Smyth Happy Going Dutch

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Des Smyth, a winner of the Dutch Senior Open two years ago, returns to the Netherlands this week, and thrilled to see golf on the rise in a country in which he has enjoyed considerable success.

Smyth was triumphant in 2011 at the tournament’s previous incarnation, the Van Lanschot Senior Open, previously played at The Royal Haagsche G&CC from 2010–2012, and will this week be hoping for more of the same at the Ian Woosnam-designed International, located near Amsterdam.

Sixty Senior Tour professionals will compete for the €200,000 prize fund in the third to last event on the 2013 schedule, and Smyth says the mixture of previous form, culture and the upwardly-spiralling state of the sport in the country could well prove great stimulation.

“You get positive vibes going back to a country where you have won before, and I have played well in Holland a few times before,” said Smyth, whose fifth and last victory came at the 2012 Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters.

“I finished second behind Mark Mouland at the Dutch Open in 1988 and had a number of other top ten finishes there, so I always like coming back.

“Plus the beer is very good, so that’s another positive! I like the way they pour their small beers – that is a little bit of fun – but really it is a lovely place, the people are great. They enjoy their golf and always make you feel very welcome.

“They are on a bit of a high at the moment, with the form of Joost Luiten. He won the KLM Open a few weeks ago and is shaping up to potentially be the first Dutchman to make The Ryder Cup team, so I think golf in Holland is on the up and there is something very inspiring about seeing that.”

After a disappointing season by his high standards – Smyth is languishing in 24th in the Order of Merit with the season rapidly reaching its denouement – he knows a good performance could prove key this week in Amsterdam.

“I started the season well and felt I was going to step up, but I’ve lost my way a bit in recent weeks,” he continued. “I made the analogy of Snakes and Ladders – I thought I was going to go on and win but instead I missed the step, grabbed the snake and ended up at the bottom again.

“You are very conscious of where you are in the Order of Merit at this point in the year. I was comfortably in the top 18 and on course for the US Senior PGA Championship, but I’ve slipped out of there now so I’m looking for a top five finish at least to lift me up the rankings.

“I saw some positives last week in England, and hopefully this week I can produce something a little better.”

Denmark’s Steen Tinning is also in the field in the Netherlands having ascended to the top of the Order of Merit with a stunning second victory of his rookie season at the English Senior Open last week; as is the man he deposed, England’s Paul Wesselingh.

Third-placed Peter Fowler is also gunning for a crucial finish as he bids for a second John Jacobs Trophy to go with the one he won in 2011, while the in-form duo of Miguel Angel Martin of Spain and Scotland’s Andrew Oldcorn – who have amassed 11 top finishes in their last seven events between them – will be hoping to record their first victories of the season.

Former Ryder Cup captains Mark James and Sam Torrance, whose Great Britain and Ireland team narrowly lost out to José María Olazábal’s Continental Europeans in the Seve Trophy last week, are also on show at The International.

Philip Walton and Denis O'Sullivan are the other Irish entries.

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GMAC and RMAC Skip Seve Trophy

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Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell turned down the chance to play for Great Britain and Ireland's in next week's Seve Trophy, the biennial event against Europe.

Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter will also not travel to Versailles as Sam Torrance's side bid to win the trophy for a seventh successive time against a Europe team skippered by Jose Maria Olazabal.

Instead Torrance's side contains just one member of Europe's successful Ryder Cup team at Medinah last year in Scotland's Paul Lawrie, although three-time Ryder Cup player Paul Casey is included along with fellow Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood, David Lynn, Simon Khan and Chris Wood.

Lawrie is joined by fellow Scots Marc Warren, Stephen Gallacher and Scott Jamieson, with Welshman Jamie Donaldson completing the 10-man team.

Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, who appointed Torrance and Olazabal, said: "I'm not too disheartened they're not coming over. I've seen those six players. I know what they can do.

Debrief

"I am interested in attending the debrief with Sam and Jose Maria over a glass of French red wine, interested to hear what they have to say as to how the guys moulded in."

Olazabal's side features three players he led to victory at Medinah in Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, Swede Peter Hanson and Italian Francesco Molinari, as well as two of his vice-captains, Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez.

They will be joined by Finland's Mikko Ilonen and Italian Matteo Manassero, along with rookies Gregory Bourdy, Joost Luiten and Thorbjorn Olesen.

Olazabal, who was also captain in 2005, said: "I think we have a very strong team this year with a good mix of players with Ryder Cup experience and some exciting, talented younger players such as Matteo, Joost and Thorbjorn.

"It is a tournament and a competition that was very close to Seve's heart and we will have to show some of his fighting spirit to win this year and improve on our recent record."

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European Team Show Seve Spirit

Vivendi Seve Trophy captains, Jean Van de Velde and Paul McGinley, have paid tribute to the courageous efforts of the Continental Europeans after Thomas Björn led a stirring attempted comeback of swashbuckling proportion, befitting the great Seve Ballesteros’s own fearless mentality.

Despite ultimately falling short after an inspired final five holes from Ian Poulter that secured the victory for Great Britain and Ireland, the Continental European team’s efforts did much to elevate the excitement and entertainment value of what was a sublime final day of golf.

Continental Europe captain, Van de Velde, said: “I really take my hat off to the players and to the spirit of those guys. It shows the strength of character they all have, and for that I'm very thankful to them and very proud.

“Starting from the top of the board from Thomas to Anders to Francesco to Alexander, Miguel, Nicolas, Matteo, Raphaël, Peter, nobody ever put their head down. At the end of the day, that's what you want to see.”

The Continentals had got off to a flying start thanks to Denmark’s Thomas Björn, who came from three down to eventually beat World Number Two Lee Westwood 2&1.

“Lee played absolutely unbelievable early on and when he's like that, he's very difficult to keep up with,” said Björn.

“But I had a long chat with José [María Olazábal] yesterday about match play and how you just try and keep yourself there, and I did that,” he continued. “I fought very hard and battled all the way, and then when I get my tail up, there's always some good stuff in there.

“You've got to be proud of that, to go out against arguably the best player from tee to green in the world, but I stuck in there and I'm proud of what I did today.”

And GB&I captain McGinley praised the drive of the Continental Europeans and admitted the turnaround in the lead match had surprised him.

“I have to give credit to Jean and his team, how motivated they were and how his top players turned around the deficit and got the momentum going in their favour. Jean did a lot right today. I think he really got his team flying.

“The first match, I knew was going to be close between Thomas and Lee, but if you told me Lee would be three up after five and still lose his game, I would say, not in a million years, who would have thought that. All credit to Thomas for that.”

McGinley also acclaimed the efforts of another Dane, Anders Hansen, who overcame an in-form Simon Dyson by one hole.

“Anders Hansen is a dogged competitor,” he said. “I knew that at number two and he wins his singles every time, nothing surer. I think he shot ten or 11 under par beating Nick Dougherty two years ago, he's a hell of a player.”

Van de Velde also reserved a special mention for Italian Matteo Manassero, who had on Thursday became the youngest ever competitor in the Vivendi Seve Trophy, and who eventually succumbed to Poulter on the final green.

“Matteo, what can I say?” asked the Continental captain. “It could have swung both ways. You know, it's decided one way instead of the other, and there were a few phenomenal shots from Ian down the stretch.

“For a young man to play against Ian Poulter and to stand up to him, that was a wonderful performance.”

There was a special moment on the 18th green in the final singles match between Peter Hanson and Ross Fisher that was widely recognised as a fitting tribute to the spirit of the man whose name adorns the competition, and Van de Velde believed it was a gesture of which Seve Ballesteros would have approved.

He said: “That was a great suggestion, and I congratulated both of them for that. The game was all over.

“I think they both put on such a great fight and they have so much respect for each other. They just wanted to share that point for the spirit of Seve. Great sportsmanship there.”

GB&I Retain Vivendi Seve Trophy

Great Britain & Ireland’s lower order clung on as they retained the Vivendi Seve Trophy at St-Nom-La-Bretèche - but only after a magnificent fightback from the Continental Europeans.

Trailing 11½-6½ overnight, Jean Van de Velde’s side won the first five single contests to square the match.

It looked as if they might end their 11-year wait for the title when Nicolas Colsaerts took a half off David Horsey late on, but rookie Scott Jamieson held firm to win a first point for Paul McGinley’s side.

And when Ian Poulter snatched victory from Matteo Manassero on the final green and Mark Foster went one up on the 17th, it guaranteed the 14 1/2 points needed for victory.

It finished 15½-12½ but it was a tremendous effort by the Continental Europeans to take it to the wire after being thoroughly outplayed on the first and third days.

Van de Velde had loaded his top order with form players, and it immediately paid off as recent back-to-back winner Thomas Björn came from three down to beat World Number Two Lee Westwood 2 and 1.

Westwood had looked unstoppable as he birdied the first from ten feet, the third from 30 feet and played his approach shot within inches of the cup at the fifth.

But Björn used all his experience to hang tough and errors crept into Westwood’s game after he three-putted the sixth.

The Dane, captain when Continental Europe lost two years ago, holed a 30 foot putt on the 14th to lead for the first time and when Westwood pulled his approach left in to thick rough on the 17th and duffed his first chip it was all over.

“Lee came out this morning and was sensational the first few holes,” said Björn.

“It was just a case of hanging on and hanging on, but a couple of mistakes let me back in. I played some nice stuff near the end but it was a hard-fought battle.”

A wave of blue was sweeping over the leaderboard at that stage and Björn’s compatriot Anders Hansen secured a gritty one up win over Simon Dyson.

The Englishman had won three and a half points out of four over the first three days, but went three down after seven.

Dyson played a magnificent wedge approach to the next to spark a comeback, but no sooner was last week’s KLM Open winner all square than Hansen struck a hammer blow with a 30 footer at the 14th.

A 20 foot putt at the 16th put Hansen dormie two, and although Dyson took the par five next Hansen displayed nerves of steel on the final green to roll in a birdie putt from 25 feet.

Francesco Molinari tapped in a two foot birdie putt on the 15th for a 4 and 3 victory over Jamie Donaldson.

The Italian was up-and-running with a par at the second after his Welsh opponent was forced to play his approach left-handed from behind a tree and never looked back.

Alex Noren then beat Robert Rock 4 and 3 - the Englishman failed to make a single birdie - and suddenly there was only one in it.

Like Hansen before him, the Swede had birdied the first two holes - the latter from 12 feet - and a 15 footer at the eighth helped him turn five up.

Rock took the tenth and 12th with pars, but Noren won the 13th and drew the next two to make it four from four at the top of the order for Continental Europe.

McGinley might have hoped Open Champion Darren Clarke could stop the rot in game five but the Northern Irishman had a round to forget as he lost 4 and 2 to former Ryder Cup partner Miguel Angel Jiménez to leave the contest tied at 11½-11½.

At that stage both sides needed three points from the last five matches, all of which went to the final hole on a nailbiting day.

Horsey looked set to win a first point for Great Britain & Ireland as he continued his week-long putting masterclass with a 25 foot effort at the first.

He was two up with four to play, but big-hitting Belgian Colsaerts tapped in for birdie at the par five 15th, scrambled par from a bunker at the short next and levelled the contest with an eight footer at the 17th before both players parred the last for a half.

Scotland’s Jamieson added a first win for McGinley’s side with a one up victory over Pablo Larrazábal, despite a brave fightback from the Spaniard.

It was an impressive performance from the rookie, all the more so considering the drama that had been going on in the groups ahead.

Needing one and a half points from the last three groups, Poulter produced the goods as he has so many times in match play.

Having been far from his best all week, the Ryder Cup star and former WGC-Accenture Match Play champion trailed for most of his round against Italian 18 year old Manassero.

One down at the turn, he made a vital 25 foot par save on the 13th, rolled in a 12 foot birdie putt at the 16th to draw level and, after watching Manassero stiff his approach at the last to 12 feet, played a remarkable shot from the rough to five feet.

That point meant Great Britain & Ireland needed only a half, and moments later Mark Foster guaranteed exactly that by going one up against Raphaël Jacquelin at the 17th.

Veteran Foster held on at the last for a point, and Ross Fisher took a half off Peter Hanson in what had been an enthralling final contest.

McIlroy pulls out of Seve Trophy

US Open champion Rory McIlroy has pulled out of Great Britain and Ireland's team for the Seve Trophy.

The 22-year-old was part of the winning side two years ago and cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal had said he wanted to see as many big names as possible play.

But McIlroy said he wanted some time off before he began a run of 12 weeks on the road.

"I want to try to get two weeks at home and do a few things before I head off on that big run," said McIlroy.

Britain's Lee Westwood has yet to confirm his attendance while world number one Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Martin Laird and Justin Rose are likely to be absent because of the FedEx Cup play-offs in America.

McIlroy is due to tee of in the first round of the European Masters in Crans-Montana, Switzerland on Thursday in his first event since injuring his right arm at the US PGA Championship earlier this month.

"Now it's not painful," he said. "It's more like a numb sensation, like if someone gives you a dead arm.

"It's nearly 100% and I'm happy with it."

The world number six has spent his recovery time in the United States with girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki, the current world number one tennis player who is currently playing in the US Open.

The pair are understood to have met when they attended the David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko fight on July 2 and McIlroy believes their new relationship can inspire him to top golf's world rankings.Wozniacki is currently playing in the US Open while McIlroy is set to tee off in the European Masters

"It's a big goal of mine. I want to become the best player in the world," said McIlroy.

"I think we definitely spur each other on. She's number one in the world and I've got a major and we sort of both want what each other have.

"She's got a great work ethic and it's something I can probably learn a lot from

"It's a lot more physically demanding than golf. They do put the work in, they really do.

"It's just amazing how they can get up each morning and keep doing the same thing, putting their bodies through that."

McIlroy added the couple were taking their relationship "a day at a time" considering their hectic tournament schedules for the remainder of the season.