World No 55

One of those golfers who fans love to follow. Sadly for the American, the watching public are not only admiring his swing, more often they have been waiting for him to lose his temper. The 40-year-old, who turned professional in 1989 but did not graduate to the full US PGA Tour until 1996, has a background in ice hockey and he blames his grounding in that sport for the occasional flare-up on the course.

“If something bothers me, people are going to know it. I can’t hide it,” he said. “I try to hide it, but then I need to blow a little bit and then I come back to centre. I think the personalities have been taken out of the game - a lot of golfers are portrayed as stiff.”

There is no doubting his pedigree: he earned five top-ten finishes on the US PGA Tour in 2006, finished at No 39 on the money list and, in 2003, he tied the tour record for consecutive birdies with eight at the Las Vegas Invitational.

The aggressive style of play that led to him winning his first events at the 2002 Sony Open, in Hawaii, and the Advil Western Open, in Lemont, Illinois, and has lifted him to No 55 in the world rankings has sometimes been let down by moderate form with the putter; one of the reasons that Tom Lehman overlooked him as a captain’s pick for the 2006 Ryder Cup.

Since that disappointment, Kelly has taken it upon himself to improve his putting and his psychological approach. He has switched to a blade putter, which has transformed him in his eyes from a “knocker to a striker” and he has also sought the advice of Lanny Bassham, a former Olympic rifleman, who has helped him with the mental side of golf. “When he was talking about having to fire between heartbeats, he gave me a much clearer focus on the process,” Kelly said.

Add to that the fact he is taking longer breaks between events - he has played fewer tournaments this season than in any other year as a professional - and the patriotic American, who visited troops in the Gulf for Thanksgiving last year, may soon be better known more for setting a course on fire rather than his combustible temper.

Factfile

Age: 41 Nationality: American Wins: 4 Major wins: 0 Major record in 2007: Masters: tied-fifth; US Open: tied-seventh; Open: tied-49th; US PGA: missed cut How he qualified for World Match Play: Twelfth on Major Championship ranking Previous WMP experience: None