From the outside Paul McGinley and Ian Poulter may not look to have too much in common, but on one subject they are happy to agree. If their respective careers end up being defined by the Ryder Cup, then so be it.

American hopes of regaining the Ryder Cup at Medinah received a major boost with Brandt Snedeker’s victory in the FedEx Cup and Tour Championship while European pair Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood faded.

FRESH from his remarkable 11 strokes victory in front of his home fans in Castellon on Sunday, Sergio Garcia has moved down the coast in western Spain to Valderrama where the €3m Andalucia Masters gets underway tomorrow.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE is tipping Lee Westwood to win The Masters next April and with it complete an historic European Tour slam of the majors.

IT WAS in the gloom of a cool October Sunday five years ago when Tiger Woods stood to the back of the 18th green at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club and watched his American teammates celebrate a Presidents Cup win over the International Team.

An upset Rory McIlroy was given something to smile about at Celtic Manor today - team-mates and caddies wearing wigs that resembled his very distinctive curly hair.

Corey Pavin would be glued to a clash between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy at the Ryder Cup this week – but he has no wish to pre-arrange it with Colin Montgomerie.

Colin Montgomerie has finally revealed one of his Ryder Cup decisions - not who will be handed a wild card, but how the match will start.

BALLYBUNION is rarely visited by a north-easterly wind gusting to over 20 miles per hour but when it happens, the famous golf links becomes a seriously testing challenge.

Lee Westwood is ready to silence the crowd after American captain Paul Azinger urged home fans to be “crazy” and raucous come the start of the Ryder Cup on Friday.

Padraig Harrington believes Europe’s success at Oakland Hills four years ago can help the Ryder Cup heroes’ bids for US PGA Championship glory this week.

The absence of Tiger Woods is going to be far more noticeable at the final major of the year than it was at the Open.

THREE words uttered by American Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger – “I want winners” – have already had the desired effect.

Paul Azinger has been named as the USA’s Ryder Cup captain for the 2008 event at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.

Some time soon the Professional Golfers’ Association of America will call a press conference to name their new Ryder Cup captain – the man to oppose Nick Faldo’s Europe in 2008.

DEBACLE, embarrassment and humiliation is not how Fáilte Ireland would have envisaged the reviews of the first Ryder Cup on Irish soil, but thankfully for them the American media was only referring to the efforts of its own team.

For the second match running the Ryder Cup will kick off tomorrow with the clash everybody wanted to see.

Phil Mickelson believes the Americans can recapture the Ryder Cup by learning from their past mistakes.

IAN WOOSNAM may still be playing Ryder Cup captaincy catch-up, but he’s getting there. A man of his vast experience and innate cunning was never going to be left behind.

They are the two biggest names in golf, winners of seven of the last 12 major championships.

Fifty-six players had the chance to force their way into the American Ryder Cup team at the US PGA championship this week – and 56 failed.

Mathias Gronberg holds a two-point lead after the completion of the first round of The International at Castle Rock, Colorado – but has given up hope of being in Europe’s Ryder Cup team.

RYDER CUP veteran Paul McGinley believes qualifying for this year’s European team to face the United States could be the most challenging in the event’s history.

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will almost certainly not be seen playing together in the Ryder Cup this September, but they will definitely be seen practising together.

American Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman wants his behaviour at the 1999 match in Boston to become “a dead issue” by the time he leads his side in Ireland this September.

THE European Tour School is an annual end of season exercise that tries the hearts and minds of young and old alike.

EVERYBODY has heard of Butch Harmon, David Leadbetter, even Hank Haney.

SERGIO GARCIA is the only member of the world’s top ten golfers committed to next month’s World Cup at Villamoura in Portugal’s Algarve.

ASKED to compare the atmosphere between the Ryder Cup and the President’s Cup over the weekend, at least two Americans made no secret of their views.

MICHAEL CAMPBELL is the champion and another HSBC World Match Play has ended.

BUOYED by his 15th place in the British Open championship last week, John Daly is targeting a Ryder Cup debut in Ireland next year.

Buoyed by his 15th place in the Open championship last week, John Daly is targeting a Ryder Cup debut in Ireland next year.

THE YEAR was 1976 and two young golfers had set out from far-flung places to make their fortune. They hoped to qualify for a few tournaments and move on to the next stop.

Sergio Garcia matched the biggest final-round collapse in PGA Tour history as Vijay Singh won the Wachovia Championship.

BERNHARD LANGER’S decision to opt out of the captaincy of the European Ryder Cup at The K-Club next year is acutely disappointing.

Phil Mickelson fired an 11-under-par 60 – the best official round of his career – to grab a share of the lead after the second round of the weather-delayed FBR Open in Scottsdale.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE has withdrawn his name from the list of candidates to be Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain after being persuaded he is still young enough to be involved as a player.

Colin Montgomerie has decided to withdraw his name from the list of candidates to be Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain.

DARREN CLARKE claims it will take more than a change in captaincy to reverse a trend that has seen Europe win four of the last five Ryder Cups.

DARREN CLARKE claims it will take more than a change in captaincy to reverse a trend that has seen Europe win four of the last five Ryder Cups.

Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke claims it will take more than a change in captaincy to reverse a trend that has seen Europe win four of the last five Ryder Cups.

New American Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman is to put the emphasis on togetherness in the build-up to the first-ever match on Irish soil.

FORMER Open champion Tom Lehman has been given the job of trying to restore American golfing pride after their heaviest Ryder Cup defeat.

Former Open champion Tom Lehman has been given the job of trying to restore American golfing pride after their heaviest Ryder Cup defeat.