It's down to the wire as Masters hits final stretch

IT’S 21 weeks and 36 tournaments since we started out on our 2009 Golf Masters’ voyage and we still have no idea who will cross the finishing line first. What we do know, for certain, is that Frank Brennan and all the managers who have our leader in their sights are in for a testing weekend as events at the European Masters in Switzerland, our 37th and final tournament, unfold.

It was Harry Vardon, winner of six British Opens between 1896 and 1914, who said: “I have never been troubled by nerves in golf because I felt I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.” Hopefully our main contenders will feel as nerveless as Vardon come Sunday afternoon, but we have our doubts. Yes, they have everything to gain, but a missed putt here and there and that’ll be the €20,000 first prize lost.

Last week Frank led Kevin Vaughan by €81,658 but with the exception of Graeme Storm and Jonathan Byrd, who won just over €40,000 between them at the Johnnie Walker Championship and the Barclays, his team had a miserable time of it, the other five members bringing in just €6,750 combined. By Friday evening Frank would have feared the worst, with three of the team missing the cut at their respective tournaments.

Kevin only fared marginally better, dropping from second to fourth after Hoozegood collected just €61,958 last week. Fionnuala Murnaghan and Wes Byrne took advantage, rising to second and third respectively, with earnings of over €100,000. Frank’s lead, then, has been cut to €26,530, and, ominously enough for our Lucan manager, he has just three players in the field for the European Masters. By the time she uses her final transfer Fionnuala should have five players representing Artful Dodgers in Switzerland, while Wes, €39,177 behind Frank, should have four – he also had one transfer left going in to the final week.

Maureen Sheehan, in fifth place, might be a hefty €71,605 adrift of Frank’s current score but with two transfers at her disposal she, like Fionnuala, could have five players in the European Masters’ field – two or three top-five finishes and she might just be in with a shout.

As his team stands James Walsh, in sixth, has just one player in action this week but he still has two transfers so his prospects might not be as bleak once he makes those changes. Still, he could do with a mass outbreak of missed cuts and/or disqualifications to afflict the managers above him. But even if he doesn’t win out there are still prizes of €7,000, for the runner-up, and €3,000, for our third-placed manager, to be played for.

Only the managers in second to sixth places are within €100,000 of Frank’s score, so from Amanda Smith down dazzling team performances will be required to trouble the main contenders. They can, though, take heart from Elizabeth Baker’s week 21 score, €310,750 more than enough for our Clonee, Co Meath manager to win a fourball in Druids Heath.

Granted, Elizabeth had seven players in action, the lowest cheque returned by any of them the €8,250 won by Ross McGowan at Gleneagles. Heath Slocum, the winner of the Barclays, was Dreamers’ leading man, with Pádraig Harrington (who took a share of second in New Jersey) and Gregory Havret (joint third in Scotland) the other big earners. Congratulations, incidentally, to Adrian O’Connor, the only manager in the competition to hire Slocum last week – and commiserations to the one man who fired him (sorry David). The best of luck, then, to Frank, Fionnuala, Wes and all the managers in with a chance of a top three finish. Take Harry Vardon’s advice and don’t let the nerves trouble you.