The first segment of August saw The European Tour travel to the northern part of Europe with the Scandic Carlsberg Scandinavian Masters in Sweden followed by the Nordic Open in Denmark, events which saw further evidence of the strength of the younger Members of the Tour as Adam Scott and Ian Poulter respectively were crowned champions.
Indeed, in Sweden, youth prospered throughout the week, no accident, but a result of the commendable policy of the tournament organisers to invite some of the brightest new stars in the golfing firmament, such as Luke Donald, Kevin Na and Zane Scotland, to Malmo to compete alongside the cream of the existing young talent on The European Tour.
They had no cause to regret the decision as Donald, Nick Dougherty and Scott battled for the title on the final day, with teenagers Na and Charl Schwartzel signalling their ability to follow in their footsteps with their own top 40 finishes.
In the end it was Scott who held the trophy aloft to the adulation of the huge crowds but the 23 year old knew his fourth European Tour International Schedule victory had been a hard fought one on a tough course likened to a US Open Championship venue by third round joint leader Maarten Lafeber.
The following week in Denmark, Poulter had to work equally as hard for his glory. The simple facts were that the Englishman won the tournament with a total of 266, 22 under par. But there was so much more to it than that.
Poulter's polychrome hairstyle and his harlequin personality should never be allowed to detract from his considerable qualities as a golfer. His hirsute colour scheme for the week was platinum blond and almost black, but his golf for much of four days under a blistering Danish sun was pure gold.
Much had preceded the final acts of the tournament, run with brilliant efficiency by the newest members of The European Tour's family, but ultimately it was distilled into a classic confrontation between fearless kid and grizzled veteran, the new generation and the old, the peacock against the bird of prey that had seen everything a hundred times and more. This time the one with the flashy plumage got away with it, but not before the hungry predator had given the baby bird a thorough working over.
The man who would be king was Poulter and he won the battle on this occasion, edging out Colin Montgomerie for the title by a single shot after a thrilling final afternoon.
The following week once again saw two tournaments run simultaneously on the schedule, the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester and the dual ranking BMW Russian Open, in conjunction with the European Challenge Tour, at the splendid Le Meridien Moscow Country Club.
A month earlier, Ben Curtis had stunned the world of golf by choosing the 132nd Open Golf Championship at Royal St George’s as his maiden Tour victory, never mind Major success. Now we had Curtis’s equally unheralded countryman Shaun Micheel repeat the feat in the 85th US PGA Championship.
In the run-up to the tournament there was a great deal of anticipation about the arrival of Tiger Woods in Rochester. The World Number One was attempting to stop 2003 being a barren year in terms of Major victories, the belief being that his name would sit perfectly next to the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Strange, other giants of the game to have won Majors at Oak Hill Country Club. But Shaun Micheel?
His name may not roll off the tongue with the same reverence just yet, but the shot he hit under the most immense pressure at the 72nd hole, will be remembered for generations as one of the greatest in a Major Championship. It was one even Woods, who eventually tied for 39th, his worst performance in a Major as a professional, would have been proud of.
”I really can't believe that this has happened to me,” he said, minutes after ripping a seven iron from 174 yards to within two inches from the cup that secured his dramatic and unlikely victory.
At the same time in Russia, another wonder shot saw Australia’s Marcus Fraser victory in the BMW Russian Open - the first European Tour event ever in the former Soviet state.
Into a play-off with Austrian Martin Wiegele, Fraser found himself in trouble at the second extra hole after pulling his drive into the trees, and found himself having to search deep down to find the resolve that would take him to the title.
The Australian composed himself, stayed cool, and picked his spot somehow through the trees to find safety on the fairway. He was still some 90 yards from the flag and could see his Austrian opponent at the side of the green when he pitched his ball to 16 feet and then proceeded to hole the most courageous par putt of his career to date.
Weigele could not emulate the feat from the greenside rough, allowing Fraser to secure his first European Tour victory and an automatic exemption to the 2004 season.
If Tiger Woods was supposed to win the US PGA Championship, he was an absolute stick-on in the eyes of the American public when the WGC – NEC Invitational returned to Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, where the World Number One had won on its three previous stagings there.
Nobody, it appeared, had informed Irishman Darren Clarke of that particular script, however.
Clarke led into the final round but Woods whipped the crowd into a frenzy with birdies at the first, seventh and eighth holes to reduce Clarke’s one time five stroke advantage to two, but if it was meant to unsettle the Irishman, all it succeeded in doing was lighting the leader’s touchpaper.
Clarke found another gear and birdies of his own at the ninth, 11th and 13th finished the tournament as a contest, allowing The European Tour Member the luxury of enjoying the closing holes content in the knowledge that, with his 67 for a 12 under par total of 268, he had become only the second player in history, after Woods, to have won more than one WGC event, following his success in the 2000 Accenture Match Play.
The final victory of August was also celebrated royally in the boardroom of the International Sports Management group for it came for Lee Westwood.
If timing really is everything, then in winning the BMW International Open, the Englishman could not have chosen a more opportune moment to remind the golfing world of his immense talent and strong, yet calm, personality in the face of adversity.
It was his first victory on The European Tour International Schedule in almost three years and coincided with Bernhard Langer's first appearance back in his native land since accepting the role of European Captain for The 35th Ryder Cup Matches at Oakland Hills Country Club, Michigan, in September 2004.
It was an emotionally charged Westwood who explained later, the extent of his misery at times during the previous three years.
“Things had been written in the papers and magazines about me never coming back and winning again. I read those articles and it was hard to keeping picking myself up and putting a positive edge on it,” he admitted.
“There were times when I thought about putting my clubs away, not ever getting them out again and calling it a day. But that would have been the easy thing to do - I battled it out.
“What kept me going was pride. Pride in what I had achieved. Pride in the fact that I wasn’t going down without a fight. I’m a working class lad who made good and I wasn’t going to let that disappear without some sweat.”
In Westwood's victory there was more than just a touch of irony too, for his caddie Coleman had spent more than 20 years working for Langer without a victory at Golfclub München Nord-Eichenried, yet had succeeded with his new employer at the first attempt.
It did mean, however, there was no one better qualified to inform the new Ryder Cup Captain that one of the most prodigious talents on The European Tour had finally rediscovered his magical touch.
August was also a memorable month for a former European Ryder Cup Captain Bernard Gallacher, who was accorded Honorary Life Membership of The European Tour.
Gallacher, who played in eight Ryder Cups between 1969 and 1983 and Captained Europe on three occasions, in 1991, 1993 and 1995, received the Tour’s Silver Membership Card from Ken Schofield, Executive Director of The European Tour, at the European Seniors Tour’s Annual Dinner at Wentworth Club, where he spent a total of 27 years, five as an Assistant to the late Tom Halliburton, then a further 22 as Head Professional.
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