A week ago I witnessed some of the best golf on the European Tour so far this season. Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell shot 64/63 (15 under par) over the weekend and won the Wales Open by 3 shots from Welshman Rhys Davies. On the last day of the tournament the 2 players conjured up rounds of 63 and 62 respectively over the 2010 Ryder Cup Course with 62 being the new course record.
I’m not taking anything away from Graeme McDowell’s fantastic weekend display, but the fact that Rhys Davies, a rookie who has just burst onto the scene with 5 top 3 finishes in the last 2 months, shot the course record in tough conditions on the final day of a major tour event, and on the Ryder Cup course is amazing! This has put him in a great position to claim one of the places in the European Ryder Cup side when the golfing world converges on Celtic Manor in October. There is no doubt about it; Rhys is ‘the form player’ on the European Tour right now and someone who I would certainly have in my team. People have questioned if he is ready for the Ryder Cup as he is relatively inexperienced; however bear in mind that he had a glowing amateur career before turning pro and was in the Walker Cup team which was captained by one of PerryGolf’s founding directors, Colin Dalgleish. I hope Rhys keeps up the excellent form which he has shown in the first half of the season and qualifies for the Ryder Cup in a few months time. The fact that he is a Welshman will also help to draw some local fans which I’m sure will add to atmosphere.
By Gary Sheppard. Gary has been with PerryGolf for over 4 years and is one of our Golf Travel Specialists.
