Solheim stays in USA

Feel pretty miffed at not having Sky this weekend to follow at least some of the Solheim Cup, though it looks as if my personal support wouldn't have been enough to make any difference in the last day's singles matches. Going in with a small lead, the Europeans, with the honourable exception of Catriona Matthew, failed to make any further gains and the final score is 16-12 to USA who must be mighty pleased, especially with such a young side. The commentator who was under fire yesterday for criticising the US team for choking will doubtless enjoy eating her words, or maybe she can take credit for spurring her team on to better things!

Funny how we have the edge in the Ryder Cup but struggle in the Walker and Solheim. Can't think why that should be, unless the weakness is with the US tour Professionals. The amateurs and ladies seem perfectly comfortable in the team situation.



And finally, I have completed my purchase of new kit with a Powakaddy Twinline 3 trolley, a more compact version of the Twinline 1. I tried it out today with my smart new bag and was very satisfied. It's a manual trolley but for pushing rather than pulling.The trolley felt well-balanced and I found the hills less tiring. Best of all, the bag didn't move and inch. It's pretty easy to put up and down, but I have one small quibble over the trolley design; the footbrake prevents the trolley folding completely flat. For now we've disabled the brake and I'm parking carefully! Will certainly keep it well away from this lake, where a pair of swans decided to act as tee markers last week.

Tiger Triumphs (and Catriona too)

Sorry about the sudden silence on the blog. I forgot to tell you all that I was off on a week’s holiday to Belgium, of which more later.
Meanwhile Tiger has triumphed at the US PGA and today I sense a kind of relief in the press. Tiger has won a major, the world is as it should be, and we are treated to the usual round of congratulation and anecdotes of his prodigious childhood. He deserves it all, of course, the win and the adulation, and Lewine Mair in the Daily Telegraph is right to quote Monty’s view that Tiger has benefited the game in all kinds of ways, including attracting more money. Other achievements pall beside his and will continue to do so for some time to come, but don’t let’s forget that this is his first major win this year. His is the dominant force in the game, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we have another golden run coming on, but compared to other ball games, golf is unique. It’s about individual performance rather than competition. You play the course rather than your ‘opponent’. In some ways you are playing against yourself. Eventually Tiger will have another bad day, and, unlike in tennis, there will be no one on the far side of the net zapping down a serve to snap him back into focus. It may be a while before he’s beaten in a big tournament. But he’s human. No-one should doubt that, or doubt their ability to match him, sooner or later.

Despite her failure at St. Andrews, it's also good to hear that Catriona Matthew had a win to celebrate in Sweden. It''s not so long since Catriona returned from 'maternity leave' - maybe she was the brave soul changing nappies in the Royal and Ancient!

Women's British Open, St. Andrews

I’m really sorry to be missing the last day of the championship as we’re off on holiday. So far it’s been a fascinating contest, particularly on Day 2 when a Scot – Catriona Matthew, put in a great challenge, finishing 5 under. Sadly today she slumped completely and it looks like Ochoa will be unstoppable. Still, on a windy day when no one looked glamorous, Matthew did have the prettiest lavender polo I have ever seen (sadly can’t find a photo that shows it).
Catriona is now based in the States, and her husband is usually her caddie. Interesting how these family caddie things work out; Luke Donald’s brother caddies for him and then there was the strange case of Graeme Storm. I like the husband/wife idea. Who’ll be first to reverse the picture – wife caddying for husband?

The championship has also prompted an interesting discussion on the BBC blog about attitudes to golf in the R&A and at St. Andrews – not, apparently, to be confused (make sure you read the comments!) Good luck to all the girls tomorrow, and hope that devilish wind drops.