After a very a good and positive performance in Holland finishing 2nd in the KLM Open, I moved on to Gleneagles where I felt I needed to win to stake my claim on a Ryder Cup pick.

Despite playing a lot of good golf, I came up short in order to get that Ryder Cup pick.  I got off to a bad start being 3 over on the 1st day, had a good 2nd day, despite having two unplayable lies in greenside bunkers which cost me double bogeys, making things difficult for me at the weekend.  I still managed to shoot 5 under par and finish tied 19th.

Like everyone else I was anticipating Darren Clarke to be one of the picks... MORE »

After a good top 10 performance last week I will be keeping my head down over the next 2 weeks and try to show some form to achieve some big finishes, which will keep my hopes alive of a very outside chance of making the Ryder Cup Team.

As I have been saying most of the year, my golf has been good , I am currently 2nd on the tour's stroke average, but I am still languishing down at 33rd on the Order of Merit due to the fact I haven't had any big finishes despite a number of top 10's. I feel I played well again last week but didn't turn my good golf into a good result. 

The next two... MORE »

I'm now in Akron for the WGC - Bridgestone Invitational at the stunning Firestone Country Club where on arrival my suitcase failed to appear! Luckily for me my golf clubs did - so courtesy of the local supermarket I embarked on my practice round in a 'straight out of the packet' pair of beige chinos and 'matching' red and black golf shirt!

The following day my caddie, Darren arrived, also with no luggage! So we definitely made a pretty pair! However, all is now resolved and we are properly dressed and ready for action.

The course is in fantastic condition and I'm really looking forward to the week after having had a few weeks off. The weather here is very warm and... MORE »

I find myself at a part of the season where I have 3 of the next 4 weeks off due to not being exempt for the British Open or the US PGA and the complications of trying to get from Russia (next week) to Akron in Ohio USA (the following week) for the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.  Therefore I am forced to sit 3 weeks out which is far from ideal!

Despite playing a lot of good golf and being high in the Order of Merit, not being exempt from the Majors has played havoc with my schedule.  In previous years my Ryder Cup status has given me Exemption for these tournaments.

I plan to resume playing on the European tour in the... MORE »

After a missed cut at St Omer, where I felt it was important for me to play to stay competitive, I returned to the tour last week in France at what is my favourite venue on tour, The Paris National.  I think the golf course is a wonderful testament to what can be achieved with creativity in course architecture and it is a venue that I hope will host a future Ryder cup.  It ticks all the boxes in terms of hosting such an event  

I played well all week without shooting low scores and then Sunday things went well for me as I shot a 65 and moved from 43rd to joint 7th.  

This week I tried... MORE »