Lee Westwood feels he let down European captain Darren Clarke after failing to win a point in the Ryder Cup.

Rory McIlroy said he needed a paracetamol after a raucous Saturday’s play in the cauldron that was Hazeltine National but you got the feeling that Darren Clarke had the bigger headache because of his underperforming captain’s picks.

The USA are ahead by three going into the final day.

The pressure mounts when you’re a wild card selection and have the added stress of feeling the need to justify your place in a Ryder Cup.

Such is the enormity of the occasion that for a number of weeks now Darren Clarke would have been silently praying he would only have to play two rookies in the opening foursomes series of matches in the 41st Ryder Cup.

There will have been no tears from Shane Lowry as confirmation came that Darren Clarke would not be making him one of his captain’s picks for Hazeltine next month.

European captain Darren Clarke faces some tough phone calls over the next 24 hours after Belgian Thomas Pieters spectacularly birdied the last three holes to win the weather-delayed Made in Denmark and stake his claim to one of three Ryder Cup wildcards.

No-one should underestimate the importance of next Tuesday in the golfing life of Darren Clarke, because it is then that he will have to reveal his hand.

Martin Kaymer’s strong performance at the PGA Championship has catapulted Germany’s double major winner into the mix for Europe’s Ryder Cup team to play the US next month.

Phil Mickelson saw major championship history elude him at the last moment but at least has the comfort of a healthy lead going into today’s Open Championship second round.

Irish Amateur champion Colm Campbell saw both sides of tour life this week. While he could look back on his Irish Open debut and lament missing the cut after being put on the clock completely destroyed his rhythm, he will remember it fondly instead thanks to Martin Kaymer.

Danny Willett and Rory McIlroy might be the star turns but the men chasing them sounded as happy about Ireland and the Irish as they did about their first round scores in the Irish Open.

Former world number one golfer Vijay Singh says he will skip this summer’s Rio Olympics, citing the Zika virus as the reason.

The sight of European big guns limping over the finish line early on Sunday at the Masters need not necessarily give Ryder Cup team captain Darren Clarke cause for panic five months out from the 41st match-up at Hazeltine.

World number one Jordan Spieth will look to make amends for one of the few mistakes he made in 2015 by winning the Northern Trust Open this week.

Two-time major winner Martin Kaymer will look to turn the loss of his full playing privileges on the PGA Tour to his advantage with his first victory on European soil for five years in the KLM Open.

The defining criteria for greatness is set in professional golf by how many major championships you have won.

Mention has been made in these parts of Martin Kaymer’s irritation at his PGA Championship victory at Whistling Straits back in 2010 being framed as the major Dustin Johnson threw away, yet imagine how annoyed you’d be if you were Johnson?

As exciting as it was to finally get the US PGA Championship underway yesterday, I found all the waffle and verbal tripe annoying. Talking for the sake of talking is boring and for a game that is haemorrhaging membership numbers in the US and in Europe, the conversation could have been a little more informed at times too.

Martin Kaymer got ever so slightly aggrieved yesterday as he held court in the PGA Championship interview room at Whistling Straits.

Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke believes Shane Lowry has a tough decision to make over his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title defence in 2016 but is in no doubt the European Tour made the right decision not to sanction next year’s prestigious tournament.

Bubba Watson is among the pre-tournament favourites for this week’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, where he has bittersweet memories of his performance at the links-style venue five years ago.

Ohio is the birthplace of golf’s most famous son Jack Nicklaus, so it was a fitting stage for Shane Lowry to “come of age” in winning one of the game’s most prestigious titles, the Bridgestone World Golf Championship on Sunday night. 

The grand slam may not be on the line and the defending champion looks set to miss out, but if the last major held at Whistling Straits is anything to go by, the US PGA Championship should provide a thrilling end to 2015’s major season.

Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger added his name to the illustrious list of Alstom Open de France champions thanks to a brilliant closing 65 at Le Golf National on Sunday.

The distance between the Munchen Golf Club and Mount Juliet may be around 1,400 kilometres but Kevin Phelan felt right at home on the opening day of the BMW International Open.

Rickie Fowler came close at all four of last year’s major championships but now he is The Players champion, the American feels he is even better equipped to finally make his breakthrough at this week’s US Open.

When Rory McIlroy pushed his second shot wide on the 15th hole, his reaction said it all.

Rory McIlroy had laid the hard foundations earlier in the week, that of fulfilling his corporate commitments around his own tournament. The rest of the week was meant to be all about himself, chasing victory in the Irish Open — a victory he covets most outside the Masters.

As if his Quail Hollow rampage was not enough of a warning shot to his rivals, Rory McIlroy goes into today’s BMW PGA Championship having admitted he would be disappointed not to win a major this summer.

From demolishing the field at Quail Hollow to wowing crowds during a London store appearance, there has been little in the last 72 hours to suggest Rory McIlroy is anything other than the master of all he surveys.

European Ryder Cup heroes Victor Dubuisson, Jamie Donaldson and Miguel Angel Jimenez have become the latest stars to confirm their plans to play Royal Co Down in two weeks as the entry deadline closed for this year’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

Rory McIlroy might have added Ryder Cup stars Martin Kaymer, Luke Donald and Patrick Reed to a stellar field but the world No 1 is chasing an even bigger name for next month’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open — Phil Mickelson.

Three players looking to deny Rory McIlroy Grand Slam glory at Augusta National believe the World No.1 will revel in next week’s Masters media spotlight.

Rory McIlroy confessed the conditions were almost too easy as he joined a host of players in cashing in on a low-scoring first day of the Dubai Desert Classic.

Martin Kaymer admitted to being shocked after he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory to hand world number 357 Gary Stal the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship title yesterday.

Gary Stal profited from Martin Kaymer’s extraordinary collapse to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on Sunday.

Martin Kaymer is on the brink of a fourth HSBC Abu Dhabi Golf Championship after an impressive third round.

Byeong-hun An shot a seven-under-par 65 on day three of the HSBC Abu Dhabi Golf Championship to move into contention.