Europe look to be in great shape
Retief Goosen’s win in the South African Open over his compatriot Ernie Els brought the curtain down on a year that will have very happy memories for several Irishmen.
Paul McGinley for his Volvo Masters triumph and dramatic rise from 68th to 21st in the world rankings and Pádraig Harrington and Des Smyth for their two victories each on the US Tour and Champions Tour.
Tiger Woods remains the dominant player in the world by some distance, as ever Vijay Singh is snapping at his heels with Phil Mickelson, Goosen and Ernie Els in closest pursuit. Some, like Harrington and Woods, will take a lengthy break, others will be back at the beginning of the new year battling for the Mercedes Championship on the US Tour in Hawaii and for the brand new Royal Trophy in Abu Dhabi on the European circuit. Paul McGinley and Graeme McDowell are included in the European team for the latter event.
However, just about everything will take a back seat in 2006 to the Ryder Cup.
It was interesting to note Pádraig Harrington’s comments last week that he might not be on the European side given that he hasn’t accumulated a whole lot of points to date and that it will be well into February before he resumes competitive action. Much the same applies to Darren Clarke whose plans to play early in the new campaign are dependant on how well his wife Heather is faring in her battle with cancer.
A European team without Harrington and Clarke, or indeed Thomas Bjorn, who is even further down the pecking order, would have been inconceivable not so very long ago. However, Paul McGinley’s confidence about the strength in depth of the game in Europe is spot on.
Ian Woosnam must be thrilled that five players he would definitely have wanted in his team, Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, David Howell, Paul McGinley and Jose-Maria Olazabal, are already as good as there.
Nor will he be complaining at the prospect of the fierce scrap set to take place for the remaining five automatic spots. These are currently in the possession of Henrik Stenson, Kenneth Ferrie, Paul Casey, Nick Dougherty and Luke Donald. However, there is a very, very long way to go and with the exception of Donald, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the other four were to be overtaken before the team is finalised after the BMW Championship in Munich at the end of August.
Just look at those still outside the equation, not just Harrington, Clarke and Bjorn but also Lee Westwood, Niclas Fasth, Graeme McDowell, Miguel-Angel Jimenez, Ian Poulter and a potential dark horse in Carl Pettersson, the Swede who won on the US Tour last month. Some at least are definitely going to need one of Woosnam’s two ‘wild card’ selections.
Thomas Levet is nowhere to be found in the rankings and up to half of the last side are well down the list. It bodes well for the European game and is in stark contrast to the States where Tom Lehman may be forced to call on a large percentage of those who failed so badly in 2004. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Chris DiMarco, Davis Love III, David Toms, Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink, the current top eight in their points table, were among those routed at Oakland Hills. In 9th and 10th places are the veteran Fred Couples and Ben Crane, who is probably better-known in the States for slow play than anything achieved on the golf course.
Given that the Americans offer three times as many more points for tournaments in 2006 than in ‘05, the chances are that Lehman’s team may change considerably by the time the counting process ends after the US PGA Championship in Chicago in mid-August.
Fred Funk, one of those to suffer most in ‘04, is 11th in the rankings with Bart Bryant 12th. Believe it or not, they are followed in order by Vaughn Taylor, Ryan Palmer, Lehman himself, Pat Perez, Tim Herron, Charles Howell III, Jason Bohn and Mark Calcavecchia.
Hardly a group of golfers likely to fill Woosnam with foreboding!
Lehman, for his part, will probably look even further down the list and hope against hope that the likes of Justin Leonard (22nd), Scott Verplank (24th), Brad Faxon (30th) and most of all Sean O’Hair (34th) will show a bit of form next year and force their way into the reckoning.
As for John Daly, he’s back in 55th and nothing other than a top ten finish will earn him a first Ryder Cup cap. Just like his predecessors, Lehman won’t trust ‘The Wild Thing’ with one of his two precious selections.
