"If you run around thinking you can beat this guy, he's going to keep knocking you down."

John Huggan talked to Thomas Bjorn about his desire to be chairman of the European Tour tournament committee, and he offered this interesting bit of wisdom:

"I always compare the PGA Tour with Tiger," he muses. "The second you realise he is what he is, that's the time you can start competing with him. If you run around thinking you can beat this guy, he's going to keep knocking you down. And it's the same with the PGA Tour. If the European Tour thinks it can be as big and powerful as they are, then it isn't ever going to happen. But if we accept that they are there and that they do what they do, then we can start managing our own affairs to the best of our ability."

Seve Having A Blast Captaining; Wants To Do It Again At An Event That Draws A Gallery

He's older, wiser, grayer, paler but nonetheless able to Captain at a team tournament where people show up. Yet how can he be considered when he still won'tfess up to his hand in the single worst pre-tournament renovation and setup in golf history: Valderamma's 17th.

Paul Forsyth reports:

The man who led them to victory at Valderrama in 1997 has been having such a ball at the Seve Trophy, where his European team lead Great Britain & Ireland 9½-8½, that he fancies himself to succeed Nick Faldo at Celtic Manor in 2010. “I was thinking about it out on the course,” he says. “I was having such a good time. If the players want me, I would be happy to do it again.”

Ballesteros, who retired from competitive golf earlier this year, has relished his captain’s role at the Heritage, careering his buggy over the humps and hollows of County Laois, dishing out legs of Iberian ham to anyone with an appetite, and adopting the hands-on approach for which he was famous at Valderrama. The man who said he would never return to the Ryder Cup is having second thoughts. “In life, you say certain things and then change your mind.

Everybody does that. I have no doubts that I would be a better captain now, although it would be difficult because I won. I have learnt a lot of things. I know how to treat players, how to make the team play together, how to keep everybody happy. I have a very good relationship with the players,” he said.

Maybe, but his relationship with the European Tour is so uneasy that he will have a hard job persuading them this event deserves to keep its slot on the schedule, never mind that he should be installed as their next Ryder Cup captain. Yesterday’s marginal increase in crowds at least ensured there were more bodies behind the ropes than there were inside them.

Warren Survives Bout With Chandelier

Mark Garrod reports another lively story for the beleaguered Seve Trophy correspondents.

Scottish golfer Marc Warren was back playing at the Seve Trophy in Ireland today after what was literally a shattering experience at the team hotel.

Practising his swing in his room after losing his opening match with Colin Montgomerie, last season's European Tour Rookie of the Year smashed a chandelier above him.

The glass showering down on him cut his head, both arms and, most worrying of all, caused a nasty deep gash across his stomach requiring a trip to hospital.

Sounds like he was lucky to not lose his who-ha.

"It was about a centimetre wide and looked about a centimetre deep," said Warren. "I looked in the mirror and I was covered in blood.

"I rang Bradley Dredge because I was supposed to be having dinner with him, then Monty came along and (captain) Nick Faldo called.

"A car took me to hospital, although the driver stalled three times, and I had butterfly stitches in my cuts and had it dressed and covered."

Returning to the hotel around 10pm, Warren found he had fused the lights and so had to pack his things in the dark before being transferred to another room.

Unsure how sore he would be on waking up this morning, the 26-year-old was relieved to discover he was not too bad and even began with two birdies against French pair Raphael Jacquelin and Gregory Havret.

However, after five holes mostly played in rain and in front of another tiny crowd, Warren and Montgomerie were two down.

Before teeing off, Warren was even able to joke about what he called "an adventurous evening", saying: "I was using a five-iron - it should have been a six because I would have missed it."

"The atmosphere was limited"

Lawrence Donegan writes about the galleries--can you call 250 a gallery!?--present for day one of the Seve Trophy.

Europe took a one-point lead over a team from Great Britain and Ireland after day one of the Seve Trophy but in the battle for the hearts and minds of the Irish public between the Royal & Ancient game and the national ploughing championships, it was a complete walkover.

The result: golf - approximately 250 paying customers wandering forlornly around the vast expanse of the Heritage resort; ploughing - 80,000 crammed into the Annaharvey Farm, 20 miles away, for one of Ireland's great cultural events.

"The atmosphere was limited," said Colin Montgomerie after he and his partner, Marc Warren, lost 3&1 in the opening fourball of the day to Europe's Peter Hanson and Robert Karlsson - a match that attracted around two dozen spectators as it headed off into the back nine. "The ploughing championships need to finish, and the sooner that happens the better. The farmers need to bring their wellies and get over here because the quality of golf is excellent."

Leaving aside the stereotyping of farmers and their footwear, the Scotsman had an excellent point.

The Principal also shares a story of getting to watch great golf with unobstructed views.  

Broken Heart Clubs

From the wire story on round two of the British Masters, courtesy of reader Steve...

Robert Karlsson (75) broke two clubs, an 8-iron and a 6-iron, trying to hit a ball next to a tree on the third hole. He took an eight.

Karlsson sent for his clubs to be repaired and had them back by the sixth hole.

Also, Alastair Forsyth shot an 11 at the revamped sixth hole and missed the cut. The Scot drove into the water, put a 3-iron into the water, then hit two 2-irons into the water.

Then he threw the 2-iron into the water.

"I'm concerned that, if you were in a sinking ship with Finchem and there was only one lifeboat, you wouldn't get that lifeboat. He'd have it, and you'd go down with the ship."

John Huggan tries to understand Tim Finchem's buckets and mostly lets Peter Alliss consider the impact of the FedEx Cup on European golf:

While it is easy to make fun of the verbally-manipulative Finchem, the danger he presents to golf in the wider sense should not be underestimated. He thinks "outward looking" means anywhere inside the US. Hence his utter indifference when it was pointed out to him the damage the Fed-Ex Cup would almost certainly do to, for example, a suddenly star-starved European Tour.

"This so-called special relationship between Great Britain and the United States in all things doesn't seem to exist in golf," says BBC commentator Peter Alliss. "As much a politician as Tim Finchem is, I'm not sure he really cares about the European Tour. If we went under, I'm not sure it would register on his radar. He's always squeezing dates. The Ryder Cup is moving farther and farther back. All it will take is a bit of mist in the morning, and they won't get the next couple played in three days.

"He doesn't really seem to care. He's always going on about playing against the rest of the world, but only on his own terms. I remember when Greg Norman was going to start a so-called world tour. Finchem killed that, then virtually copied what Greg was proposing.

"I'm concerned that, if you were in a sinking ship with Finchem and there was only one lifeboat, you wouldn't get that lifeboat. He'd have it, and you'd go down with the ship. I really don't think he gives a shit. He'd be very apologetic, but at the end of the day he'd be looking after his own."

And... 

"The US Tour is a bit like going to see The Mousetrap every week, and going across the road from the theatre to eat the same meal," Alliss, a former Ryder Cup player, observes. "No matter how good the play is or the food is, you soon get bored with it. I know the counter-argument is that Finchem is not obliged to look at the bigger picture: he is employed solely to make money for his members, something he does very well. Look at the bonus system they have for making cuts. If Tiger were to retire when he is 40, he'd get some ridiculous sum of money.

"But for Finchem, the state of the game is neither here nor there. He is responsible for providing tournaments for his members to play in. I didn't think he could continue to find sponsors willing to put up a $1m first prize every week, but he has."

What has also boosted sympathy for Finchem's latest cause is the whining from players, most notably Mickelson, whenever the unavailability of the Fed-Ex prize-money is mentioned. The pampered souls will receive the cash only when they reach the age of 45.

"Professional golf has come so far in a relatively short period of time that I wonder how much longer it can go on and on," says Alliss. "The reaction of some of the players worries me. I never thought I would say there is too much money in professional golf. But I'm beginning to think there is. The top players are seemingly not tempted by anything. The Fed-Ex is worth $10m, and it can't get them to play every week. Money just does not stir them."

"We are treated to an intimate glimpse into the souls of those participating."

John Huggan celebrates the beauty of team golf. Well, except for the ugly American antics he witnessed at the Walker Cup.

For example, two days at Newcastle told me everything I will ever need - or want - to know about the current US Amateur champion, Colt Knost. A highly talented golfer, one who already looks good enough to make the perennially hazardous transition into the professional ranks, Knost is, on the evidence of this Walker Cup, an arrogant and boorish so-and-so.

His reaction to not winning his singles match on the second day, when his opponent, Daniel Willett, holed a 20-foot putt on the final green to clinch at least a half point (Knost followed him in from perhaps a yard) was disappointing to say the least. After 'treating' Willett to one of those limp-wristed, no eye contact handshakes one always hates to see at the end of any match, Knost strutted around the putting surface for an unhealthy length of time shaking his head and staring up at the heavens. The implication was clear: How dare this obviously less gifted chopper make such an outrageous putt and deprive me of my pre-ordained victory? For Knost, his match was clearly all about himself and not about what he could do to help his teammates. Let's hope, given time, that this spoiled young man will mature to the point where his character matches his ability.

And on the beauty of team events... 

All of which - the good and the bad - is part of the inherent attraction of team golf. Win, lose or draw, we are treated to an intimate glimpse into the souls of those participating. Which is also, of course, one of the great things about match play. In a head-to-head contest it isn't possible to coast along, finish tied for sixth and pick up a nice cheque. Oh no. In match play there are winners and losers. And no one likes to be a loser. Or admit to being a loser. Somehow it's easier to start a post-mortem with, 'I came fourth' rather than, 'I lost.'

The best news is that, over the course of this month, we are going to be treated to a host of to-class team matches. This week I'm popping down to Dunbar to watch the ladies Home International matches, where the cream of the British Isles' female amateurs will be on display.

Then there is the Solheim Cup in Sweden, where Europe and the US will be going perm-to-perm in the ladies equivalent of the Ryder Cup. And less than two weeks after that, the Americans will be taking on the International squad in the Presidents Cup while, across the water, Great Britain & Ireland's professionals will be facing up to their mates from the continent of Europe for the Seve Trophy.

Okay, the Seve Trophy? In that group? Uh no. 

Huggan On Clarke

John Huggan on Darren Clarke's life since losing his wife a little over a year ago:

Another understandable factor in Clarke's on-course woes this year has been dealing with the first anniversary of his wife's passing. He and the boys were back home in Portrush for two weeks' holiday last month, in the middle of which fell the fateful day.

"To be honest, in the build-up to the anniversary I wasn't at the races at all," he says, his eyes suddenly focused on a point far away.

"It was all a bit much for me. But then, when August 13 did come around [one day before his own birthday], it was almost as if a wee bit of weight was lifted off my shoulders. By then I had done every birthday, every anniversary, the first Christmas, so all the bits and pieces had passed. I'd been through everything once.

"We all went up to the grave together. It's not as if I shush anyone when Heather's name comes up. The kids and I talk about her all the time. It would be wrong to exclude her name from conversation. In the car the other day Connor asked if I remembered when mummy was alive and we did this or that. That's the way they talk. Sometimes I get a lump in my throat but I wouldn't have it any other way. I want them to remember their mummy.

"I went up to the grave on my own for quite a bit of time late in the day. There were a lot of flowers, including a lovely big bouquet from Padraig and Caroline Harrington. I'll never forget that gesture, it was just so nice of them to think of Heather."

"Beyond comprehension"

Catching up on some other non-PGA Tour stories, I see where a nice little spat is developing in Europe over the consistent selection of dreadful Ryder Cup venues. Darren Clarke spoke up and Mike Aitken reports:

DARREN Clarke, a Ryder Cup regular since 1997, completed his first round on the PGA Centenary course at Gleneagles and admitted it was "beyond his comprehension" why Europe's Ryder Cup committee had chosen to stage the match here against the USA in 2014.

After carding 73, level par, in the first round of the Johnnie Walker yesterday, Clarke described the Jack Nicklaus lay-out as an American style course not up to the standard of championship venues widely available in Scotland.

He said: "I think it is unbelievable they [the Ryder Cup committee] have chosen this course to stage the 2014 match. There's only been one Ryder Cup in Scotland, in 1973 [at Muirfield], and then they choose a course like this one. There are even two better ones here at Gleneagles. Scotland is the home of golf and we should not be playing on an American-style course; it's beyond my comprehension."

Clarke was not against Gleneagles as a venue for the match, if it was played over the adjacent Kings course, which has staged European Tour events, or even the short Queens course.

"Gleneagles is a wonderful venue but this is the wrong course," Clarke insisted.

Muirfield, Turnberry, Loch Lomond and Carnoustie were the other Scottish bidders. But Diageo, the owners of Gleneagles, succeeded because they made the best commercial offer with a venue deemed the most appropriate to host a modern Ryder Cup.

The next day Aitken wheeled out some poor chap (Sandy Jones?) to defend the selection, who made sure to note that the course is difficult, therefore it must be good!

"Even when Bells sponsored the Scottish Open on the King's, there was talk someone might shoot 59 there," added Jones. "The truth is the King's and the Queen's are just not big enough to accommodate today's players. To suggest the Ryder Cup should be played there isn't helpful. If we're going to have a debate about the course, let's have a sensible one."

A sensible one eh? Well then that calls for Monty's take!

But Colin Montgomerie, chairman of the Johnnie Walker championship committee, said: "Gleneagles will be a fantastic venue.

"As far as the staging of the match in Perthshire is concerned, I have no concerns whatsoever."

Spoken like someone who really wants to be captain in 2014.

Jones also stressed the important role Gleneagles had played in the history of the match, hosting the first unofficial contest against the USA in 1921 even before the hotel was built.

Colin Montgomerie also rallied to the defence of Gleneagles and insisted the PGA Centenary course was at least as good if not better than most of the venues chosen to host the Ryder Cup on this side of the Atlantic over the past 25 years.

Asked to comment in his capacity as chairman of the Johnnie Walker championship committee about the suitability of Gleneagles as hosts of the 2014 Ryder Cup match, Montgomerie said: "People are entitled to their opinion, but I feel the course would stand up to any Ryder Cup venue."

"Gleneagles is at least on a par with any of those venues if not an awful lot better than some."

Well and it is such elite company: K Club, Belfry, Celtic Manor. The architectural marvels of our time.

"No Jeans, training pants or hot pants."

Reader Steve was checking up on the Russian Open, this week's European Tour event, and stumbled on this spectator's etiquette guide. Some of the more intriguing recommendations:

Turn your camera flash off. If you can't, refrain from taking any photographs while a player is taking a shot. Also, if your camera automatically rewinds at the end of the film, be aware of how many shots you have left before you snap away.

It's great to hear digital cameras still haven't made it somewhere on the planet. And what a shame Stevie's not there with Tiger. 

Golf promotes a specific Dress Code. Please dress appropriately when attending the golf tournament. The Dress Code is as follows:

No high heels are allowed, flat soled shoes only. To avoid damage to the course and for your safety.

Shirts with collars only must be worn at all times (no bikinis/swimsuits).

No Jeans, training pants or hot pants.

No hot pants? What does Ian Poulter do?

Romero!

Phil Casey reports on Angel Andres* Romero's impressive comeback from his Open catastrophe to win the Deutsche Bank Players Championship, earning a 5-year European Tour exemption.

Romero began the final round two shots ahead of Scotland and was five strokes clear after four birdies and a bogey in the first seven holes. His attacking approach is always likely to lead him into trouble and it duly arrived on the 9th when he went for the island green from heavy rough but came up short in the water.

Unlike his double bogey on the 17th at Carnoustie, however, he still had plenty of time to recover and he birdied the 11th to move four clear again. However, Wilson then birdied the 16th to cut the gap and it was down to two when Romero bogeyed the same hole 30 minutes later.

Two shots clear with two to play once more, Romero this time made no mistake and sealed victory in style with a long-range birdie on the 18th.

*It was late! 

Jagshemash!!

Looks what's coming to the European Tour. I think we know what Borat would say. Niiiiiiiiiccee! 

ALMATY, July 25 (Reuters) - The Kazakhstan Open will debut on the European Tour next year, elevating the first professional golf tournament in the oil-rich Central Asian country to main-tour status after three seasons on the junior circuit.

"Next year the tournament will be co-sanctioned by the Challenge and European Tours," tournament director Konstantin Lifanov told Reuters on Wednesday.

"But staring from 2009, we will be part of the main European Tour with total prize money of over 2 million euros ($2.76 million)."

Held at the picturesque Nurtau golf course near the commercial capital Almaty, the Kazakhstan Open made its professional debut in 2005 as the richest event on the Challenge Tour with 250,000 euros in prize money, increasing each year.

Mud And Rain Forces K Club Alterations; Course Retains Its Dull And Uninspired Integrity

Mark Garrod reports that the par-5 18th was reduced to a par-3, and six other holes were played from the forward tees for European Open play.

Europe Invades Korea!

Well, it's the European Tour "colonizing" Korea, and it seems the Asian Tour isn't too happy again. So good to see the World Federation of Tours all on such good terms. Thanks to reader Phil for this...

ASIAN TOUR STATEMENT ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR’S ANNOUNCEMENT OF A NEW EVENT IN KOREA

The European Tour continues to proceed on its expansion programme to colonise Asia with the announcement of a Korean event today without the official involvement of the Asian Tour.

This represents the European Tour’s blatant disregard towards the Asian Tour, which is the official regional sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia.

This invasive action clearly goes against the principles of the International Federation of PGA Tours which main goals are to promote cooperation between Tours through the joint-sanctioning of significant competitions.

The Asian Tour will table a motion at the next meeting of the International Federation of PGA Tours which takes place during the Open Championship in Scotland later this month, This will reflect our serious concerns as we feel that the European Tour has stepped out of its boundary.

While we fully welcome the creation of new tournaments in Asia, the Asian Tour is totally aghast at the European Tour’s actions in not following protocol and respecting our position as the governing body for professional golf in Asia.

Last month, the European Tour announced a new Indian event to take place in New Delhi in 2008 without the involvement of the Asian Tour and subsequently, the Asian Tour engaged the European Tour in discussions to seek an acceptable solution to this Indian tournament as well as the Korean event.

However, these discussions proved futile as the European Tour are clearly dictating terms without giving consideration towards the Asian Tour’s efforts to promote golf in the Asian region.

Kyi Hla Han

Executive Chairman

Asian Tour

“It’s not rocket science not to put the flag where it was."

This one includes a wrinkle I've never heard of before, and I'm a connoisseur of course setup debacle stories!

Golfweek's Alistair Tait reports.

International Final Qualifying for the Open Championship at Sunningdale, England, turned into a farce when players couldn’t get near the pin at the par-3 fourth hole.
 
It brought back visions of the seventh at Shinnecock Hills during the 2004 U.S. Open, when no player could hold the green even with a perfectly struck shot.

But remember, Furman Bisher says that was just because that darn rain that was not in the forecast never came! 

Martin Kippax, the R&A’s championship chairman, set up the pins at Sunningdale.

Why did that sentence not come as a shock. 

Most of them were fine, with the exception of the fouth on Sunningdale’s Old Course.
 
Eight players completed the hole before Kippax realized he’d messed up. Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez five-putted, and Australian Brett Rumford four-putted. Four-putting isn’t unusual, but Rumford had hit his tee shot to 2 feet.
 
Play was suspended so the hole could be repositioned. The eight players who had already played the hole were carted back out after they had finished 18 holes so they could replay the hole.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, they got a replay! I wonder what would have happened if they made a higher score than before? Do they get to pick the lowest!?

The result was a mixed bag. Gonzalez made par the second time and his score changed from 70 to 67. England’s Richard Bland made birdie the first time around but parred the hole the second time to move his score from 72 to 73. Sweden’s Fredrik Anderson Hed was affected the most. He parred the hole on his first attempt but double bogeyed the hole on his second to change a 66 to a 68.
 
“I chose the pin positions because of the weather we’ve had and the forecast we had for today,” Kippax said. “I was then made aware by a referee on the course that we had a potential problem. I went out and saw that it was in an unplayable position.
 
“So, after consulting with various people – certainly the European Tour – I suspended play and moved the pin position.
 
“I admit it was a mistake and the responsibility lies on me and me only. I apologized to the eight, and Richard Bland said it was not in his interests and asked, ‘Why was it there in the first place?’
 
“They were perfectly justifiable things to say, but I told them it was only going to be equitable if everybody had to play it again whether it’s good or bad for them.”
 
Plaudits go to Kippax for putting his hand up and admitting his error, but I tend to agree with Anderson Hed.

Oh yes, big plaudits!

“I think the European Tour should do the pins,” he said. “Every time I’ve played in an event run by the R&A there have been one or two that were barely playable.”
 
Bland was just as caustic in his condemnation of the R&A. “It’s not rocket science not to put the flag where it was. Anything with a small bit of speed that didn’t go in was going to roll off the green.”