Victor Dubuisson

One of the joys of sport is the arrival of a new star on the block. In golf the vacuum left by Tiger Woods looks to be filled by three 25 year olds McIlroy, Day and Fowler. However I have a very good feeling about Victor Dubuisson. He won the Turkish Open and thrilled the galleries when he took Day to 23 holes in the Accenture Matchplay final with some stupefying retrieval shots. He has the élan of Ballesteros and has in his locker a long drive and sure touch around the dance floor. He tops his mini table in the Volvo Matchplay and my tenner at 8-1 on him to win for once for me looks a good bet.

Something of a private indivudal he will not speak of his troubled growing up. His father is a banker but he appears to have flown the family coop without continuing his education and found his mojo on the golf course. He, alongside Romain Wattel and Alexander Levy, forms a trio of outstanding young French golfers and they and Gregoire Bourdy are all close friends. Selected  for the Ryder Cup there were fears that he was a loner but McGinley produced a clever  stroke by pairing him with the affable Graeme McDowell and G Mac and him formed a winning partnership.

Like Seve he attracts the eye on the course whether he is smashing the ball down the fairway or retrieving from some difficult lie. Of course you can ever tell how anyone will develop. Paul Way and Phil Woosnam both looked liked major winners but the  former fell away. Before that Brian Barnes was regarded as a highly promising golfer but it turned out the 15th club in the bag saw a bottle of hooch.

Yet I would predict that this young dashing d’Artagnan  will win a major before long and join the very elite of European golfers.