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Colette Wong

It was gripping, edge of the seat drama right up till the 17th of the very last singles match when Hunter Mahan conceded the hole to Graeme McDowell. Europe had won the 38th Ryder Cup 14 ½ to 13 1/2.

Europe will next head to Medinah, Illinois, USA in 2012 as the Ryder Cup Champions but not necessarily as favourites. Playing on home soil will give the Americans that slight edge over their rivals and a fairly good chance at winning back the coveted trophy.

Colin Montgomerie has ruled himself out of the captain's job for 2012, which leaves Europe in search of a new leader.

Monty played the captain's role to perfection, a role which is sometimes downplayed. But in this case, his leadership was arguably the difference between success and failure, especially given the slender margin of victory.

The 45-year-old was meticulous in every part of his planning, and placing Graeme McDowell in the last match was a stroke of genius. The Scotsman's attention to detail was also obvious, from the Welsh flags embossed on the bottom of each players' bag to the motivational imagery in the team room.

He was a motivator and he fostered a binding comraderie among his players, creating a passion and an energy that ran right through the European Team.

But they will not have to look far to find someone to filll Monty's big shoes. Jose Maria Olazabal was one of Monty's 5 assistant captains at Celtic Manor and appears to have the support from the Tour to lead the Europeans to the defense of their title in 2012.

Like Monty, Olly has played in 8 Ryder Cup Tournaments and his experience playing on the other side of the Atlantic would be an added bonus at Medinah. The biggest obstacle standing in his way is his health.

The 44-year-old has been suffering from acute rheumatism that once made him unable to walk. Due to his condition he has played sparingly this year, though he expects to return to action later this month.

Another question mark hanging over the 2012 edition is the weather in Illinois at this time of the year. While spectators were running for cover and splashing about in their wellies at Celtic Manor, the weather in Medinah wasn't much better.

It was cold and wet -10 degrees Celsius, 60 km/h winds and morning frost. Not the best of conditions for playing golf, though the Europeans would beg to differ.

It would be just like home.

Catch SportsCenter anchor Colette Wong on ESPN every weekday night at 7.30 and 10pm for more updates from the world of golf.

THE PGA TOUR is up and running - we're now three weeks into the most lucrative tour in world golf.

But somehow the crouching Tiger Woods still manages to sneak into the headlines and into a rehabilitation clinic in Mississippi. The National Enquirer has reportedly taken the first pictures of golf's number 1 since his shamed sexual exploits were publicised, outside the Pine Grove Behavioral Health and Addiction Services Clinic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Hundreds of Journalists have converged onto this town in the hopes of getting their own shots of the shamed one, but until now the clinic has yet to confirm whether or not he is actually a patient of theirs.

So we're back to square one, or maybe not. If these reports are indeed true, then Tiger checked in last month and will be there for (a rumoured) six weeks, which means it's unlikely we will see him back on the course in the next month.

But who are we to predict when Tiger will be ready to tackle not only 72 holes of golf in good physical and mental shape, but also to face the hound-dog media types, hungry for a taste of the most famous and richest sportsman in our history, post-scandal.

Many of Tiger's colleagues however believe Woods will return to competition in time for the Masters. Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 US Open champion, says it's possibly the best tournament for the striped one to come out of hiding. He argues that the Augusta National would offer the protection he needs and keep any rowdy elements at bay. Most of the tabloids will not even get as far as Magnolia Lane and Woods and his management team knows that.

That said though, despite Tiger's numero uno status, even he will need to get some (golf) action under his belt before he begins his quest for a fifth Green Jacket. There are seven tournaments Tiger could possibly play in from mid-February till the Masters begins on April 8th.

But I'm going to have to disagree with Ogilvy and many of his colleagues. Tiger has too many personal issues to deal with to return to golf by April. If reports are to be believed, he hasn't been with his family since late last year, and if he is to make a comeback, he'll have to at least devote some precious time, post-therapy, to iron out his bogeys and be at peace with himself.

Standing on the 14th green on the final day of the Barclays Singapore Open, Graeme McDowell was top of the leaderboard, one shot ahead of England's Ian Poulter. The 30-year-old from Northern Ireland had not won a title since the Barclays Scottish Open last year, but here he was on the cusp of claiming his first win of the season.

One bad putt though would change the course of McDowell's afternoon.

The Ulsterman had left himself a six-foot putt for par, but he missed it and had to settle for bogey. Not long after, Poulter made birdie behind him, and McDowell was once again left chasing the leader.

There were still four holes to play but McDowell decided he had to go for broke. At the next hole he charged the pin with his second shot but ultimately paid the price. He hit it into the front trap, bogeyed the 15th and the 16th, and that as they say is history.

After a brief sniff at the top of the leaderboard, McDowell eventually finished in a tie for 5th. He was 3 over for the day, a score not helped by those three consecutive bogeys that started from the 14th.

After the tournament, someone made a comment about McDowell, saying he had crumbled under the pressure. Yes, there might have been a grain of truth in that statement but it was far from the entire story. In McDowell's own words, "I had gone down fighting". Unfortunately a couple of bad shots had put him in a position where he had to make risky shots. And unfortunately for him, the risks didn't pay off. But he had to go for broke.

Perhaps had he been more prudent after missing the 6 footer at the 14th, McDowell might have finished further up the leaderboard. But he wasn't ready to settle for second best. He wanted to win.

Victory in Singapore would have secured him a spot in the lucrative WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai. It would have also given him another tournament and therefore another chance to accumulate more world ranking points. McDowell is currently No. 48 in the world and he needs to stay inside the top 50 in order to guarantee his place at the four Majors next year.

So there was logic to his apparent madness coming home at the Barclays Singapore Open. McDowell is a fighter, and his warrior-like attitude is a delight to watch. It may not have brought him the trophy but it definitely added to the tournament's dramatic conclusion.

Every year for the past few years, a few close friends and I have wagered on who will win the Masters.

All we get is one pick. If none of our choices wins the green jacket, then it's game over. No one wins, no one loses. But if someone among us does pick the champion? Well then, it's a dinner treat for the lucky winner and bragging rights for an entire year.

Yes, we are a sad bunch. And even sadder for me, I've never won this wager for the simple fact that I pick the same person every year - KJ Choi. My reasons are simple: he's Asian, he's good, and he must be the only former weightlifter on the PGA Tour (not that I have a thing for weightlifters, I just find that point extremely fascinating!).

2009 hasn't been a great year for The Tank but I have a pretty good feeling about his chances at the Barclays Singapore Open.

Yes, it's the same feeling I get every year before the start of the Masters and my predictions have ultimately always been wrong.

But this time, I think I'm on to something! He enters the Singapore Open on the back of his first victory of the year where he absolutely scorched the field at the Iskandar Johor Open. He's also quite comfortable with what can be suffocating conditions in this part of the world.

Choi will of course be up against some red-hot and solid players this weekend in Singapore. Phil Mickelson is ranked 2 in the entire universe and he's the strong favourite at Sentosa. So is 3-time Major champion Padraig Harrington. But the Irishman attributed a poor round in Portugal a few weeks ago to heat and dehydration so I can't imagine how he's going to cope with Singapore's equatorial climate.

The cameras will also be focused on the likes of Ernie Els, another multiple major winner; crowd favourites Miguel-Angel Jiminez and Darren Clarke; Adam Scott, a two-time winner in Singapore.... The list goes on.

And the reason why there's such an impressive line-up is due to the fact that the Barclays Singapore Open is co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours. For the European Tour players, this is a chance for them to make further inroads up the Race to Dubai rankings. Only the top 60 qualify for Dubai, but the top 15 are privy to a 7,5 million dollar bonus. And then there are golfers like England's Seve Benson who lies on the cusp of the top 115 players in the Race to Dubai who keep their European Card next season. He'll need a good performance in Singapore to consolidate his position.

But back to KJ Choi, an honorary member of the Asian Tour and my pick for winning the Barclays Singapore Open. A few years ago he set up a foundation, much like Tiger Woods, with the aim of helping the less fortunate. In 2007 he pledged to donate all of his winnings from the FEDEX Cup, if he won the 10 million dollar bonus. He eventually ended up fifth in the standings that year. But the initial statement in itself was huge and indicative of the great personality that lies behind the golfer.

So that's one more reason to support Choi at the Barclays Singapore Open at the Sentosa Golf Club again. Following his win in Johor, another victory this week could signal a turning point in Choi's career, and in turn secure me bragging rights by coming up trumps at the Masters.

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So, there goes my 10 bucks. Oh well....

I admit it would have been a bit of an injustice had Italy reached the final four on the way they played. I'll be sure to ask Roberto Donadoni for my money back if he is ever within the vicinity.

Yes, I attribute Italy's demise to The Don. I never had a good feeling about him, which begs the questions, "Why did I place my money on Italy?"

Foolishness.

I was suffering from the same lack of sensibility that overcame the Italian Football Federation when they appointed him to coach the world champions to the Euro 2008 Championship. Why would they choose a man with as little coaching experience as Donadoni? A season at each of Lecco, Livorno and Genoa, followed by an ill-fated return to Livorno, did not amount to the background necessary for taking on the Azzurri, the world champions no less.

Some call him The Don; a tough, strong name for a pretty gutless coach if you ask me. I could hardly believe it when I read he had left it to the players to decide amongst themselves who would take the penalties against Spain. The coach of the world champions was obviously ill-prepared for penalties. And boy, did he pay for it.

Yes, they were missing the suspended Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso for the quarter final. Yes, they lost their inspirational captain Fabio Cannavaro on the eve of the tournament. But Italy have enough experience in their squad to have made up for these shortcomings. What they needed was a clever tactician to make it work. Donadoni was not it and I shall be happy to see the back of him.

These are good times to be a sports fan.

To be more specific I would single out this week to be as good a time as any, a week which has been bursting at the seams with jaw-dropping, soap opera like drama. It started on Monday when a wounded predator called Tiger won the US Open. The dramatics began even before a ball was struck at Torrey Pines , when one Mister Woods, just 9 weeks off an operating table, defied his doctors orders and chose instead to challenge himself to a possible 14^th Major title. That he was able to complete 72 holes is amazing enough. That he was able to win his 3^rd US open title, on the 91^st hole, to push the playoff with Rocco Mediate into sudden death... that is the stuff movies are made of.

And speaking of movies, it was a Hollywood ending, not for Hollywood's NBA team however, but their fiercest of rivals, the Boston Celtics who claimed their first NBA title in 22 years, and their 17^th overall. That they did it in Boston in front of their adoring fans added to the pomp of the occasion. That they did it by pummeling Kobe Bryant and his LA Lakers by 39 points in Game 6 for the title was pure brilliance and it erased any doubts amongst the neutrals or Lakers-leaning supporters that the best team did in fact win.

But I laughed out loud when I read the story of Raymond Domenech, the French coach who, shortly after France's demise from the EURO 2008 Championship, proposed marriage to his TV presenter girlfriend on live TV. This, just minutes after the hopes of an entire football nation went up in smoke in their 2 nil loss to Italy. Domenech was philosophical about the timing and method of his proposal. He said, "Everyone was so sad and I thought to myself, ‘Life has its beautiful moments'." How very Hollywood. Unfortunately, it's not going to save your job, Monsieur Domenech.

I would like to add at this point that my $10 bet for Italy to win the European Championship is growing roots. It's not going anywhere for the moment, which I am delighted about. If I do end up winning the office pool, I have decided that I'm going to donate the money to the charity of Gianluigi Buffon's choice. Do you not agree with me when I say that Italy's number 1 is just an absolute delight to watch?

He single handedly, or single-leggedly, kept Italy in the tournament when he denied Adrian Mutu from the spot, in what would have effectively translated to the Azzuri's exit. But it's not just for his talents in goal I am effusing about. It is about his nature, his spirit; that he makes an effort to kiss and shake hands with everyone post-match; his teammates, his rivals, he acknowledges them all. To me, Buffon is the embodiment of sportsmanship, and it is so lifting to see this in a sport that can too often be dominated by less savoury issues, like money, greed, cheating, etc etc.

So here's to many more good times in sports, and Italy winning Euro 2008!

I should have known to follow the instincts of everyone else participating in the pool, most of whom went for Spain, Portugal, Germany and the Dutch. Only 6 percent picked Italy, which I thought was quite strange considering they are the world champions. Shows how little I know!

However....

My $10 is still in the pool, alive and breathing, even if it is on its death-bed. With two more group matches to go, there's no need to pull off the life-support just yet. I'll do that if Italy don't get three points from their next match with Romania. The central Europeans were supposed to be the weakest team of the lot. But a look at the Group standings will show you that it is in fact Italy. How quickly the mighty have fallen.

But I am an optimist. Even where there's little light, I continue to believe. I may be scraping the bottom of the barrel here, but these are my reasons:

1) Italy really were not tooooo bad against Holland. The scoreline didn't quite do them justice. They did have their chances, and had Luca Toni not imagined the goal to be 10 feet wider on both sides and two metres higher, Italy might have been right in there with the Dutch all night.

2) The Netherlands were simply amazing. Total Football is alive and kicking. Sure, the first goal was something out of the twilight zone, but the other two were brilliantly executed on the counter-attack. Marco Van Basten's tactics worked against the Italians. I'm hoping the Romanians and the French will not be as creative, and if their bore draw is anything to go by, then the door to the quarters is more than slightly ajar.

3) Italy are the world champions. They were not necessarily the best team in Germany but somehow managed to pull off Hudini-like escape acts. They have grit, perseverence and a great football brain. All that combined with a bit of luck, and I think my money should survive the group stage.

When asked why he was so fluent in Italian, Jose Mourinho replied nonchalantly, "I am very intelligent."

Yes, the Special One is back and you can't wipe the smile from my face.

He may have tried to distance himself from that self-prescribed tag in his first news conference as Inter Milan coach by saying he is a "normal manager at a special club." But despite the uncharacteristic humility he exuded at that presser in Italy, Mourinho is extremely special.

Not just in my eyes, although I have to admit I am a huge fan of the Portuguese man. How can one not be drawn to a person who emits such charisma, intelligence and mystique? I hang on to his every word, not because what he speaks is truth, but because he is so entertaining; unpredictable; delightfully obnoxious.

No, Mourinho is particularly exceptional because he is excellent at what he does as coach/manager of football teams. His achievements are well documented and Inter Milan have put a price on his special powers by giving him a contract worth more than $13.7 million per season for three years. That makes him the best paid football manager in the world, and by some distance, the best paid in Italy. (Carlo Ancelotti of AC Milan takes home US$7 million per season, but Roma coach Luciano Spalleti who finished runners-up to Inter only earns US$3.15 million).

And contrary to what many may think, I believe Mourinho deserves every cent he's getting from his new employers. His popularity and image will generate returns for Inter they will probably never have obtained before. If anyone has the ability of boosting the ‘Inter Milan' brand, making it as popular as AC Milan and giving it the same global reach as their city rivals - Jose ‘The Special One' Mourinho has.