I have to reluctantly take my hat off to Lee

Golf Review / Craig Dutton / 25 September 2007 / Leave a Comment

Lee Westwood's British Masters win took everyone by surprise, no one more so than Craig Dutton...

Sitting on a fence has its rewards, and one of them is not ending up with egg on your face. Perhaps no-one can throw that high. Jumping off the fence and making a firm decision is a risk/reward situation, and this week a massive decision of mine was proved completely wrong. It was only last week I was blogging about Westwood, where I confidently said I didn't believe he had the bottle to win tournaments. Here we are on Monday with Lee Westwood as British Masters Champion.

My natural instinct is frustration that Westwood proved me wrong, and the egotistical veins lurking in my body are desperate to pick apart his achievements this weekend, whether they actually mean anything or not. Our brain is really clever at clouding the landscape to the way we want to imagine it. Poulter's challenge dissolved to nothing; it wasn't a top-class field; the catering wasn't up to scratch. But for my bruised wallet, it comes as small comfort. Because in all honesty, what I need to do is embrace his victory. It's a small mark of the damage that blind faith and optimism can cause when betting.

Westwood proved this weekend that he does have the stomach to win tournaments. Up until Sunday, I would have laid him for every penny I had that something or someone would crop up and Westwood would fade back into the pack. Now he has proved me wrong, I must change my outlook. Doing anything else would be stupid. I could carry on obliviously laying him, making a special effort to buy some really large boots so I could fill them. But feeding my ego will not feed my balance. Now he's won, I admit that I was wrong, and change my mind. Lee Westwood is a talented player, who perhaps does not win as many tournaments as his ability suggests he could. There, wasn't too hard. It won't stop me making judgements like that in the future, however rash. Life would be intolerably boring if we sat on that fence. As long as you can accept being wrong, make any judgement you wish.

And here is one. Looking at prices for upcoming golf events, one price sticks out like the proverbial piece of hay in a stack of needles. USA are 2.34 to lay for the 2008 Ryder Cup. In my eyes, it's as close to a certainty as you can find. Woods, Mickelson, Toms - all will play badly in comparison with their individual abilities. And Mickelson and Toms are struggling anyway. You have to believe that Woods would be scared of playing Montgomerie next year, and surely that tells you all you need to know about the USA's MVP. Monty may never cease to play Ryder Cup - it really is something he was born to do. If he were bed-ridden he'd probably earn points. The European team has more depth, more youth, plays Ryder Cup golf better, and will win. In my view. If I'm here in 2008 with another sorry, sorry admission of fault, I'll build a fence myself.