What an interesting and exciting year it’s been for golf. Without doubt the award for the most exciting viewing of the year must go to The Ryder Cup, closely followed by Karen Stupples’s superb victory in The Weetabix British Women’s Open played at Sunningdale. In The Ryder Cup, Europe completely outplayed the Americans, but there was just a short period of time on the final day when it looked as if the Americans might make one of their infamous comebacks in the singles.

It didn’t take long for the red names on the leader boards to turn to the blue of Europe, which eventually added up to a historic eighteen and a half to nine and a half win. With “Monty” holing the winning putt, the scriptwriters couldn’t have written it better!

Sadly GB&I didn’t manage to win The Curtis Cup, but they put up a good fight narrowly losing by eight points to ten. The Americans had their youngest team ever, and it was the only opportunity so far that the British public have had to see fourteen year old Michelle Wie in action. Wie’s presence, helped produce record crowds over the three days of the match.

Despite Ada O’Sullivan, who did a fantastic job of captaining the GB&I Team, agreeing to do the job again when the match is played in the U.S. in two years time, it is hard to see how GB&I could win unless most of the very talented American teenagers are unable to play.

On the Ladies European Tour Laura Davies added another order of merit win to her collection, France’s Stephanie Arricau won twice, and the teenager from Finland, Minea Blomqvist was the Rookie of the Year after a close battle with Wales’s Becky Brewerton, and Sweden’s Linda Wessberg.

Alison Nicholas announced that she would be retiring at the end of the season, whilst Trish Johnson capped a fine year by winning at Porthcawl, thus recording her first

victory in four years. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, Ian Randell, the LET’s Chief Executive has just been sacked by the Board of Directors, with two of the non-executive directors resigning in his support. Just as the number of tournaments seemed to be on the increase, and with a Solheim Cup year looming, that is the last thing that the Tour needs!

On the American LPGA Tour Annika Sorenstam once again dominated matters, although there are signs that the Korean Grace Park, who won the first women’s major of the year and is Annika’s closest challenger on the money list.

Some big strides forwards. Annika won eight out of the twenty tournaments that she played in, including the season ending Tour Player’s Championship at the Trump International course in Florida. In men’s golf Vijay Singh overtook Tiger Woods as the world number one, and then Ernie Els overtook Tiger as the world number two!

Vijay Singh

I am looking forward to another exciting year in 2005, when Europe will be defending The Solheim Cup at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Indiana, and the GB& I amateurs will also be defending The Walker Cup in America. I have every hope that we will be successful in both competitions. Those competitions apart, I wish everyone a happy, healthy and successful year on and off the course!

SOLHEIM CUP TICKET HOTLINE
Applications should be submitted via the Internet or telephone by 31st December, 2004. A random ticket draw will then take place on the 9th January 2005, and successful applicants will be notified by the end of January 2005.