Chipping In - Joost what the doctor ordered

Chipping In is a weekly column from Golf Journalist Nick Bonfield.

Joost what the doctor ordered.

Joost Luiten held off the challenge of Tommy Fleetwood and came through a final-hole scare to secure a one-shot victory in the ISPS Handa Wales Open at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport. The Dutchman, who has now won four times on the European Tour and established himself as one of the circuit’s elite players, entered the final round with a one-shot lead, something that was wiped out almost instantly after bogeys at the first two holes. Fortunately for the Dutchman, scoring conditions were tough, and he still had a share of the lead despite reaching the turn without a birdie.

He kicked into gear on the back nine and made birdies at 11 and 12 before offsetting a bogey at 14 with a birdie at 15 to reach 14-under-par once more. Something he wouldn’t have been anticipating, though, was an incredible charge from Fleetwood. After a double-bogey at 13, the Englishman played his final five holes in six-under-par to set the clubhouse target on 13-under-par – a score that looked like it might be good enough for a play-off with Luiten hacking his way up the par-5 18th. But his third from the rough settled 50 feet from the pin and he coaxed his ball expertly to tap-in distance to secure victory after a thrilling day’s golf.

Luiten perhaps doesn’t get the credit he deserves, but he’s become a fantastic player over the last few years. At the start of the 2010 season he was ranked 805th in the world. Now, he’s 36th. He’s won four times in the last four seasons, recorded almost €5m in the process and finished inside the top 30 on the Race to Dubai on four occasions (assuming he’ll stay in the top 30 this year – he’s currently 10th). He was unlucky to miss out on a Ryder Cup spot this year around and although the qualification process is more geared towards those plying their trade in America, you’d expect to see him in the team some two years from now.

Positives for past Ryder Cuppers

At the 2012 Ryder Cup, Nicolas Colsaerts announced himself to the world as one of the game’s hottest prospects with a brilliant debut performance. Sadly, things have deteriorated somewhat since then. He was 35th in the world when he took on the US at Medinah but fell down to 199th before the start of the ISPS Handa Wales Open – a slump brought about by some serious putting woes (he ranked 181st in putts per round in 2013 and is currently last in the standings). It was heartening, then, to see him show some form on the greens in Wales en route to a fourth-place finish – his best result on since April and only his second top 10 of the season. He’s a very gifted player with almost unmatched power, so let’s hope this result sparks an end-of-season resurgence and gives him some real momentum heading into the new season.

Elsewhere, Edoardo Molinari continued his run of fine results with another top-five finish. The Italian has put a string of injuries behind him and looks back to the form that saw him win multiple times on the European Tour and earn a captain’s pick from Colin Montgomerie for the 2010 Ryder Cup. Molinari is now back in the world’s top 100 after falling to 299th this January and going from strength to strength once more.

Ryder Cup watch:

With Paul McGinley setting up the 2010 Course at Celtic Manor to closely match what players will face at Gleneagles, it was – in theory, at least – perfect preparation for Jamie Donaldson, Thomas Bjorn, Lee Westwood and Stephen Gallacher – the four European Ryder Cup team members taking part at Gleneagles.

Donaldson found the conditions to his liking and finished in a tie four fourth-place, continuing to show the remarkable consistency that’s characterised his season. Bjorn struggled slightly at the weekend, but having four rounds of golf on a similar course to Gleneagles the week before the Ryder Cup will do him no harm whatsoever.

It was more of a struggle for Westwood, and while his form is a slight concern, we must remember he was selected for his past record and experience. I believe that when he gets to Gleneagles, rekindles some old partnerships and revels in the atmosphere of the Ryder Cup once more, he’ll start producing. Gallacher, meanwhile, missed the cut in Wales, but we mustn’t forget he’s played a huge amount of golf recently in chasing qualification. A couple of days of rest will have done him the world of good, and, at Gleneagles, I’m sure we’ll see an in-form Gallacher produce a strong debut display in front of a partisan home crowd at a course he knows better than anybody.

Well, it’s finally here! This Friday, the 40th Ryder Cup gets underway at Gleneagles – a contest that has all the ingredients to be a real classic. We hope you enjoy the action – whether you’re in Perthshire or watching from the comfort of your own sofa – and let’s hope for another European victory!