It’s always good to be able to feature one of our players who doesn’t often attract as much attention as some of the others, so hats off to Fredrik Andersson Hed this week. Fredrik has that knack of knowing how to get the job done once he gets in the mix... and so it proved in the Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart last week.
Although Luke Donald kept everybody at a safe arm’s difference as far as collecting the main prize, Fredrik came through some very illustrious company with a magnificent last round 62 to claim second place on his own. And he did it by holing a 15ft putt on the last green to separate himself from a pack who would have gobbled up quite a portion of place money had it had to be shared.
It’s always good to see players getting the best out of their game and Fredrik does that although probably not as often as he would like. And he’s definitely No.1 on our books as far as fist pumping goes. Let’s hope that with the confidence injected from Scotland, we will see many more such celebrations from the amiable Swede.
Now all eyes are turned towards Sandwich... and not the chicken salad or tuna melt variety.
This Sandwich will stage golf’s greatest championship and all our top players have enjoyed their preparations for The Open and will be at Royal St.George’s full of confidence.
A lot has been made of Rory McIlroy’s decision not to play anywhere since his US Open success until now. All I know is that he is mentally and physically ready for what awaits after two very productive practice rounds last week and plenty of links golf in Ireland.
Ernie Els has been putting his plans into action in Scotland where Lee Westwood suffered a bit of sleep deprivation because of the weather while US Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has been mixing practice in South Africa with learning how to fly a helicopter.
And I can report that defending champion Louis Oosthuizen is definitely ready to give a good account of himself after enjoying a week with the John Deere people in America.
And if the weather produces a firm British breeze as expected then don’t count out Darren Clarke’s chances. He will be practising with Lee and Rory so it’s difficult to work out who will be teaching who what in those games.
Simon Dyson got the call when five players withdrew while the impressive Gregory Bourdy survived the rigours of qualification as did up-and-coming Tom Shadbolt.
Tom did really well to get through and will gain lots of experience while I’ve seen him on the range and the wind won’t bother him. Whatever happens, he will go away a better golfer than he was when he arrived.
Fredrik Andersson Hed will be hoping to continue his sizzling form from Castle Stuart whilst Joost Luiten will be making his Open Championship debut.
It’s going to be a great week for all and hopefully for one of ours particularly. I’ll be keeping you in touch throughout the week with news of the fortunes of all our boys so keep checking in.
