The eyes of the golfing world focus on The Open Championship at Royal St George’s in Kent this week as European Tour Members aim to make it six Major Championship victories in a row.
Since Graeme McDowell triumphed in the US Open Championship at Pebble Beach 13 months ago, it has been a joyous five-win journey for European Tour Members in the Major arena.
Following McDowell was Louis Oosthuizen’s remarkable seven shot Open triumph at St Andrews before Martin Kaymer made it three in a row when he emerged from a play-off at Whistling Straits with the US PGA Championship in his grasp.
Into this year and Oosthuizen’s fellow South African Charl Schwartzel was next to step up to the mark, becoming the first man in the illustrious history of the Masters Tournament to birdie the last four holes at Augusta National to claim the Green Jacket.
McDowell’s fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy ensured a Major high five for the European Tour with a truly stunning eight shot victory in the US Open at Congressional last month, conclusively announcing his arrival at world golf’s top table.
All five men mentioned above will be at the forefront of the quest for the Claret Jug, the most coveted trophy in the game and one of the most iconic in the whole of sport.
But it says everything about the rude health of European Tour golf as a whole that the illustrious quintet above will not even be the ones topping the Official World Golf Ranking heading into the south east of England.
That honour goes to the English duo of Luke Donald and Lee Westwood who have quite simply been the two most consistent and successful golfers of the year.
Westwood was the man who initially ended Tiger Woods’ reign as World Number One last October and, despite being overtaken in that spot by Donald, has shown his game is in exceedingly fine fettle with back to back victories in Indonesia and Korea this year.
However, if ever there is a definition of a man right at the top of his game it is Donald, who goes into The Open on the back of a superb victory in the Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.
The tournament might have had to be curtailed to 54 holes due to inclement weather but Donald’s showing was red hot, carding a final round 63 on the spectacular links course on Scotland’s Moray Firth coast to win by four shots from Sweden’s Fredrik Andersson Hed.
“There is always a little added pressure when you are the World Number One but hopefully I have proved that I can handle that,” he said. “Obviously The Open will be different to what we had at Castle Stuart but it was a strong field in Scotland and is definitely the best way to prepare.
“One thing is for sure, I’ll be high on confidence. I’m obviously hitting the ball nicely and to do it on a links course is even better. That’s why I decided to play at Castle Stuart and I am looking forward to bringing the same game I had in Scotland to the south of England.”
