CLARKE MADE EUROPE HARD TO LOVE
THE job, from Friday, is to start rooting for Europe again. We took a break from shouting for our ‘local’ team against the United States two years ago when they went down pretty hard, 17-11, in Hazeltine. But it was a Ryder Cup we could offer up. We’ve won enough of them over the last couple of decades and shut up the noisy, annoying Americans with razor-sharp consistency. But Darren Clarke luxuriating, as he does, as a winning captain would have been something I, personally, would have been prepared to pay good money not to see. In the extremely privileged world of pro golf — the PGA Tour announced an increase in the FedEx winners’ prize from $10million to $15million because it must be so badly needed — nobody struts his stuff as insufferably as Clarke. We may have to listen to him talking over the Ryder Cup next weekend, but we don’t have to look at him — it’s one of life’s small bonuses. Le Golf National in Paris will, of course, be extra thrilling because of the sensational return of Tiger Woods to close to his best form. He’ll never get back to being king of the fairways, and he will always rank as one of the most spoiled and pampered sportsmen on the planet, but Tiger is box-office. And we all sneakily want to see him win again, and win big. If it happens in Paris and he helps the Americans retain the trophy by bulldozing Europe out of the way, then we’ll live with that too. After all, it’s Tiger! And, besides, Thomas Bjorn is one grumpy Danish bloke at the best of times. It’ll be a close run thing, but I might just be rooting for Europe. Unless, Tiger changes my mind next Sunday.