GEORGE, SOUTH AFRICA | When he walked onto the range at Fancourt, heads turned. This was the first time Jose Maria Olazabal was out and about in the year he will captain the Europeans in what he hopes will be a famous away win in the Ryder Cup.
Olazabal knows that people are “captain aware.” He was that way himself, not just in 1987, when he was trying to make the team for a first time, but every time.
“Playing in the Ryder Cup always meant everything to me and it is the same for all of them,” said Olazabal, nodding in the direction of his fellow Europeans. “They love the match, the whole business of playing against the Americans – the four-balls, the foursomes, the camaraderie.”
“When they look at me, they will see me as a ‘reminder.’ I will be in the back of their minds.”
Simon Dyson, lying ninth on the Ryder Cup points table at the start of last week, was one to have noted Olazabal’s arrival.
“You want to impress the captain, of course you do,” said Dyson. “I’d love to be part of his team and listening to his speeches.”
For Dyson, this early sighting had him reiterating his strategy for the season. He does not intend to talk about how close he is to playing at Medinah. When anyone asks, he will switch the conversation to how he is taking aim on winning a couple of tournaments in the first half of the year.
“I’ve seen too many other players put too much pressure on themselves in my situation,” he explains.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, another would-be Ryder Cup rookie and one who has only Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy ahead of him on the points’ list, is similarly Olazabal-conscious. But he’s finding it all a little strange.

“It’s a bit different because I am honoured to have him as a friend,” began the Spaniard. “What’s funny is to listen to Alvaro Quiros’ partner and my wife teasing Jose Maria. They say that if he will only have me and Alvaro in the team they will help with the wives’ uniforms.”
Olazabal, who enjoys such banter, will be revealing more of his plans in his first formal press conference of the year in Abu Dhabi this week. What is already plain is that he will be looking no less favourably on the older players than the younger fry.
“The older ones have changed so much,” he says. “Only a few years ago, there was none of the emphasis on fitness that there is today. Thomas (Bjorn), Lee (Westwood), Padraig Harrington and Darren (Clarke) are all going in for physical training in a big way and staying competitive.
“(Miguel Angel) Jimenez is another,” he added. “He’s very flexible. You notice it in his warm-up routine and you notice it in the gym. He’s got a belly on him but he works much harder than he lets on.”
To Olazabal, the change in the younger generation is similarly marked. “Take Matteo (Manassero),” he suggests. “In many ways, he is very like I was as a teenager. He is not the longest but makes up for that by being very accurate. Where he is different from ‘the young me’ is in the way he thinks his way round a course. He learned in the amateur game, as they all do now.”
It goes without saying that Tom Lewis is another in that category. Like Manassero, the 21-year-old Lewis will need to perform well across the summer but Olazabal would have taken mental note of how he compiled his opening 68 at Fancourt. After running up a seven at the 16th, he signed off with a couple of birdies.
Olazabal, who has the old spark back in his eye after long years of struggling with his health, plans to be in evidence most weeks. For the moment, his game is good. When he was 7 under after two rounds, he said it would help if he could ‘stay up there’ with potential team members. Yet, he knows not to expect too much of himself amid the myriad demands of the captaincy.
When Nick Faldo took charge of the team of 2008, he resurrected a former wife – No. 3 to be exact – to host wives and families. Ollie says, cheerfully, that he is not about “to spring any surprises” by signing on a first spouse. Away from Fernandez-Castano’s and Quiros’ partners’ light-hearted offers of help, he has a tour official and Niclas Fasth’s wife, Maria, to take care of that side of things.
He sees his main tasks as talking to the players and being on the spot to counsel those who are on the edge of the side at the eleventh hour. For the record, 26 August is the day when he must announce the 10 qualifiers along with his two wild cards.
This great champion chuckled as he revealed the nature of the advice he will be handing out at that point.
“I will be telling them not to think about the Ryder Cup.”

On each of the four occasions that Laura Davies and the rest have won the Solheim Cup, people have wondered if that could do the trick; if the Ladies’ European Tour would finally ignite in a big way. Last September’s glorious victory at Killeen Castle in Ireland promised more than any of the three that had gone before.
Sodden spectators stayed riveted to the end, while those who watched Sky’s excellent TV coverage swore that they would be fans of the women’s game for life. As it was, everything went quiet after that golden week. Though appetites had been well and truly whetted, there was nothing to hold people’s attention thereafter.
Such tournaments as were left in 2011 were held virtually in camera, with only the most dedicated of channel-hoppers knowing where to find a programme of highlights delivered two days after the close of play.
“The regular TV coverage is dreadful,” admits Davies, the record points’ holder in a Solheim Cup context.
Like many another, Davies feels that UCOM, the German TV company who have been associated with the LET since the start of 2011, have done the Tour a mischief. She bemoans the way they concentrate on arty shots – falling leaves and flying divots – instead of capturing the golfers’ reactions and personalities.
“Highlights on a Tuesday,” she suggests, “are not the answer. They’re never going to grab anyone, especially when the coverage includes little more than a drive here and a putt there.”
Davies had two incidents last year in which she was disturbed by cameramen who were less than golf-aware – and a third in which she was reduced to arguing with one of the crew. All would have been forgiven had she felt the end product was of some good, but that was manifestly not the case.
She does not know the ins and outs of what has gone on but she wonders how this company came to take the place of Ark Productions, who seemed to be making things happen.
On much the same lines, Davies was bitterly disappointed at the Solheim Cup video. “I thought to myself, ‘This will be fun to watch.’ and it was the biggest let-down. Unlike a Ryder Cup video, it didn’t begin to give the whole picture.”
Of the LET itself, Davies says that Alexander Armas, the CEO, has done well to have as many as 24 tournaments lined up for 2012 in the present climate. “It looks okay, and the new Handa Ladies British Masters at the Buckinghamshire is a great get.
“On the other side of the coin,” she continued, “the girls are crying out for more prize money. There are too many 200,000 Euro tournaments, events where anyone who has a caddie needs to finish in the top five if she is going to make a profit.”
Those who have lodged complaints about some of the more lowly prize funds have been advised that they don’t have to play but, as Davies asks, “What kind of an answer is that?”
This winner of some 85 tournaments is often given to wonder if things could have been different had the women head-hunted a top businessman to run their affairs rather than rely on former players, hard-working though many of them may be.
“Treading water” is how she sums up what has happened over the last 20 years. “There are five or six great events but too many others are at the same level as they’ve always been.”
If Davies seems a touch exasperated, it has not a little to do with the fact that the women’s game always seems to be up against it in one way or another.
She was no more surprised that Yani Tseng lost out to Rory McIlroy in Golf Magazine’s Player of the Year than she was when the winning Solheim side did not finish in the top three in the BBC’s team awards.
Back in 1996, when Davies was No. 1 in the world after winning two majors and a total of 10 tournaments, she was invited to the annual BBC bash and barely got a mention. She is not complaining, just telling it as it is.
Somehow, the LET needs to bully its way to the fore and seek help in the matter of making more of an impact in the world at large. Spreading the word to best advantage is never going to happen through the LET website and Tuesday highlights.
Even now, they have thrown away too many chances. When the European Tour wanted to make the most of the 2010 Ryder Cup, they opted for a captain who would make the biggest possible waves amid the recession, Colin Montgomerie. Those who follow women’s golf think that Davies could perform much the same role for the LET. That, though, isn’t going to happen. Davies has said she does not want the job.
Sadly, the suspicion here is that her decision has been coloured by the attitude of those among her fellow players who have tended to see her as more of a threat than an asset.

On each of the four occasions that Laura Davies and the rest have won the Solheim Cup, people have wondered if that could do the trick; if the Ladies’ European Tour would finally ignite in a big way. Last September’s glorious victory at Killeen Castle in Ireland promised more than any of the three that had gone before.

Sodden spectators stayed riveted to the end, while those who watched Sky’s excellent TV coverage swore that they would be fans of the women’s game for life. As it was, everything went quiet after that golden week. Though appetites had been well and truly whetted, there was nothing to hold people’s attention thereafter.

Such tournaments as were left in 2011 were held virtually in camera, with only the most dedicated of channel-hoppers knowing where to find a programme of highlights delivered two days after the close of play.

“The regular TV coverage is dreadful,” admits Davies, the record points’ holder in a Solheim Cup context.

Like many another, Davies feels that UCOM, the German TV company who have been associated with the LET since the start of 2011, have done the Tour a mischief. She bemoans the way they concentrate on arty shots – falling leaves and flying divots – instead of capturing the golfers’ reactions and personalities.

“Highlights on a Tuesday,” she suggests, “are not the answer. They’re never going to grab anyone, especially when the coverage includes little more than a drive here and a putt there.”

Davies had two incidents last year in which she was disturbed by cameramen who were less than golf-aware – and a third in which she was reduced to arguing with one of the crew. All would have been forgiven had she felt the end product was of some good, but that was manifestly not the case.

She does not know the ins and outs of what has gone on but she wonders how this company came to take the place of Ark Productions, who seemed to be making things happen.

On much the same lines, Davies was bitterly disappointed at the Solheim Cup video. “I thought to myself, ‘This will be fun to watch.’ And it was the biggest let-down. Unlike a Ryder Cup video, it didn’t begin to give the whole picture.”

Of the LET itself, Davies says that Alexander Armas, the CEO, has done well to have as many as 24 tournaments lined up for 2012 in the present climate.

“It looks okay, and the new Handa Ladies British Masters at the Buckinghamshire is a great get.

“On the other side of the coin,” she continued, “the girls are crying out for more prize money. There are too many €200,000 tournaments, events where anyone who has a caddie needs to finish in the top five if she is going to make a profit.”

Those who have lodged complaints about some of the more lowly prize funds have been advised that they don’t have to play but, as Davies asks, “What kind of an answer is that?”

This winner of some 85 tournaments is often given to wonder if things could have been different had the women head-hunted a top businessman to run their affairs rather than rely on former players, hard-working though many of them may be.

“Treading water” is how she sums up what has happened over the last 20 years. “There are five or six great events but too many others are at the same level as they’ve always been.”

If Davies seems a touch exasperated, it has not a little to do with the fact that the women’s game always seems to be up against it in one way or another.

She was no more surprised that Yani Tseng lost out to Rory McIlroy in Golf Magazine’s Player of the Year than she
was when the winning Solheim side did not finish in the top three in the BBC’s team awards.

Back in 1996, when Davies was No. 1 in the world after winning two majors and a total of 10 tournaments, she was invited to the annual BBC bash and barely got a mention. She is not complaining, just telling it as it is.

Somehow, the LET needs to bully its way to the fore and seek help in the matter of making more of an impact in the world at large. Spreading the word to best advantage is never going to happen through the LET website and Tuesday highlights.

Even now, they have thrown away too many chances. When the European Tour wanted to make the most of the 2010 Ryder Cup, they opted for a captain who would make the biggest possible waves amid the recession, Colin Montgomerie. Those who follow women’s golf think that Davies could perform much the same role for the LET. That, though, isn’t going to happen. Davies has said she does not want the job.

Sadly, the suspicion here is that her decision has been coloured by the attitude of those among her fellow players who have tended to see her as more of a threat than an asset.

DUBAI, UNIED ARAB EMIRATES l After putting the finishing touches to the historic double of U.S. and European money lists, Luke Donald revealed that his ultimate ambition would be to win a Grand Slam. “The chances are slim, but it’s possible,” said the man who has won comfortably more than £9 million this year.
Donald was still “Rory-conscious” at the start of Sunday’s final round of the Dubai World Championship, the reason being that if Rory handed in an out-of-this-world score to win the tournament, Donald would have to finish in the top nine to lead The Race to Dubai. However, when he reached the 13th and there was no sign of McIlroy on the leaderboard, he knew he was home and dry.
That was when he turned his attention to trying to beat Alvaro Quiros for the tournament title which, with a second successive 66, he very nearly did.
“To win both money lists became possible halfway through the season and to have it happen is almost a weight off my shoulders,” said Donald.
As he played the last few holes, thoughts surfaced of his father, Colin, who died unexpectedly last month, and of how proud he would have been. Tears infiltrated his smile as he admitted, “He would have given me a big hug.”
The Englishman’s play, with particular reference to his irons, was at times absurdly brilliant over the week. Yet, in terms of confidence, there was the odd hiccup as he and McIlroy played together over the first round.
He unleashed a couple of wayward drives as the 22-year-old Ulsterman seemed to get under his skin, firstly by bettering a couple of his famous irons and then by holing a battery of long putts. Though Donald had been three ahead at the turn, McIlroy ended up with a
six-shot lead as he posted a 66 against a 72.
Donald put those loose tee shots down to “slight swing flaws which creep in when I’m nervous.” Some were surprised when Donald said straight out that he had found it “hard” playing with McIlroy. Such an admission was surely not what the psychologists would have advised.
Donald, though, prefers to tell it as it is.
It was back in 2006, when he was still working with Jim Fannin, that he went public with his plans to be the best in the world. “If you want to be great, you have to believe you are great before you can get there, and that’s why I’m approaching each major as if I’m the best player there,” he said.
Christian Donald, Luke’s brother, explained why he had given up that approach in a hurry. “It simply wasn’t him,” he said. “Tiger was so far ahead of Luke at that point that Luke couldn’t begin to accept what he was telling himself.”
Now, judging from that Grand Slam remark, his confidence is the real thing. In the opinion of Guy Kinnings, his European manager at IMG, he is nearing nine out of 10 in terms of belief as against the 10-out-of-10 he would have awarded Tiger Woods in his hey-day.
In Christian’s view, the Dave Alred approach has made the difference. Alred, Rugby player Jonny Wilkinson’s kicking coach, calls for Luke’s every practice session to be competitive. He has to repeat the same shots every day before sending the results to the rugby man for analysis. “Dave can furnish Luke with proof of his progress,” said Christian.
Donald’s tournament results serve the same purpose – four wins this year and a total of 20 top-10 finishes in 26 starts.
Quiros, for one, doubts whether Donald could be any stronger mentally than he already is. The winner marvelled at the way he had come from nowhere on the first day to be challenging him for the title.
To a man, Donald’s fellow professionals are mesmerised by the way he is playing their game. Sergio Garcia, who, like Christian, was there to give Luke a hug at the end of the tournament, put it like this: “When you looked at Luke a few years ago, you thought he was good, very good, but you weren’t going to say, ‘Oh, he’s amazing.’ In time, though, what you realise is that there are very few flaws – almost none. From 100 yards in, his game is exquisite.”
A shattered McIlroy had admitted on Saturday night that Donald had had the better of him where The Race to Dubai was concerned.

“Luke deserves it. He’s played great all year and to win the money list in the States in the fashion he did, and to then come over here and wrap it up is amazing. I hope he gets the recognition he now deserves; he’s not been given the credit for how good his golf has been.”
McIlroy, who has been diagnosed with a hint of Dengue Fever, plans not to hit another full shot before the 12th of January, when he will warm up for the new season back here in Dubai.
Donald, meantime, is playing in this week’s Australian Masters, where you have to suspect that even his enviable concentration will be punctuated by thoughts of what he has done. And what he plans to do next.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES | After putting the finishing touches to the historic double of U.S. and European money lists, Luke Donald revealed that his ultimate ambition would be to win a Grand Slam. “The chances are slim, but it’s possible,” said the man who has won comfortably more than £9 million this year.

Donald was still “Rory-conscious” at the start of Sunday’s final round of the Dubai World Championship, the reason being that if McIlroy handed in an out-of-this-world score to win, Donald would have to finish in the top nine to lead The Race to Dubai. However, when he reached the 13th and there was no sign of McIlroy on the leaderboard, he knew he was home and dry.

That was when he turned his attention to trying to beat Alvaro Quiros for the tournament title which, with a second successive 66, he very nearly did.

“To win both money lists became possible halfway through the season and to have it happen is almost a weight off my shoulders,” said Donald.

As he played the last few holes, thoughts surfaced of his father, Colin, who died unexpectedly last month, and of how proud he would have been. Tears infiltrated his smile as he admitted, “He would have given me a big hug.”

The Englishman’s play, with particular reference to his irons, was at times
absurdly brilliant over the week. Yet, in terms of confidence, there was the odd hiccup as he and McIlroy played together over the first round.

He unleashed a couple of wayward drives as the 22-year-old Ulsterman seemed to get under his skin, firstly by bettering a couple of his famous irons and then by holing a battery of long putts. Though Donald had been three ahead at the turn, McIlroy ended up with a six-shot lead as he posted a 66 against a 72.

Donald put those loose tee shots down to “slight swing flaws which creep in when I’m nervous.” Some were surprised Donald said straight out he had found it “hard” playing with McIlroy. Such an admission was surely not what psychologists would have advised.

Donald, though, prefers to tell it as it is.

It was back in 2006, when he was working with Jim Fannin, that he went public with his plans to be the best in the world. “If you want to be great, you have to believe you are great before you can get there, and that’s why I’m approaching each major as if I’m the best player there,” he said.

Christian Donald, Luke’s brother, explained why he had given up that approach in a hurry. “It simply wasn’t him,” he said. “Tiger was so far ahead of Luke at that point that Luke couldn’t begin to accept what he was telling himself.”

Now, judging from that Grand Slam remark, his confidence is the real thing. In the opinion of Guy Kinnings, his European manager at IMG, he is nearing nine out of 10 in terms of belief as against the 10 out of 10 he would have awarded Tiger Woods in his hey-day.

In Christian’s view, the Dave Alred approach has made the difference. Alred, rugby player Jonny Wilkinson’s kicking coach, calls for Luke’s every practice session to be competitive. He has to repeat the same shots every day before sending the results to the rugby man for analysis. “Dave can furnish Luke with proof of his progress,” said Christian.

Donald’s tournament results serve the same purpose – four wins this year and a total of 20 top-10 finishes in 26 starts.

Quiros, for one, doubts whether Donald could be any stronger mentally than he already is. The winner marvelled at the way he had come from nowhere on the first day to be challenging him for the title.

To a man, Donald’s fellow professionals are mesmerised by the way he is playing. Sergio Garcia, who, like Christian, was there to give Luke a hug at the end of the tournament, put it like this:
“When you looked at Luke a few years ago, you thought he was good, very good, in fact, but you weren’t going to say, ‘Oh, he’s amazing.’ In time, though, what you realise is that there are very few flaws –
almost none. From 100 yards in, his game is exquisite.”

A shattered McIlroy had admitted on Saturday night that Donald had had the better of him where The Race to Dubai was concerned.

“Luke deserves it. He’s played great all year and to win the money list in the States in the fashion he did, and to then come over here and wrap it up is amazing. I hope he gets the recognition he now deserves; he’s not been given the credit for how good his golf has been.”

McIlroy, who has been diagnosed with a hint of Dengue Fever, plans not to hit another full shot before the 12th of January, when he will warm up for the new season back here in Dubai.

Donald, meantime, is playing in this week’s Australian Masters, where you have to suspect even his enviable concentration will be punctuated by thoughts of what he has done. And what he plans to do next.

Even now, the bagpipes are warming up for the next home Ryder Cup which was last week confirmed for Gleneagles from 26-28 September, 2014. In other words, a week earlier than the 2010 contest at Celtic Manor. There will be a Ryder Cup tartan, Ryder Cup shortbread, Ryder Cup whisky and, assuming Alex Salmond remains in his post, a Scottish First Minister who will add to the spectacle and spin.

“It’s only November 2011 and here I am looking forward to September 2014,” mused the politician.

Listening to Salmond is a bit like listening to Colin Montgomerie. He is a big presence and someone who knows his golf. He talked of Scotland’s proud past in the game and how Gleneagles was home to an unofficial Ryder Cup match in 1921. And he talked of what the 2014 contest means to Scotland’s future, not least in terms of the 40,000 9-year-olds who will by next year have been introduced to the sport as part of the Ryder Cup campaign.

When he had finished a dozen or so TV interviews, each of them laced with an equal measure of enthusiasm, he answered this correspondent’s question about Monty.

What did he feel about the suggestion – it came from Callum Macaulay, one of Scotland’s main hopes for the side of 2014 – that he be given another shot at the captaincy.

Salmond is far too wily a politician to risk anything too controversial in such a context. Though he had seen Monty in action in 2010 and thought he was outstanding, he contented himself with a humorous, “If it were up to me, I would have a Scottish captain and 12 Scottish players.”

That said, he admitted that it was not up to him. “It’s up to the Players Committee on the European Tour. We need to leave it to them and they’ve made a pretty good job of things in recent years.” Across the room, the photographers were calling for Carly Booth, one of Scotland’s top up-and-coming women professionals, to be pictured holding the Ryder Cup Trophy aloft.

Salmond’s light-hearted observation? “She could be a player by the time the match comes round again.”

Away from the date and at the news that Diageo will be the official event partner, the main announcements of last week centered around the 18th hole and the time-span of the match. The former is to be shortened, while the match itself will remain a three-day affair.

Both decisions are for the better. The 18th has always been a long and uninviting slog up the hill. Jack Nicklaus, the original designer, has been called upon to put things to rights and is making a good fist of it. An elevated teeing area will get the hole off to a more uplifting start, while its current length of 533 will be reduced by 20 yards to make it a more reachable par 5. If it is not a contradiction in terms, the green will become a cozier cauldron for the all-important final putts as it takes a shift to the right and dips down 1.6 meters (5.25 feet) into the surrounding hillocks.

“What Jack has come up with is a grand solution that doesn’t require a substantial change to the ground around the hole,” said Patrick Elsmie, managing director of Gleneagles Hotel.

At Celtic Manor, the match went into a fourth day because of the weather – a state of affairs which set people thinking that if it were to start out as a four-day contest, there would be more room for maneuver.

Here, Richard Hills, from the European Tour, explained that they were sticking with the status quo. “We did not consider the four-day option and, at the moment, it’s not on the radar … An element of that is commercial but there’s no desire from the players to change things.”

After consulting with both Davis Love III and Jose Maria Olazabal, next year’s captains, Hills and Co., also decided against Monty’s suggestion that all the players should be involved all the time. That, of course, is the way things went in Wales as they hit on a solution which would permit the completion of the usual 28 matches in the limited time frame.

Love, though he will presumably be as every other captain in finding it tough to leave people out when the time comes, commented on how the business of choosing who and who not to play adds an interesting twist to the captain’s role.

Provision has been made for an extra day in 2014 should it be required but, by the time Salmond had finished, people were thinking of sunshine and shirt sleeves – and that in spite of the fact that the bunkers outside were being transformed into water hazards as he spoke. “We are comfortable with the date we have,” said the First Minister reassuringly. “The weather statistics here have been great for September over the last 20 years.”

Then, like some proud professional telling of his scoring average, he added that had the match been played from 26-28 September of this year, the median temperature would have been a balmy 23 degrees (Celsius/73 degrees Fahrenheit).

Even now, the bagpipes are warming up for the next home Ryder Cup which was last week confirmed for Gleneagles from 26-28 September, 2014. In other words, a week earlier than the 2010 contest at Celtic Manor. There will be a Ryder Cup tartan, Ryder Cup shortbread, Ryder Cup whisky and, assuming Alex Salmond remains in his post, a Scottish First Minister who will add to the spectacle and spin.

“It’s only November 2011 and here I am looking forward to September 2014,” mused the politician.

Listening to Salmond is a bit like listening to Colin Montgomerie. He is a big presence and someone who knows his golf. He talked of Scotland’s proud past in the game and how Gleneagles was home to an unofficial Ryder Cup match in 1921. And he talked of what the 2014 contest means to Scotland’s future, not least in terms of the 40,000 9-year-olds who will by next year have been introduced to the sport as part of the Ryder Cup campaign.

When he had finished a dozen or so TV interviews, each of them laced with an equal measure of enthusiasm, he answered this correspondent’s question about Monty.

What did he feel about the suggestion – it came from Callum Macaulay, one of Scotland’s main hopes for the side of 2014 – that he be given another shot at the captaincy.

Salmond is far too wily a politician to risk anything too controversial in such a context. Though he had seen Monty in action in 2010 and thought he was outstanding, he contented himself with a humorous, “If it were up to me, I would have a Scottish captain and 12 Scottish players.”

That said, he admitted that it was not up to him. “It’s up to the Players Committee on the European Tour. We need to leave it to them, and they’ve made a pretty good job of things in recent years.” Across the room, the photographers were calling for Carly Booth, one of Scotland’s top up-and-coming women professionals, to be pictured holding the Ryder Cup trophy aloft.

Salmond’s light-hearted observation? “She could be a player by the time the match comes round again.”

Away from the date and at the news that Diageo will be the official event partner, the main announcements of last week centered around the 18th hole and the time-span of the match. The former is to be shortened, while the match itself will remain a three-day affair.

Both decisions are for the better. The 18th has always been a long and uninviting slog up the hill. Jack Nicklaus, the original designer, has been called upon to put things to rights and is making a good fist of it. An elevated teeing area will get the hole off to a more uplifting start, while its current length of 533 will be reduced by 20 yards to make it a more reachable par 5. If it is not a contradiction in terms, the green will become a cozier cauldron for the all-important final putts as it takes a shift to the right and dips down 1.6 meters (5.25 feet) into the surrounding hillocks.

“What Jack has come up with is a grand solution that doesn’t require a substantial change to the ground around the hole,” said Patrick Elsmie, managing director of Gleneagles Hotel.

At Celtic Manor, the match went into a fourth day because of the weather – a state of affairs which set people thinking that if it were to start out as a four-day contest, there would be more room for maneuver.

Here, Richard Hills, from the European Tour, explained that they were sticking with the status quo. “We did not consider the four-day option and, at the moment, it’s not on the radar … An element of that is commercial but there’s no desire from the players to change things.”

After consulting with both Davis Love III and Jose Maria Olazabal, next year’s captains, Hills and Co., also decided against Monty’s suggestion that all the players should be involved all the time. That, of course, is the way things went in Wales as they hit on a solution which would permit the completion of the usual 28 matches in the limited time frame.

Love, though he will presumably be as every other captain in finding it tough to leave people out when the time comes, commented on how the business of choosing who and who not to play adds an interesting twist to the captain’s role.

Provision has been made for an extra day in 2014 should it be required but, by the time Salmond had finished, people were thinking of sunshine and shirt sleeves – and that in spite of the fact that the bunkers outside were being transformed into water hazards as he spoke. “We are comfortable with the date we have,” said the First Minister reassuringly. “Weather statistics here have been great for September over the last 20 years.”

Then, like some proud professional telling of his scoring average, he added that had the match been played from 26-28 September of this year, the median temperature would have been a balmy 23 degrees (Celsius, or 73 degrees Fahrenheit).

A couple of weeks ago, Jay Sigel was mentioned in these pages as an amateur who, if there were any justice, would by now have been awarded his place in the World Golf Hall of Fame. As writer Jim Nugent noted, he won five USGA championships and played in nine Walker Cups.

Global Golf Post could have set the proverbial cat among the pigeons with this Sigel suggestion. Of course, the American should be in there with golf’s elite but, looking at things from a UK perspective, so, too, should Belle Robertson (Scotland), Mary McKenna (Ireland), Peter McEvoy (England) and Gary Wolstenholme (England).

The now 51-year-old Wolstenholme, who played in the first of his six Walker Cups two years after Sigel made his ninth and final appearance, is perhaps the most obvious candidate. He won two Amateurs – the second of them when he was 43 – along with a host of other global titles. These included the Scottish, Welsh, Chinese, South African and Finnish Open stroke-play championships.

Though his younger amateur rivals would tease, “If you couldn’t chip and putt, you’d be playing off 24,” Wolstenholme had arguably the finest Walker Cup result of all time when he defeated Tiger Woods at Royal Porthcawl in the match of 1995. He may have needed a driver and 5-wood to reach the fifth green as against Woods’ driver and 8-iron but he beat him just the same.

“Gary makes life easy for a Walker Cup captain,” said McEvoy, the shrewdest of Walker Cup captains. “When you are looking for the right man to play a Woods or a Casey Wittenberg, you don’t have to look beyond him. He has what it takes to unsettle a player and the process usually starts at the first. As often as not, the other fellow will have drawn confidence from hitting much the longer drive but will have ended up losing the hole to a birdie.”

Nugent could not have been more right when he hinted at long-serving amateurs no longer being revered as they once were. Wolstenholme should have finished his amateur career on a well-deserved high but, in 2008, he received a phone call from the English Golf Union to say that he would not be selected for England again. They had decided to concentrate on their Under 25s. (For what it is worth, they did not change their tune when Tom Watson finished second in the Open at the age of 59.)

Wolstenholme had always intended to keep playing in the upper echelons of the amateur game until he switched to the senior arena, but now he had to change course. After getting a touch of his own back by defeating the best of England’s young cubs in the 2008 Lee Westwood Trophy, he disappeared into the no-man’s land that is the PGA Europro Tour.

In order to give it his best shot, he had to leave his job as a part-time marketing manager at Kilworth Springs and, with expenses high and prize-money low, he soon ran out of cash. This was no time to be selling his house but that is what he had to do; the debts were mounting by the minute.

On the plus side, he won among the Europros and, as he approached his 50th birthday, he was handed a single Senior Tour invitation – for the Travis Perkins at Woburn. Everyone sat up when he finished as well-placed as third. He earned himself some money – £16,550 – along with a place in the following week’s event in Czechoslovakia.

Once there, he did the equivalent of a Tom Lewis. Just as young Tom recently avoided the European Tour’s Qualifying School by the simple expedient of winning the Portugal Open, so Wolstenholme gave the Seniors’ school the slip by capturing the Casa Serena Open.

He has never looked back.

This year, he has annexed the Australian Senior Open and is set to make off with Rookie of the Year honours in Europe. In his first 15 months, he has bagged a total of £246,000, enough to clear his debts and to set about buying another house.

“Yes,” he says, “I’m doing well, but I’m very aware of those who aren’t. It costs around £60,000 to play out here and anyone finishing outside the top 40 will struggle to break even.”

He may languish at a less-than-glamorous 94th on the driving distance stats on 239.9 yards, but his short game is the envy of every senior.

It was Barry Lane, who is currently lying second on the Senior Tour Order of Merit to Wolstenholme’s fifth, who turned to him the other day and said, “Gary, I really do admire you, the way you’re not intimidated or fazed when people outdrive you. I love the way you go about your business.”

That meant everything to Wolstenholme.

No less surely than he was ousted from the England team, this six-times Walker Cup man deserves to be ushered into the Hall of Fame. Not just for his results but for being as a patron saint to the shorter hitters of this world.

A couple of weeks ago, Jay Sigel was mentioned in these pages as an amateur who, if there were any justice, would by now have been awarded his place in the World Golf Hall of Fame. As writer Jim Nugent noted, he won five USGA championships and played in nine Walker Cups.

Global Golf Post could have set the proverbial cat among the pigeons with this Sigel suggestion. Of course, the American should be in there with golf’s elite but, from a UK perspective, so, too, should Belle Robertson (Scotland), Mary McKenna (Ireland), Peter McEvoy (England) and Gary Wolstenholme (England).

Wolstenholme, who played in the first of his six Walker Cups two years after Sigel made his ninth and final appearance, is perhaps the most obvious candidate.The now 51-year-old won two Amateurs – the second when he was 43 – along with a host of other titles. These included the Scottish, Welsh, Chinese, South African and Finnish Open stroke-play championships.

Though his younger amateur rivals would tease, “If you couldn’t chip and putt, you’d be playing off 24,” Wolstenholme had arguably the finest Walker Cup result of all time when he defeated Tiger Woods at Royal Porthcawl in the match of 1995. He may have needed a driver and 5-wood to reach the fifth green as against Woods’ driver and 8-iron but he beat him just the same.

“Gary makes life easy for a Walker Cup captain,” said McEvoy, the shrewdest of Walker Cup captains. “When you are looking for the right man to play a Woods or a Casey Wittenberg, you don’t have to look beyond him. He has what it takes to unsettle a player and the process usually starts at the first. As often as not, the other fellow will have drawn confidence from hitting much the longer drive but will have ended up losing the hole to a birdie.”

Nugent could not have been more right when he hinted at long-serving amateurs no longer being revered as they once were. Wolstenholme should have finished his amateur career on a well-deserved high but, in 2008, he received a call from the English Golf Union to say that he would not be selected for England again. They had decided to concentrate on their Under 25s. (For what it is worth, they did not change their tune when Tom Watson finished second in the Open at the age of 59.)

Wolstenholme had always intended to keep playing in the upper echelons of the amateur game until he switched to the senior arena, but now he had to change course. After getting a touch of his own back by defeating the best of England’s young cubs in the 2008 Lee Westwood Trophy, he disappeared into the no-man’s land that is the PGA Europro Tour.

In order to give it his best shot, he had to leave his job as a part-time marketing manager at Kilworth Springs and, with expenses high and prize-money low, he soon ran out of cash. This was no time to be selling his house but that is what he had to do; the debts were mounting by the minute.

On the plus side, he won among the Europros and, as he approached his 50th birthday, he was handed a single Senior Tour invitation – for the Travis Perkins at Woburn. Everyone sat up when he finished third. He earned some money – £16,550 – along with a place in the following week’s event in Czechoslovakia.

Once there, he did the equivalent of a Tom Lewis. Just as young Tom recently avoided the European Tour’s Qualifying School by the simple expedient of winning the Portugal Open, so Wolstenholme gave the Seniors’ school the slip by capturing the Casa Serena Open.

He has never looked back.

This year, he has annexed the Australian Senior Open and is set to make off with Rookie of the Year honours in Europe. In his first 15 months, he has bagged a total of £246,000, enough to clear his debts and to set about buying another house.

“Yes,” he says, “I’m doing well, but I’m very aware of those who aren’t. It costs around £60,000 to play and anyone outside the top 40 will struggle to break even.”

He may languish at a less-than-glamorous 94th on the driving distance stats on 239.9 yards, but his short game is the envy of every senior.

It was Barry Lane, who is currently lying second on the Senior Tour Order of Merit to Wolstenholme’s fifth, who turned to him the other day and said, “Gary, I really do admire you, the way you’re not intimidated or fazed when people outdrive you. I love the way you go about your business.”

That meant everything to Wolstenholme.

No less surely than he was ousted from the England team, this six-times Walker Cup man deserves to be ushered into the Hall of Fame. Not just for his results but for being a patron saint to the shorter hitters of this world.

SHANGHAI, CHINA | Paul Casey is suffering, quite literally, from head to toe and cannot wait to put 2011 behind him.

Though he thought he had started the year on the right foot when he won the Volvo Champions, that right foot suddenly began to give trouble as he was assailed by a dire case of “turf toe.” What followed, however, was a whole lot more painful: He and his wife of three years had been having their problems and, in June, they decided on a divorce that came through just more than a week ago.

Either experience would have been enough in itself to have a player who was No. 3 in the world as recently as 2009 plummeting from the top 125 on the PGA Tour money list and losing his player’s card. For the moment, though, such golfing repercussions are merely a side issue, even if they could turn into the best of therapies when he begins the fight back he has in mind for 2012. By then, as he says, he should be in a “better place both emotionally and physically,” and well able to make the most of the PGA Tour exemptions he will receive via his current world ranking of 22.

Paul and Jocelyn married but, as became ever more apparent, their interests did not.

“Our life on Tour was fun at the start but, little by little, it took its toll,” admitted Casey. “My career was costing Jocelyn her dreams.”

His ex-wife was a fine amateur horsewoman and Casey, though he himself is as nervous sitting astride a horse as another might be standing over a three-footer, often would watch her compete.

“She has a fantastic way with animals,” he said.

Jocelyn already had given up on an interior design course because of the demands of the Tour and, when she started to lose interest in her horses, Paul could see that she was losing herself, the girl that she was. The pair talked things through and the more they talked the more they realised that their relationship did not have a future.

“It was a mutual decision – very sad but for the best,” said Casey, who added that he was sure they would remain genuinely good friends.

“Now,” he continued, with mingled pride and sadness, “she is working as a therapeutic riding instructor and making a great success of it. It’s something she wanted to do.”

With regard to the Casey injury, no one took it seriously at the start, believing as they did that there had to be a limit to how much pain a single toe, even the big one, could inflict on a man.

When Casey first felt it, shortly after winning the Volvo event, he asked Peter Kostis to see if he could spot anything. The joint was swollen but the coach suggested, lightly, that whatever it was would heal in a couple of days. It was not as if he had been bitten by a scorpion.

But instead of getting better, it got worse and, after a couple of weeks, a worried Casey went first for an X-ray and then for an MRI scan, neither of which threw any light on the problem.

It was at this point that Kostis, who always has been quick to diagnose golfing disorders, suggested turf toe. To which Casey’s response was, “Don’t be ridiculous.” Yet, Kostis was right; his pupil was the victim of a condition which was unheard of in golf whilst being all too devastating in, say, ice hockey.

Indeed, when Casey mentioned the words “turf toe” to some ice hockey players, they recoiled in horror. “How,” they asked, “can you even think of playing golf with that?”

The marrow inside the bone was badly bruised and Casey was making compensations galore in his swing, all of them for the worse: “I was sitting back on my heels for a start.”

He iced the joint and took anti-inflammatories before Gary Gray, a leading physical therapist, noted that his subtalar joint, the one that permits a rolling action of the ankle, was the guilty party. Only when that had been “unlocked” could his toe recover.

Gray gave Casey some “weird” stretching exercises and, finally, this winner of 13 titles around the world ­– the most recent of them the Shinan Donghae Open – is feeling enough in the way of ongoing improvement to suggest that he could be quick off the mark in 2012.

Yet, he knows to expect ongoing aches of one sort of another.

Only last Thursday, when he was playing his first round at Sheshan, a couple of boisterous barks from an adjacent park prompted thoughts of happier days.

“It made me sad,” he said. “I worked out that it was six months since I’d seen our dogs.”

Against that, there was a touch of the old spark when, on the second day, he covered himself with as much mud as glory as he played out of the water en route to a 66.