Cool Bernhard eyes captain’s prize

JUST to watch, listen and admire the way Bernhard Langer conducted himself gave every European in the Whistling Straits media centre a huge injection of confidence and self belief.

If his players perform as well at Oakland Hills in a month’s time as their captain did yesterday, then the red hot Ryder Cup favourites from the US may be in line for a shock.

Whether it was rubbishing questions as to whether he was applying himself to the captaincy role as assiduously as he should be or quietly refusing to show his hand where his two “wild card” selections were concerned, the German was in total control.

Let’s take Paul McGinley as an example.

“Bernhard, how impressed were you with McGinley’s match-winning putt at The Belfry two years ago?”

“Very much,” he replied, “it was a difficult putt with a left to right break and he hit it perfectly. I had a similar putt at a similar stage a few years earlier and missed it so I knew what it meant to him and everybody else.”

Then came a knowing smile and there was no more on the subject.

Colin Montgomerie was next on the agenda. At the Volvo PGA in May, Langer said he wanted evidence that Monty was playing his way through his problems and showing signs of form before he would be considered. Was Bernhard satisfied on that score?

“Yes, I have been happy,” he declared. “I have seen a lot of good stuff from Colin. He was in contention for a while at the British Open. He’s had a lot of good finishes and was 4th in the Scandinavian Masters. His form is very steady and he’s extremely close to being the Colin we know. And he’s gradually creeping up in the rankings. He’s been around a long time. Guys look up to him. That would be one of the best things that could happen to us.”

Langer points out that an awful lot could change between now and the cut-off date for team selection after the BMW International in Munich on August 29. Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Lee Westwood and Thomas Levet are already certainties and Paul Casey very nearly so. But the last three spots are still up for grabs with David Howell, Ian Poulter and Joakim Haeggman the front-runners.

“There are a lot of points at stake in the PGA, in the NEC next week and at the BMW,” Langer warned.

“The last three or four players are in jeopardy. I can give you some of the names who are not on the team at the moment. We are looking at Fredrik Jacobson, Paul McGinley, who has been playing very well lately, Colin Montgomerie, possibly even Jesper Parnevik, while Alex Cejka is starting to get into good form.

“We have Luke Donald, who has played well all year and just won the Scandinavian Masters, Justin Rose, Thomas Bjorn, Graeme McDowell from Ireland, he’s played very well and we know he’s solid.

“The great news is that 25 years ago we didn’t have the depth. We probably had a good five to seven players on the front and then really struggled to get the rest. It’s been said we don’t have too many leaders on the course but I will be their leader. I don’t want five or six leaders out there, I want a team of golfers. I’ll handle everything else.”

And so, inevitably, to Langer’s decision not to turn up at Troon for the Open once he was ruled out by injury. It hardly seemed the wisest thing to do but as ever he dismissed the criticism firmly and effectively.

“It was the wrong time to talk to the guys about Ryder Cup issues. I wanted them to focus on the Open, win the championship or finish as high as possible. It was not the time for me to be running around talking to guys and putting extra pressure on them.”

Langer frequently made the point that he has played in 10 Ryder Cups. In that time, he avoided controversy while always being a highly committed member of the side. He agreed that the putt he missed at Kiawah Island in 1991 remains the greatest disappointment of his career. That’s how important this business is to him.

So what of the psychological pressures of playing on American shores?

“We may have four or five players who have not been involved before and I’ll try to prepare them for the pressure and it won’t be easy,” he said.

“I will make it clear that they may face a hostile crowd. I hope not, but it may happen. There could be moments when people might cheer a missed putt or if you dump one in the water or whatever. We have seen this before in Ryder Cups. I will prepare them.

“I don’t want them getting emotionally involved or having arguments with other players, spectators, no matter who. I’ll tell them to ignore it because when you try to upset someone and he ignores you, eventually it gets boring and you give up.

“That’s just common sense.”