Euro flops

When they tee it up for the US Open at Bethpage Black next year, it will be 39 years since Tony Jacklin won this championship. Given European success in the Ryder Cup and the bunch of European players in the top-50 in the World Rankings, it is very odd indeed we have failed to win the second major of the year since 1970.

And although Lee Westwood finished a couple of feet short of making a playoff, there were very few other Europeans who will look back on the week with fond memories.

True, Robert Karlsson finished tied for 4th, and given that he hasn’t finished outside the top-8 in his last six tournaments, he is in an extraordinarily rich vein of form at the moment. Make no mistake, he will be a very important part of  Faldo’s team at Valhalla.

Miguel Angel Jimenez and Carl Pettersson also finished in the top-10. And if Sergio Garcia had managed to replicate the 70s he had in rounds 2 and 3 in rounds 1 and 4, he would have won the Championship.

For the rest it was a case of broken dreams..

Ian Poulter withdrew after the 15th hole of his second round, when he was 7 over par for his round and 14-over for the championship. Luke Donald injured his left wrist during the final round and withdrew. Nick Dougherty, who led after one round last year, crashed out with rounds of 77 and 78 on Friday night. Colin Montgomerie, who so badly needs to collect Ryder Cup points, also missed the cut by five shots.

But, perhaps most surprising of all was Justin Rose. A first round 79 basically meant he was always going to be struggling, and although he came back with a one-over-par 72 on Friday, he was always