A fantastic final round from Matt Kuchar saw him seal the deal in a playoff with Scotlands Martin Laird. After being a model of consistency throughout 2010, Kuchar finally added another title to his CV. For Martin Laird, it was a case of what might have been as he bogeyed the last to fall into a tie for the lead when a par would have won the championship outright for him. At the beginning of this year, I stated that I felt Martin Laird would have a big 2010 and I reckoned he would win at least once on tour. Approaching the 72nd hole, I thought I had been spot on. Nevertheless, there is still time for a player I think could have a very promising career.
Elsewhere, yesterday was the day when Colin Montgomerie finally had to announce his wildcard selections for his Ryder Cup team. I will be posting a more in depth piece this week but for those who are unaware, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari god the nod ahead of the likes of Paul Casey and Justin Rose. Watching Berhard Langer win again on the Seniors Tour yesterday, I wonder if he was a consideration for Monty? A pairing of the two Germans, Kaymer and Langer would certainly look formidable in foursomes, although in truth, a long, possibly wet, Celtic Manor would not be the ideal venue for the veteran.
On the ladies front, Michelle Wie won on the LPGA Tour over the weekend. I wrote a blog post entitled “Michelle Wie, No. 1 To Be” some time ago on this blog putting forward the case for the talented youngster. Her career has been somewhat stop-start to say the least but hopefully she can now finally push on and realize the abundance of talent that she undoubtedly possesses.
Finally, my brother and I squared off in Rosslare Golf Club on Friday evening under beautiful sunshine. Conceding 10 shots to him, he got off to a flyer with a birdie (nett eagle) on the first hole. The match see-sawed for the next 5 holes with Ian never behind but never more than 1up. When I birdied the 7th we were back to level, which was followed by the 8th and 9th both being halved in pars. The 10th and 11th were messy affairs but halved in bogeys nonetheless. With Ian having no shots on the 12th, 13th and 14th, I knew it would prove difficult for him, and so it proved. Although I missed 3 birdie putts from within 15ft, the pars were enough to go 3up playing the 15th. An errant tee shot from Ian on the 15th and a 20ft putt for birdie from me was enough to close the deal and claim a 4&3 victory. No doubt Ian will be looking for revenge soon but for the moment at least, Im winning the Battle of The Brothers.
