Fleetwood can make a Major impact
Colin Montgomerie upped the ante when he stated that Europe could have their strongest-ever Ryder Cup team this year.
With three winners on three different continents last Sunday, and a host of other players performing well, it’s easy to see why Colin was feeling so bullish.
If the bi-annual match against the Americans was taking place in the next couple of weeks, that would definitely be the case.
But Paris at the end of September is a long way off.
Captain Thomas Bjorn should be pleased with how good European golf is looking at the moment, but he must not allow himself to get carried away.
Anything can happen in sport, and especially over a long period.
People can run out of form very quickly. Americans could win three, or all four, of the Majors this year and that would massively alter the landscape going into the match.
Because it’s the Majors, and not tournament wins in January, that define the golfing season.
Monty was in full flow at the Dubai Desert Classic, when he suggested the 2006 team at the K Club was Europe’s best to date.
While a very strong side, they were up against the weakest USA team I can remember.
If put on the spot, I would pick Tony Jacklin’s team from 1987 as the best, the year we first won over in the States.
Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam in their pomp and a young Jose Maria Olazabal emerging on the scene. What players they were!
Back to the present, and I think what Colin is trying to state is European golf has never had such tremendous strength-in-depth.
We have so many in contention to make the team, alongside established stars and brilliant newcomers, and the Ryder Cup at Le Golf National is already a mouth-watering prospect.
As for last Sunday, it really was a red-letter day for European golf.
Sergio Garcia started it off with a fine five-shot win in Singapore, in a co-sanctioned event between the Asian and Japanese Tours.
Tommy Fleetwood carried it on when he defended his title in Abu Dhabi, before Jon Rahm capped it off by winning in California.
Rahm is irrepressible. He looks like the complete golfer already, and now he just needs to win a Major to put the seal on that.
He’s only been a pro for little over 18 months and has already reached No. 2 in the world.
It’s an extraordinary rise and it won’t be long before the 23-yearold reaches the top spot.
But the most-impressive performance was that of Fleetwood.
There would have been pressure to defend his title even before he was drawn with Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson in the opening two rounds.
But Tommy handled it so well. He beat them both over the first 36 holes, before producing that scintillating 65 on the last day to pip Ross Fisher to the title.
Having won the Race to Dubai for 2017, he has already kicked on. He gets better every week.
With his long hair, Tommy reminds me of a footballer from the 1970s and I like his sense of individualism. I can see why he’s becoming very popular.
He now heads over to America and I’ll be fascinated to see how he does on the PGA Tour.
I have a sneaking feeling that if Tommy got into a winning position in a Major, he would be good enough to seize his chance.