US better on paper, but European easy Ryders waiting in long grass

THERE has not been a European winner of a major championship since Paul Lawrie at Carnoustie in 1999.

They are heavily outnumbered by their American cousins in the world rankings. And with the bookmakers they are distant outsiders.

Yet for all such damning statistics, confidence is not in short supply in the European Ryder Cup camp as the build-up continues to the September 17-19 showdown at Oakland Hills.

Only developments over the three days will decide if it is misplaced. But even the rookies in the European side seem convinced victory can be achieved. In public they talk of "strength in depth" while privately they believe the Americans are not as good as the rankings would suggest.

Few in the European side express themselves as intelligently as Thomas Levet, the multi-lingual Frenchman.

He likens the Americans to the French football team.

"They are a lot of outstanding individuals who don't get along all that well, whereas we are a team who will stick together and fight together and that will be the difference between us," he said last weekend.

Ireland's Paul McGinley isn't one for tempting fate and prefers to concentrate on his own team's virtues rather than on any perceived shortcomings among the opposition.

He has maintained throughout the year that this would be Europe's strongest selection. Bernhard Langer's selection has proven that point.

"I've called it right all the time in this Ryder Cup. I had two second places by March or April, just after I had the operation on my knee, and I was about 15, 16 on the list. I was thinking, these guys have played really well, I have two seconds and there are 16 guys who have done better. Right from there I knew it was going to be a hell of a tough team to make."

If one were to go by the final points table, Ian Poulter should be the weakest member of the European team, having taken the 10th and last automatic spot. However, his teammates beg to differ.

"I just love his attitude," McGinley stressed. "Ian's got a lot of stick for his trousers at the Open and I'm an Irishman and I have to say, they were fantastic. I love the colour he brings to the game. He adds so much to the appeal of golf and brings it to a wider audience, just like Tiger has brought it to a different scale.

"It's wonderful for the European Tour that he showed such desire to make the team. He's a great addition to that team and won't be afraid of anybody. As I've said before, I feel I played much better in this campaign to qualify. As you can see, the guys who missed out have made a hell of an effort, they have played fantastically well to make the team and Ian Poulter is one of them."

It is impossible not to feel sadness for Freddy Jacobson. His claims to a pick were, in my view, impeccable and Luke Donald is fortunate in the extreme to get in ahead of the Swede. As Langer himself reflected, he won't know whether he got it right or not until the Sunday night of September 19.

One of the most refreshing aspects of the modern Ryder Cup is how intent players from both sides are on making the teams. It's good for the game that this should be the case and a far cry from the days when Tom Weiskopf famously preferred to go hunting on that week rather than take on the British and Irish in what was invariably a one-sided affair.

European golf presents a far more serious challenge nowadays and with Bernhard Langer at the helm, there will be no slip-ups. A veteran of 10 matches, the German is pleased with the competitiveness of his players.

"The way they all tried as hard as they did shows me how important the Ryder Cup is to these guys," he said.

"They tried to make the team outright so they didn't have to depend on a wild card. It's not easy to play tournament golf but the extra stress of knowing that every putt or one shot can make the difference of being on the team or not is a difficult situation.

"I still believe the pressure in Oakland Hills in a few weeks will be far greater than qualifying for the team."

Nevertheless, Langer goes to Detroit in a positive frame of mind because he believes in this group of players.

Claiming none of his predecessors was put in such a difficult situation because of the talent at his disposal ("I could have picked any two from eight guys and it might not have made a huge difference"), he admitted there were no outstanding players as there were back in the days of the players he described as "the big five" himself, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Jose Maria Olazabal and Ian Woosnam.

"Those were exceptional times," he said.

"We had years in the '80s and '90s when those five were playing awesome golf and won a lot of majors. That's something I have not seen lately amongst the European players. They have not won many majors. About every five or 10 years you have players come around like we had then.

"We need to be patient," he noted. "We need to give our young guys a chance to get better and make their way up there and win those majors and world championships."

Strategy wise, Langer insists he has been too busy to contemplate his all-important foursomes and fourball combinations. However he admits his two picks, Colin Montgomerie and Luke Donald, would fit in nicely in the side and indeed they may even play together. And we can rest assured that no player will be left out in the cold until the final day singles.

"I believe I'm going to play everybody before Sunday," the German said. "I would like to. So if I have any opportunity at all, they will each get a chance to go out and experience the atmosphere, just being out there, getting rid of their nerves and jitters and getting some experience under their belt.

"I will give them this opportunity. I do not like for any of my rookies to be sent out for the first time on Sunday. I think that's almost like wasting a point, giving a point to the other team. I will have to work my pairings in a way that everybody will have a chance to play in the first four rounds. I have thought about the pairings, but not seriously. I will do that in the next two-and-a-half weeks."

When it was pointed out to him that his backroom boys, Langer himself, Anders Forsbrand, Joakim Haeggman and the newly-appointed Thomas Bjorn were all continentals, the captain refused to get ruffled.

"It has nothing to do with English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish. We have a lot of Irish and English players on the team. I picked Anders as my vice-captain for reasons I have explained many times. I thought Joakim did a fantastic job two years ago. Thomas Bjorn is another very respected guy, been in the Ryder Cup several times and you need guys that the players look up to, respect and fit in with.

"We will gel extremely well with the players."