After sustaining two successive defeats for the first time in the history of the Ryder Cup, can it be that the Americans are running scared? It certainly seems so, judging by the comments of their PGA Champion, Davis Love, who lost four matches out of four at Valderrama.
In a reaction rather different from the media pasting that Colin Montgomerie has been receiving over there, Love has been predicting a bleak future for US teams. The winner of this month's Buick Challenge said: "I can see a time when it's going to be very difficult for us to have a chance to win. The more golfers there are in Europe, the harder and harder it's going to get."
Which is quite a change from the American mood prior to the matches at Oak Hill in 1995. The feeling then was that if the event were to remain competitive, it might be necessary to expand the European team to a Rest of the World line-up. Now, the opposite seems to be the case.
As Love, who lost his singles to Per-Ulrik Johansson last month, pointed out: "If I'd said 10 years ago that an Italian (Costantino Rocca) was going to play three Ryder Cups in a row and be the hero, people would have dismissed it as kidding. It's almost to the point where we could go back to the old format (the US versus Britain and Ireland) and still have a very good match."
So, what shape would a British and Irish team have taken this year? Based on the final Ryder Cup points table, the top 10 would have been: Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke, Ian Woosnam, Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Paul Broadhurst, Roger Chapman, Mark James, Sam Torrance and Peter Mitchell. Add David Gilford - he followed Mitchell in the points table - and Nick Faldo as wild cards and you have your B and I team. Strong enough to scare the Americans? Somehow, I doubt it.
"Many players have specific requests: two kingsize beds and another for my manager, is not unusual." David Hill, championship secretary of the Royal and Ancient, on the headache of providing hotel accommodation for the British Open.
Golf's slow-coaches will be giving a wide berth to a fascinating tournament being played this weekend in California. It is the brainchild of retired tri-athlete Brad Kearns, who's convinced he has found the solution to five-hour rounds.
The event is called the Extreme Golf Open and the rules couldn't be simpler. All you have to do is play 18 holes as fast as you possibly can. At the end, your overall score will comprise the number of minutes it takes to complete the round, added to the number of strokes taken.
Earlier this year, Kearns, a five handicapper, shot an 81 in 41 minutes for a score of 122 on a championship course outside San Diego. This was 10 strokes outside the world Extreme Golf record, which is held by two Californians. One of them shot a 74 in 38 minutes and the other had a 70 in 42 minutes.
With the Ryder Cup, the World Matchplay and now the Alfred Dunhill Cup, the professional golfing emphasis in recent weeks has most definitely been on matchplay. Which brings to mind the so-called match of the century, which was played a Walton Heath 45 years ago.
It was fought out between Ireland's Fred Daly and the Burhill assistant, Alan Poulton, two of the smallest men in the News of the World Matchplay tournament. And after a titanic struggle, it was eventually decided at the 12th tie hole.
There, Poulton looked set for victory when his seven-iron approach finished six feet from the pin while Daly was 12 yards away, with a blob of mud on his ball. According to Fred Pignon's report of the event: "He called Poulton over, shared a biscuit which a woman spectator had given Daly and asked him smilingly: `May I wipe the ball,' well knowing that he could not.
"`I'm afraid not, Fred,' said Poulton, `but you'll hole it in any case.' And so he did. Down went that railroad of a putt and Poulton, obviously tired, was inches off the line with his two-yarder. Daly won the hole with a birdie and also the most remarkable match of his life." He was "four under fours" for the 12 tie holes - remarkable golf in the circumstances.
Even more remarkable was that after a hurried lunch, Daly followed that 30-hole marathon with a crushing 6 and 5 victory over a promising young player by the name of Peter Alliss in the afternoon's fourth round. And he went on to capture the title for a third time, adding to his successes of 1947 and 1948.
John Paramor, chief referee of the PGA European Tour, gained celebrity status during the Volvo Masters in 1994, when a protracted rules wrangle he had with Seve Ballesteros was televised. It happened on Valderrama's 18th hole where, in seeking relief from behind a tree, the Spaniard tried in vain to convince Paramor that his ball was in a hole made by a burrowing animal.
The referee was later proved to be correct when it was established that the scrape had, in fact, been made by a dog. And since then, though not necessarily because of that incident, he had become accepted as a leading authority on refereeing.
According to Paramor, when a professional calls for a referee's decision on the course, he is really asking: "How do I get my ball from this terrible place to this nice place over here, without adding any strokes to my score?" It is vitally important that the referee be able to communicate with the player and to interpret the problem the player is experiencing.
Advocating a cool and calm approach, as he displayed during the Ballesteros incident, Paramor added: "Carefully establish all the facts about the incident and, if necessary, use the testimony of witnesses. Be prepared to show the player the rule and explain very clearly how he should proceed."
At is happens, the R and A are currently celebrating the centenary of their Rules of Golf Committee, which legislates for more than 100 golfing bodies worldwide, with the exception of the US and Mexico. Its origins go back to 1897, when the senior clubs of the time agreed that a unified code of rules should be adopted, they unanimously agreed to entrust the task to the R and A.
Ireland are among only six nations to have played in all of the 13 Alfred Dunhill Cup tournaments so far. Others ever-present are: Australia, England, Scotland, Spain and the US. Of these, the US have won three times; Ireland, England and Australia twice each and Scotland once.
Over those 13 years, the Americans, with 21, have used the most players. Next come England with 16; Australia have used 12; Spain 10; Ireland 9 and Scotland 7. The Irish representatives, with matches played are: Ronan Rafferty (30), Philip Walton (19), David Feherty (14), Darren Clarke (12), Paul McGinley (12), Des Smyth (9), Eamonn Darcy (8), Christy O'Connor Jnr (8) and Padraig Harrington (5). Smyth, a member of the winning team in 1988, has the best record with seven wins, one halved match, one loss and a stroke-average of 70.44.
This Day In Golf History . . . On October 18th, 1935, Johnny Revolta beat the great Walter Hagen in the first round of the USPGA Championship in Oklahoma City. And he went on to capture the title, beating Tommy Armour by 5 and 4 in the final. During those 31 holes, Revolta avoided three-putting and, in fact, single-putted 13 greens.
Revolta turned professional in 1929 and joined the tour in 1933. Noted for a dynamic short game, he had 18 tour wins and topped the money list in 1935 with $9,543. Two years later, he became professional at the Evanston GC in Illinois where he stayed until 1966, acquiring an enviable coaching reputation.
In Brief: If it comes even close to the quality of its brochure, then the Dublin Insurance Athletic Society (DIAS) are currently enjoying a splendid golfing trip to the US. According to Terry Crawford, this week's itinerary around the New York area included Westchester, where Ernie Els won the Buick Classic last June. DIAS arrive home tomorrow.
Teaser: In a match between A and B, A's ball is near the hole in a position to serve as a backdrop for B's ball. A lifts his ball to clean it. B requests A to replace his ball before he (B) putts. A protests but B insists that, under the rules, A must replace his ball immediately. A replaces his ball but disputes B's right to require him to do so and claims the hole. A replaces his ball and holes out for a four. B then holes out for a four. The match continued and the claim is later referred to the committee. How should the committee rule?
Answer: The hole stands as played. The rules do not require A to replace his ball, but B was not in breach of the rules by asking A to replace it (see Rule 22).
