LATER this evening, Colin Montgomerie and his three Ryder Cup vice captains, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke, will sit down to dinner in Monty’s luxurious home five miles from Gleneagles.

Chemist Pavel Krasutsky calls it nature’s “white gold.” Betulin, a powdery substance in the outer bark of the birch tree, has been shown to help wounds heal faster and cut inflammation.