Hudson almost holed in one at the short fifth to the delight of fellow Wheatley members but lost

Hudson almost holed in one at the short fifth, to the delight of fellow Wheatley members, but lost four out of five holes on the back nine to lose 4 and 2 to the Stanford Univer-sity student. Emma Duggleby fought back bravely from four-down in the other Yorkshire-Stanford encounter only to lose at the last to Hilary Homeyer.The only home win in the singles came from Ireland’s Suzanne O’Brien, who beat Leland Beckel 3 and 2. At 33 the oldest member of the Great Britain and Ireland team, she is the sister of former Walker Cup player Jody Fanagan.There was also a half from Scotland’s Lesley Nicholson, who profited from the gener-osity of the Texan Angela Stanford. Nicholson bogeyed the first three holes but could not avoid going two-up. However, the Scot eventually squared the match by becoming the first player of the day to par the 18th.Ganton will stage the Walker Cup in three years’ time and has also provided a stern test. The names associated with laying out and updating the course are of high quality and include Harry Vardon, the club’s professional a century ago, James Braid, Harry Colt and Dr Alister McKenzie.

So, too, are those who have earned titles here: Joyce Wethered, Michael Bonallack, Bernard Gallacher, Peter McEvoy, Nick Faldo and Jose Maria Olazabal.Despite Ollie having won the British Youths in 1985, Ganton has always put a premium on driving the ball well. The bunkers are too deep, the wispy rough too long and there is too much gorse to survive without keeping the ball on the fairway. If there is a links-like feel – this is one of the few inland courses to have staged the Amateur Championship – it is because the land once lay beneath the North Sea.The wind is a constant factor. Fortunately for the Americans, however, they saw the course in all possible conditions over their five practice days. They arrived in a heatwave, were back to winter by Friday and experienced an array of wind speeds and directions. They did their homework well and yesterday morning, when it was breezy but nothing more, they established what could be the decisive advantage by winning the foursomes 21/2-1/2.Nerves may have been a factor but the play was generally scrappy. Matches were closer than the scoreline suggests, all reaching the 18th green, but disappointingly, in six attempts there were no pars at the last.

Carol Semple Thompson, in her 11th match, claimed her 16th win alongside Bauer. Andrew and Becky Morgan, one-down on the tee, could only match the Americans’ bogey-five.Worse was the double-bogey six of Hudson and Becky Brewerton which handed a win to Keever and Stanford. The Great Britain and Ireland pair had levelled the match with a birdie at the par-five 15th. But then Keever holed from 45 feet for a par and a half at the next and Brewerton, the 17-year-old Welsh schoolgirl, missed from two feet at the short 17th as the hole was halved in bogeys.In a tense finale, Duggleby holed from 15 feet for an eagle at the 15th to square the bottom match but after O’Brien’s fine drive at the last Duggleby went over the green and they took three to get down.

Virginia Derby Grimes drove into the rough but a long putt from the back of the green stone dead by Homeyer ensured the half.”It was a great game,” said O’Brien “We were never in front but we never panicked. We had an opportunity at the last but the important thing was that we got something on the board from the foursomes.”. A few years ago Greg Norman suggested that Tiger Woods, in the process of propelling the ball further than anybody else, would run the risk of physical breakdown The strain of the whiplash swing would take its toll. A few years ago Greg Norman suggested that Tiger Woods, in the process of propelling the ball further than anybody else, would run the risk of physical breakdown. The strain of the whiplash swing would take its toll.
Norman sounded as if he knew what he was talking about. Most of the major players have been suitable cases for treatment, usually to the lumbar region and the Australian’s prognosis was delivered with the air of somebody who had seen it all before. There might also have been an element of wishful thinking.On the evidence of his triumph in the US Open at Pebble Beach last Sunday, Woods is getting stronger and if his performances are taking a toll it is on the opposition.

In California he was on his own.Most observers thought they had seen everything when he ran away with the Masters in 1997, his first appearance at Augusta as a professional. His 12-stroke victory was the largest margin in a major championship in the 20th Century and almost every other record fell.Then 21, golf’s first champion of African-Asian heritage changed the complexion of the game almost at a stroke. Whenever he played, attendances and television ratings took off. It was estimated that his exploits gave the golf industry a boost of $650m.