What a fantastic month of golf British and Irish fans have just had. Starting with the HSBC World Matchplay at Wentworth, where arguably the strongest field for years was assembled to contest this years event. Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk lead the field, but much to the sponsors and fans disappointment both got beaten in the first round by Shaun Micheel and Robert Karlsson respectively. All of which just goes to show that a player’s world ranking – Tiger and Jim are ranked one and two – doesn’t necessarily equate to being the best at matchplay! The fans favourites, Ernie Els and Colin Montgomerie also exited leaving Paul casey and Shaun Micheel to contest the final. Paul who had played some wonderful golf throughout the week, hit top form in the final and trounced an out of sorts Micheel by 10 and 8. Not only did Paul’s victory elvate him to seventeenth in the world rankings and win him a million pounds, but it gave him a gigantic boost of confidence for the following week’s Ryder Cup. Irish golf fans had the week of their lives when the twenty-four best players from both sides of the Atlantic arrived at The K Club to contest The Ryder Cup. Tom Lehman had taken his team to the venue a few weeks before the match in an attempt to get them to “bond”, as well as to familiarise themselves with the venue. Ian Woosnam’s captaincy got off to a bad start when Thomas Bjorn verbally attacked him via the media for not giving him a wild card, and for not communicating that fact to him before the announcement of the team. Bjorn called Woosnam “pathetic” and said that his captaincy was a joke. Bjorn’s retraction later did little to dispell the feeling that maybe there had been some truth in his accusations.

As all the players, their entourages, officials and fans descended on The K Club, the heavens opened, gale force winds blew, and there was the very real danger that the matches could be washed out. The golfing gods however, relented come Friday morning, and the matches were played amidst sunshine, light rain and heavy showers. The golf itself from the Europeans was exquisite. Whenever a clutch putt was needed the Europeans produced. In fact not only did we win all four fourball and foursomes series by two and a half to one and a half, but in the singles where historically the USA might have had the edge, we thrashed them by eight and a half to three and a half. The overall result tied the record highest winning margin by a European Team which Bernhard Langer’s team had set in the previous match. It might well have been a new record, but for the fact that Paul McGinley conceeded a twenty-five foot putt to his singles opponent JJ Henry after a streaker had run across his line on the final green before he was about to putt. Ian Woosnam’s wild card selections of Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood were totally vindicated, as were any question marks about his captaincy. The Europeans were a team of heros, but several players stood out for me. Darren Clarke because of how he handles himself and the publics response to his participation following his wife’s death six weeks earlier from breast cancer, Paul Casey for being unbeaten in his five matches, and especially his play in beating Jim Furyk in his singles match and Sergio Garcia for the enthusiasm, passion and smile which surely must have been like having three extra men on our side! One thing for sure, and that is that Ian Woosnam and his European Team did us all proud. Congratulations to you all.

After Ireland, all of the eligible players from the two Ryder Cup taems apart from Phil Mickelson flew back to England for The American Express World Championship event at The Grove in Hertfordshire. The Championship was very well attended despite some more pretty average weather, but then it’s not every week that British fans get to watch Tiger Woods, and fifty-nine of the top sixty players in the world. Tiger once again showed why he is the number one player by a mile – in strokeplay, when he blew the field away with an eight shot victory over Jim Furyk and Ian Poulter. Many of our European Ryder Cup heros suffering a hangover, both literally and figuratively, from the week before performed well below their best, but Tiger’s performance was incredible. It is just so strange that he is such a different person when it comes to matchplay.

Week four of our British treat took many of the pros up to Scotland for the Dunhill Links Championship. Many of the pros might not enjoy five and a half hour rounds in the company of amateurs, but quite clearly the fans and sponsor like the idea, and it’s a success. Padraigh Harrington, did a double in gaining his first win in two years in Europe, and winning the Pro-am event with his partner and good friend JP McManus. With just two more counting events on the European men’s calendar, Harrington’s win meant that he has an outside chance of winning the European Order of Merit. Paul Casey finished fifth, and is still in the driving seat, but David Howell, Casey’s nearest challenger missed the cut, so it could be a nailbiting couple of weeks for all three players.

So, after a truly wonderful four weeks of top class golf, things are finally slowing down. I’m heading off to Dubai for The Daily Telegraph Junior Championship Final, and shortly after that am off to China. With the clocks soon about to change, and winter golf upon us, I wish you good golfing in the months ahead.