Golf Central

'It's a short dogleg left but that thousand miles to the right is out of bounds'

Remember that scene in Crocodile Dundee where Paul Hogan has to play a tricky three-iron out of a kangaroo's pouch while narrowly avoiding a crocodile's fangs and then has to travel half a day to get to the next hole? No? OK, that's because it never happened but soon it'll be a reality as the World's longest and wildest golf course has just been given the go-ahead by Australian officials.

To be based on the unforgiving Nullarbor Plain, the 18 hole course, due for completion next year, will spread over 840 miles of desert between Western and Southern Australia. With holes up to 180 miles away from each other, in oppressively humid conditions and on some of the most arrid land in the World, playing the course is as much a test of endurance as it is golfing prowess.

Roughly a quarter of a million visitors pass through the plain a year and it's hoped that the course will provide them with a reason to stop off at some of the more remote locations; play a hole, have a drink and then move on. Playing the entire course is estimated to take about two or three days, about the same amount of time I spend on a normal course when having a particularly bad round.

Crocodile Dundee hitting the links is not as far fetched as you might think, as all manner of animals that would delight in turning you into a skeleton baking in the sun will be roaming around the outback and golfers will be advised accordingly. Having Mick Dundee as a caddie would definitely be a plus, not only as protection but to help read the 'browns'; a mixture of sand and oil which will feature instead of greens.

The ambitious project, which is partly being funded by the Australian federal tourism minister, will wind it's way down the desolate Eyre Highway from Ceduna on the coast to Kagoorlie in the West.

Smoking is bad...but looks so cool

On this day, in 1998, Miguel Ángel Jiménez won the Trophee Lancome with an 11-under-par, 273 – enough for a two stroke victory over Mark O'Meara, Greg Turner, David Duval, and Jarmo Sandelin.

Miguel Ángel Jiménez was born in Malaga in 1964 and first appeared on the European Tour in 1988 having fought his way past British holiday-makers to learn his trade on the courses of his home-town. In 1992, he won the Piaget Belgian Open, the first of his 13 Tour victories to date. In 1994 he finished fifth on the order of merit and managed a fourth place finish in both 1998 and 1999. Miguel is best known for his his love of cigars and his penchant for fixing rather than driving high performance cars, leading to his nickname 'the mechanic'. He also enjoys kicking tyres, topless calendars and overcharging for simple jobs.

Also on this day, in 1673, Galileo Galilei is tried before the Spanish Inquisition for daring to teach that the Earth orbits the Sun. He didn't expect it, no-one does. Galileo was then ordered to spend the remaining years of his life under house arrest

Meanwhile, in 1969, John Lennon left The Beatles but did not make a public announcement. This further weakened the relationship between him and Paul which was already strained after John had borrowed Paul's duvet and painted all over it in preparation for a later event.

And it's, Cherd Songsri! As they say in the Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, to; Portsmouth midfielder Sean Davis (28), Colombian F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya (32) and Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson (36). Today was also the day that Old Big 'Ead, Brian Clough died of stomach cancer in 2004.

"In 20 years when we're both legends and you have your own tournament...i'm going to CRUSH you"

Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros have named their wildcards for the upcoming Seve Trophy. Faldo has chosen England's Simon Dyson and Scotland's Marc Warren while Seve has chosen fellow Spaniard, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Dane, Thomas Bjorn.

Both captains lost no time in bigging up their choices; Faldo said “In Marc Warren I'm bringing a player to the team that has a cool head under pressure and in Simon Dyson we have a player that has proved he can perform under the spotlight.”

Ballesteros was similarly bullish: "I'm delighted to have someone of Thomas's experience in the team and we know what a great competitor he is in this format, Gonzalo is one of the most exciting young players on the tour and I believe he will play a good role in the team." Bjorn's inclusion also means that he'll be retain his ever-present record in the event.

This news comes hot on the heels of Padraig Harrington's withdrawal which somewhat ironically leaves the Ireland hosted tournament without an Irish player in its ranks.

Teams:

Britain and Ireland: Colin Montgomerie (Scotland), Justin Rose (England), Paul Casey (England), Bradley Dredge (Wales), Graeme Storm (England), Oliver Wilson (England), Nick Dougherty (England), Phillip Archer (England), Simon Dyson (England), Marc Warren (Scotland).

Continental Europe: Robert Karlsson (Sweden), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain), Raphael Jacquelin (France), Mikko Ilonen (Finland), Soren Hansen (Denmark), Gregory Havret (France), Markus Brier (Austria), Peter Hanson (Sweden), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain).
 

Runaway mine train just out of shot

 The Mercedes Benz Championship's prohibitively elite field ensured that the rookies were all kicking their heels last week. Not literally hopefully as we want them to do well at the British Masters this week.

Zane Scotland @ 66/1
Sam Walker @ 125/1
Kyron Sullivan @ 200/1
Mark Pilkington @ 250/1
Marcus Higley @ 250/1

Has Tiger gone? Can I get out now?

Last week, our highest placing tip Steve Stricker finished at a tied 17th  score of six-under-par, a whopping 17 shots behind the winner, Tiger Woods. This week, in a Tiger-less field, the rank and file of the PGA Tour get their chance for some glory and our chance to pick a winner for a change.

Carl Pettersson @ 25/1

The portly Swede finished 10th last week at the BMW Championship and fifth at the Wyndham Championship. Is sixth in total overall birdies this season and is well priced to bag his first win of the year.

Sean O'Hair @ 33/1

Will be buoyant from a recent World Cup call-up and performed well at both the Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Brian Gay @ 80/1

Not just a funny name, Brian Gay is also an excellent putter and went reasonably close at the recent Wyndham Championship. 80/1 represents decent each way odds.