Golf Central

It was a matter of so close, yet so far last week at The European Open, what with Soren Hansen draining a birdie putt on the last to deny me a bit of moula on Robert Karlsson. I'm not one to hold grudges, however, especially against Soren...

Ernie Els
I don't know what, but something's telling me to go with the Big Easy this week... probably the fact that he won here in 2003 and 2000, finished third in 2007 and the year before that.
Soren Hansen
I can't get enough of Soren at the moment, and who can blame me with the form he's shown this year? The Dane's recorded two top ten finishes in the last fortnight, which, in my eyes, means he's only going to get better.
Colin Montgomerie
I know, I know... he choked big time last week, but trust me when I say he's going to pull it out of the bag at Loch Lomond. Found a bit of form recently, home crowd, loves Loch Lomond, won here in 1999 and bookies are given a good price on him. What more do you want?

For all the best odds on this week's tips, go to www.thebetdetective.com

Last Week's Picks
Robert Karlsson - T6
Colin Montgomerie - T24
John Bickerton - Missed Cut

It's the most wonderful time of the year... no, it's not Christmas. Better than that, in fact. It's that wonderful time of the year when the European Tour's finest all make their way up to Loch Lomond for one final knock before The Open. Great golf, great course, great scenery... and Hazel Irvine. Okay, scrap that last one...

1. A quick history lesson
The site we now know as Loch Lomond GC used to be occupied by Clan Colquhoun in ancient times, and Rossdu Mansion (which is used as the clubhouse) was constructed in 1773 by Sir James Colquhoun and designed by architect, John Baxter. Before you ask, Rossdhu is derived from the Scottish Gaelic ros dubh, which means Black Headland. Class dismissed...
2. Loch Lomond's not a bad track
Designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morish, Loch Lomond is currently the 45th best course in the world. Set in 600 acres of sheltered seclusion, the course is nestled comfortably between the mountains and historic lochside. Some fella named Colin Montgomerie said, 'wherever Loch Lomond is ranked, it ought to be higher.' It's a shame that you'd have to give an arm and a leg away to find out, because unless you receive an invitation to play, don't even think about ringing up to book a casual tee time.
3. A word from of our sponsor
Barclays Bank sponsor this week's stop on the European Tour, and have been sponsoring the event since 2002. As the name suggests, Barclays is a major global financial service provider, currently the 4th largest financial service provider in the world. The company's roots date back to 1690 in London, with the name dating back to 1736 when James Barclay, son-in-law of one of the founders became a partner in the business.
4. Those Yanks ain't got a chance
Since the tournament began in 1972, golfers from 12 countries have got their names on the trophy, Michael Allen and Tom Lehman being the only US golfers to have won it. South Africa are the true kings of the event, having won it on four occasions, Tim Clark being the last in 2005 and Ernie Els in 2003 and 2000. And those French have done well recently, what with Gregory Havret last year and Thomas Levet in 2004. Are there any Serbian golfers we can have a flutter on this week?
5. Loch Lomond: Home to lots of water
If we're not on the golf course, which is unlikely seeing as it cost us an arm and a leg to get on in the first place, we'll be wind-surfing and speed boating on the loch, singing some song called The Bonnie Banks Of Scotland, drinking loads of Loch Lomond Single Malt, looking for Groundskeeper Willie from The Simpsons and reading the poetry of Robert Burns.

Well, sort of. It seems if the big cat's not playing, then some people simply don't want to know. Without Tiger in the field at last weekend's AT & T National, the crowd numbers at Sunday's final round were down 7,000 from last year's 37,000 and Saturday's third-round figures dropped to 15,000 from 22,311.

TV execs at CBS won't be happy either; the overnight ratings for Sunday's fourth round were down 48%, and third-round ratings plumetted 35%. The stats certainly don't lie, do they?

Well, he's back... Jean Van De Velde will return to The Open next week after navigating his way through local qualifying at Hillside yesterday. The crazy Frenchman made a last-hole birdie (he could have done with one of those at 'Noustie in 1999) to make one of 12 qualifying spots by a single shot.

The 42-year-old hasn't teed it up at The Open since 2005, and by the sounds of it, he fancies his chances a bit. 'I qualified in 1999 and I played quite well I seem to remember, so maybe this is my chance.' His words, not ours...

OK, so there weren’t actually any weapons involved and there was a bit of Scottish mizzle in the air for much of the tournament, but the Duel In The Sun between Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson remains one of the most compelling final days in Open Championship history. After three rounds at Turnberry in 1977, both players were tied at ten under and had accelerated nine shots clear of the field.

In what can only be described as an enthralling final round, Watson and Nicklaus matched each other shot for shot all the way to the 72nd hole, where the Kansas Kid creamed a seven-iron to two feet. 'I hit it dead flush. It was one of the best shots I ever hit. It's something I will never forget,' said Watson, who holed the birdie putt to win, finishing 65, 65 to Nicklaus' 65,66.

This day in 1991 saw the reintroduction of South Africa to the Olympic Movement after 30 years of exclusion, but you'll have read that elsewhere, so we're going to tell you about this day in 455 instead. We love a bit of Roman action, and today saw the military commander Avitus declared emperor of the Western Roman Empire.

Bestowed with the title of Master of Soldiers by Emperor Petronius Maximus, he betrayed him by colluding with King Theodoric ll of the Visigoths to seize power, yet got his just desserts when he was forced to flee Rome a year later and died shortly after.

Ignore the Penang curry for a moment and shout Selamat Hari Jadi! as they do in Malaysia to PGA Tour veteran Scott Rachal Verplank (47), pop artist David Hockney (71), O.J. 'not this time' Simpson (61), tainted lover Marc Almond (52), and the average US trio of Courtney Love (44), Jack White (33) and Fred Savage (32).