A bad back, strained tendon in my finger and even a sore eye have been used in the past to explain away my dire performances on the course.

But after Tiger's one legged US Open win, Padraig Harrington cruised round a windy Royal Birkdale with a dodgy wrist, and it seems moaning about an injury to excuse falling short of glory once again just won't wash any more.

After surveying the scene in this column last week, I eventually went for a tenner on Robert Karlsson, a dodgy fiver on rank outsider David Horsey and a back up fiver in the safe hands of Ernie Els.

Surprisingly, an off colour Ernie was first to let me down and Karlsson, after a birdie on the first on Thursday, couldn't keep it up for the remaining 71 holes.

But on Saturday morning, David Horsey was still in it.

"Giddy up, Horsey. I'm in for £500," I excitedly texted my mates.

Sadly, he faded and though Karlsson made a great late run and nearly got me an each way return, I was left empty handed.

Harrington on the other hand, was left £750,000 richer and signed and sealed his Ryder Cup spot in the bargain.

Europe skipper Nick Faldo was given a bit of a headache with Padraig's mischievous comment about wanting to partner Monty when we face off against the Americans at Valhalla, and he must be in a bit of a quandary over his wild card choices now with Monty unlikely to make it by the normal route.

But take a few minutes to study the final leaderboard from Birkdale, and you'll see there's quite a bit for Faldo to be pleased about.

Of the top 30 finishers, exactly half were from Europe, with only eight from the USA and seven from the rest of the planet combined.

OK, this was a tournament played on a course and in weather conditions ideally suited to golfers from this continent, and Valhalla in a few week's time will be a different proposition entirely.

However, the performance of the Europeans, and Harrington and Poulter in particular, will give them a great deal of encouragement and something of a psychological advantage.

And that fact that only Jim Furyk of the Americans offered any realistic challenge must be a worry for their skipper Paul Azinger.

After Furyk, the next best Yank was Ben Curtis who's so far behind in the points qualfication standings his only hope of selection is as a wild card, and the rest were pretty much also rans.

Kenny Perry of course did not compete at Birkdale, preferring to stay at home and gather some more points to ensure his place in the US side, but I think we can say that all in all the performance of our friends on the other side of the Atlantic will have done little to raise spirits ahead of the big clash in Kentucky.

I think I'd rather be in Faldo's shoes than Azinger's.