This is when things begin to get REALLY tense, with just four weeks and eight tournaments still to go. And this is when our leading managers could REALLY do without team members unexpectedly withdrawing from tournaments, or taking early retirement from the season (which happened one manager last year, when he transferred Padraig Harrington in to his team with just a few weeks left, only for the Dubliner to announce he was taking the rest of the Golf Masters' season off).
So what's this we heard about Steve Stricker possibly missing the Greater Milwaukee Open this week? Paul Sheehan (who has him in all three of his top 10 teams), Niall Murray, Robbie Canning and Susan Coleman would miss him terribly - Kevin Barry, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tony and Brian Murnaghan and Gerry Lonergan most certainly wouldn't, because they don't employ him.
Well, doubts arose over Stricker's participation in the tournament because of an eight and a half pound (19 and a half inches long) new arrival by the name of Bobbie Jean - yes, Steve has become a father for the first time.
"Bobbie Jean is great. The parents are great. Everything's great," said Dennis Tiziani, Steve's father-in-law earlier this week. "Well, that's great," we can hear four of our leading managers nervously mutter, "but any chance of him playing a bit of golf this week?" Don't panic, there's good news. "This is a wonderful time for Steve and he wants to be with his family," said Dennis, "but I know him well enough to know that he's a commitment guy - he knows that he has to get on with his business." And on with the business he'll get . . . at the Greater Milwaukee Open this week. Our non-Stricker top 10 employers, hoping he would have followed Darren Clarke's example a few weeks back, will be horrified.
"Hopefully the wife and the baby aren't back from the hospital yet and he hasn't lost any sleep," said our overall leader Paul Sheehan. "We had a kid last year, I got no sleep for about six weeks and my golf was in tatters. Although, I have noticed when these guys have their first baby they go out and play cracking golf - I've studied the effect of fatherhood on golfers, you know. It's pathetic, isn't it?" We're saying nothing.
