Golf Central

The good news is we correctly tipped you the winners of both of the weekend’s team competitions. We selected Great Britain and Ireland to win The Seve Trophy (4/7 with Coral) and the U.S to win The Presidents Cup (8/11 with Coral).

Both teams duly obliged and that meant our bet of the week came in. We advised you to back them in a double, it was an obvious money maker and offered good value as it returned £27.04 for a £10 stake. Happy days.

'One more picture lads and then we can go home'

The bad news is that none of our six selections for top individual points scorer were correct.

In The Seve Trophy we told you to back:

Colin Montgomerie to be top GB&I points scorer @ 9/2.

Thomas Bjorn to be top Continental Europe points scorer @ 6/1.

Or

Justin Rose to be top overall points scorer @ 7/1.

We should have told you to get on:

Bradley Dredge to be top GB&I points scorer @7/1.

The Top Continental Europe points scorer was shared between five players, none of which was our selection. They were Robert Karlson @ 11/2,  Peter Hanson @ 13/2, Raphael Jacquelin @ 13/2, Gregory Harvet @ 12/1, Markus Brier @ 12/1.

Or

Bradley Dredge to be top overall points scorer @ 12/1.

In the Presidents Cup we told you to back:

Steve Stricker to be top USA points scorer @ 10/1.

Rory Sabbatini to be top International points scorer @ 10/1.

Or

Tiger Woods to be top overall points scorer @ 11/2.

We should have told you to get on:

David Toms to be top USA points scorer @ 14/1.

Mike Weir to be top International points scorer @ 9/1.

Or

David Toms to be top overall points scorer @ 20/1.

So there wasn’t much high drama in Montreal then?: Golf-wise, not enough to ripple the flags.

Did Woody Austin take another plunge in a pond?: Nope. But Aquaman showed that Americans can have a sense of humour by donning swimming goggles on 14th hole to the fans’ delight.

How do you rate the galleries this weekend then?: Superb. Top marks, especially the pack of local lads who roamed the course for four days dressed as Mike Weir’s caddies.

And which players stood out?: Weir for the Internationals, for sure. He took a lot of stick for being included by captain Gary Player to appease the Canadians, but the lefty from Ontario backed it up with a great performance, including beating Tiger in the marquee match. And Scott Verplank played so well that Jack Nicklaus called him “his rock”.

Thanks for the disturbing visual. This all sounds more ‘rom-com’ than ‘EastEnders’. No villainy at all? …: Well, not unless you count mouthy South African Rory Sabbatini, everyone’s favourite whipping-boy. “Mr Beatable” played like it, getting smacked around by the Yanks to the tune of 0-3-1.

Sounds like the Americans came to play. Should we be scared about the U-S-A in the Ryder Cup then?: Well, where’s there’s a Woody, there’s a way …

Now I’m really scared. I need a pint….: I’ll join you.

Final President’s Cup results: U.S. 19½, Internationals 14½

Sunday singles matches

Scott Verplank (US) def. Rory Sabbatini (Int), 2 & 1

Ernie Els (Int) def. Lucas Glover (US), 2-up

Phil Mickelson (US) def. Vijay Singh (Int), 5 & 4

Mike Weir (Int) def. Tiger Woods (US), 1-up

Angel Cabrera (Int) def. Woody Austin (US), 2 & 1

Adam Scott (Int) def. Zach Johnson (US), 2 & 1

David Toms (US) def. Trevor Immelman (Int), 2-up

Stewart Cink (US) def. Nick O'Hern (Int), 6 & 4

Geoff Ogilvy (Int) def. Steve Stricker (US), 1-up

K.J. Choi (Int) def. Hunter Mahan (US), 3 & 2

Charles Howell III (US) def. Stuart Appleby (Int), 2 & 1

Retief Goosen (Int) def. Jim Furyk (US), 2 & 1

With the win, Zaharias wrapped up the LPGA money title with $14,800, which works out to $120,959.73 in today’s money. Take that, Michelle Wie!

The “Babe” could beat any other girl and lots of the boys at most sports, winning gold medals in javelin and hurdles at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, and starring at basketball. However, she could not beat cancer unfortunately, dying in 1956 at only 45 years of age.

Also on this day, in 1921, smooth-talkin’, smooth-swingin’ Walter Hagen won his first USPGA Championship, beating Englishman Jim Barnes 3 & 2 in New York for the third of his 11 major titles.

And on this day in 1961, New York Yankees slugger Roger Maris blasted his 61st home run of the season, breaking America’s most hallowed sporting record, held since 1927 by Babe Ruth. The record is no longer so hallowed – having been topped six times since by drugs cheats Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds.

Today in 1936, Franco was given the leadership of Spain and in 1939, Sir Winston Churchill referred to the FedEx Cup scoring system as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”. Or maybe he actually meant the Soviet Union. Whatever.

That said, it’s Eytyxismena Genethlia!, as they say in Lesbos, to US golf pros George Archer (68) and Willie Wood (47); a big salute to former US prez and peanut farmer Jimmy “Jimmuh” Carter (83); Happy Days actor Tom Bosley (80); English songbird Dame Julie Andrews (72); aforementioned baseballer and steroid gobbler Mark McGwire (44); and former England and Bath rugby captain Phil de Glanville, now a practicing doctor in Somerset. It would also be the b-day of Henry III, who was only 9 when he was crowned in 1216, and whose lack of experience may be why really old people remember him as a bit of a so-so king.

After winning those bucketfuls of silver dollars in Vegas, the ’64 Open champ-to-be would have celebrated with a bottle of Moët champagne – which coupled with his colourful quotes endeared him to the press (as we all know, golf journalists cannot resist free booze).

Also on this day in 1990, Ian Woosnam outlasted Mark McNulty and Jose Maria Olazabal to win the now-defunct Epson Grand Prix in Chepstow, Wales, en route to winning the second of his two Order of Merit titles.

It was grim news on this day in 1938, when PM Neville Chamberlain hopped off a plane from Munich after allowing Hitler to annex Sudetenland and proclaimed “Peace in Our Time”. And sad too in 1955, as Hollywood’s Rebel Without A Cause James Dean was killed when his Porsche crashed near Paso Robles, California.

On the lighter side, on September 30, 1994 Russian president Boris Yeltsin had another episode of “oversleeping”, failing to turn up for a meeting with Irish taoiseach Albert Reynolds.

And it’s Mi fresteri ju!, as they say in Surinamese, to LPGA veterans Vicki Fergon (52) and Kelly Robbins (38); foxy Swiss Miss of tennis Martina Hingis (27); Northern Ireland keeper Roy Carroll (30); wet-looked Barca gaffer Frank Rijkaard (45); 10-handicapper and silky crooner Johnny Mathis (72); and Nobel-winning Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel (79).