PHILIP WALTON believes he is coming to terms with inner demons which threatened to destroy his European season. But with his confidence still at a low ebb, he has no great wish at this stage to retain his Ryder Cup place for the biennial clash with thee US at Valderrama.
"I will be content to follow it on television and cheer on the Irish lads," said the Malahide player last night. "Darren Clarke (fifth in the points table) is now a certainty to make the team Padraig Harrington (16th) also has a great chance and I think Paul McGinley is by no means out of it."
In only his sixth appearance from the scheduled 13 tournaments so far this season, Walton finished in a share of fourth place behind Bernhard Langer in the Italian Open last weekend. "It was a help, but I reckon I'm operating on only about 40 per cent confidence," he said.
He went on: "It's a mental thing, not unlike a phase I went through a few years ago when I developed a phobia about the shanks. Basically it's fear about fear. I've been afraid to practise because people will be looking at me, whereas if I was on my own, I wouldn't mind hitting balls for up to six hours.
"It affected me for most of last year and it is also the reason I missed the first five tournaments this season." Was it a fear of being seen doing something stupid? "Yes, something like that," he replied, "but I don't intend to discuss it until I'm over it."
The impact on his 1996 form was reflected in only 12 cuts in 23 European events and a highest finish of tied seventh in the Scandinavian Masters. Ironically, his most encouraging performance came in the US Open at Oakland Hills, where he carded rounds of 69 and 73 before slipping down the field to eventually finish in a share of 97th place.
Walton has every confidence, however, that he can beat these demons, as he did with the phobia about the shanks. "I haven't sought help - I believe I'm strong enough to work it through on my own," he said, having almost trebled his earnings for the season so far (£33,070) by collecting a prize of £21,583 in Brescia. "From now on, I plan to play every tournament until I run out of steam."
But what of the Ryder Cup? "I still get a tremendous kick when I think of Oak Hill - it was a fantastic experience," he said of his priceless contribution to a memorable European victory. "I'd love to do it again but, to be honest, it won't break my heart to miss Valderrama. I've never liked the course, which I consider to be unfair.
Instead, he hopes to be cheering former Ryder Cup colleagues - with, of course, the Irish additions - to a retention of the trophy. And among those former teammates will be Langer, who has now emulated Walton by winning a European Tour event with the broom handle putter.
"I was talking to his caddie (Peter Coleman) in Italy and he said that Langer seemed to have a new model of the broomhandle, every time he played," said Walton. "Obviously he has discovered, like myself, that it operates really well on smooth, fast greens, which we had at Brescia."
The Malahide player went on suggest that it can only be a matter of time before a player using the broomhandle captures a major championship. "Sam Torrance, Mark James and myself all used it when winning our matches at Oak Hill," said Walton. "It's a bit like Bob Tway using Ping irons to win the USPGA Championship in 1986"
Meanwhile, we may yet have cause to wonder why European skipper Seve Ballesteros was creating such a fuss about his wildcarding choices. The indications are that his problems could be solved within the next month, now that Jose Maria Olazabal has moved up to 10th position in the points table.
The ice cool Langer - "I now have confidence with the long putter" also gave Ballesteros a boost by proving he is back to his best. As a reward for single putting the last five greens in Brescia, the German is left with an eminently attainable 80,000 points to make the team.
Langer changed from a metal driver to a traditional, persimmon model during the Italian Open but Olazabal has persevered with the `Makser' metal driver, produced by his own company. He turned to it for his comeback, realising that in his absence, he had lost 15 yards in length to nearly everybody else on the tour.
In the event, the 31 year old Spaniard, for whom the driver would be the least favoured club, is now at his most optimistic for some time. "I had my best driving day this year in the first round of the Italian," he said. "It wasn't so good for the next two days but I'm improving all the time."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Phil Blackmar is now in his highest position in the money list since joining the USPGA Tour in 1980. Victory in the Houston Open at The Woodlands last Sunday has lifted him to 18th with earnings of $366,432 from 11 events.
The most remarkable aspect of Blackmar's success, however, was that it came in a play off, just as had happened for his victory in the Greater Hartford Open of 1985 and in the Provident Classic three years later. His sudden death victim on this occasion was Kevin Sutherland, who came through the Qualifying School last December.
Blackmar's father, who won the US left handers title in 1965 introduced his son to the game at an early age. At 6ft 7ins, Blackmar junior has always been a noted long hitter but it was his putting skill which became the decisive factor on this occasion.
His competitive strength was reflected in the glorious execution of a six iron shot of 185 yards to the first play off hole. The ball came to rest less than four feet below the pin from where Blackmar made a winning birdie. Significantly, his two previous victories were also secured with birdies at the first tie hole - over Dan Pohl and Jodie Mudd at Hartford and against Payne Stewart in the Provident.
After the BellSouth Classic in Duluth, Georgia, starting on Thursday, the tournament focus in the US returns to Texas in two weeks for the Byron Nelson Classic at Las Colinas, where Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo are expected to be back in action.
Langer moved up four places in the World Ranking to 16th after his victory in Open. The German had been in danger of dropping put of the top 20 for the first time since the rankings began in 1986.
The only other golfer to have achieved that feat is world number one Greg Norman, who has never been lower than seventh.
