Do you remember these Ryder Cup moments?

Graeme McDowell is on the verge of doing something really “big” in the game but those who fancy a Masters flutter on the pride of Portrush should save their cash for another day.

There’s no such thing as a sure thing in golf and while Paul McGinley believes the stars will align and Rory McIlroy will soon put together a performance for the ages, there is no guarantee it will happen in the Masters.

Few people have putted those Daliesque greens better than Ben Crenshaw, the two-time Masters champion who bade an emotional farewell into Augusta National last Friday.

You might have won a major before but following it up with a green jacket elevates your status to another level.

The 97,000 fans who thronged the magnificent Fota Island Resort over the last four days had it all. The weather, the big names, the course looking better than an airbrushed postcard.

Pinehurst is a perfect example of a thinking man’s course.

World number one Adam Scott may be the current golfing kingpin but the Australian is not quite master of all he surveys and certainly not when it comes to the US Open.

They call it the toughest test in golf, the US Open, and the class of 2014 are going to find in Pinehurst No 2 one of the most exacting examinations of their credentials as the second Major of the year gets under way in North Carolina today.

Graeme McDowell is digging in for another hard slog at the US Open as the 2010 champion prepares to par Pinehurst No. 2 "to death", starting tomorrow.

It was the most English of distances — a couple of paces less than a cricket pitch — yet for Paul Casey the 20-yard walk to pull the ball out of the hole on the 18th green on the Montgomerie Course was the most pleasant of journeys.

This country has produced many of the game’s finest but for reasons not always easy to fathom, their record at the Irish Open is a long way short of what might have been expected.

Chinese schoolboy Guan Tianlang today made the cut in the Masters despite controversially being penalised for slow play.

The unglamorous cousins to the exciting 13th, 15th and 16th are No 10, 14 and 17 at Augusta, but they’ll be just as decisive this weekend

‘Gentle Ben’ the ideal man to guide teenage prodigy Guan through Augusta baptism

Chinese teenager Guan Tianlang, already making history as the youngest player in Masters history, today made more controversial headlines after being penalised for slow play.

For a moment or two, the hype appeared to be justified. After a week of marvelling at a 14-year-old qualifying for the Masters, Tianlang Guan took out his driver yesterday and swiped his opening shot in the majors straight down the middle.

Ernie Els, Nick Watney and Bo van Pelt went into the first round of the 77th US Masters today with their hopes of claiming a first Green Jacket very much alive.

Paul Lawrie yesterday revealed just how bad it was for Europe’s player to compete in front of the Chicago crowd at last week’s Ryder Cup.

Belief is a valuable asset in any walk of life and golf more than most.

It was a comeback that has already established itself among the most astonishing in the annals of sport and must have come as a relief to victorious European captain Jose-Maria Olazabal, who would have serious questions to address had his side have been wiped.

Martin Kaymer proved the unlikely hero for Europe last night as Jose Maria Olazabal’s side staged a remarkable and record comeback from 10-6 down overnight to retain the Ryder Cup on a dramatic night in Chicago.

Dressed in the colours of the late Seve Ballesteros, Europe were fittingly fighting for all they were worth on the final day of the Ryder Cup in Chicago.

SEVERIANO Ballesteros knew as soon as he set foot in Ireland for the first time in 1976 that he would love the country and that the affection would be returned a thousand fold.

It was a day to remember for Rory McIlroy in The Masters today – and one to forget for Padraig Harrington and world number one Martin Kaymer.

JOHN BOYETTE’S soft, southern accent seems like the natural by-product of a life spent on either side of the Savannah River.

LEFT handers, defending champion Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson, along with Rory McIlroy, are Graeme McDowell’s best bets for the Masters at Augusta next week.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE is tipping Lee Westwood to win The Masters next April and with it complete an historic European Tour slam of the majors.

FOR a man that earlier in the week brought in a military man to gee up his players, USA captain Corey Pavin cut an extraordinarily benign figure on the eve of today’s deciding Ryder Cup singles matches.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE last night heaped praise on Pádraig Harrington and hit back at those who criticised his decision to grant the three-time major winner a wild card Ryder Cup spot.

Colin Montgomerie has finally revealed one of his Ryder Cup decisions - not who will be handed a wild card, but how the match will start.

Tiger Woods will play with fellow American Matt Kuchar and Korean KJ Choi in the first two rounds of The Masters on Thursday and Friday.

Just when it seemed he was coping with all that windy Augusta National could throw at him Rory McIlroy dropped a crushing five shots in two holes today and tumbled off The Masters leaderboard.

Just when it seemed he was coping with all that Augusta National could throw at him Rory McIlroy four-putted today and tumbled off The Masters leaderboard.

FOR many professional athletes, it is the moment rather than the career that defines their legacy in the public’s perception, and Justin Leonard’s victory prance across the 17th green at Brookline nine years ago is quite definitively his moment.

THREE words uttered by American Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger – “I want winners” – have already had the desired effect.

FRED COUPLES has teed up his golf ball 23 times in the Masters and has played the weekend at Augusta National each and every year.

Zach Johnson, who won the Masters last year without going for a par five in two all week, sees no reason to change his game-plan when he defends the title next month.

It was not the performance the England rugby team or Lewis Hamilton wanted, but for English golfer Steve Webster it was the best weekend of his career.