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In most other sports a is the pinnacle but in golf it is merely another lucrative week for those able to shoe-horn playing for their country into their busy schedules.

At the weekend having sent a team comprising their fifth and 17th ranked players.

, was the highest placed American willing to make the trip in the week of Thanksgiving and had managed to persuade Gary Woodland to be his partner for聽an event that should command far more prestige than it does.

Ireland were a rarity in fielding their top two in Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. England were represented by Ian Poulter and Justin Rose when they could have had two of the top three in the world in Luke Donald and Lee Westwood.

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The United States were successfully defending the Presidents Cup in Australia, and at tournaments around the golfing world, plenty of yen, rand and Malaysian ringgit were being won, but there was also a healthy dose of dignity and self-respect being earned in southern California at the weekend.

Attention was inevitably aimed in at Royal Melbourne. Elsewhere, Garth Mulroy was triumphing at Leopard Creek in South Africa and the highly promising Dutchman Joost Luiten claimed a timely maiden win in Malaysia.

But Woods was not the only former world number one in action at the weekend. Under the radar, at the , David Duval was demonstrating humility and talent in equal measure as he began his quest to retain his PGA Tour card.

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On this side of the pond we are a bit sniffy about the . The biennial clash between the pro golfers of America and an 鈥淚nternational鈥� team is regarded a pale imitation of the Ryder Cup.

It lacks the history, passion and drama that so enthrals not just the golfing community but the sporting world when the United States and Europe trade golfing blows every two years.

鈥淵eah, it鈥檚 not the is it? The Presidents Cup doesn鈥檛 mean so much to the players,鈥� I heard a former American Ryder Cup captain comment a couple of weeks ago.

He is correct but, as prepare to take on at Royal Melbourne this week, there is a genuine sense of anticipation for what threatens to be a truly memorable contest.

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As we toasted the first occasion that the European Tour Golfer of the Year award was shared by two people, posed the question of who would be the world's top player by the end of 2011.

Colin Montgomerie was speaking almost聽12 months ago as of the Tour's most prestigious accolade.

Both men had played a massive role in a landmark year for European golf - and Ryder Cup heroics, Kaymer with no fewer than four tournament victories including his first major, the US PGA.

Monty challenged those golf journalists and broadcasters sitting around the table at that celebratory lunch to name the man who would be world number one聽12 months hence. There was unanimous agreement that it would be Kaymer.

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WARNING: This blog contains language some may find offensive.

It was American Presidents鈥� Cup captain who broke a silence that was damning golf in the wake of the race row.

Until a statement issued at the completion of the, there had been no official comment from the golfing authorities in the wake of the caddie's racial slur against Tiger Woods on Friday evening.

The had to address the issue because the absence of condemnation from the top of the game would only reinforce a perception that golf has a race problem.

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For years would satisfy the headline writers either with success on the golf course or his talkative ways off it.

"What will we do without him?" was an often recited question among golf journalists reflecting on another day saved by the most quotable figure in the game. Time after time Monty, either by deed or word, would create the most newsworthy event of a tournament day.

Now there can be little doubt the veteran Scot has been superseded by US Open champion Rory McIlroy as the most productive headline-making machine in golf.

Indeed, from the moment television cameras captured the boyhood McIlroy chipping into his mum's washing machine, he seems to have had an instinctive knack for creating news stories.

When he made his at Carnoustie he was being given "unofficial" advice by his now former manager Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler.

International Sports Management's (ISM) founder was planning to offer media training to the teenager he was about to sign. Once McIlroy became the only player to go bogey-free on the first day at the fearsome Scottish links, Chandler was reconsidering the move.

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