Bloggy Underfoot: A Week Of Stars- The Vivendi Trophy and Tour Championship - Donal Hughes, Irish Examiner SpinDoctor

  I have to say I was quite sceptical prior to the Vivendi Seve Trophy. I feared it would be a case of the lesser lights of the tour going...

 

I have to say I was quite sceptical prior to the Vivendi Seve Trophy. I feared it would be a case of the lesser lights of the tour going through the matchplay motions. How wrong I was. A fantastic atmosphere surrounded the event from start to finish. Slickly staged on the Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche layout, the scoring on the GB&I side was as hot as the weather. It was less a case of the prabables versus possibles on the back pitch of Landsdowne Road and more that of a full blooded Autumn international with all the trimmings. Even though the GB&I and European teams seemed to know each other a bit too well to cultivate any real needle, some fascinating cameo’s emerged. We didn’t know last week how good Paul McGinley would be as a captain, he fitted into the role so smoothly. More a Torrance than a Faldo in the leadership style department, McGinley has to now be a nailed on certainty for future Ryder Cup captaincy.

It would have been nice to have seen more Ryder Cup heroes like Westwood and Garcia get involved in what is in-effect a Ryder Cup training camp but their absence gave some of those on the periphery a chance to display their CV’s for the apprentice role at Celtic Manor. One of those was Chris Wood and what a revelation he was? The towering 21 year old who has already nearly walked away with two British Open’s seems bornfor matchplay winning a shed load of points and could be a good bet for a Ryder Cup cap. Good to see Monty present also, next years captain is taking his job as seriously as he handles spectators who dare to move during his shots. On the Saturday he found some time to visit the Sky Sports commentary booth, where he offered a valuable insight into how he was dispatching his role of captain. One of his little nuggets of wisdom concerned Rory McIlroy, the star of the show who blitzed Henrik Stenson in the singles. Monty revealed his admiration for the Irishman by stating that if he were an amateur, he would “pay money” to watch McIlroy play. High praise indeed, that’s the first time in my life I have heard any touring pro saying he would part with cash rather than make off with it. On a more sobering note, it was sad that Seve couldn’t make an appearance, his absence is very worrying and I fear the biggest battle in his fight against his brain tumour is on the horizon. However as long as hope exists, that dream of seeing Ballesteros cross the Swilken Bridge with a club in hand at next summer’s British Open is alive.

Sunday night brought the conclusion of the Fed-Ex Cup on the US Tour. Hats off to Phil Mickelson on his win, three over par after the first round, he looked right out of it but a short game masterclass blew the field away. An emotional Mickelson, whose wife Amy and mother Mary are battling cancer, attributed his win in part to having reverted to the putting stroke he had used at the beginning of his career after working with coach Dave Stockton in the build up. “It's like teaching a fish to swim. They kind of know how to do it," Stockston said after reaffirming the value of Phil’s old forward press putting stroke. Mickelson may have stolen Tiger’s thunder, but Woods pocketed the $10 million Fed-Ex Cup. "It certainly doesn't feel like it did a couple years ago when I won the tournament by seven or eight shots," Woods said. "That felt a little bit better than it did today. … I'm a little disappointed I didn't win the championship, because I was right there." There’s just pleasing some! Finally, it will be great to welcome Padraig Harrington and Ronan Flood back to the European Tour this week. With results of T2, T4, T6, T4 in their last four events in the States, they are sure to be hot to handle and a win at this weeks €5 million Dunhill Links must be on the cards.

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