US team hitting form at right time

THE confidence that abounded among European Ryder Cup supporters with the announcement of the US team was largely dissipated by weekend developments in the NEC World Championship at Akron, Ohio.

Not alone did Stewart Cink, one of Hal Sutton’s so-called “moderate and uninspiring ” wild card selections, capture the first prize thanks to an 11 under par total of 269, but many of his teammates at Oakland Hills next month were close behind.

Tiger Woods may have had his troubles - at the 17th on Saturday he shanked a long iron on to the roof of a hospitality tent and went further right on Sunday, causing him to flail wildly at a nearby bush in exasperation - but he somehow finished joint runner-up.

His ability to get up and down to sneak pars against expectations will be a huge advantage in matchplay circumstances.

Davis Love III closed with a 66 for fourth, David Toms and Chris DiMarco shared 6th, resulting in five Americans in the top six.

Against that, Alex Cejka (who is in need of a pick from fellow German Bernhard Langer) and Lee Westwood emerged best of the Europeans in 9th.

It gets worse!

The US team followed up as follows: Jim Furyk 22nd; Kenny Perry 27th; Jay Haas 41st; Phil Mickelson and Chris Riley 43rd; Fred Funk 61st and Chad Campbell 69th.

Nothing to write home about, you may think? Compare it to the Europeans: Darren Clarke 14th; Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald (a possible pick) and Paul Casey 16th; Miguel-Angel Jimenez 27th; Thomas Levet and Fredrik Jacobsson (a possible pick) 32nd; Paul McGinley 46th; Colin Montgomerie (a possible pick) 58th; Pádraig Harrington 74th. Retired, Joakim Haeggman.

So it’s the Americans back in pole position for now.

Bernhard Langer has plenty to contemplate as he attends his daughter’s first day in college at the weekend before dashing to Munich to complete his European team. His vice-captain, Anderson Forsbrand, has reported back after his recent visit to Oakland Hills.

“The rough now is about three inches and they’re shooting for four inches,” Langer revealed.

“The fairways are reasonable. They get narrower the further you hit it, which surprised me a little but that’s fine by me if they leave it at that.”

Woods has tightened his grip on the world number one spot, having been in danger of losing out to Vijay Singh in Akron. Instead, that second place leaves him clear of Singh and Ernie Els. Pádraig Harrington stays in 8th spot in spite of an uncharacteristic failure in the NEC and remains the only European in the top ten. Darren Clarke finished three under in his unsuccessful bid to retain his title in Akron and has dropped from 13th to 16th in the rankings, with Paul McGinley in 67th spot.

The likes of John Daly, the winner in 2001, and US Open champion Retief Goosen, returning after injury, won’t give the Ryder Cup permutations as much as a second thought in Munich.

Others, like Sergio Garcia, Harrington, Clarke, holder Lee Westwood, Miguel-Angel Jimenez, Thomas Levet and almost certainly Paul Casey will also be able to concentrate on the task in hand, while keeping an inevitably curious eye on developments elsewhere.

But for the likes of Montgomerie, Jacobsson, Thomas Bjorn, Alex Cejka, Brian Davis, Jean Francois Remesy, Luke Donald and Joakim Haeggman, all of whom are currently outside the top ten, it is very much a case of the last chance saloon.

Clarke, Harrington and McGinley are joined in the BMW field by fellow Irishmen Graeme McDowell (who would have to win to have any chance of making the team), Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy and Damien McGrane.