English, patient - is Brian Davis just another nearly-man?
On the evidence of the past weekend, the state of British golf would appear to be in the rudest of health. Luke Donald won his first tournament for four years; in claiming that victory, he joined Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey in the top 10 of the world golf rankings; and, uh, Brian Davis did pretty well in Texas, too.
Yes, while Donald seems to have finally rediscovered a winning touch after countless near misses - he was second at the BMW PGA Championship the week before his victory at the Madrid Masters - and Westwood, Poulter and Casey continue to impress, another less heralded Englishman is making, if not waves, at least something of a splash in the US.
Davis had started the final day at the Crowne Invitational in the lead. Even if former Masters winner Zach Johnson eventually proved too much for the Londoner, Davis still finished in second place, and the player is no stranger to close-but-no-cigar moments, having finished behind Jim Furyk in April's Verizon Heritage in a play-off.
On that occasion Davis won plaudits, if not the tournament, when he called attention to his own infraction and thus incurred a two-stroke penalty, gifting Furyk the win - though it should be noted that Furyk was already in a strong position and, penalty or no, would almost certainly have gone on to victory.
So, for the uninitiated - who is Davis?
He's well off the pace when it comes to England's best players, that's for sure. The 35-year-old's second-place finish on Sunday was enough to see him rise to 72nd in the world, having previously been stuck outside the top 100 at 110th place. So is Davis just a journeyman, happy to take advantage of a ridiculously lucrative PGA Tour that suggests as far as bank balances go, it's the taking part, not the winning that counts?
Well, possibly. Davis turned pro back in 1994, moving on to the European Tour in 1997 but not picking up his first victory until 2000, when he won the Peugeot Open de España. His second, and so far only other win also came on the European Tour, when he won the ANZ Championship in Australia in 2004.
But if that modest collection of trophies speaks of either a lack of ability at the highest level - or, at least some serious underachievement - Davis has also had his days in the sun, tying for sixth place at the Open in 2003, and in recent years making his presence felt, albeit gently, on the PGA Tour. Llast year he had a fifth place finish at the Players Championship, and has continued to build unhurried but noticeable momentum in 2010.
Might Davis be a slow-starter who is on the cusp of something approaching, if not greatness, well, quite goodness? Might the Londoner be capable of pushing for a spot on Colin Montgomerie's team at the Ryder Cup later this year? Is Davis capable of doing what big names like Lee Westwood and Justin Rose have both failed to do in the last 10 years - and win on the PGA Tour?
Even if Davies is destined to be - at best - a serial second-place finisher, the man is playing well right now, and it would be churlish not to recognise that. While we enjoy the astonishing turnaround in English golf's fortunes - after all just nine years ago, Lee Westwood was the only Englishman to hold a place in the top 100 - isn't it sweet to see those lesser names performing too?
This week's Memorial Tournament is being billed as another clash of the same old titans, Phil Mickelson attempting to shake off a missed cut at Colonial as Tiger Woods strives to prove he's more than just a punchline. But maybe there's still another story to be told here.
As a 100-1 shot, might Davis even be worth a cheeky each-way flutter along the way at Muirfield Village?
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