MASTERS:Judging by the contents of the Golf Masters in-box, there were several managers dismayed that the AT&T National played at Congressional last week was not part of our schedule. The reason was quite simple: when our list of tournaments was being finalised, there was no event scheduled on the PGA Tour for the first weekend in July because of the demise of The International.
The founder and president of that tournament, Jack Vickers, had pulled the plug for a variety of reasons, including an inability to attract Tiger Woods to his generally popular event in Colorado. It must have rubbed salt into his wounds to see Woods step in to play host to a brand new tournament on the date set aside for The International this year, and Tiger's new event has been hailed as a great success in all quarters. It will surely be on our schedule in 2008.
For much of the weekend we weren't entirely sure whether there had been a late change to the European Tour schedule as well. With Hanson, Hansen, Johansson and Haeggman, plus Fasth, Edberg, Kjeldsen, Hedblom and Ilonen all in the top 20 at The K Club, it felt like the Scandinavian Masters had been brought forward by a month and transplanted to Co Kildare.
Dave Tallon, from Leixlip, certainly wasn't complaining about the Scandinavian feel to the European Open. He named one of his teams The Hansen's, and included Soren Hansen, Anders Hansen, Peter Hanson and Soren Kjeldsen in the line-up. The team was treading water until Anders won the BMW PGA Championship in May. He was idle last week, but Peter Hanson (€88,125 for tied third), Soren Hansen (59,625 for tied seventh) and Soren Kjeldsen (45,000 for tied 11th) contributed, uhm, handsomely to a weekly winning total of 371,250 that earned Tallon a fourball at Druids Heath.
But it was a Scot rather than a Scandinavian who made the biggest contribution. Tallon's most recent recruit, Colin Montgomerie, edged past the Swedes, Danes and Finns to win his first title for 19 months and earn 150,000 for his 162 employers, 19 of whom brought him in last week.
Tallon's Hansen's rose 1,183 places in the overall standings to 284th, and with seven transfers remaining they still have an outside chance of forcing their way into the reckoning for our big cash prizes.
The same teams as last week occupy the top seven places, although there was some rejigging of the order with Eamo's Heroes 3, managed by Eamonn Murray, retaking top spot. Murray replaced Camilo Villegas with Andres Romero, who is also in the field for this week's Scottish Open and next week's British Open. Murray will be hoping the Argentinian will carry on the form shown in a final-round 66 that lifted him to tied-34th at The K Club (13,500).
Gearóid Fitzmaurice saw his Tiger's Lads drop from first to third despite the acquisition of Padraig Harrington, but there was plenty of consolation for the Galway manager as Ernie's Lads ranked 24th for the week to move from fourth to second overall, without using either of their two remaining transfers.
