Europe, you’ve never had it so good

EUROPEAN TOUR chief George O’Grady wasn’t exaggerating when he claimed on Sunday that 2011 has been the greatest year in his organisation’s history.

His members met with unprecedented success in the major championships. Rory McIlroy’s eight-shot victory in the US Open at Congressional in June was all the more remarkable after his collapse in the Masters two months earlier, while Darren Clarke’s British Open triumph at Royal St George’s was a success few could have imagined.

Masters champion Charl Schwartzel is also a regular on the European Tour, a body that has suffered serious blows with the loss of valued sponsorship but which could hardly have finished the year in a more auspicious manner.

In the second last tournament, Rory McIlroy holed a bunker shot for birdie to clinch the Hong Kong Open.

On Sunday, Spain’s pin-up Alvaro Quiros sank a 40-foot eagle putt on the final green to clinch top prize in the Dubai World Championship, leaving the remarkably consistent Luke Donald to add the European order of merit title to the US equivalent he secured earlier in the year.

Not only was this an historic first but it also meant that the Englishman finished 2011 as undisputed world number one followed by McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer. As O’Grady glowed, “You could hardly ask for anything better.”

Nevertheless, the European Tour will not be hibernating for long. The 2012 schedule gets underway as early as January 5 with the Africa Open followed a week later by the Joburg Open. They are small money events but many of the big names will return to action in the Volvo Champions at Fancourt on January 19 and then the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship on January 26 in a field that includes Tiger Woods.

2012 is, of course, a Ryder Cup year with the match scheduled for Medinah, Chicago, at the end of September. It is fascinating to study the points standings of the European and US teams at this stage of qualification.

Jose-Maria Olazabal’s current top 10 are Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy, Gonzalo Fernandez Castano, Alvaro Quiros, Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell and Joost Luiten. The Spaniard has reduced his “wild card” picks to two.

His American counterpart Davis Love has given himself the luxury of four personal selections. At present his top eight are Keegan Bradley, Justin Dufner, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Steve Stricker, Ryan Palmer, David Toms and Bo Van Pelt.

The near certainty, of course, is that both groups of players will have changed considerably by the time Olazabal and Love know the exact position at the end of August. The popular perception is that Castano and Luiten and perhaps Rose are most vulnerable of the European group. This is considering the likes of the Molinari brothers, Francesco and Edoardo; Ian Poulter, Ross Fisher, Miguel-Angel Jimenez, Peter Hanson and Pádraig Harrington, all members of the successful 2009 side, along with Paul Casey, Irish Open champion Simon Dyson, Paul Lawrie, Thomas Bjorn, Robert Karlsson, Paul Lawrie and Tom Lewis and Shane Lowry of the younger school, all have their sights on a place.

Love will hope Tiger Woods returns to something like his best in 2012 and that other members of the 2009 side pipped by the narrowest of margins in Rickie Fowler, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Stewart Cink and Jeff Overton will also show some worthy early season form. Others sure to challenge are FedEx Cup champion Bill Haas, Webb Simpson and Nick Watney.

Meanwhile, you can only sympathise with Thai golfer Thaworn Wiratchant who has come out strongly against the appearance money being paid to Rory McIlroy (who has since withdrawn), Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Darren Clarke and others to play in this week’s Thailand Open in Bangkok. The country has been ravaged by flooding with Wiratchant’s house one of those to bear the brunt of the disaster. He and his family have been forced to live in a hotel for the past month or so. “We are paying foreign players too much money and it will not help Thai golf,” he insisted. “The money should have been used to help the thousands affected by the floods. I always wanted a swimming pool. Now I have one, the trouble is that it is inside my home.”