GOLF: Nick Faldo, always a man to do his own thing, began his preparations to qualify for the 2004 Ryder Cup in the strangest possible fashion.
On Monday, the six-time major champion played an 18-hole match against four champions produced by his Faldo Junior Series, his ball against their best ball, and during it found the secret to putting.
"You have to keep holing 'em," he said, "to keep annoying them," meaning, of course, the competition. Eventually he holed yet another, for a birdie on the last, to halve the match, having gone round Burhill Old in six under par. The youngsters, aged between 13-17, may have been annoyed at this old man's success on the greens, but you can bet they were impressed.
Yesterday he repeated the trick. In the first round of the Lancome Trophy at St Non la Breteche he got round in a six-under 65 and putted like a dream. As a result he is one behind the leader Alex Cejka, and alongside Richard S Johnson (Sweden), Dean Robertson (Scotland), Maarten Lafeber (Holland), Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) and Tom Gillis (US).
He had birdies at the first four holes, with putts of 12, 20, 25 and 12 feet, and said: "If I can keep annoying people, that's the key to success."
This is Faldo's first tournament since he announced that he will not be competing for the captain's job at the Ryder Cup in 2004. He has also stopped "trying to be a businessman" in order to concentrate on playing his way into that team.
Yesterday he said that projects like the proposed chain of eateries in the US to be called Jug and Jacket, after his wins in the Open Championship (the claret jug) and the US Masters (the green jacket), had not been jettisoned. "They are undergoing evaluation," he said, "as to whether they will be bars, or grills or restaurants."
He added: "Dabbling with business off the golf course was really wearing me out, so I've decided to hand the business to the businessmen. We've slowed down to speed up."
Robertson, who has missed most of the season with severe depression, has recovered and further cheered himself up yesterday with a 65.
He had a long, dark period when he could not touch a club, but has come out of it, he says, "playing better than in my whole career, by a long stretch". He is also delighted to be back on the golf course in what is only his fourth tournament since he resumed.
Paul McGinley was best of the Irish trio in France after a four-under 67. Des Smyth was at one-under while Graeme McDowell was level.
Ian Woosnam confirmed that, if asked, he would accept the captaincy for the Ryder Cup 2004, and hinted that he might ask for the system of getting a team together to be changed.
At present the side is formed by the top 10 in the Order of Merit and two captain's picks to allow players like Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik, who play most of their golf in the US, to get in.
But as more Europeans play more on the US Tour it has become obvious that a better system would be to choose five from the world rankings, five from the European Order and two captain's selections.
"You need your strongest team," said Woosnam, "and for that you need the right system. With so many of our lads going to the States, maybe we need five and five."
