WE EXPECTED a spot of musical chairs on our overall leaderboard after the US Open, but maybe not quite as many dramatic movements as we got. The most dramatic of all, in the upper flight of the board, was the misfortune that befell Kay Cully, down from fourth to 42nd after her line-up had what one might loosely call a calamity in San Francisco.
Three missed cuts, a no-show and just 12 points between the other two members of the team left Mulligan with a grand total of six points in week 11, putting them outside the top 10,000 on the weekly leaderboard.
On a happier note, several managers made significant moves in the right direction, John Paul Scallon, up from 13th to fifth with just one of five teams to have passed the 1,000 points mark – and for that he can largely thank Jim Furyk, Jason Dufner and Ernie Els, all of whom finished in the top 10 in the treble-your-points tournament.
Gavin Kennedy is only a place behind, up from 24th, Furyk, Dufner and Lee Westwood his top earners, while Kenny Reilly and Karen Ryan, both outside the top 20 last week, are up to ninth and 10th, Graeme McDowell their leading man.
Four of Bryan Crowley’s Gullane line-up had a forgettable enough US Open, but between them Dufner and Westwood did enough to ensure he returned to the top of the overall leaderboard. Kieron Hyland dropped two places to third, but after four of his team failed to make the cut he was probably expecting worse – Dufner was his saviour.
And the American – who proved a touch popular with our leading managers in week 11 – was the main force behind Aideen Flynn’s ascent from eighth to second, Westwood and Els doing their bit too.
The unluckiest manager of the week was, without doubt, Marie O’Hara, who was beaten to first place on the weekly leaderboard after tying with Tom Keating – Marie fell victim to that tie-breaker in the rules that separates teams based on which one was “entered into the competition earliest”, if best round points can’t divide them.
Tom, then, takes the prize of golf merchandise thanks to Dufner, Els, Furyk – not to mention the winner, Webb Simpson.
Westwood takes over from Matt Kuchar as our leading points earner, with Furyk, Simpson and Pádraig Harrington up to fourth, sixth and seventh, respectively, after a lucrative time of it at the Olympic Club.
If you’re still struggling, take heart from Michael Thompson. Last week the man from Arizona was outside the top 200 of our leading earners, on just the three points – after his share of second at the US Open, and 30 best round bonus points, he’s now ninth on the list. The moral of the story? Hang in there.
