There will be quite a few who claim his failure to win a Major tarnishes his new status and there is an argument for that. There will be a few who claim that Tiger Woods is clearly a more natural golfer and there is an argument for that.

But golf is all about consistency and there is no argument against the fact that over the last 12 months or more Lee Westwood has been golf’s Mr Consistent. Several top three finishes in the last two years at Majors also suggest he isn’t that far off claiming his first. Being installed as number one in the world may even give him the boost in confidence and belief he needs to take that final step where perhaps self doubt has caused him to fail when within touching distance in the past. We’ll see on that one.

For now, let’s just celebrate in the fact that golf now has a new number one and England has our first since Nick Faldo way back in 1994.

It may only be a brief reign, as Westwood himself admitted, saying he’s learned never to write off Tiger Woods and there are several others hot on Westwood’s heels that could snatch it away from him, a lot from the European Tour and some from the US Tour, but then again it may not. It doesn’t really matter – Westwood has been as high as world number four and as low as outside the top 250 so this number one spot is a remarkable achievement.

He’s a very nice guy as well and it’s a well deserved achievement.

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This is perhaps understandable as Europe regained the Ryder Cup by just a single point, in the last singles match on the penultimate hole. As finishes to the Ryder Cup go, this was as dramatic as it gets.

No-one would have predicted that the unprecedented fourth day would produce such a finish. At the start of the day Europe led 9 ½ to 6 ½ with only five points required for victory. Early on it looked like they would walk it – right until the USA team produced a stunning fight back to ensure that Europe had to fight very hard for every one of the five points.

In amongst that fight back, however, was a performance that the rest of the golfing world, not just those competing in the Ryder Cup, would do well to take notice of.

Out of form, out of character and almost out on his ear, Tiger Woods justified his inclusion in the USA team by Corey Pavin with a round of golf that may well signal he is getting close to his best once more.

It was certainly his best Ryder Cup performance and if he takes this form into tournament play then his long list of wins will no doubt get longer.

Playing the Italian Francesco Molinari, Woods found himself two down after the first three holes as Molinari started at a blistering pace, scoring birdies on the first and second and par-ing the third.

Woods’ dismal (ok, that may be a harsh assessment, but it’s not been good!) Ryder Cup form looked like it would continue until he pulled one back on the fourth, only to lose it again on the fifth.

His confidence was given a boost with a birdie on the sixth to pull him back to just one down but as both players made par on the next two holes it looked like Molinari had things under control.

Unfortunately for Molinari, the old Tiger Woods decided to make a return for the first time since his well publicised off-course troubles began.

Woods rounded off the front nine with a birdie four on the par five ninth before blitzing the opening four holes of the back nine with three birdies and an eagle on the 12^th.

Going to the 14^th with a four shot advantage, Woods had firmly closed the door on a defeat barring a miracle five holes from Molinari. It wasn’t to be – nobody seriously thought it would be – and two pars from Woods could only be matched by the Italian, giving the Americans another point in their remarkable comeback.

Consider this though; in 10 holes Woods managed six birdies and an eagle. He was eight under after 15 holes with three to play. Theoretically, he could have finished his round a stunning 11 under. He notched five holes in a row under par.

By anyone’s standards that is a phenomenal round, but especially for Tiger Woods given his recent form. Only Dustin Johnson’s 6&4 humiliation of Martin Kaymer came close on the day.

So is Tiger back to his best? Has his somewhat surprising inclusion in the US Ryder Cup rekindled is love of the game, even in defeat? Should the rest of golf be filled with fear at the name ‘Woods’ on the scoreboard?

Only time will tell, but this was an ominous sign that Tiger is starting to put his troubles behind him and focus once again on his golf game.

Incidentally, I want to congratulate Colin Montgomerie, his vice captains and all the European Ryder Cup team on their victory. Closer than it perhaps should have been, but all credit to the Americans for that. Well done on bringing it home, boys – especially you, @Graeme_McDowell!

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*cough*

Bagging birdies…

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The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tees off today, Woods defending the title he has won seven times in Ohio. Should he fail to do so, he could lose his number one position to either Mickelson or Westwood.

Here’s how. If Westwood wins and Woods is outside the top two, he will become world number one. If he finishes second, Woods fails to finish better than tenth and Mickelson DOESN’T win the tournament, he will become world number one. If Mickelson wins the tournament, he will become world number one. If Mickelson finishes in the top four and Woods fails to finish in the top 37 (yes, THIRTY SEVEN), he will become world number one.

It’s a bit complicated, but basically the odds on favourite to be the best golfer in the world come Sunday is Lee Westwood – despite never winning a major.

There’s a few stumbling blocks. First of all, while Westwood is in fantastic form, Woods LOVES this course. If he is to regain some of the form he has lost since his fall from grace, it could well be here at Firestone. Then consider this – Westwood will tee off next to Woods for the first two rounds. That’s pressure, playing alongside the man you are trying to depose!

It’ll be compulsive viewing, and you’ll want to keep an eye on Mickelson too, of course. For me, I really hope Westwood does it, his game deserves it and it might just give him that boost to win that first elusive major.

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In the end, of course, his game not only held up but shone. Not at any point did he look like he would lose his cool or his control and his mastery of the links course in tough, windy and wet conditions was a pleasure to watch.

This was golf at its best. There were other brilliant rounds over the four days, not least from Casey, Westwood and the young Rory McIlroy who, despite a torrid second day, recovered superbly to finish tied third on 8 under after a 68 on the final day.

If it hadn’t been for that 8 over 80 on the second day, we could have had a much tighter finish. Casey will feel disappointed with his 75 on the last day as again, he could have challenged Oosthuizen with a better day.

One proud man, the South African winner aside, will be Lee Westwood. He remains the nearly man at majors, but his last round of 70 gave him second place on his own – and did beat Oosthuizen’s calmly taken 71.

For a while it looked like The Open record win of 8 shots clear was under threat. Woods – whose poor putting kept him out of contention here – was the last man to win by that margin, and Westwood ensured he retains that record by pulling back Oosthuizen to a 7 shot victory.

Will Louis gone on to be a great golfer in the same mould as compatriot Ernie Els? On this evidence, he has the game and temperament so why not? He needs to push on from here now, get consistency and challenge for more major honours.

Justin Rose, who I was following closely, sadly failed to perform. He missed the cut on Day Two but I remain hopeful that the 29 year old will one day capture a major. However, if anything, I want Westwood to do it first. He’s so close to it it must be weighing on his mind and his golf does deserve it.

The next golf I’m looking forward to now is the Ryder Cup. Should be brilliant. The USA remain strong but there has clearly been a resurgence in European golf over the last couple of years – a quick look at the final leaderboard here at the Open shows that. The five behind Oosthuizen were all Europeans. Bodes well, I hope!

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Cink won last year at Turnberry, beating crowd favourite Tom Watson in a four-hole play off. Watson would have won his sixth Open and, at 59, been the oldest champion, but he missed out by six shots to Cink.

Every big name in golf you can think of will be vying for the Claret Jug on one of the toughest links courses in the world. Woods, Harrington, Mickelson, Els, Montgomerie, Lyle…I could go on and on. There are 156 professional and amateur golfers in total, all looking to topple Cink and each other over four days of what promises to be fabulous golf.

The Old Course at St Andrews has hosted golf matches for 600 years and is home to the longest running tournament for the 28th time this year.

Par is 72 over the 7305 yards that make up the 18 holes. There are only two par 3s and two par 5s, one of each on the front and back nines. The longest hole is the par 5 14th, stretching 618 yards but with a strong wind from the east, it’s doable in three. The shortest is the par 3 11th at 174 yards. The green is steep so you have to get your distance right or risk rolling off the green at the front or dropping into a gully at the back.

The Open Championship will start at 6.30am tomorrow with Paul Lawrie, Thomas Levet and Steve Marino teeing off on the first hole, Burn, as it is known.

All eyes will be on Tiger Woods no doubt as he attempts to win his third successive Open at St Andrews, but with his off-course personal troubles and a putting game that his own caddie has described as “sub-standard” he’ll have his work cut out. Tiger tees off at 9.09am alongside in-form Justin Rose and Camilo Villegas.

Other notable tee off times for us Brits and Irish include:

• 7.36am: Sir Nick Faldo
• 8.42am: Ian Poulter, Ernie Els, Stewart Cink
• 9.20am: Padraig Harrington
• 9.53am: Darren Clarke
• 12.25pm: Sandy Lyle
• 12.47pm: Luke Donald
• 13.31pm: Paul Casey
• 13.42pm: Lee Westwood
• 14.20pm: Colin Montgomerie, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen

I’ll be keeping a close eye on Justin Rose. He has recently won two tournaments on the PGA Tour and is bang in form. How he’ll handle the links is a big question, as is how he’ll feel playing alongside Woods for the first two days. I really hope he does himself justice.

Who do you want to win and perhaps more to the point who do you THINK will win? Let me know in the comments.

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Westwood: In with a shout at Sawgrass

Both Englishmen dropped just one shot but enjoyed six birdies in the opening round, while Woods had a shakier, but far more competitive round than that seen at Quail Hollow last week.

American J. B. Holmes and Australian Robert Allenby lead the way on six under but perceived wisdom suggests the course will favour Allenby – and other more strategic players – over the big hitters such as Holmes. That’s why Donald and Westwood will fancy their chances over the next three days.

Woods, too, is clearly feeling better about his game but some of his shots were wayward – not least at the 7th where he skied his shot, making just 190 yards. Another surprisingly low scorer on Thursday was Phil Mickelson. He matched Woods’ 70 for the round and said: “Shooting 70 today isn’t the round you want.”

Indeed not. That it’s an upturn for Woods shows how far he had fallen and how far he has to go to get back to anything close to where he was before his troubles.

We expect J. B. Holmes to fall away over the next 54 holes while Donald and Westwood remain consistent. Woods will consolidate his improvement but not challenge and Mickelson has work to do, but think he’ll finish higher than Woods. So do we predict an English winner at The Players Championship? No, not yet. Allenby has the game to win this and Donald has been disappointing for quite a while. Westwood, however, is in with a great shout.

The weather and subsequent conditions will play their part too. Thursday was ideal, but Saturday looks like being windier and may see some rain. Who will stand up to the changing conditions best is yet to be seen.

Who do you think will win The Players Championship? Will it be a shoot out between Westwood and Allenby or will we have a surprise winner in Donald – or someone else entirely? Give us your thoughts and predictions in the comments.

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Yes, surprises, controversy, sportsmanship and shocks. Four words that best describe golf over the last couple of weeks. We haven’t covered golf much at all, but with so much going we figured we’d better at least do a quick round up of the major stories.

Let’s start with Tiger Woods. He’s back in golf after taking time out for ‘treatment’ for his promiscuity and it’s like he’s never been away. Except for the fact he appears to have forgotten how to play golf, that is.

His ‘car crash’, the sex scandal and his sponsors leaving him in droves has definitely affected Woods. He returned at the Masters and finished tied for fourth after a bad start. Impressive stuff. However, he is currently playing in the Quail Hollow Championship, carding a disappointing 74 in the first round with four bogeys and a double bogey.

Woods had said he was enjoying his golf again and has already signed up for the Players’ Championship. We can’t imagine he’s enjoying it right now and who knows how he will react to this comparative failure. Females everywhere, be worried.

Monty: Moody bastard

Some things don’t change, however. Colin ‘Monty’ Montgomerie has always been considered a moody character. His flare ups on the golf course at spectators and officials for perceived injustices against him are famous.

Well, he’s been at it again. The Ryder Cup captain, playing in the Spanish Open, was outraged after scoring a bogey on the seventh. He blamed, rather amusingly, loud music coming from a nearby hospitality tent.

He raged at Miguel Vidaor, tournament director:

“Should never have happened in the first place. Is this a party or a golf tournament?”

Hilarious stuff. He then, of course, refused to speak the media after his round. Ah, Monty, what would we do without you?

Finally, the retirement of Lorena Ochoa, the world’s number one woman golfer, has been met with surprise. Mexican Ochoa decided to hang up her golf clubs to concentrate on her family and charity work.

The surprise is that she is only 28 and has been world number one for the past three years – in theory, she should have had many years at the top ahead of her. In comparison, Annika Sorenstam, the woman she replaced as number one, retired at 38 in 2008.

Ochoa tearfully explained:

“I wanted to retire as the world number one and this is the moment.

“I realised I didn’t feel [the same] motivation this year and that I wanted to start a new life,” she told a news conference in Mexico City, crying as she read a letter thanking her parents for their support.

“I want to dedicate to my family the time I have taken from them all these years.”

It’s any sports person’s right to retire when they wish, of course, but Sporting Fare reckons this is just a bit premature…and that she’ll be back at some point in the future when it sinks in that she’s missing the game.

Oh, we must make mention of Brian Davis’ extraordinary sportsmanship during the play-off at the Verizon Heritage tournament on the PGA tour, even if it was a while ago now.

He owned up to the possibility that he may be liable to a two-stroke penalty for moving a loose impediment in a hazard on the backswing of his third shot on the first extra hole. Nobody saw it, he barely felt it. He could have kept his mouth shut and got on with it. It might not have allowed him to win the play-off against Jim Furyk, but it certainly would have given him a better chance.

In the end, Furyk won, of course, and paid tribute to Davis’ honesty.

“To have the tournament come down that way is definitely not the way I want to win the golf tournament. It’s obviously a tough loss for him, and I respect and admire what he did.

“To be there and be in the battle and have an opportunity to win, and then have to call a penalty on yourself has got to be extremely disappointing.

“It’s a testament to our game and the people that play on the Tour, and that we have so many guys that do that.

“It’s just awkward to see it happen at such a key moment. Awkward for him to lose that way, and a little awkward for me to win.”

Fair play.

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Boxing: Amir Khan versus Dmitriy Salita

England’s new Golden Boy of boxing and WBA light-welterweight world champion Amir Khan makes his first defence against Salita on Saturday night, live on Sky Box Office (8pm).

Unbeaten in 31 fights, Ukranian-born Jew Salita will prove a tough test for Khan, who won his title last year in Manchester by beating Andreas Kotelnik. Khan will need to be at his best against the man who fights out of New York. The fight is top of a strong bill that also features Breidis Prescott, the only man to beat Khan so far, against Kevin Mitchell for the number one contender spot.

We’re taking Khan to defend his title…but Salita has a strong chance to upset the odds.

Rating: Love boxing, love this. Patriotic, love this. Just LOVE THIS.

Rugby Union: Saracens versus Sale Sharks

Live on Sky Sports One from 5.30pm on Saturday, Sale Sharks look to end the undefeated start to the season that Saracens have enjoyed. Saracens, on the other hand, want to make it 9 wins out of 10 games.

Sale’s backline boasts England stars Mark Cueto and Mathew Tait but performances this season have been below par. Saracens boast internationals of their own and with that talent on the pitch we’re betting it’s going to be a great game. But we’re also betting that Saracens continue the season undefeated in a tight win.

Rating: Must see Saturday afternoon egg chasing.

Golf: Chevron World Challenge

Tiger Woods is supposed to host this event, which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation.But for the second year running he is absent, this time due to his ‘car crash’. But we’ll leave the much raking to other sites more suited. We’ll focus instead on the golf, and although this isn’t being televised anywhere we can find, we’ll be keeping an eye on the leaderboard for one reason and one reason only; to see how European Number One Lee Westwood performs.

He is currently three shots off leaders Ian Poulter and Zach Johnson, with Irishman Padraig Harrington just a shot behind them. If Westwood is to convince us that he has what it takes for a Major, this would be a good place to start following his brilliant performance in Dubai at the end of November.

Rating: One for Westwood fans. Plenty of other golf on for those who aren’t.

NFL: Arizona Cardinals versus MinnesotaVikings

We’re watching Vikings quarterback Brett Favre very closely this season. And if my beloved Miami Dolphins aren’t going to make the Superbowl (and they definitely aren’t!) then veteran and much-admired Favre might as well.

The Vikings are on a winning run, having won seven of the last eight for a season and a win at Arizona would virtually secure the division. Favre himself is having an MVP season. So can Arizona put a dent in that? Well, they have they’re own veteran QB in Kurt Warner but he is a doubt. If he misses out, they don’t have much to match the Vikings. The season records are 10-1 for Minnesota, 7-4 for the Cardinals.

And Favre’s stats should have the opposition quaking too:

248 completed passes from 358 attempts, 2874 yards thrown for 24 touchdowns.  Though Warner’s are not that far behind in fairness. It’ll be some match up if both play, and if not, you can enjoy the master at his craft. Watch it live online here at 8pm EST / 5pm PT / 3pm GMT.

Rating: Potential classic. Definite master at work. Don’t miss it.

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Tiger Woods with wife who pulled him to safety

First reported as serious, now downgraded to minor, nevertheless there is some mystery surrounding Tiger Woods’ car crash in the early hours of yesterday morning.

First of all, how does a man who drinks very little, if at all, crash into a fire hydrant then a tree outside his own home? Surely he knows where they are?

Secondly, how does this statement from the Central Health Hospital and Woods’ own people:

“Tiger Woods was in a minor car accident outside his home.

“He was admitted, treated and released in good condition.”

…tally with this report from local Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor:

“Woods had lacerations to his upper and lower lips and blood in his mouth. He was mumbling, but didn’t say anything coherent.”

You also have to question why Woods’ wife had to use a golf club to smash the rear window of the car to drag him out and why it was 12 hours before news of the incident made the public domain. This last, at least, could be down purely to Woods’ desire for privacy.

We’re not one for idle speculation and conspiracy theories but there are questions here that should at least be asked, even if they are never answered by Tiger Woods. Sporting Fare does respect his right to privacy – but we can wonder, right? Drugs? Unlikely. Alcohol? Apparently not. Health issue such as epilepsy or similar? Possible. We can’t imagine there wasn’t something involved.

Got a theory of your own? Know more than we do? Let us know in the comments, we’re intrigued.

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