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While the Ryder cup and US open were obviously fantastic achievements and highlights of his career to date, what i found to be most impressive was his win in Valderamma. the fact that he won despite not playing his best golf was for me, his arrival on the big stage. with the exception of TW I don't know of any other player that has managed to do this in the last 10 years.

Great article as usual Iain, and a few more of these and it will be hard not to give the award to GMac.
If he wins it then nobody will be happier than myself.
A major championship, and then winning the Ryder Cup when the pressure was really on is surely enough to get him on the rostrum this year?
Who would have expected him to have done 1 of these 2 achievements at the beginning of the season?
And to top it all off, he seems like a really great fella ::))

All praise to Laura Davies. Plays the game the right way and just keeps on going. Would be good if a few more golfers thought, like Laura, that completing a round in under 5 hours was not unreasonable

Agree with all praise for Laura Davies.
Perhaps the Sunday Times appreciation, or lack of it, of Dame Laura is proportionately similar to that of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's Ladies Golf coverage?
Iain, there's no doubt that Laura will be elected into the World Golf Hall Of Fame; the LPGA Hall has very strict entrance criteria that excludes achievements outside their own Tour, as you know. Difficult to argue against those criteria, but some sort of lifetime achievement award would at least offer some justice.

Well done Laura, but no, sorry the others all deserve to be there more. They have all achieved in major championships this season. Laura Davies, good though she is has not done so.

Laura Davies is a legend in women's golf and thoroughly deserves this accolade however the fact she won the Indian Open having carded a 78 in the second round says a lot about the current state of women's professional golf and the Ladies European tour in particular. The depth in quality is just not there and any win cannot be compared with the world class performances of the girls nominated for sportswoman of the year.

On the subject on the slowness of play of women professional golfers, anyone (like me) who was at the British Women's Open at St. Andrews in 2007 will still be aghast at what they witnessed. Next year it's being held at Carnoustie, let's hope they install floodlights.

Martin Kaymer's lead over McDowell in the Race to Dubai is now only 300000 Euro, having been 1 million only 3 weeks ago. If G-Mac can wrap that up to add to his US Open victory, 2 other season wins and the Ryder Cup, then he'll deserve every award going, Queen's New Year's Honours and a gold statue erected in Portrush. If the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ viewers don't recognise him as Sports Personality of the Year ahead of perennial disappointments such as Andy Murray who keep getting nominated then the nation's sports fans are delusional

Interesting article, Iain. Personally, I think the ladies game has been devalued in recent years by the attempts of some female golfers to enter male events, particularly Michelle Wie. Those moves suggested that the female pros didn't think their own comps were worth playing in, so why should we be expected to watch/take interest?

Laura Davies' longevity has been fantastic. Obviously she is benefitting from the fact Ochua and Sorenstam are no longer competing, but it takes some doing to keep winning year after year!

Laura is fantastic and has a great attitude towards her golf and as far as I can tell to life in general. Thank you for mentioning her and women's golf. I understand why there is not more on TV - it can be rather slow and mechanical. Not too many 'characters' in the Korean contingent.

Great article.
I have been lucky enough to spend many years watching Laura Davies compete and win many golf tournaments from majors like the LPGA Championship to smaller events such as Australian mini tour events.
My fave is the one in Los Angeles back in 2000 when she had laser eye surgery 4days before winning.
The way she takes everything in her stride is an example to not just women golfers out there but the general Joe Public.
The LPGA hall of fame is without doubt one of the hardest in the world of sport to get into and I personally hope one day she finally wins that one more major or 2 regular events to get in.
It would be a real shame if she were to not qualify.
Long may we have golfers like Laura to entertain us and keep that do or die attitude.

Good article Iain, I've been a critic of yours for concentrating on the tabloid headlines and not investigating a bit, so hats off!!!

I hadn't realised that Laura had won so often this year. I had the pleasure of meeting her once and she is a remarkable individual. She really is a globetrotter and I am very happy that she has found her form again. She is a true warrior of the game. I agree that she fully deserves her place in the hall of fame but we know that our American cousins can be a bit blinkered so it shouldn't be a surprise that they have overlooked Laura's numerous achievements. I wouldn't put it past Laura to win again on the LPGA Tour. Now that Lorena Ochoa has retired there really isn't anyone who knows how to dominate and all the contenders for "best female golfer" have shown frailty on a regular basis.

Laura cannot be accused of frailty. She may have suffered from over agression but she's got serious guts. Let's hope she continues.

I also agree that it has been an incredible year for European golf. GMAC will get the awards but the supporting cast has been an absolute joy to watch all year. Long may it continue.