Events on both sides of the Atlantic last weekend were dominated by graduates from the class of '87. While Colin Montgomerie was capturing the British Masters at the Forest of Arden, Billy Andrade, the American he beat in the Walker Cup at Sunningdale 11 years ago, was winning the Canadian Open.
Montgomerie took that particular match by 4 and 2 and since then, the comparative success of both players in professional ranks has tended to mirror that decisive margin. In fact Andrade had not won since 1991, when he secured his only two American titles - the Kemper Open and the Buick Classic.
The big Scot, who also turned professional after Sunningdale, had to look back only to the Volvo PGA Championship in May for his previous European success. Which means he has now gained 16 wins in Europe and 20 in all, including the Andersen Consulting World Championship in Arizona last January.
The Canadian Open, which was played at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Glen Abbey stretch in Toronto, also marked an encouraging return to form by Sandy Lyle, who was tied seventh after a two-under-par final round of 70. And with a share of 13th place for a reward of $35,444, Richard Coughlan had his best performance of this, his debut season on the US Tour.
It was Lyle's first top-10 finish in the US since 1996 and it represented a timely boost for a player who, like Coughlan, needs to earn about $200,000 to retain his playing privileges there for next season. And the Anglo-Scot is not far off the mark, with $161,446 for 138th place in the current moneylist.
Lyle is currently playing the last year of a 10-year exemption earned for his victory in the 1988 US Masters. Coughlan, with decidedly modest experience, still has much to do to retain his card, given a position of 174th with prize money of $105,661.
Meanwhile, seven years without a tournament win, didn't mean financial hardship for Andrade. In fact he has amassed more than $4 million in tournament earnings over the last 11 years. He now joins such luminaries as Mark O'Meara, Nick Price, Greg Norman and Curtis Strange, who have captured the Canadian title in recent decades.
The climax of Sunday's event was quite remarkable for the fact that Andrade and his closest challenger, Bob Friend, were both in water at the 508-yard par-five 18th, within the space of 30 minutes. Andrade overcame a potentially disastrous slip by holing a 20-foot par putt to get into a playoff.
Then, in sudden death on the same hole, Friend's ball found a watery grave when he played an over-zealous pitch from a precarious position left of the green. As it happened, Andrade was in a similar situation but took the precaution of deliberately pitching into a greenside bunker, from where he got up and down for par.
Mike Hulbert closed with three straight birdies and just missed the play-off with a 68 for 12-under 276, one shot better than the reigning Australian Masters champion, Bradley Hughes and Americans Glen Day and Hal Sutton.
Coughlan, Lyle and the numerous other players looking towards a coveted place among the top120 of the moneylist at the end of the season, have six tournaments remaining, starting with this week's BC Open at Endicott. It is followed by the Texas Open, Buick Challenge, Michelob Championship, Las Vegas Invitational and the Walt Disney Classic.
