I flew out to Switzerland last Sunday morning to watch Rory McIlroy's attempt at winning a first European Tour title. My kids were delighted at this special treat and although the day didn't quite turn out as planned, it was a journey well worth the effort.
In fact, it was better that I was there when Rory didn't win than it would had been had he collected the trophy in Crans sur Sierre.
Rory is one of those very special golfers that both I and the golfing public love to watch. He has a cavalier spirit the likes of which I have only ever seen in a young Seve Ballesteros followed by Sergio Garcia - two great players who learned how to lose before they went on to win.
Rory's downfall was brought about by a combination of two things, a nervous start and a rushed finish. The start was understandable while Tiger Woods would have done it differently and he's the benchmark.
In Rory's shoes needing a par to win at the last, Tiger would have wedged to the middle of the green and not at the flag, taken his regulation two putts and walked off with yet another win.
Rory still was in overdrive, pitching his wedge eight feet too far and leaving himself a downhill chip. The rest is history.
There is no doubt that Rory will have learned from the experience and my guess is that he will win before the end of the season. If he can complete his rookie season by playing in the Volvo Masters and reaching the world's top 100 - justifiable goals - then he will have had a very good start to his career.
It was quite interesting at the end. At a time when we are used to seeing French, Spaniards, Italians, Swedes etc ready to douse their fellow compatriot in celebratory champagne, that Ross McGowan, after an excellent week finishing seventh, was ready to do similar to Rory, but eventually had to give the bubbly to the victor's camp. I am sure Ross and Rory will go neck and neck in their development over the next few years and both will be better for it.
Finally, on a weekend when four of our Ryder Cup players took a week off and Ernie Els was slugging it out in St. Louis, ISM still managed to have six players in the top 25. Strength in depth indeed
