In the Rough

With the final major title of the year nearly underway its time to look if there is going to be a European golfer stood on the 18th green with the trophy in the air.

Leading up to the USPGA there is a couple of Europeans with a lot to play for in terms of Ryder Cup places for Valhalla in September 2008. Ian Poulter is just on the edge of listings currently and with a good display here could get himself into the guaranteed places for the Ryder Cup, Spain’s Sergio Garcia again is a player where a good performance here could either earn him a spot or persuade Nick Faldo to part with a Wild Card pick.

In terms of this week and which Europeans will be in contention come Sunday I am personally thinking Lee Westwood has a great chance after showing some impressive form over the last few months and a brilliant performance at World Golf Championship last weekend. Englands Ian Poulter can also be worth keeping an eye on but he needs to make sure the pressure of gaining points for the Ryder Cup in Valhalla doesn’t effect his game.

As a couple of outsiders for the weekend Darren Clarke (first major of the year, not playing with much pressure), Colin Montgomerie (could it be his year?), Padraig Harrington (after a brilliant year can he finish in style).

With the Beijing Olympics fast approaching the debate has serviced yet again of whether Golf should become an Olympic Sport.

Golf has become one of the biggest sports on the planet and with the masses of people that follow golf and the large audiences it now attracts Golf would probably deserve Olympic status just on them facts alone, but is the debate that simple?

Golf would be a success at any Olympic Games but it breaks down to how it is formatted. Does it become a matchplay competition or a team competition? How many players can each country bring? Are the courses good enough in the future host cities to warrant a good competition?

All these questions would need answering before it can be settled, personally though I am for fully behind golf being an Olympic Sport.

The biggest question of all though is do we really need to have another sport where America will be guaranteed gold and Tiger Woods will win yet another medal for his trophy collection?

After an impressive finish at the World Golf Championship Nick Dougherty is looking for a good performance at this weeks USPGA. Dougherty has been struggling all of 2008 and his currently ranking 55th in the 2008 order of merit.

Nick Dougherty has only finished in the top ten three times this season, which compared to a win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and a 11th place finish in 2007 on the order of merit list, 2008 has far than been going well for Dougherty.

However two final rounds of 69 at the World Golf Championship has put Nick in confident mood for this week and a good performance could be on the cards.

Vijay Singh has won the World Golf Championship Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio by one shot from Englands Lee Westwood.

Going into the final Vijay Singh was tied with Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson but a final round 68 enabled Vijay to finish on 10 under and take the title. The final round wasn’t the greatest golf with the Fijian putting a little bit erractic, Westwood having a few lapses in concentration and Phil Mickelson bogeying 3 of the final 4 holes.

However when it mattered most Vijay Singh held his nerve and took the World Golf Championship title, which was his first for 6 years. Vijay Singh switched to his belly putter last month and it has paid off with him now winning a title and moving back into the World’s Top Ten.

American Fred Funk rolled in two consecutive birdies at the 16th and 17th holes to finish on a 5 under total, which was enough for the overall lead after the first round of the Senior US Open in Colorado Springs. The round for Fred Funk started well with a couple of birdies and an eagle in the opening four holes to leave him sitting well on four after just four holes. The only bogey of Fred Funks round came at the 18th, other than the late blip Fred had a near to perfect round.

Fellow countryman John Cook has recovered well from his dissapointment at the British Senior Open last week where he lost a commanding lead to finish second. Cook carded a first round 66 for a 4 under total after day one.

Sitting in a pack of four players on 3 under is US legend Tom Kite and Argentine Eduardo Romero. Also sitting a few off the lead is Aussie Greg Norman on level par and American Tom Watson on one under after day one of the US Senior Open.