European Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie gives us his seventh blog in which he looks back at the Gulf Swing and ahead to the Match Play; plus begins a special series of his own reminiscences from his eight Ryder Cup appearances.
Swing-ing Success…..Welcome to my latest blog and I hope the start of 2010 has been a successful one for you. I must admit, in terms of The Ryder Cup, it has been fantastic.
We have just finished our traditional Gulf Swing on The European Tour and, to be honest, I don’t think it could have gone any better. We had three European winners in Martin Kaymer, Robert Karlsson and Miguel Angel Jiménez, in addition to three largely European chasing packs challenging near the top of the leaderboards on the Sundays.
I was particularly delighted for the three champions. For Martin and Robert, it was great to see them back in the winners’ circle after spells out in 2009 with injury. Martin had shown a bit of form towards the end of last season with a couple of top tens but I know Robert was a little worried, not having been near a top 30 since he came back from his eye problem. Therefore, it was not surprising he was more pleased than anything in Qatar with the fact he once again played at the level which saw him win The Harry Vardon Trophy in 2008. To shoot 65 in the final round at Doha Golf Club, which I think everyone appreciates is the most demanding of the three courses we play in the Gulf, was some feat. And what can I say about Miguel? Some players just seem energised in a Ryder Cup year and he is definitely one of them. I already have an espresso coffee maker on standby for the team room at Celtic Manor because I have a feeling I might just need it!
Well done to all……
It was not all about the winners in these three weeks though. As I said, there was strong European representation at the top of each of the final standings. The current number one in The Ryder Cup rankings – Lee Westwood – was in fine form in Dubai and Qatar, Rory McIlroy was in contention once again as was Ian Poulter – and how great was it to see Martin, Rory and Ian battle it out together in the final day three ball in Abu Dhabi? Also prominent were players such as Edoardo Molinari, Henrik Stenson, Ross Fisher, Oliver Wilson, Søren Hansen and Sergio Garcia. Finally, let’s not forget Paul Casey – another player who, thankfully, looks to have put his injury woes of 2009 behind him. Paul finished 11th in Dubai and fifth in Qatar, the latter being excellent as he’d never made the cut there in the past. Funnily enough, his new caddie – Christian Donald – told him before the week that he’d never missed a cut in his life in Qatar and didn’t intend to start now – that’s motivation I suppose! Great too to see Christian’s brother, Luke, finish second behind Steve Stricker at Riviera on the US PGA Tour. See, it is not just in Europe that I’m watching!
Bravo Alvaro……
My final reflection on the Gulf Swing centres around one player – Alvaro Quiros. He didn’t win but he was a common denominator on the leaderboards of all three tournaments. He is someone I want to see mature into a Ryder Cup player and I have to say that every time I see him play, he is doing just that. I’m delighted with his progress and his form in the Gulf is exactly the sort of consistency I’m looking for. Because of having to go ‘in the envelope’ at last season’s Vivendi Trophy after the injury to Anthony Wall, he was bitterly disappointed not to be able to play in the singles because I know he wanted to show me his potential in that realm and he wasn’t allowed to do that. However, trust me, he is someone that everybody should watch.
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