can't be worse than last year at Castle Stuart so first and foremost golf fans will be able to get a better picture of how good a course it is.
And of course it is a fine golf course. They didn't pick Castle Stuart out of thin air and Aberdeen Asset Management wouldn't be sponsoring some middle of the road tournament.
With the Irish Open being played in Portrush a fortnight ago, most of the best golfers in the game will have had some fantastic links golf experience so close to The Open.
Castle Stuart might not have lit the golfing world up last year, but the Scottish Open is still an absolute jewel in the crown of the European Tour and the four days near Inverness should provide thrilling golfing action.
As for those to watch, here's my select five:
Luke Donald: The defending champion and World number one. He might have dipped slightly recently but his short game is tremendous and anyone putts as well as he can is always going to contend in most tournaments.
Paul Lawrie: With a Scotsman not winning the event since 1999, the pressure is always on the home golfers, but Lawrie surely has to be in with a chance. He has been in great form this season, enjoying a great comeback as he strolls through his 40s. Always a good links player, Lawrie could finally end the wait for a Scottish winner.
Francesco Molinari: The Italian is my tip to win this week despite having not played the course before. He finished in the top ten at Portrush before ending up in second place at the French Open last week. His game should be suited to the course and with his great form going into it, he is a major contender at Castle Stuart.
Padraig Harrington: A twice Open winner in fine form, the Irishman ticks all the boxes to have a great week at Castle Stuart. Harrington simply thrives in links golf, which can't be said of many golfers these days. But perhaps save your money for him at Royal Lytham the following week.
Stephen Gallacher: Another Scotsman who has had a fine season with two runner up finishes, Gallacher is also a fan of links golf. He always enjoys playing on home soil and with his ball striking exemplary at his best he could creep under the radar.
It might be one of these golfers, but knowing the nature of golf at the moment(and my tips!) it probably won't be.
It was heralded as a bright new start for the Scottish Open, since Castle Stuart is a true links course designed to help the world's greatest golfers fine tune their game before heading to play The Open the following week.
However, the event was marred by dreadful weather with landslides couple with heavy ruin ruining the course and reducing the event to 54 holes.
The course was also criticised by many for being too easy with current World Number One Luke Donald shooting a 19 under par total for the three rounds with many other low scores being shot in the Moray Firth.
I have even had many local club golfers tell me that due to the wide fairways and generous pin positions they didn't find it an overly taxing golf course to play.
Despite all that many of the worlds top golfers including Donald, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els are all heading to Scotland to take part.
They obviously feel it is the best way to make sure their golfing game is inch perfect before The Open starts in two weeks at Royal Lytham and St Annes.
It is clearly a better test for them than the parkways of Loch Lomond. Whilst Loch Lomond was a fantastic venue to visit for spectators, there was always a feeling it simply wasn't the right challenge for the world's best before they tried to win the Claret Jug.
Conditions this week surely can't be worse than last year at Castle Stuart so first and foremost golf fans will be able to get a better picture of how good a course it is.
And of course it is a fine golf course. They didn't pick Castle Stuart out of thin air and Aberdeen Asset Management wouldn't be sponsoring some middle of the road tournament.
With the Irish Open being played in Portrush a fortnight ago, most of the best golfers in the game will have had some fantastic links golf experience so close to The Open.
Castle Stuart might not have lit the golfing world up last year, but the Scottish Open is still an absolute jewel in the crown of the European Tour and the four days near Inverness should provide thrilling golfing action.
As for those to watch, here's my select five:
Luke Donald: The defending champion and World number one. He might have dipped slightly recently but his short game is tremendous and anyone putts as well as he can is always going to contend in most tournaments.
Paul Lawrie: With a Scotsman not winning the event since 1999, the pressure is always on the home golfers, but Lawrie surely has to be in with a chance. He has been in great form this season, enjoying a great comeback as he strolls through his 40s. Always a good links player, Lawrie could finally end the wait for a Scottish winner.
Francesco Molinari: The Italian is my tip to win this week despite having not played the course before. He finished in the top ten at Portrush before ending up in second place at the French Open last week. His game should be suited to the course and with his great form going into it, he is a major contender at Castle Stuart.
Padraig Harrington: A twice Open winner in fine form, the Irishman ticks all the boxes to have a great week at Castle Stuart. Harrington simply thrives in links golf, which can't be said of many golfers these days. But perhaps save your money for him at Royal Lytham the following week.
Stephen Gallacher: Another Scotsman who has had a fine season with two runner up finishes, Gallacher is also a fan of links golf. He always enjoys playing on home soil and with his ball striking exemplary at his best he could creep under the radar.
It might be one of these golfers, but knowing the nature of golf at the moment(and my tips!) it probably won't be.
Sunday, 8 July 2012
I Share Your Pain Andy Murray
The wait goes on then.
Andy Murray's defeat to Roger Federer in today's Wimbledon final means that Fred Perry is still the last British man to win a Grand slam all the way back in 1936.
As someone who has followed Murray since he burst on the tennis world as an eighteen year old in 2005, this defeat was the hardest loss to take.
It was heartbreaking to see the Scot breakdown on court after his defeat to the Swiss maestro.
Like many others I couldn't help but share in Murray's tears whilst watching at home.
Murray knew this was a real chance to finally become a Grand Slam champion. And he knows he won't get many better chances.
However, it should be made clear that Murray played absolutely superb and was beaten by the greatest man to ever pick up a tennis racket.
Murray should feel absolutely no shame in that.
In yesterdays blog (http://www.ewansworldofsport.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/legend-v-pretender.html) I tipped Murray to break his Grand Slam duck and beat the six times Wimbledon champion in five sets.
It wasn't to be though as Federer showed his class and experience were well and truly back.
For a while it all looked so good for Murray. He came out the blocks firing and instantly broke his opponent's serve.
Whilst Federer came back strongly, Murray dug deep and broke Federer superbly in the ninth game of the set before going on to take the opening set.
I was ecstatic at this point. In three Grand Slam finals to date Murray had never won a set.
Now he had got over that hurdle at least and as the second set began Murray was well on top.
He had his chances to really take control but Federer showed his quality to save numerous break points.
However when he broke Murray in the 12th game of the set to ultimately take it, it came out of nowhere.
Like the 15,000 fans inside Centre Court, I was completely stunned. A couple of points and suddenly it was a level game.
If there is one person you don't want to hand an opportunity to in a Grand Slam final, then it's Roger Federer.
As the third set began, Murray looked out of sorts and was thankful for the half-hour rain break.
The Swiss man though is the greatest ever indoor player and after the delay looked even more menacing as his ball-striking was out of this world.
Murray just had no answers despite fighting till the very end.
There were a couple of opportunities early in the fourth set but Murray just couldn't make them.
And that's the difference between winning a Grand Slam and not winning one unfortunately.
But let's not hear any allegations of Murray being a 'bottler' today. He was beaten by the better player on the day.
A player that has now won a record equalling seven Wimbledon titles and an incredible 17 Grand Slams in total.
Murray may feel right now that he will never have a greater chance of winning a slam due to Rafa Nadal's early exit and the fact he was facing the supposedly ageing Federer in the final rather than Novak Djokovic.
Federer though proved in his 24th slam final that class truly is permanent and with his trophy, he also returns to the world number one spot.
A remarkable achievement for someone who many had written off including myself.
In 2012, Murray has shown huge signs of improvement under the watchful eye of new coach Ivan Lendl.
Lendl, an eight time Grand Slam champion has instilled a new level of focus in the Scot and has certainly made him more confident in believing he can beat Djokovic, Federer and Nadal in the slams.
Yes, he might not have got over the line yet but his coach Lendl didn't in his first four slam finals.
The brilliant Croatian Goran Ivanisevic took 48 slams to finally win one. Murray has only played 27.
And I believe the Scot will certainly win a slam one day. Maybe.
Andy Murray's defeat to Roger Federer in today's Wimbledon final means that Fred Perry is still the last British man to win a Grand slam all the way back in 1936.
As someone who has followed Murray since he burst on the tennis world as an eighteen year old in 2005, this defeat was the hardest loss to take.
It was heartbreaking to see the Scot breakdown on court after his defeat to the Swiss maestro.
Like many others I couldn't help but share in Murray's tears whilst watching at home.
Murray knew this was a real chance to finally become a Grand Slam champion. And he knows he won't get many better chances.
However, it should be made clear that Murray played absolutely superb and was beaten by the greatest man to ever pick up a tennis racket.
Murray should feel absolutely no shame in that.
In yesterdays blog (http://www.ewansworldofsport.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/legend-v-pretender.html) I tipped Murray to break his Grand Slam duck and beat the six times Wimbledon champion in five sets.
It wasn't to be though as Federer showed his class and experience were well and truly back.
For a while it all looked so good for Murray. He came out the blocks firing and instantly broke his opponent's serve.
Whilst Federer came back strongly, Murray dug deep and broke Federer superbly in the ninth game of the set before going on to take the opening set.
I was ecstatic at this point. In three Grand Slam finals to date Murray had never won a set.
Now he had got over that hurdle at least and as the second set began Murray was well on top.
He had his chances to really take control but Federer showed his quality to save numerous break points.
However when he broke Murray in the 12th game of the set to ultimately take it, it came out of nowhere.
Like the 15,000 fans inside Centre Court, I was completely stunned. A couple of points and suddenly it was a level game.
If there is one person you don't want to hand an opportunity to in a Grand Slam final, then it's Roger Federer.
As the third set began, Murray looked out of sorts and was thankful for the half-hour rain break.
The Swiss man though is the greatest ever indoor player and after the delay looked even more menacing as his ball-striking was out of this world.
Murray just had no answers despite fighting till the very end.
There were a couple of opportunities early in the fourth set but Murray just couldn't make them.
And that's the difference between winning a Grand Slam and not winning one unfortunately.
But let's not hear any allegations of Murray being a 'bottler' today. He was beaten by the better player on the day.
A player that has now won a record equalling seven Wimbledon titles and an incredible 17 Grand Slams in total.
Murray may feel right now that he will never have a greater chance of winning a slam due to Rafa Nadal's early exit and the fact he was facing the supposedly ageing Federer in the final rather than Novak Djokovic.
Federer though proved in his 24th slam final that class truly is permanent and with his trophy, he also returns to the world number one spot.
A remarkable achievement for someone who many had written off including myself.
In 2012, Murray has shown huge signs of improvement under the watchful eye of new coach Ivan Lendl.
Lendl, an eight time Grand Slam champion has instilled a new level of focus in the Scot and has certainly made him more confident in believing he can beat Djokovic, Federer and Nadal in the slams.
Yes, he might not have got over the line yet but his coach Lendl didn't in his first four slam finals.
The brilliant Croatian Goran Ivanisevic took 48 slams to finally win one. Murray has only played 27.
And I believe the Scot will certainly win a slam one day. Maybe.
Saturday, 7 July 2012
The Legend V The Pretender
Tomorrow Andy Murray will become the first British male tennis player to step out on Centre Court in a Wimbledon final since 1938.
He will follow in the footsteps of Bunny Austin who was defeated in that final by American Don Budge 74 years ago.
If he wins, Murray will become the first British man to win the title since Fred Perry completed a hat-trick of wins in 1936.
But standing in his way is arguably the greatest man to ever pick up a tennis racket in the shape of Roger Federer.
The legend from Switzerland is bidding for a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title to match Pete Sampras, whilst Murray of course is desperate to land that elusive first grand slam title at the 27th time of asking.
So who's going to triumph come Sunday evening at SW19? A case can certainly be put forward for both men.
Federer simply has to be the favourite due to his unbelievable grand slam record having collected a record 16 majors, whilst Murray has lost the three major finals he has been in including two defeats to Federer at the 2008 US Open and the 2010 Australian Open.
At times in this tournament Federer has looked vulnerable, particularly in the third round when he was two sets down against Julian Benneteau but also in the following round when Belgian Xavier Malisse took a set off him and was leading 2-0 in the fourth set, before the Swiss stepped it up a gear.
However, yesterday Federer was simply sublime against the reigning Wimbledon champion and World number one Novak Djokovic.
He had been comprehensively beaten by the Serb in the French Open semi finals a month ago when he looked out of sorts but on Centre Court yesterday the true form of Federer was out on show.
It might have taken him four sets to win the semi-final but the Swiss man always seemed in control. His serve was simply superb and the backhand passing winners were constant.
The performance was the best I had seen Federer at the latter stages of a slam for a couple of years and he looks ready for a seventh Wimbledon crown having fallen at the quarter final stage in the last two years.
Does that mean I'm ruling Murray out of tomorrow's final? Not at all.
I've seen a different side to the Scot's game since he started working with the legendary eight-time Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl at the start of this year.
He was very unfortunate to lose in the Australian Open semi finals to Djokovic in an epic semi-final lasting almost five hours weeks after Lendl was brought on board.
Lendl has certainly brought a new controlled focus to Murray's game. He doesn't show his emotions as much on the court as he used to.
His second serve, forever a weakness in Murray's game has been a lot stronger throughout this years Wimbledon whilst some of his winners on both his forehand and backhand have beggared belief at times.
But to win tomorrow Murray must remain focused and be aggressive. As someone who has watched Murray since he burst through in 2005, he has been far too cautious in his finals and has displayed an extremely fragile mental attitude.
The Andy Murray of 2012 is different though. He seems more in control. He knows he won't get too many better chances than this. He showed that in spades against David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter and semi finals respectively.
The pressure of course will be tremendous. There are rumours that the Queen and David Cameron might be there watching as well as the millions of fans back home with their televisions.
Murray is very unfairly tagged a bottler by many who simply don't know enough about tennis.
Let's hope that he completes a historic victory tomorrow to deny them the chance to come out the woodwork.
And I think he will do it. In five gruelling sets.
He will follow in the footsteps of Bunny Austin who was defeated in that final by American Don Budge 74 years ago.
If he wins, Murray will become the first British man to win the title since Fred Perry completed a hat-trick of wins in 1936.
But standing in his way is arguably the greatest man to ever pick up a tennis racket in the shape of Roger Federer.
The legend from Switzerland is bidding for a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title to match Pete Sampras, whilst Murray of course is desperate to land that elusive first grand slam title at the 27th time of asking.
So who's going to triumph come Sunday evening at SW19? A case can certainly be put forward for both men.
Federer simply has to be the favourite due to his unbelievable grand slam record having collected a record 16 majors, whilst Murray has lost the three major finals he has been in including two defeats to Federer at the 2008 US Open and the 2010 Australian Open.
At times in this tournament Federer has looked vulnerable, particularly in the third round when he was two sets down against Julian Benneteau but also in the following round when Belgian Xavier Malisse took a set off him and was leading 2-0 in the fourth set, before the Swiss stepped it up a gear.
However, yesterday Federer was simply sublime against the reigning Wimbledon champion and World number one Novak Djokovic.
He had been comprehensively beaten by the Serb in the French Open semi finals a month ago when he looked out of sorts but on Centre Court yesterday the true form of Federer was out on show.
It might have taken him four sets to win the semi-final but the Swiss man always seemed in control. His serve was simply superb and the backhand passing winners were constant.
The performance was the best I had seen Federer at the latter stages of a slam for a couple of years and he looks ready for a seventh Wimbledon crown having fallen at the quarter final stage in the last two years.
Does that mean I'm ruling Murray out of tomorrow's final? Not at all.
I've seen a different side to the Scot's game since he started working with the legendary eight-time Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl at the start of this year.
He was very unfortunate to lose in the Australian Open semi finals to Djokovic in an epic semi-final lasting almost five hours weeks after Lendl was brought on board.
Lendl has certainly brought a new controlled focus to Murray's game. He doesn't show his emotions as much on the court as he used to.
His second serve, forever a weakness in Murray's game has been a lot stronger throughout this years Wimbledon whilst some of his winners on both his forehand and backhand have beggared belief at times.
But to win tomorrow Murray must remain focused and be aggressive. As someone who has watched Murray since he burst through in 2005, he has been far too cautious in his finals and has displayed an extremely fragile mental attitude.
The Andy Murray of 2012 is different though. He seems more in control. He knows he won't get too many better chances than this. He showed that in spades against David Ferrer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter and semi finals respectively.
The pressure of course will be tremendous. There are rumours that the Queen and David Cameron might be there watching as well as the millions of fans back home with their televisions.
Murray is very unfairly tagged a bottler by many who simply don't know enough about tennis.
Let's hope that he completes a historic victory tomorrow to deny them the chance to come out the woodwork.
And I think he will do it. In five gruelling sets.
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