From despondency to delight for Ryder Cup team
There has been nothing but despondency for most of the past 12 months over Pierre Fulke. The Swede could do little right but as the Ryder Cup drew ever closer, positive vibes were emanating from a man who all too often had to suffer the sight of the second and third letters of his surname being misspelled deliberately.
He remains one of five Europeans not qualified for this week's American Express World Championship at Mount Juliet and so goes to The Belfry, his confidence bolstered by shooting 14 under par in Cologne for a share of 12th place. It is reasonable to assume he could now hold his end up once the call comes from skipper Sam Torrance. Furthermore, the enigmatic Niclas Fasth eventually came good in the German Masters, atoning for three ordinary rounds with a cracking 65 on Sunday. It could be that Torrance will see Fulke and Fasth as a readymade pairing at some stage of the opening two days.
Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington have been serious injury worries over the past month or so with Monty's fitness for The Belfry regularly questioned. In spite of shooting 16 under par in Germany, Monty is still sounding off about not being fit to play five matches in the Ryder Cup but you strongly suspect Torrance is paying scant attention to such talk.
Vice captain Ian Woosnam is of a similar view: "He'll be there, he says that sort of thing all the time.". Sixteen under, no matter how favourable the course and conditions, should speak for itself, as indeed does 15 under by Bernhard Langer and 13 under by Thomas Bjorn.
Three years ago at Brookline, Padraig Harrington was believed to be a peripheral member of the side before a ball was struck. But when he got his chance, the Dubliner took it with open arms and in the meantime has developed into another hugely valuable member of the European side. Foot and neck injuries threatened to impair his effectiveness and while he still had problems in this respect at the weekend, word from the Harrington camp is that he paced himself through the German event to ensure his total effectiveness over the next few weeks.
Padraig shot 14 under and there's little wrong with that. And even though there was a time when seven under by Lee Westwood over a course as accommodating as Gut-Larchenhof would have been scorned by all and sundry, he did play a number of good shots and seemed to be wearing a demeanour that augurs well for The Belfry.
So much happened at the German Masters that should help to cheer up captain Torrance. There were down sides, of course, Philip Price's inability to make another cut and Paul McGinley's disappointing 75 on Sunday on the back of reasonable scores of 70, 70 and 71. Sam will be at Mount Juliet this week for the last tournament before the clash with the Americans and, no doubt, disappointed at the absence of five of his team, Price, McGinley, Jesper Parnevik, Westwood and Fulke, none of whom have qualified.
His counterpart, Curtis Strange, says he has already decided on his line-up for the first round of fourballs on Friday week. Torrance will still be pondering on his pairings.
He would love to have Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik together again to provide the kind of inspiration that lifted European spirits three years ago. But Parnevik's putting has collapsed to an extent that he has missed seven successive cuts in the US and Torrance must fear he might well drag Garcia down.
Very much the same applies to a possible renewal of the Darren Clarke-Westwood alliance and the long heralded pairing of Harrington and McGinley. If Torrance feels he can't trust Parnevik, Westwood and McGinley, then there are still several options open to him ... Langer and Bjorn, Fasth and Fulke, Montgomerie and Clarke, Harrington and Garcia. Not a whole lot wrong with that, I would have thought.
Harrington remains 3rd in the European Tour order of merit with 1, 366, 849 to his credit. Clarke is 23rd with 719, 964 and the next best Irishmen are Graeme McDowell, 43rd with 384, 651 and McGinley 47th with 365, 148.
It was a very disappointing weekend for the Irish contingent on the Challenge Tour with none of our big three making any impression in the Telia Grand Prix in Sweden. Kilkenny's Gary Murphy led after the first round with a seven under par 65 but his game collapsed over the following three days and he closed with 71, 77, 74 to finish way down the field. Even worse was the failure of Peter Lawrie and Damien McGrane to make the cut.
Lawrie is still well placed to finish in the top fifteen in the order of merit and so win his card on the regular tour next year. He is 12th with 46, 582, 5, 668 ahead of the Englishman Mark Sanders in 15th place. McGrane is 22nd with 34, 957 and Murphy 29th with 28, 461. There are three more tournaments on the schedule, the PGA of Austria on September 26-29; the Bank Fortis Open in Holland on October 17-20 and the Challenge Grand Tour final in Bordeaux on October 24-27. These events carry a total prize fund of $567, 000 so there is still a great deal to play for.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
