By pipping Padraig Harrington to the ALSTOM Open de France title, John Bickerton has pushed himself into the race for a Ryder Cup berth. In the latest edition of Golf Monthly, The European Tour's Golfer of the Month for June talks about his upturn in fortunes.
You’ve had a mix of high finishes and a few missed cuts this season – what’s the difference in your game between the good weeks and bad weeks?
Sometimes you find a key thought in your swing and everything feels comfortable, but unfortunately we are not robots or machines and spend our time searching for the key. Basically, the good weeks are when the putts go in. On the bad weeks, they don’t!
What was the key to winning the ALSTOM Open de France?
Playing the golf course and not the other players.
What was going through your head when you found water and made double bogey at 15 in the final round?
Forget it. Concentrate on here and now.
Did the experience of winning the Abama Open de Canarias in 2005 help when you were going down the stretch in France?
Yes – I felt more comfortable and kept reminding myself I have done this before.
How do the two victories compare?
The first was like getting a monkey off my back. The French was a lot more satisfying as it was worth a lot more money.
The win in France added to two other top five finishes has propelled you into contention for The Ryder Cup
Team. How do you feel about that?
I will worry about that when and if it happens.
Incredibly, you’ve been hit by lightning twice – what do you remember about those incidents?
It bloody well hurt and I was still in pain for four hours after. Now I’m very wary of it.
You’re something of a stalwart of the European scene. How has life on Tour changed since you made your debut back in 1993?
Obviously there is a lot more money in events. The tournaments are now fantastically organised and as players we are looked after extremely well… Too well at times!
