My defence of the NEC Invitational at Firestone did not turn out as planned, but I can't be too hard on myself for finishing 14th among all golf's big guns in Akron. Unfortunately I didn't get off to a good enough start during the rain-affected first two days, but my weekend 68's were a commendable effort.
 
All in all, it was another enjoyable week in America and it could be that I may play more over here next season.   Quite a bit of my schedule is already sorted, but I will never turn my back on Europe completely.
 
The off-course highlights of the week included a couple of visits to a restaurant called Ken Stewart's where the food is of a standard not readily found in America. The proprietor was particularly delighted to see Chubby, especially the night he entertained a few of the British Press writers.  The bill even raised my manager's eyebrows - and he's picked up a few big ones in his time. I borrowed an apron from the kitchen and acted as wine waiter for a while especially after the ones Chubby ordered were best used in a stew.    Vijay Singh called at the table on his way out and told Chubby:  'So this is how you get them to write nice things about your guys'.
 
Now it's time to go to Germany for the final qualifying event for this year's Ryder Cup.   More than a few backsides will be twitching this week, but by the end of the week we will have the 10 guys who deserve to be on the team most.   It will be interesting to see who Captain Langer's two wild cards are.
 
I haven't been able to follow the Olympics as much as I would have liked because US television doesn't spend too much time covering the athletes of other nations, but I would like to congratulate all our medal winners so far and hope that many more are added before the games close.