Topping and tailing the month, The European Tour visited Ireland, firstly for the Smurfit European Open at The K Club and secondly for the Nissan Irish Open at Portmarnock Golf Club.
Two years previously, Darren Clarke had ended a 19 year wait for Irish success on Irish soil when he captured the Smurfit European Open but there was to be no repeat this time round although Irish eyes continued to smile on Kiwi Michael Campbell.
In 2002, the New Zealander captured the Smurfit European Open but switched his attention to the latter event in 2003, seeing off Thomas Björn and Peter Hedblom in a sudden-death play-off to lay claim to the Nissan Irish Open.
A month earlier Campbell had cut short his attempt at playing on the US PGA Tour to concentrate playing full time on The European Tour once again. As decisions go, this was as shrewd as they come and his victory at Portmarnock was doubly pleasing as it was achieved in front of his thrilled parents, Tom and Maria.
Campbell struck a majestic eight iron from 145 yards to within a foot at the first play-off hole to seal his sixth title on The European Tour after the trio had finished regulation play, over one of the world’s great links courses, on 11 under par 277.
“I never doubted myself. I always knew I would come back,” said Campbell. “I’ve been down before and didn’t enjoy it. I knew I had the determination and support of family and friends to turn my career around.
Fortunately, both my caddie and my manager persuaded me to play at Portmarnock. I was going to take the week off but they convinced me to enter just before the deadline.”
On reflection, Campbell confessed that the relentless grind of travelling from city to city, hotel room to hotel room, in the United States had been a punishing routine to undertake with a wife, two young children and two nannies in tow.
“The hardest thing was spending 12 weeks on the road. Never again,” he admitted. “It was frustrating. I played ten events in America and didn’t make a cut, which put a big dent in my ego. By the tenth or 11th week everyone was getting pretty ratty. It’s hard to stay in a foreign country in those circumstances.
“I am a creature of comfort and six wins confirms how happy I feel playing on The European Tour. We have a great house in Brighton and returning there felt like coming home. If the family are happy, then I’m happy. Julie and I have plenty of friends here and I know everyone on The European Tour. It is far more harmonious here than in the States.”
Four weeks earlier, although he made the cut in his defence of the Smurfit European Open, the plaudits went to Phillip Price who recorded his third European Tour International Schedule success, showing immense courage to recover from a bogey at the 17th to birdie the last and beat Alastair Forsyth and Mark McNulty by a shot.
Normally Price is a quiet man. Reserved and polite on and off the course, he is not one for expansive demonstrations of delight. Mind you, there have not been many occasions in his 14 years as a professional to let his feelings run wild.
Until, that is, The 34th Ryder Cup Matches at The De Vere Belfry propelled him, almost reluctantly, into the world spotlight. In fact, the 37 year old from Pontypridd might have ended his career remembered only for his marvellous win over Phil Mickelson in the final day’s singles to ensure victory for Europe, had it not been for a wonderful week in Ireland.
He may profess to prefer anonymity to adulation but by the time he left The K Club he was well and truly thrust back into the limelight.
At The Ryder Cup, the clenched fist and little jig on the 16th green as he dismissed the then World Number Two was about as much emotion as this modest man had released throughout his life on Tour. But the repeat action at the venue for The 36th Ryder Cup Matches in 2006 was a clear indication he was back where he wanted to be. At the top.
“This is where it’s at, a four round tournament with all the best players,” he said. “The Ryder Cup was different. It is unique and it was nice to have done well there but it really didn’t give me that much confidence to deal with a normal tournament.
“This is where you learn your skills,” he continued. “I was a little short on titles, especially the big ones. The Smurfit European Open is a big tournament and to win here is just fantastic.”
The middle two weeks of the month were led off by The Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, won by an imperious performance by Ernie Els, who led from gun to tape.
On returning from a restorative two week break with his family at their Wentworth home, Els was sure of a couple of things: his swing was in smooth working order, and he wanted to focus on playing his best golf at Loch Lomond rather than utilise the tournament merely as a tune-up for the 132nd Open Golf Championship at Royal St George's the following week.
As it turned out, Els's golf was close to his peerless best and his overall approach to the tournament was just right. The South African showed the way over the Jay Morrish and Tom Weiskopf masterpiece - he won 'wire to wire' because he yoked together the twin giants of physical strength and mental toughness.
In order to become the first golfer to win twice at Loch Lomond, Els was confident his technique was solid after visiting the range every other day during his summer holiday. But he also understood that what went on in his head during The Barclays Scottish Open was crucial. As the winner of the 2002 Open Golf Championship at Muirfield, Els appreciated how easy it would be to become consumed by thoughts of defending the Claret Jug.
One of the strategies he had learned in working with psychologist Jos Vanstiphout was the importance of not getting ahead of yourself. He decided to stay in the moment at Loch Lomond, do his job, and let everything else take care of itself. He achieved all three magnificently.
And so to the Open. After some years of concern in certain quarters that, thanks to Tiger Woods's supremacy, the grand, old game of golf had become a tad predictable when it came to the biggest occasions, the 132nd Open Golf Championship at Royal St George's contrived to produce what was, beyond question or debate, one of the very best Opens of recent times.
Of course there have been unexpected Champions before when this particular glittering circus has hit town, in this case to Sandwich on the Kent coast, but nothing like this. Alf Perry for example, a Surrey club professional who had to plead to be excused tee-peg selling duties at Leatherhead to play in the 1935 Championship at Muirfield, was a surprise winner even in his own house.
So, too, was Kel Nagle when the genial Australian thwarted Arnold Palmer during the Centenary Open at St Andrews in 1960. More recently, Paul Lawrie's wonderful performance at Carnoustie in 1999 caused a few eyebrows to be raised in the golfing firmament, particularly across the Atlantic.
Yet even these three Champions came to the Open with some previous form. Each had walked the walk and swung the swing on many practice grounds. Each, in other words, had learned the hard way how to operate as a professional golfer which is infinitely more difficult, demanding and different than the, mostly, fun game we amateurs enjoy.
Ben Curtis's victory, however, was different. How different? Well, what is ice compared to sand, bread to rock or the 396th ranked golfer in the world when stood up against Thomas Björn, Davis Love III, Vijay Singh or Woods? One is simply not comparable to the others. Or it shouldn't be.
Yet, when push came to shove in this most contrary of Opens, Curtis shoved harder than anyone else, stood taller, and made more putts. Quite extraordinary. Even some time later, simply unbelievable. But totally deserved.
It was, undeniably, a wonderful month but a large part of the reason all golfers above can play on such a wonderful schedule is thanks to the original groundwork done by John Jacobs OBE, the founding father of The European Tour, who was honoured in July by the Association of Golf Writers with the Michael Williams Outstanding Services Award.
Jacobs’s name was among those that featured most regularly in the poll conducted over the winter and although he was already Vice-President of the Association, it was agreed that he thoroughly deserved to be honoured in this way.
He was presented with the Award at the AGW Annual Dinner during the week of the Open Golf Championship, joining an elite group of Sir Michael Bonallack, Percy Huggins and Joan Rothschild as recipients of the award.
Jacobs is one of the most respected teaching professionals in the game with an unrivalled reputation throughout the world as “Dr Golf”. Butch Harmon, coach to World Number One Tiger Woods, said: “There is not one teacher who does not owe something to John. He wrote the book on coaching.”
In addition to his teaching, Jacobs has enjoyed a wonderful and varied career. As a player he earned Ryder Cup honours in 1955 and became the first Captain of the European Team in 1979 and 1981. He is also a renowned television commentator, course designer and pioneering administrator.
In October 1971 he was appointed Tournament Director-General of the PGA, a move which marked the official birth of The European Tour and he carried on in that role until he was succeeded by Ken Schofield as Executive Director at the beginning of 1975.
He was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1997 and in 2000 was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. In January 2001 he was inducted to the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame while last year he received the ultimate accolade from his fellow peers with the award of a Life Membership to The Professional Golfers' Association
Finally, July was notable for it was the month that Europe named Germany’s Bernhard Langer as the man to Captain The Ryder Cup team for the Matches against the United States at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan in September 2004.
- The above article features extracts from The 16th Edition of The European Tour Yearbook which is available now at the special price of £20.00 including postage and packing. Please send your cheque, made payable to The European Tour (you can order as many copies as you wish, but please send the individual addresses to where we should send the book) for £20 for each book to:
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