Keegan Bradley was never more nervous than the moments before his Ryder Cup debut. He had the opening tee shot in foursomes at Medinah against Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald, a European tandem that had never lost in four matches against some of America’s best players.

Disqualification. In a word, that’s what should have happened to Phil Mickelson on Saturday, following one of the most bizarre moments in the history of professional golf. Lefty will be remembered for his five Majors, his six runner-up spots in the US Open, and his incredible short game, but his antics on Saturday at Shinnecock have tarnished his legacy.

Phil Mickelson knew this was coming, even when he had so little to show for it.

As crime fiction of all genres has become a global phenomenon, no doubt there are those to whom the book will appeal. Personally, however, it’s just too dangerous a world for my head to inhabit.

Vaughn Taylor doesn’t know how he lost his game. Even more mystifying was the way it returned.

DETECTIVE Edgar ‘Lefty’ Mendieta, the main player in Elmer Mendoza’s English-language debut, likes ‘an impossible case’. 

Renowned for his short-game prowess, Phil Mickelson sometimes does his best scoring with his biting perspective and cunning wit.

A COLD wind is sweeping through the house. But it doesn’t originate from any point on the map, unless there is a cardinal direction on the compass called ‘CHANGE’. Yes, a howling Change-rly gale is whirling, leaving a trail of neatness in its wake.

It was at the 2002 Ryder Cup at The Belfry when American players mingled outside the team bus.

Before Valhalla Golf Club was morphed into a yacht club and officials at the 96th US PGA Championship were forced to secure more life preservers for competitors, it was safe to say that Tom Watson had the roughest week of anyone.

There was a time when it was fair to question whether American golfers even owned passports. So spoiled, so comfortable, so insular in their PGA Tour world were they that their travels outside the home fence were few and far between.

Much like Phil Mickelson’s relationship with the Majors, his first Open Championship success last year came after years of failure.

Chasing historic feats makes up a huge chunk of his iconic golf persona. Meeting with law enforcement officials as part of a criminal investigation is a sliver of his curious enigma.

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.

Opera: The Invader

Ryder Cup star Graeme McDowell has taken to social media in an attempt to clarify comments he made about world No 1 Tiger Woods.

Phil Mickelson may have his heart set on the US Open title that will bring a career Grand Slam but he insists he is more than ready to land a sixth major victory anywhere, including at this week’s PGA Championship.

To comprehend the inexplicable development that unfolded at Muirfield, one needs to start with this number when he or she talks about Phil Mickelson in the major championships: Four.

If Americans were going to be deprived of the thrill of a Phil Mickelson US Open triumph, or baffled silly by the ongoing Major championship disappearance of Tiger Woods; if we’re going to watch Merion bludgeon the world’s best players into a bloody, pulpy mess, then we will happily, enthusiastically embrace the only storyline remaining.

Heartbreak.

THE new “Nike Chums” Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods remain the top two players in the world golf rankings in spite of missing the cut in last week’s Abu Dhabi Championship.

By Sunday night, Rory McIlroy may well be one of the wealthiest people in world golf.

Margaret Abbott was just 22 when she travelled from Chicago to Paris in 1899 along with her mother, literary editor and novelist Mary Perkins Ives Abbott.

Irish golf fans are keeping a close eye on our links courses this week to see if any of the game’s finest pay a visit ahead of next week’s British Open.

By Simon Lewis

JP McManus had a shot on his 14 handicap playing the famous 18th hole at Pebble Beach on Sunday.

PHIL MICKELSON exited Royal St George’s as he entered it this week— with a huge grin and the warm appreciation of a knowledgeable British Open crowd.

IT’S very difficult to put into words the admiration I have for Darren Clarke after his stunning achievement in becoming the fifth Irish man to win a major championship yesterday at Royal St George’s.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON believes a return to links golf in the Scottish Highlands this week will provide the ideal preparation for his bid to capture a third British Open in five years later this month.

IT IS not a given that being one ofthe world’s best golfers at a US Open championship is enough to earn a golfer the undying love of the American golfing public.

LEE WESTWOOD’S feet are firmly on the ground heading into his 12th Masters tomorrow.

I DON’T know what you had for your dinner last night but I, for one, was not served up a four-course delight of Spanish cuisine of which Filete de Res Mignon Pimento Ahumado Demi Glace was the high point.

LIKE the first day of a new soccer season, everyone stands equal during the practice rounds of the year’s opening major.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON headed for Augusta last night in his newly acquired private plane much encouraged by a top ten finish in the Shell Houston Open.

STUNG at his relegation to third in the world rankings, Tiger Woods emerges from his winter hibernation in this week’s Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.

THOSE convinced that European success in this Ryder Cup is a foregone conclusion should temper their optimism with a little caution and remember the happenings at Brookline in 1999.

A WIN apiece for Europe and the USA gave cheer to both captains with just three weeks to go until the 38th Ryder Cup matches at Celtic Manor.

COREY Pavin, the US Ryder Cup team captain, must be wondering what’s going on these days.

IRELAND’s big three of Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell will be hoping for a lot better when they move on from Palm Beach Gardens and the Honda Classic to Doral and the famous Blue Monster course for this week’s WGC-CA tournament, the second of the year’s four world championships.

RORY McILROY’S outstanding4th place in the HSBC-WorldGolf Championship in Shanghai at the weekend has moved him to within touching distance of a Ryder Cup debut at Celtic Manor next October.