And how his band of followers should get on there to congratulate the newly crowned European number one after a truly stunning display in the desert.

Having covered the Tour for the last seven seasons I am struggling to recall a more dominant performance in such a significant event. You probably have to go back to Nick Faldo's 1996 demolition of Greg Norman at Augusta before you can identify better golf from an Englishman.

Westwood played with a deadly calm, succeeding fully in the objective given to him by caddie Billy Foster to bully his way to the Dubai World Championship title and Race to Dubai crown.

With both titles on the line he was bogey free in compiling weekend rounds of 66 and 64. It was the best golf of Westwood's life.

His objective from here has to be to harness that mental approach at the majors. If he does watch out; green jackets, claret jugs and the rest of the most prized trophies in the game could easily be making their way to Westwood Towers.

It is hard to imagine anyone in the world being capable of beating him in the form he showed in dropping just two shots in 72 holes on the Earth Course and that includes Tiger Woods.

OK it wasn't a major but he was determined to overhaul Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai and he was treating it with the intensity of one of the big four championships as he sought to overcome the disappointment of missing out on the Open at Turnberry in July.

Clearly his partnership with Foster has provided the missing link. Westwood has never been one for the mind gurus ("They all look funny don't they," he once said) but Foster has effectively provided that role.

"We are good mates," Westwood said. "You're never quite sure how that's going to turn out when you start working with somebody you get on really well with."

Well it has worked out just fine and Foster has the confidence and caddie intelligence to administer the right advice at the right time. He was in Westwood's ear the entire 72 holes to ensure his boss's mind was in the right place.

"I'll probably get done by the stewards for excess whipping," Foster told this blog. "I just worked really hard on making him focus on every shot and worrying about what he has to do and not worry about what anybody else was doing."

It was the perfect advice, best illustrated by McIlroy's performance this week. Finishing third was a fine effort and would ordinarily have been enough to secure a money-list title given the lead he held going into the final event.

But his admission that he would be happier playing with someone other than Westwood after the first round could only embolden the eventual champion and it did. McIlroy will learn and in the meantime we should be grateful for his candour.

To have heard the number of players raving about McIlroy's ball striking this week was convincing in the extreme, especially if his game on the greens tightens up. He's only 20 and runner up in the Race is some achievement.

But it is Westwood who is rightly Europe's number one. Foster has caddied for many great ball strikers; Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia and in the absence of Steve Williams he is the man Woods has turned to for caddie duties.

"He is as good a ball striker as there is tee to green," Foster says of his current employer and he isn't surprised that Westwood is back in the winner's circle so soon after breaking his season duck in Portugal.

Rivals raved about McIlroy's ball striking in Dubai

"I figured that would take him back to the Westwood of old. He was the best closer in golf bar none 10 or12 years ago," Foster said.

It was the perfect scenario for the European Tour and their Middle Eastern hosts to have the Race decided by the winner of the inaugural Dubai World Championship.

Don't be fooled into thinking the Earth Course was a pushover because the winning score was 23 under par. "I'd have been quite happy to walk off there 16 or 17 under," said Foster.

The layout stood up well to the test and looked good on television. It'll never be a classic - it is a resort course tweaked enough to test the pros.

Was the Race to Dubai a success? It's a question I've been asked several times this week and on balance you would have to say yes. It provided a thrilling climax to the year and it felt as though it generated more attention than previous Orders of Merit.

You may be a better judge - did it do it for you?

Given the economic difficulties in Dubai at the moment it was right that the European Tour sought to cut prize money by 25%. It was still a massive investment by the Emirate and the idea is to use golf to sell property.

That will be the measure. Tour boss George O'Grady says "we are part of the solution" to the financial woes that have silenced so many cranes in these parts - let's hope the Dubai paymasters share his view.

In the meantime it's off to the 606 pages to check out what the new champion of Europe has to say and what you have to say to him. I'd start with a "very well done....."

WGC events reliably identify the best players in the world - that's why Tiger Woods has won 17 of the 32 that have been played.

But in China an out of sorts Woods could only manage a share of sixth place after suffering a front-nine meltdown in the dream final group alongside eventual champion Phil Mickelson, who claimed his second WGC title of the year.

'Lefty' took the title at the end of a thrilling final day that proved big time golf is at home in Asia. The Sheshan course stood up to the test and a unique atmosphere had, at times, the intensity of a major.

For once, Mickelson left world number one Woods trailing in his wake

Woods seemed to be derailed after missing a short birdie putt at the second that would have brought him to within a short of the world number two's overnight lead.

He tugged his tee shot into the water at the short 4th, three-putted after charging a 20-footer almost half that distance past the 6th hole and was screaming at a mis-timed camera on the 7th tee.

Cameras and phones - indeed the combination of both on most sets - are part and parcel of golf in this part of the world. But as Mickelson acknowledged afterwards the main culprits were from shutter happy professional snappers rather than over enthusiastic fans.

Woods sent that tee-shot at seven into a fairway bunker, fluffed his escape and put his pitch into a greenside trap. It was the golf of a Sunday hacker not the world number one and he was clearly riled.

"Everything that could go wrong went wrong for me today," Woods later observed.

Mickelson made an important birdie on that seventh hole to steady the ship after back-to-back bogeys at the 4th and 5th holes. The significance of that birdies became apparent at the next because that's where the first full leaderboard comes into view and it showed Ernie Els was within a shot of his lead.

The South African, experimenting with a new softer ball he'll be using next year, at last was finding his touch on the greens and went ahead with his eighth birdie of the day at the 17th (he'd also eagled the 8th).

But the water gobbled his duffed five-wood second to the par-five last and the resultant bogey scuppered Els as Mickelson was saving par from long range at the 16th and then nudging ahead with birdie at the 17th.

Then came a tense closing hole where the champion needed to play eight irons twice from the left rough to find the green and two-putt for a one-shot win.

Els remained upbeat afterwards, saying: "This week was a big week, I made a lot of putts. My short game is back and I'm feeling good about my future again."

Also in the mix were superb challenges from Ryan Moore (the American doesn't seem to bother with spikes in his trainers by the way) and Rory McIlroy, who rediscovered his mojo with a 63 that may reignite his tilt at the Race to Dubai.

It was compelling stuff wherever you looked and the greatest significance to the game was the overwhelming success of this event. The PGA Tour is looking rather out of step by not acknowledging this result as a tour win and it irritates Mickelson.

"I don't understand why it doesn't," the champion told me. "But it is just as rewarding whether the PGA Tour recognises it or not because I played against fifteen of the top twenty players in the world and was able to come out on top."

It would be no surprise if retrospectively Mickelson is credited with a tour win and it surely will not be long before a formula is arrived upon to give this tournament full credit on the PGA Tour.

Their European counterparts are in a far easier position because this event plays a pivotal role in the Race to Dubai which still has two weeks to run. It's not so simple in America where the season ended with the FedEx Cup.

"That may evolve, as I've said in the past, over the next two or three years," said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem as he offered some hope of change.

Finchem has often defended playing all the WGC events in America saying that television brings them to the rest of the world. Hopefully he will have seen a different side to that argument by noting the enthusiasm of the Chinese crowds.

The Champions event can fill a significant hole in the global golfing calendar because it is so far removed from the majors and the other American based WGC events in Arizona, Doral and Firestone.

"It'll be interesting to see over the next five or six years where this tournament ends up in the calendar," Mickelson observed. "And whether or not it gets full status in the US.

"This was, I thought, a very successful event. Because of that I think it has momentum to continue to move up in status and importance."

This was another example of Mickelson not putting a word out of place because he recognises the importance of the Chinese market. He's been like the new boyfriend meeting the potential in-laws for the first time all week long.

Woods doesn't need to go on such charm offensives because of his global status, but it was clear from the galleries that Mickelson won the popularity contest with the world number one by embarking on marathon signing sessions, permanently smiling and politely acknowledgment support.

That's not Woods' style, preferring the poker-faced approach of narrow focus. It adds to the stunning contrast between the world's top two players that exists at every level from the opposite way they swing onwards.

Mickelson now embarks on a 10-week break, Woods heads to Melbourne's stunning Kingston Heath for the Australian Masters.

Although neither is keen to fuel their rivalry verbally it promises to be stronger than ever next season. Mickelson has won four times in a year blighted by his wife and mother suffering from breast cancer.

He assures us that his other half Amy is making good progress in her recovery and provided he can maintain an uninterrupted schedule in 2010 we may well see his rivalry with Woods hit new heights.

The global game threatens to do likewise if it can build on the enthusiasm for the sport generated in this extraordinary week in China.

Poulter is aiming at breaking into the world's top 10 before the end of the season; Fisher believes he now has what it takes to turn near misses in majors into victories of substance.

And why not? Both have just recorded highly impressive wins and feel ready to take on a field headed by the world's top two at the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament at the Sheshan International Golf Club.

Yes Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are in town and the circus that follows is something to behold. It goes with the territory when you are at the top of the game and that's where Poulter and Fisher are firmly setting their sights.

"That would certainly tick a few of the boxes I set for myself at the start of the year."

Of course hearing lofty goals and words of such confidence is not exactly a surprise coming from Poulter's mouth. His self-belief is his greatest quality, it makes him an over-achiever and he is right to recognise the significance of this week and those that follow.

A win here or at the Dubai World Championship to follow his Singapore success would all but sew up a Ryder Cup place as well and Poulter knows it. "It sounds crazy but in four tournaments you can.

"If you can nick one or two wins, and I've already got one, you can get close and the sooner I can get in that side the better it is for me and I can be more relaxed about my golf next year."

Ian Poulter celebrates with the Singapore Open trophy

Fisher also has his ambitions to make it into Colin Montgomerie's team for Celtic Manor but now also believes he is ready to win one of the big four championships.

He will readily tell you that he led all four majors at some stage last year and that but for a putt or two going astray at the wrong moment he would have won the US Open.

But he also acknowledges that those are the putts that make the difference. They don't go astray for those who land Masters, Open and US PGA titles.

And so it was his stellar putting displays that helped beat Angel Cabrera and then Anthony Kim to land the Volvo World Matchplay that gave him most satisfaction at Finca Cortesin in Southern Spain last weekend.

"That's what it all comes down to. You've got to hit fairways and greens but the most important thing is you've got to stand up there on the green and hole putts," Fisher said.

"Unfortunately this year in the majors I didn't quite do that on the Sundays. Last week Saturday and especially Sunday I holed some crucial putts.

"It's nice to know that under the gun and under the pressure I can step up there, handle it and knock in some putts. I'll take a lot from that and I'm sure it will hold me in good stead when I get into those positions again."

Fatigue may prove Fisher's biggest hurdle this week. Still in the clothes he wore to win the biggest title of his career he was on a delayed Sunday night budget airline full of returning half-term holidaymakers that didn't get him home until 1.20 am on Monday. By early afternoon the same day he was jetting to China.

Flying commercial and certainly on budget airlines doesn't concern the likes of Woods and Mickelson. But they still had to battle the stagnant Shanghai traffic to satisfy sponsor demands on Tuesday.

Both have attracted vast media armies that follow their every move but each recognises the value of the developing Chinese golf market. The inclusion of our game in the Olympics is expected to open the door on an explosion of interest in golf here.

Woods and Mickelson have already done two press conferences - one in the city centre, the other at the course - before hitting a ball in anger. On both occasions they highlighted the point.

"The inclusion of golf in the Olympics will certainly help," Woods said. "If you look at what happened with Sweden when the government got behind golf there, look at how many golfers they have produced.

"China's done the same thing in pretty much every other sport except for golf. If they do there's no question China will become a powerhouse in golf. With the populous and the amount of courses being constructed the game is exploding over here. It's just a matter of time," added the world number one.

And it is those new courses and those that are planned that provide the big attraction for these players. Lucrative design contracts enable them to make serious money.

Mickelson already has projects underway in partnership with Rick Smith and is accompanying their development with instructional DVDs translated into Mandarin to help Chinese people taking up the game.

It's astute business for someone who has always played a brilliant PR game. He completed another marathon autograph session after a lengthy pro-am with a smile on his face; his only concern was for people threatened by the crush.

He has his detractors, some say he's a phony, but in my opinion he's a class act. Just a few moments before I started writing this he and his caddie Jim "Bones" McKay jumped in a courtesy car with me, expressing gratitude that I was prepared to wait to let them get in.

Believe me there are plenty of supposed big-time Charlies on tour who wouldn't have given a reporter the time of day in such circumstances but both were keen to chat without a microphone in sight.

So it's all rather upbeat from me right now - apart from one irritation. This event has World Golf Championship status and a stellar field. Those who have not travelled have their reasons and some are very good - Scott Verplank having undergone surgery and Kenny Perry the recent loss of his mother.

But the tournament will not be recorded as a PGA Tour win. I can understand it not counting on the money list in America as it is effectively out of season, but as a WGC it should still be seen as a US Tour event to be won.

It seems absurd that the winner can't regard it as a PGA Tour win when it now has the elevated status of the World Golf Championships which are backed by all of the tours around the world.

Ho hum, can't have everything I suppose and Poulter and Fisher certainly wouldn't be complaining if they make it back-to-back wins this weekend. Nor would be Mickelson or Woods be too upset with a win in a market so rich in potential.

All that remains unchanged about Wentworth's West Course, a spring and autumn fixture on BBC television screens for decades, is its hole routing, location and clubhouse.

At the end of last year's PGA the course checked in for some cosmetic work. All 18 greens would be re-laid with colonial bentgrass to alleviate the unevenness of spring-time poa bent that was forcing big-name stars like Padraig Harrington to stay away from the event.

So, the plan was for a facelift to attract back the stars to the PGA. But once the golf- design doctors started work they soon realised the need and opportunity for major surgery.

The extent of the development being carried out is truly staggering and it is clear that much of it is dental work because the new Wentworth West will have teeth - strong, sharp, nasty ones at that.

Wentworth's 18th will now have water in front of the green

What was going to be a £1.5m project to make the greens acceptable to the likes of Harrington and Ian Poulter is now a £3m exercise in revamping the entire course, with the most dramatic change coming at the famous par-five last hole.

A new brook has been created to provide a truly "in your face" water hazard immediately in front of the green. It is approximately eight yards wide with vertical wooden walls that separate it from an elevated putting surface.

So a perfect drive to the traditional fairway corner location will require a second shot to carry 220 yards to a small target that's also guarded by deep bunkers front and back of the green.

The bunkers that guard the left corner of the fairway have also been remodelled to make it a real temptation to make an attempt to take on the carry to the green from the sand.

It is a recipe for memorable golfing drama to surely excite the watching galleries. What the players will make of it remains to be seen, though, because it is a penal design that provides a punishment perhaps greater than the crime of a slight mishit would deserve.

But the pros have to remember they're in the entertainment industry - not that they will need reminding by the time they reach the 18th, anyway, because the entire ethos of the changes is to make golf on the West Course exciting and unforgettable.

"What will people remember from this hole?" has been the repeated challenge put to the Ernie Els design team by the Wentworth owner Richard Caring, the fashion and restaurant tycoon.

It was when the course closed on 31 May last year after Paul Casey had won the PGA and Wentworth had staged its Club Championship that it was quickly realised there was a massive chance to make dramatic change.

"We realised it would be a travesty not to take this once in a lifetime opportunity of having the course closed for a year to create history," said Wentworth chief executive Julian Small.

Losing a year's worth of golf on the West Course was already going to be a £3m hit on the Wentworth coffers. They were in for another £1.5m to relay the greens and for another £1.5m they decided to go for a comprehensive re-build.

The total cost of the project therefore is £6m and it is progressing on time, and so far has been aided by ideal weather conditions in the summer and autumn.

Nevertheless, it remains a tight race against time to have the course ready for the European Tour's flagship event next spring (incidentally it will be staged a week earlier than usual 20-23 May).

Among the most noticeable changes will be the way the bunkering has been dramatically deepened all around the course. For example, on the 1st the trap guarding the front left of the green is fully 15 feet below the putting surface.

Wentworth's West course will look very different at the 2010 PGA Championship

The hazards retain the rolled faces that were the trademark of the original designer Harry Colt, but in their severity they are approaching the Woodhall Spa scale in places.

Sensibly, the long 17th remains free of bunkers (as has always been the case) but the green is smaller and has been shifted slightly with a dramatic run-off to the right.

The 12th has been reclassified as a par-four rather than being the easy birdie/eagle chance when the scorecard suggested it should be completed in five strokes. It has a new raised green and bunkers will guard the right side of the fairway. It will present a formidable challenge.

On the 15th a re-routed ditch will meander down the right side of the fairway and the bunker that prevented wayward drives careering into real trouble down the right will be removed.

Water that guards the 8th has been extended and a new tee is being built to provide tournament directors with the option of making it a short, driveable par-four.

Indeed, every hole has been changed in some way or other. There is still a vast amount of work to be done and only once it has been played by the top pros will we be able to gauge how successful the project has been and its popularity in the locker room.

But already there appears potential for great drama and the days of 20 under par winning the PGA now seem well and truly gone. I'd go further and say that the European Tour has the makings of its own much needed Stadium Course with the changes that are being made.

The big names are being urged to return to its flagship event next year, and every indicator suggests they will heed the call. How they deal with the new course will be fascinating to watch. "I just can't wait," says Small from his Wentworth office and it is easy to see why.

A fortnight after those comments in the St Andrews interview room at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Scottish golf, and indeed the British game, undoubtedly has plenty to celebrate following Martin Laird's maiden PGA Tour victory in Las Vegas.

Shame it was a tad under the radar - but it's hardly Laird's fault that Britain was collecting world titles in Formula 1 and gymnastics on the same day, and that the event didn't seem to haul too many Las Vegans from their slot machines to watch the action.

The fact is Laird beat a pretty decent field and now has a similar claim to fame as Masters champion Angel Cabrera in beating Chad Campbell in a play-off.

He was nine places outside the PGA Tour's all-important top 125 when he embarked on the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open (fine artist, laudable cause and I'm sure Shriners are very nice people - but let's be honest, a dismal tournament title).

But Laird is no stranger to such circumstances and delivering the goods when necessary. In his rookie year in 2008 he scrambled into the top 125 in the last week of the season to retain his playing privileges.

It was a year in which he'd had two top-four finishes and a share of seventh, and it was a highly commendable debut campaign that might have been wasted without a strong finish.

"I didn't realise it would be quite so hard to finish top 125 on the money list," Laird admitted when we spoke earlier this year.

The top 125 isn't a concern now, for a while anyway, because this victory - the first by a Scot on the PGA Tour since Sandy Lyle at the 1988 Masters - has earned Laird a two-year exemption and elevates him from 134th to 62nd on the money list.

>Laird received his trophy from tournament host Justin Timberlake

He is a graduate of Colorado State University, where he won four collegiate titles. Preferring to stay in America rather than to head back to Europe at the start of his pro career, he blossomed on the Nationwide Tour in 2007 to earn his full Tour card.

"America is where I live," says the Arizona-based player. "But Scotland will always be my home."

Laird played on home soil for the first time as a professional at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond in July and justified his invitation with an opening 65 en route to finishing in a share of eighth place.

This Las Vegas win would have taken him to sixth place in the European Ryder Cup standings, but he's not eligible for Colin Montgomerie's team because he's not a member of the European Tour.

Laird, though, has already managed to do something Monty has never achieved by winning on the PGA Tour. "A fantastic win, I'm delighted for him," Montgomerie said.

Now it will be interesting to see whether Laird uses the breathing space this win gives him in America as a vehicle towards European membership. But it is more likely he will continue to ply his trade Stateside and try to climb from his current world ranking of 108 into the top 50 which opens the door to a global schedule.

He has every reason for confidence after securing the £463,000 first prize in Las Vegas. He is a likeable and grounded player who has now proved he has the game to succeed in golf's toughest back yard.

We have known Lee Westwood possesses those attributes by the bucket-load, but that winning touch had deserted the Englishman until his fine victory in Portugal on Sunday.

Naturally, he believes he has jettisoned a very annoying monkey from his back having seen winning chance after winning chance slip from his grasp in the last couple of years.

How rewarding his pitch to tap-in range on the 17th must have felt because it was ultimately the part of his game perceived to be his greatest weakness that gave him his victory.

Players often feel that one win will lead to more frequent visits to the winner's enclosure. Some do in hope, others in expectation and Westwood is entitled to anticipate more trophies and in more prestigious events.

The big money tournaments in Spain, China and Dubai that provide the climax to the European season provide a perfect opportunity. It will also be fascinating to see how Rory McIlroy responds to being knocked from the top of the Race to Dubai standings.

So there is much to look forward to in the next month and beyond - especially for Westwood and, of course, Laird.

Ramsay was right to tell us not to be too despondent about the Scottish game and Laird has proved the point.

Roll it all under a UK umbrella where Westwood and McIlroy also reside, along with plenty more home talent, and it is easy to see why we should view the future with huge optimism.

As the build up to the 2010 match continued with a special exhibition match between Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin on the TwentyTen course that will stage America's defence of the trophy, diplomacy was once again the only winner.

Neither skipper wants to put a word out of place as both put even the obdurate Geoffrey Boycott to shame when it comes to playing a straight bat.

So no crowing from Pavin in the wake of another handsome US victory in the President's Cup, no celebrating the fact that a ready-made partner for Tiger Woods has been found and no boasting that the world number one has now got the hang of team golf.

Then again, did we expect anything different?

Both skippers are intelligent and articulate. They both know that this "countdown event" is nothing more than an exercise in keeping next year's contest on the map, plus a chance to make a corporate buck or two with a lavish gala dinner.

So it was quite in keeping that the nine hole exhibition clash, where Montgomerie partnered Chris Evans against Pavin and Welsh opera star Bryn Terfel, should finish all square.

United States Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin meets the press

Tellingly though, Pavin commented after generously conceding an early two and half footer: "It's probably not going to be like that a year from now."

Nor would we want it to be and despite the ongoing friendly phoney war next year's match is shaping up to be an epic contest.

The US have the nucleus of a side that threatens to be the strongest we've seen in Europe since their last away win in 1993.

Pavin admitted he has already been in contact with Freddie Couples and will seek a further debrief after his excellent stewardship at Harding Park.

Not that the Ryder Cup skipper will admit it, but his first question will surely be about how Couples handled Woods in the team environment.

Couples had the advantage of being great friends with Woods, who sank the winning putt and for the first time gained a one hundred percent record playing for his country as a professional.

In foursomes and fourballs Woods teamed up with Steve Stricker and they proved invincible.

"It's hard to find a partner for him that's comfortable with him and able to play their own game," Pavin admitted. "It's hard to play with the number one player in the world because you don't want to disappoint that player.

"Obviously Steve felt very comfortable with him. I watched some of the FedEx events and I watched them play together and their interaction was very good.

"But you never know what's going to happen in the next year. With those two you don't know how they're going to be playing a year from now. But it is a possible pairing, it may not happen as well."

Montgomerie is clearly of the opinion that his team may well have to face the Woods/Stricker combo and watched events in San Francisco with interest.

"Steve Stricker was actually outside Tiger on a number of occasions and holed the putt before Tiger had a chance, wow - you know they have a great team there and they did very well," Montgomerie told me.

"You would tend to expect that they might well be playing together (at Celtic Manor) but it's up to Corey, I can't be saying that. We'll just have to wait until the team is announced a year from now.

"The American team looks strong, there's no question. Paul Azinger got a great result, (in the last Ryder Cup) and they've now won the President's Cup. We have a job here to stop that roll.

"We have talent in Europe, but at the same time to give the American's momentum in any form is the wrong thing to give them. They have it right now in team golf and it's our job to regain that back," Montgomerie added.

Pavin expressed similar sentiments. It was another example of both skippers being largely in agreement and there's no sign of a falling-out in the near future.

"I think we have the same philosophy....." Pavin began. "We do," interrupted Monty. "We're both competitive and have the same views about competition and about the Ryder Cup," the Scot added.

Unperturbed by the interruption Pavin went on: "We both want to beat each others brains out here, we both want to win and we both respect that we both want to win and we have no issues with that. It is a respectful friendship that we have and it will always be that way."

He's probably right, but let's see when a two and a half footer isn't conceded in a little under a year from now.

Make no mistake, this is ultimately a business decision by the IOC who, despite 27 votes against inclusion, are looking for a lucrative slice of golf's commercial and television portfolio, as well as its ever expanding appeal in the Far East.

But for golf, the benefits will also run deep, with membership of the Olympic family offering potentially significant influence on how the game is run and perceived.

Golf needs international leadership to bring tours together so they don't compete against each other, but instead work together to produce schedules that work for players and fans alike.

Yes, it's a pipedream, but one worth putting on the IGF's agenda, given that the organisation has acquired more teeth with its successful Olympic bid.

Will Tiger Woods add Olympic gold to his collection of major titles in 2016?

This move to attach the famous five rings to the game was also at the heart of the introduction of drug testing at the top of the game. Now golf is proving itself to be clean and is living by the standards of other sports.

The Royal and Ancient's Peter Dawson and PGA Tour's Ty Votaw should be applauded for spearheading the campaign, though it is hard to fathom why they failed to ensure representation at the African Olympic Congress in Nigeria earlier this year.

Today's vote was by no means a shoo-in despite the executive recommendation golf and rugby sevens received in August. Delegates still needed to be convinced and especially by golf after the African no-show and because of its reputation for elitism.

There was tough questioning in Copenhagen especially on the subject of men-only golf clubs - the R and A and Augusta National spring to mind. But this is the way of the world if you want to evolve from an insular, solitary position to one in which you are a member of a global family and those organisations need to get used to it.

Suddenly golf becomes answerable to such questions. So Mr Dawson why no female members at your R and A? And Mr Billy Payne, you ran an Olympics, so surely your Augusta club should start to move with the times?

Messrs Dawson and Payne may well have answers to those questions, but it is an interesting thought that they are now being put by some of the most influential voices in global sport.

Who knows, they may prompt change. At the very least they will inspire the kind of modern thinking required to ensure golf thrives in the 21st century.

It's also worth pointing out that while Olympic gold will not, in all honesty, be the pinnacle for Tiger Woods (assuming he's still interested in 2016 when he'll be 40) but it will be a huge motivator for those who can raise a less familiar flag at medal ceremonies.

Ireland might be one example, though Rory McIlroy's preference is to play for Britain. Golfers enjoy playing for their country and indeed, when it comes to the Ryder Cup, for their continent. The game is presented at its best when the prize is not monetary but all about glory.

But expect the United States to dominate the men's tournament and the South Koreans to clean up in the women's. The plan is for both to have fields of 60 players including the top 15 in the world from the men's and women's rankings.

The rest of the field is based on world ranking with a maximum of two players from each country. So if the Games were next week, Britain would be represented by Paul Casey and Lee Westwood by virtue of their top 15 status - were an Ian Poulter or Ross Fisher or both force themselves up to such a ranking they would play as well.

Currently the US would have seven players in the men's event. The Irish team would be Padraig Harrington (courtesy of his top 15 status) and world number 161 Damien McGrane - the next highest ranked Irishman, assuming a raft of Northern Irish players follow McIlroy's lead and declare for Britain.

There are five South Koreans in the women's top 15, while the British team would be Catriona Matthew (No.16) and Karen Stupples (No51).

There have to be reservations over the make-up of the fields because if Britain had two players in the top 15 of the women's ranking Matthew would miss out even though many of those eligible to play would be ranked well below her.

Michelle Wie (left) could be going for gold for the USA in Rio de Janeiro

An opportunity also looks like being missed by opting for straightforward 72-hole strokeplay. Other formats present the game in an attractive light whether they be group and knockout matchplay or a team format such as that used in the world cup where players team up for fourballs and foursomes.

But overall golf's inclusion in the Olympics would seem to be good news for anyone who wants to see the game move with the times.

Gold should become an ambition for all leading players and let's hope it is, because the calendar would welcome a truly global tournament not automatically staged in the United States that golfers aspire to play and win.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have shown how much the Olympics mean to them with a commendable commitment to the tennis tournament in Beijing despite its proximity in the calendar to the US Open.

There were others, however, whose approach was not so wholehearted, and there are enough cynics in golf to ensure a similar attitude from some players towards the Rio tournament.

But let's hope they are in the minority and a greying Tiger Woods with word and deed proves the IOC correct in inviting golf to join the party.

The majority of the amateur players competing in the team event come from big business and pay handsomely for the privilege of playing alongside some of the best golfers in the world.

But despite the abundance of champagne corks popping and the air of wealth around the East Coast of Scotland last week, it would be wrong to assume that golf is breezing through the current choppy economic waters.

On top of the recently announced 25 per cent cut in prize money for the Race to Dubai there will be more evidence of how the credit crunch is impacting on the European Tour when it announces its early schedule for the 2010 season.

The first indicator is that it will begin this year despite the Tour's commitment to turn the Race to Dubai into an easier to follow calendar year campaign.

"From the end of the 2009 season when the Dubai World Championship will finish the Race to Dubai, we will then have a reasonable break through until the calendar year in January," Tour chief executive George O'Grady promised last November.

The Tour were keen to end the anomaly of a season starting in the wrong year, but haven't been able to do the deals to turn this into reality and O'Grady's prediction has proved wide of the mark. "It's just not been possible," said a Tour source.

So the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in South Africa and the South African Open will both be played in December 2009 and will count towards the European money list for 2010.

Sponsors hold all of the aces in the current climate and tours around the world have to bend to them rather than the other way round.

The European Tour can ill afford to lose tournaments and the new schedule will confirm the demise of the popular Johnnie Walker Classic which had been a permanent fixture in the Australasian swing of events.

Furthermore, the clubhouse for the Dubai World Championship to be staged on the new Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates will not be completed in time for the inaugural running of the season-ending tournament on 19 November.

Temporary accomodation will be in place for players and officials, but television directors will have to work hard to make sure this prestigious event doesn't appear to be taking place in a building site.

So golf needs all the good news it can get and assuming it gains Olympic inclusion on Friday it can set about growing the game in the relatively untapped Brazilian market.

The International Golf Federation is taking nothing for granted despite having been officially recommended for the 2016 Games in Rio De Janeiro. Padraig Harrington, Michelle Wie and Suzann Pettersen along with 16-year-old amateur Matteo Manassero will participate in the final push in Copenhagen.

Michelle Wie will be supporting golf's bid for Olympic status

These are articulate and photogenic ambassadors for the game and Wie and Manassero represent its future, one that the game fervently hopes will include the Olympics in its schedules.

On a completely separate note - although it does concern innovative thinking which never goes a miss in the current economic climate - I wanted to applaud a piece of catering common-sense encountered on St Andrews' spectacular Castle Course.

As you arrive at the 9th tee there's a phone link to the halfway house and a quick call allows you to pre-order refreshments. The result is you can complete the hole, stop at the window pick up your food and proceed to the 10th with no delay.

I'm sure other courses offer similar facilities, but most don't and it's a mighty fine idea.

As for the course, the newest at the home of golf, my advice would be to bring along a camera (the views from high above the South of the town are spectacular), a sense of humour and leave behind scorecard and pencil.

Trying to compile a decent medal score is nigh on impossible given the undulations which are too severe on the huge greens - but as long as you can laugh about the odd four-putt you'll have great fun and the closing two holes are truly breathtaking.

The 20-year-old did so while praising his captain Paul McGinley - the real star of the four sun-blessed days at Saint-Nom-La-Breteche. "Every team meeting was at half-seven this week and I actually looked forward to being in those team meetings," McIlroy said.

"I was usually turning up at quarter-past seven because there was such a buzz about them. You had all the lads in there with their ideas and Paul has a load of great ideas, especially with the team format, the foursomes and the four-balls."

McIlroy had realised before a ball had been struck in anger this week that he had been wrong to regard events like the Ryder Cup as a mere exhibition. Just preparing in the team environment had been enough and with each competitive round he found out just how wrong.

And much of the credit for that must go to McGinley who has established himself as a Ryder Cup skipper in waiting with his deft man-management, tactical skill and impeccable public relations.

The Irishman clearly knew how to get the best from his men and recognised that in the absence of big guns like Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose he had to make the most of McIlroy's burgeoning reputation.

It was hardly rocket science to pair him with his best mate Graeme McDowell, but it was an inspired move to send them out first on the opening day and in both sessions of the pivotal Saturday.

Both relished the role and delivered - the only time they lost was when sent out in the middle of the pack in the Friday fourballs where McGinley was trying to second guess his opposite number Thomas Bjorn.

"I like to take responsibility," said McIlroy after defeating Henrik Stenson in the top Sunday singles clash, a result that meant when McDowell wrapped up victory in the second singles against Robert Karlsson the contest was over with seven matches still live on the course.

Beforehand McGinley had reminded McIlroy of his pride in being unbeaten in singles play in pro-team golf. The Northern Ireland youngster said: "He told me this is the start of your singles record, go out and start it the way I have."

Colin Montgomerie, who watched the first three days here, is already talking about sending out McIlroy first at Celtic Manor in the 2010 Ryder Cup and it is music to the ears that reside beneath McIlroy's bushy black hair.

But more significant was McIlroy's observation that "I just want to be there."

Monty appointed McGinley and Bjorn to lead their respective sides in Versailles and should have gleaned plenty from the way the Irishman approached the job - the sorcerer could learn much from the apprentice.

While relishing the job, McGinley's only frustration was that he'd still prefer to be playing. "I'm not really ready for this," the 43-year-old Dubliner said.

The fact is he will be by 2014 and he must be favourite to lead Europe against the United States at Gleneagles.

This Vivendi Trophy was one-sided but there was plenty of intensity, particularly with Montgomerie's presence enhancing the Ryder Cup dimension.

Aside from the excellence of McIlroy and McDowell, Monty will have learned much from the positive way Chris Wood, Anthony Wall (until he was injured) and Ross Fisher responded to life in a team environment. The same can be said of Anders Hansen and Francesco Molinari in the European side.

It was a shame Seve Ballesteros wasn't able to make the journey for the presentation and this was probably as much to do with strained business relations over this event as the draining effects of recovering from the radio-therapy treatment for his brain tumour.

Significantly he referred to the event by its old name, the Seve Trophy, throughout his recorded message for the presentation ceremony.

What is certain is that this event does have a competitive value, providing Europe with an equivalent experience to the President's Cup clash between the US and the rest of the world in non-Ryder Cup years.

It is also right and proper that such an event should honour Ballesteros and it should be a key European Tour priority to make sure this match continues to satisfy both roles regardless of boardroom politics.

If they're not sure, they should just ask Rory McIlroy.

So on a day that produced an abundance of talking points, ranging from the latest heartfelt message from Seve Ballesteros, to Rory McIlroy retracting his infamous Ryder Cup "exhibition" quotes to the continent's reigning number one, Robert Karlsson, describing how close he came to needing injections in his eye, it was still our Monty who made the news.

Montgomerie couldn't help himself as he spoke on the eve of the Continental Europe versus GB and Ireland clash for the Vivendi Trophy at Saint-Nom-La-Breteche near Paris.

Ian Poulter is the man in Monty's sights and after a night out with his mates in Orlando (according to his Tweets), the Englishman will now be finding out that Europe's captain rather thinks that he should be here playing for the GB and Ireland team.

Asked about several of the high profile absentees from the Vivendi Trophy, Montgomerie singled out for criticism Poulter, with whom he has had a history of spats.

"Not having qualified for the Tour Championship, and having been picked for the last Ryder Cup team, I felt that a little more effort might have been made to come here," Montgomerie said.

"Please don't make a big issue of this," he added. "I just feel that when you are selected for your country, more of an effort might well have been made."

Speaking on Radio 5 live Montgomerie elaborated on why Poulter, a wildcard pick by Nick Faldo for the last Ryder Cup team, should have made himself available for Paul McGinley's GB and Ireland line-up.

"There are others who have made a good effort to play, Rory McIlroy coming in from Korea, Robert Karlsson coming back from illness, Miguel Angel Jimenez, who has never missed a Seve Trophy from the word go," said Montgomerie.

"So there's people who have made that conscious effort and having been selected and having been picked as a captain's pick last time I feel that Ian could have given back a little bit more than he showed this week."

But Montgomerie made it clear that Poulter's absence wouldn't necessarily count against him were he to be in need of another wildcard selection for the 2010 match.

"I don't think it will affect me one way or another, I'm going to pick my strongest team," he said.

Meanwhile McIlroy had earlier explained how being in the team room this week had gone a long way towards making him realise his branding of the Ryder Cup as an "exhibition" last year had been somewhat misplaced.

"You're with a great bunch of lads and you realise that it's a bit more special to share your success with other people," McIlroy said. "It has made me realise how special team golf is.

"I made those Ryder Cup comments in the middle of the season and I wasn't remotely thinking of team golf so I take my comments back a little bit. This is a great opportunity for me to show what I can do in a team environment," he added.

Already the Northern Ireland youngster has been on the receiving end of plenty of banter for those comments according to his skipper this week McGinley.

One of the responsibilities McGinley has already faced was been to read a private letter from tournament host Seve Ballesteros who is undergoing radiotherapy as part of his ongoing treatment for a brain tumour.

The Spanish legend hopes to be here on Sunday but won't know if he will be strong enough to travel until the day. In the letter he spoke profoundly of how precious and short the competitive days are in a pro golfer's life and how they should be treasured.

Few know that better than Karlsson, the winner of Europe's Order of Merit last year. The Swede hasn't played since the spring because he has suffered fluid behind the retina in his left eye.

It is a condition brought on by stress and he accepts it was the price of making himself number one in his continent last season.

He knew there was something wrong when it seemed as though the sand was moving as he looked at a bunker shot. The condition has cleared through rest and eyedrops, though at one stage doctors considered administering an injection into the eyeball.

Karlsson is thrilled to be playing again after spending the summer with his family. "I know a lot more about my kids now and a lot more about my wife - and yes we are still married," he joked.

On another day Karlsson might have topped the news agenda, so might McIlroy or McGinley - but not when Monty is in town.

But that hasn't stopped Europe's Ryder Cup captain from taking note of what has been happening Stateside over the last three weeks and observing the success of the play-off series that comes to its climax at next week's Tour Championship.

This is very much part of Montgomerie's captaincy brief because he knows the demands of a successful FedEx Cup run could have serious implications for next year's Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.

Players who have successfully been beating the cut-off marks as the PGA Tour has progressively whittled down fields and are now among the elite top 30 who will compete at East Lake, are clearly in form but despite this week off they're also likely to be exhausted.

"Of course I want them to be playing well but at the same time I want them to be rested. Walking round Celtic Manor five times in three days is an effort under that pressure and six hours out there for each round, it's a lot so I'm in two minds. Hopefully, yes they'll be playing well and yet I'd like them rested as well - I'm in a Catch 22."

As he pondered the situation it was clear he was trying to decide which scenario he would prefer. "I'd like them all in the FedEx Cup, to be honest, and then just rest up," Montgomerie concluded.

"Whether we play 18 holes practice every day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday is up to them and me. We'll decide what's best for them, but most importantly they're playing well coming into it."

Montgomerie (right) is likely to choose Paul McGinley as one of his Ryder Cup assistants

Arguably the captain more disadvantaged will be Corey Pavin as his American team is more likely to have players doing the full stretch in the play-offs.

More immediately on this side of the pond next week's Vivendi Trophy with Severiano Ballesteros - the match between Great Britain and Ireland and continental Europe - has suffered as several big names are missing.

This is a shame for an event that is also suffering from branding difficulties. It used to be the Seve Trophy and fans had become used to the name and knew what it was all about. Now we have to start again.

So what is it? Well, despite the absence of the likes of Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and the injured Paul Casey and Martin Kaymer, the Vivendi has become a Ryder Cup rehearsal.

Montgomerie will be there aboard a buggy as the most interested spectator.

"Big names are missing but there are some big names playing," he said. "I'd like to focus on the players that are playing, we have the Henrik Stensons, the Rory McIlroys and there could be some great match ups especially in the Sunday singles."

Although not having a playing or captaincy role in the match, Montgomerie is bossing the event.

"I've put Paul McGinley in charge of the Great Britain and Ireland team and Thomas Bjorn in charge of the European side and I'll be overseeing everybody.

"I think the 10 players on each team will be very anxious to impress me and I'll be watching them. They know I'll be watching them and under that pressure if they do impress me they get a tick in the box."

It is clear Montgomerie has identified McGinley and Bjorn as his most likely assistants for Celtic Manor. "That's exactly what I've put them in that place for," he said, while acknowledging that both still harbour hopes of playing in Wales next October.

Montgomerie was speaking at the launch of "Golf Live" at the Stoke Park Club in Berkshire. The interactive golf show aims to attract 36,000 spectators over three days next May.

The Scot and Casey are the first to sign up to the project which is one of very few new corporate golfing initiatives to have been announced in these credit crunched times.

It remains a challenging period at every level in the sport. This week European Tour boss George O'Grady has been in the Middle East and there's continued speculation that the big money Race to Dubai won't be as cash rich as was intially and lavishly unveiled.

So a few furrowed brows at the Tour's Wentworth HQ where an announcement is being planned for next week. The mood is perhaps a touch happier in the Ponte Vedra Beach offices of the PGA Tour in Florida after the compelling three weeks of play-off action.

At the very least it has been a fine distraction from economic woes - though somewhat ironic given that $10m awaits someone who frankly is well off enough not to be in need of such riches.

But that's the way of professional golf, it is all about the money - apart from, of course, the Ryder Cup, which has no prize fund.

The big hope has to be that the dash for cash the week ahead of next year's match doesn't impact adversely on what remains golf's most popular event.

"You know the great thing about golf?" the three-time major champion said. "There's always next week. As soon as I started hitting balls on the range here it was all about this week, what happened before is gone."

This was in the wake of the eight at the 16th that cost him the chance of beating Tiger Woods in the WGC event at Firestone, ironically the start of a run of largely self-inflicted near misses that is still continuing.

But it is probably this mentality that keeps sane the majority of professional golfers. It helps them to rationalise disappointments and ruinous moments they'd love to have over again..

But now we are at the stage of the season where for an increasing number of players on the PGA Tour there isn't that "next week".

The play-off guillotine is falling on a weekly basis and now we're down to the 70 trying to squeeze into the 30 who will ultimately chase the $10 million FedEx Cup prize to be decided at the season-ending Tour Championship.

This play-off finale to the American season is starting to capture the imagination. It's taken a couple of years worth of tweaking with the points system to come up with the kind of cut-throat drama that generates fan interest beyond the majors.

At the Deutsche Bank event in Boston where Harrington surrendered another winning chance and Steve Stricker prevailed, intrigue abounded and it wasn't all centred on the top of the leaderboard.

Suddenly a 26th place finish for Sergio Garcia had something on it. His closing rounds of 67 and 68 meant more than the prize money he would accrue because he was able to secure his top 70 berth and survive another week.

Others were less fortunate. Two Britons perished, Greg Owen and Justin Rose are out of the running - Rose missing out on a trip to Chicago by fully 15 places in the FedEx listings.

And the consequences of finishing 85th on that list are pretty far-reaching for Rose, a player who in 2007 climbed to number six in the world. Since then it's been all downhill and now he has tumbled out of the all-important top 50.

Rose started the year inside the leading 20 but now he is ranked 57th and his global schedule straddling the PGA and European Tours with guaranteed spots in the majors and WGC events is in some jeopardy.

The 29-year-old isn't alone in suffering this sort of decline where the "next weeks" have failed to yield a significant improvement in fortunes. Contemporaries like Adam Scott (53), Trevor Immelman (66) and Charles Howell (110) know exactly how Rose is feeling.

It is hard to pinpoint exactly why this should be. These are players who have had struggles with injuries but they must also feel like Icarus - having soared to the heights of the game only to have their golf ultimately melt under the demands of trying to stay in such rarefied territory.

Camilo Villegas and Anthony Kim are showing signs of perhaps suffering similarly despite currently holding top 20 berths.

These are all players from a generation that many expected to produce a genuine rival to Tiger Woods and the truth is none has been able to mount any such challenge.

Instead it has been the likes of Harrington, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and now Steve Stricker who have provided the opposition for the world number one. Those and a smattering of unheralded figures like PGA Champion YE Yang who have sporadically risen to the challenge.

So why have the likes of Rose and Scott been unable to arrest such worrying declines this year? Both are fantastically rich young men and are set for life. It goes with the territory if you break into the world's top ten.

"They have to go back to the basics that got them there," says Nick Bradley, who was Rose's coach until they split after the US Open in June.

Bradley is convinced this is the way Woods approaches his golf. "He might have $100m in prize money but he's still out there working as hard as ever.

"For him it's all about the golf," says Bradley, who is making a study of the world number one's methodology. "You've got to look at the Tiger Woods formula and as long as he's alive I'd love to stick him in a laboratory to find out exactly how he goes about everything."

Bradley isn't surprised the likes of Harrington and Stricker are enjoying success in the Woods era. "Grounded and humble people," is the way he describes them.

But for those who have gone backwards, Rose's ex-coach feels there is a need to "reset the dial".

"When they've had a successful year, what they have to do is make a critical decision. Stick the money in the bank and mentally go back to zero for the next year and see where your competitive DNA takes you from there," he said.

Rose and Scott have little choice as they seek to reclaim the place in the upper echelons of the game their talents warrant. Rose is no stranger to rebounding - he climbed 120 places in 20 months to reach number six in the world.

For Scott it is unchartered territory and true test of the Aussie's mettle.

And the thought of not being able to dictate the nature of the "next week" - which is the reality of life outside the top fifty is not a happy one for either player.