Five players in the top 10 meant that ISM had plenty to yodel about in The Alps.

Ross McGowan led the way with a third place finish at the Omega European Masters – a very welcome return to form for the jovial Englishman at the start of European Ryder Cup qualification.

Just behind in sixth place was Charl Schwartzel, who has a real spring in his step and game these days while we had three more players filling joint seventh place.  

Simon Dyson continued his excellent run and Rory McIlroy again showed that win number two is not very far away, but I was delighted for nobody more than David Howell, who has not enjoyed the best of seasons.  His top 10 will do him the world of good in terms of confidence levels and giant strides up the world ranking again should follow.

With Paul McGinley, Lee Westwood and Mark Foster all finishing in the top 25, it was a very sound week for our boys and I expect much the same in Germany this week.

I’ll be watching from a distance because you can’t get much further from Cologne than Korea where Rory is seeking more experience on the world stage.  It’s a long way to go, but invaluable in terms of broadening his knowledge as well as increasing his profile in the Far East.