Time to assess

I was in high dudgeon in the Pargiter household after our daughter Emily’s engagement was called off by her fiance Dean, who is assistant pro at Moor Allerton. I suggested that, like Rory, he might go on to win his next three tourneys and £5m. My missus said I was bringing an unwelcome note of levity to our daughter’s grief. I did not want to exacerbate the situation, but the adage that behind every great man there is a woman is under attack because Rory can’t stop winning since he called it off with Caroline Woznacki – and she has won too.

Rory did not appear in the Wyndhams classic at Greenboro South Carolina. This tournament is of vital importance on 3 fronts: who goes through to the lucrative Fedex play-offs, who gets the wild card for the Ryder Cup and who gets a tour card for next season. It was won by Camillo Villegas but Brandt Schnedeker, Bill Haas, Webb Simpson and Nick Watney finished in the top 5 to press their claims for selection. Keegan Bradley and Ryan  Moore are also in the mix.

I  enjoyed too the Made in Denmark European tour event at Aalborg, played in testing windy conditions, not least as – thanks to Steve Palmer – I backed the winner Marc Warren at 28-1. Poor old Steve has come up with a few winners recently at luscious odds but he is skint and can’t get much on them. He won’t appreciate my gratitude, or that – by going up to a tenner max – I have raised my own stakes. Hardly a high roller who gets treated to hookers and free dinners and shows at Las Vegas!

I so admire Denmark, a country of less than 5 million, which produces such excellent drama  for us on television and punches its weight golf-wise. Thomas Bjorn now sports a fine beard that makes him look like an ancient mariner as much as the solid pro he has been on the circuit, making him an automatic selection for the Ryder Cup. Before him, Jesper Parvenik did well on the US tour. Marc Warren made the final day a procession, the only contender was Bradley Dredge, but the Welsh boy’s game did not hold together as well as the steely Scot. The commentators called for more entertainment. Now the Premier is back, I noted that such criticism is rarely heard in a Sky soccer game, but I still found the pragmatic course management of Marc, as he drove home his 3 shot lead, interesting: that might be because I backed him. Now I don’t have to pay for a wedding, I might put my stake up to £15.