Aussie cricketers may be useless but Harry Emanuel is backing their golfers to thrive in 2011.
Harry The Hat backing Australian golfers to make big splash in 2011
The often used maxim 'Golf is 90% mental and 10% talent' may be over-egging the pudding a little but the principle is valid and goes a long way to explaining the success of European players in 2010.
A year which saw more European players in the Top 20 in the world rankings than ever before, a European World Number One and a Ryder Cup win.
There is no doubting the talent of Westwood, Rose, Donald, Casey, McDowell, Poulter and Fisher, who are maturing as individuals and golfers or the talent of youngsters McIlroy and Kaymer and the improving Molinari brothers.
There were two unquantifiable but key mental factors behind last year's seemingly dramatic rise in European golf -Tiger Woods and the Ryder Cup.
Over the years Woods brought an added professionalism to golf with his fitness and work ethic. His pure ability and mental strength have raised the bar by which golfer measure themselves.
He made all those around him strive to be better players in every department of the game and many of his generation are now benefitting.
The one thing they seemed to lack was a genuine belief that they could be the best because Tiger was so dominant and seemingly unbeatable. During his 'Annus Horribilis' his generation and others, for the first time, gained the belief they could beat him and become the best in the world.
Seeing Westwood become World Number One has given the others a feeling of he can do it so can I.
Ask yourself. Would Graeme McDowell have beaten a fully fit Tiger Woods down the stretch at Pebble Beach? The answer is probably not. If he had failed would he have had the confidence to go out last in the Ryder Cup and hole the decisive putt, then go on to win again on the European Tour and then beat Tiger in a playoff at the Chevron Challenge?
I doubt it but the fact is he has done it and he is a much stronger player. He has more belief and so do those around him.
The Ryder Cup gave the top European players an extra focus in 2010 which should not be underestimated. Their desire to play in the Ryder Cup saw them practise harder and play with more focus and determination.
You won't see players flying round the world to compete eight weeks in a row and busting a gut as they did last year when striving for a Ryder Cup place.
European players are feeding off each other's success but you wonder how they will cope mentally with loftier goals and without the added focus of the Ryder Cup.
Presidents Cup motivation
There is a nation of players I do expect to progress this year - the Australians. It's a Presidents Cup year and while that doesn't hold quite the same motivation or prestige as the Ryder Cup the pivotal fact is this year it will be played in Australia.
You cannot underestimate how important this is for Robert Allenby, Geoff Ogilvy, Stuart Appleby and Adam Scott. They are very patriotic and always return to Australia to support their home Tour in off season whilst others are enjoying a break despite the lack of financial reward in comparison to other Tours.
The team will be captained by Australian Golf Legend Greg Norman on home soil and these players will be desperate to compete in what is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The important thing is they all start 2011 from a very solid base.
Robert Allenby had his best year on the PGA Tour in 2010, winning nearly $3,000,000 and coming agonisingly close to winning a number of times. He was fourth in the PGA Tour all-round rankings, making him one of the most consistent players of 2010 and 2011 should be no different.
Geoff Ogilvy has recently come off a confidence boosting run on home soil which saw him finish in the top 10 on three occasions including victory in the Australian PGA Championship. He is already a major winner and is full of confidence heading into 2011.
Stuart Appleby used an exemption to play on the PGA Tour last year and he won the Greenbrier Classic in August shooting 59 in the final round. He also won the Australian Masters in November.
He will be travelling without his family this year meaning long lonely stints away from his loved ones but also a complete focus on his golf which should pay dividends. He is currently ranked 73 in the world and is determined to make a fast start to the season and gain a place in world's top 60 and ensure entry to the big money events.
In 2009 Adam Scott couldn't tell the difference between one end of the club and the other. He was given an invitation by Norman to play in the Presidents Cup. After that confidence boost he rededicated himself to the game and won the Valero Texas Open in June and the Singapore Masters in November. This could be the year when the man who was expected to be World Number One can start to really fulfil his potential.
There are a lot of other talented Aussies in John Senden, Richard Green, Michael Sim, Marc Leishman and Jason Day. Day had an outstanding year finishing 8th in the Fed Ex Cup standings and winning the Byron Nelson Championship despite persistent health problems (a blocked sinus) for which he underwent surgery in October.
The Presidents may not have the same effect on him but he will be a force in his own right and if the others start winning he could get carried along on an Australian winning wave.
Ogilvy, Scott, Appleby and Day are all starting their PGA Tour Season this week at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and they all have the right profile to succeed at the Plantation Course (Appleby and Ogilvy have five of the last seven between them).
Granny's Christmas money should just about extend to having a win bet on all four and if Ogilvy (hand injury) does withdraw and we get our stakes back I'll re-invest the old dear's cash on next week's Sony Open where the Aussies again should thrive.
