Game turns loopy on a Sunday

Caddies' Role:How did Retief Goosen win the 2007 Qatar Masters? He sunk a "looong" putt on the last hole to beat Nick O'Hern by one shot. Professional golf is a game played very much by routine. From the swing weight of the players' clubs to the firmness of the cover of their golf ball, given the influence of technology, the game is all about careful selection and control.

But of course the game of golf is not played in a laboratory, it is played in a big open area where there are strict rules but where the elements and the capricious nature of competition are likely to take over, especially on a Sunday evening when the tournament in which the pros are competing reaches its denouement.

Everything seems to change on a Sunday afternoon in professional golf. The going gets tough and what appears to be a perfectly civilised and predictable game can frequently turn a little loopy.

We were in the Middle East again last week for the 10th Qatar Masters. It is the middle week of the Middle East swing and a week when all of us westerners were getting accustomed to the timing of the mullahs' call for prayer.

Qatar, the country that is shaped a bit like an elongated ear lobe and juts up into the Arabian gulf, is about a 40-minute flight from our previous tour stop of Abu Dhabi. The tour descended into Doha last Monday to celebrate a decade of golf in this country which has only one course on which to hold its professional event.

The Doha Golf Club's tale is pretty similar to the history of the other clubs in the region; an oasis in the desert which was originally built in the outskirts of the city and almost a decade later becomes very much part of the sprawling city. I first came to Qatar in 1998 when the course was isolated. The only spectators were the volunteers.

The figures given for the attendance at last week's event were 15,000 spectators. Given that it was the strongest field in the event's history, I will have to assume that the named players were worth the invitation to the desert. Not that their performance is guaranteed, but the leaderboard would suggest that the invited guests rose to the occasion.

The first year we came here it was very much local rules. Alcohol was hard to come across in the city, but the accommodating organisers set up a Bedouin-style tent alongside the ninth fairway for us foreigners which had an ample supply of drinks for us to choose from. Ten years later we are of course served drink in the clubhouse, the tents have been replaced by swanky hospitality constructions and beyond the imam's cry for prayer you would be hard pressed to figure out that you were in the Middle East.

These Gulf countries put our own rampant development in Ireland to shame. In my absence of four years, about 50 skyscrapers have erupted and thousands of mansions have been built. Doha is definitely developed.

The pro-am, as always played on the Wednesday before the event starts, can be a bit of a chore. Last week we got to play with one of Retief's sponsors from Rolex, a local bank manager (who had not yet been found out by the handicapping committee) who was the best 22 handicapper I have ever seen play the game, and Ronald de Boer, the Dutch international footballer who has gone out to graze in the Middle East in the twilight years of his successful career.

It is always fascinating to play with top sports people, because so often they show exactly the same traits as other high achievers in other professions.

Ronald was an engaging character who played hard and played to win. Not being a big soccer fan, I made the mistake of asking Ronald if he had played for his country. Sixty-seven times was his curt reply. His brother, Frank, played over a 100 times for Holland.

He was feisty, inquisitive and overall a great companion on the frequently tedious tournament Wednesday. Having come from Rangers, his form of expression on the course would not have been out of place in Glasgow. When I provided him with yardages he, as I have become accustomed with many high achievers, questioned the veracity of my information on more than one occasion. In previous times I would have limited my information after the first expression of doubt. Ronald had disarmed me, plus not much amazes me anymore with superstars.

As we strode down the 10th fairway on Sunday I heard someone shout my name from the top of the hospitality area beside the 18th green. I looked up and there was Ronald waving enthusiastically. With about 300 spectators turning up for a soccer game in Doha, I can't help but feel that De Boer is somewhat starved of atmosphere at live events in his adopted country.

Saturday saw the start of the loopy end of the control game. Retief was five shots behind the lead with four holes to play and ended up tied for the lead. Two shots behind on Sunday with two holes to play and he ended up winning by a shot. The look on O'Hern's face betrayed the bizarre nature of the final scene in a very tragic act for the Australian.

Retief's three-wood to the par-five 18th ended up on the fringe of the green about 40 feet from the pin. O'Hern's shoulders collapsed as Retief's ball charged into the hole at high speed for an eagle three. It is of course how champions finish off a tournament.

It is what separates them from the throng. It lends weight to the cliché about fat ladies and never give up. How did Retief win? He made the dream become reality when the pressure was at its most intense. Sometimes knowing what you have to do as a finely tuned golfer makes the task more attainable.

Perhaps this dynamism is part of the winner's routine on Sunday afternoons.

To the rest it may well appear like nothing more than good fortune. The skill of capturing a title is certainly an art and not a science. Those who prevail under these conditions of competition would probably contest this belief. If they could explain it, well, naturally we would all be at it. It is this secret which distinguishes a consistent champion.