GOLF/CADDIE'S ROLE:Two players battling out the final scene in this year's alpine showdown were stretching their mental endurance to the limits, writes COLIN BYRNE

THE EUROPEAN Masters is an event all of us on tour look forward to coming back to. The Crans-Montana course, set some 1,450 metres above Sierre in Switzerland surrounded by snow-capped mountains and pure fresh air, is certain to remind us that we don’t miss the office job.

It is always an added challenge for a golfer to compete in a tournament directly after winning the previous event. Despite being young, fit and talented, the energy and emotion expounded by Edoardo Molinari in winning in Gleneagles the week before, in tandem with the underlying Ryder Cup selection rumours, left him feeling just a little bit flat last weekend.

This, coupled with the rarified air of the mountains, where if you set off walking at pace you will find yourself gasping and somewhat surprised by how the thin air can affect your breathing so quickly, made it difficult to give a weekend surge.

Many players would probably opt for the casual approach to a week in the mountains where it is probably best not to take the practice regime too seriously. The driving range is a cavernous, sloping pit, with a spectacular view, but which really gives the professional little feedback and is best left to use for a light warm-up only and frequent, lingering gazes at the wonder of nature.

So, despite adopting a more relaxed attitude to another week of competition, the problem is that once you get on the course and, particularly, on the greens, it is difficult to take such a cavalier approach.

Seve Ballesteros was called in some 12 years ago to toughen up the original, casual and undemanding holiday course. The easiest way for the maestro of the short game to increase difficulty was to trick up the greens.

The first few years the pros came to Crans after the changes left them in a bit of a quandary about how to deal with Seve’s new greens. The scores reflected the new challenge.

Given a few years of local knowledge by repeat visits, they seem to have figured out the nuances of the small and almost unbelievably undulating greens. Miguel Angel Jimenez’s 21-under-par winning score is an indication of how the “impossible” re-designed course has become playable. Familiarity does improve your chances of playing well on most courses.

Having a sharp short game also helps. Miguel Angel has an impeccable short game. He continuously saved par on the back nine of the final round to make it difficult for Edoardo to catch him. Standing on the 10th tee with the Spaniard, having got up and down from a bunker on the ninth for birdie, we were six shots behind. This is a lead most would assume is insurmountable. Realistically, you need to be no more than three shots back with nine to play to have a chance of catching the leader.

Funny things can happen on a course, particularly when you are under pressure. So despite two wonderful up and downs again from greenside traps on 10 and 11 by the Andalucian, somehow, standing on the 16th tee, we were only one shot behind.

Miguel looked like he had aged a couple of years between the 15th green and the next tee. A seven-iron by my man to two feet for eagle on 15 had suddenly put the leader under intense pressure for the first time in the round.

Bearing in mind he was playing his fifth event in a row, a schedule which had changed due to the fact he was trying to ensure his place on the Ryder Cup team, Miguel was also suffering from tournament leaderboard fatigue.

Even though Jimenez had gone up the mountain, like Edoardo, with a sense of purpose, there is also a strong element of the bon viveur about Miguel. He has been coming to Crans for 22 years without a break and he was not going to disrupt that continuity this year even if he really was due a week off.

My player also has close links with Crans-sur-Sierre. I was invited to a celebratory dinner last Tuesday for Edoardo’s victory in Gleneagles by his in-laws, who spent some time in the ski resort. Ideally for the Italian, their place was close to the driving range.

For most players after a successful tournament it would have been a week to come and enjoy with family and friends and take it as it came on the course. This was not the case. He had come to win, and his intelligent practice throughout the week reflected his aspirations: 90 per cent was on the short game. He could enjoy his free time over the coming weeks.

Saturday, half-way through the back nine, was when Edoardo finally ran out of steam. It’s not a sign of weakness, it’s just what happens after the intensity of winning an event the week before. Dealing with the draining emotions of success is all part of the learning curve as a professional.

So there were two players battling out the final scene in this year’s alpine golf showdown who were stretching their mental endurance to the limits due to what had happened the previous weeks. In the end it was the Spaniard’s tenacity and impeccable short game that prevailed.

Both players missed the 16th green. Miguel got up and down, again, Edoardo didn’t.

So the cushion softened for Jimenez again, two ahead with two to play.

He birdied the 17th and that sealed the Spaniard’s first victory on the mountain he has climbed for over two decades in search of the good life and the European Masters title.

Those of us who stretched our stay on the mountain for another night didn’t need any particular cause to celebrate.

The joy of spending another night at the best stop on tour justified a late night in the Postillon Bar, the traditional caddie HQ for our pleasant week in Crans-sur-Sierre.