Price joins big hitters

Welshman Phil Price will have the best view going when golf’s two biggest hitters go head-to-head tomorrow and Friday.

American John Daly, who averaged 306.7 yards on the US Tour last year, and Argentinian Angel Cabrera, who topped the European tour with 303.5 yards, have been drawn together in the first two rounds of the Benson & Hedges International Open at The Belfry.

‘‘You’re joking,’’ was Price’s reaction when told he was the other member of the group.

The 35-year-old would be the first to say he is not in the duo’s league when it comes to the power game.

But what matters to the Pontypridd golfer is not how much distance he has to concede off the tee, but what score he shoots. Golf has always been about how many, not how.

The £1.1m (€1.75m) tournament carries special significance for Price because in four months’ time, of course, he will be back on the same turf for his Ryder Cup debut.

The effort of making Europe’s team last year left Price totally shattered and with no top 10 finishes now for 10 months he desperately wants to show not just captain Sam Torrance, but everybody, that he is his old self again.

‘‘I took a long break over the winter because I needed to recharge my batteries and I feel my game’s coming back together,’’ he said. ‘‘I just want to start getting into contention again.’’

Returning to The Belfry, where he was second behind Jose Maria Olazabal two years ago, already seems to have had a good effect.

Ten members of the side are playing this week - wild cards Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik are the two missing - and Torrance had the idea of putting them out in pairs yesterday for a practice round and then having a team dinner.

Price was paired with Swede Pierre Fulke, the other debutant whose form has not been what he would like it to be in recent months, and they had a better-ball 62, 10 under par.

Bernhard Langer and Niclas Fasth were only one worse than that, so for that alone it was a useful exercise and the pairings of Colin Montgomerie and Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood and Dubliners Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley gave further clues to Torrance’s current thinking. None of the partnerships were surprising.

Daly will not be back in September - despite winning two majors he has yet to play in the Ryder Cup - but to have him present this week is a relief for the sponsors after he suffered a mini-stroke last Saturday.

‘‘It scared me to death,’’ said the former Open and US PGA champion, who was cleared to travel after hospital tests showed he had reacted to diet pills he was taking.

Nick Faldo and Olazabal are two more big names taking part - plus Justin Rose and Malcolm Mackenzie, both winners at the weekend.

Rose, still two months away from his 22nd birthday, had his third win of the year at the Chunichi Crowns in Japan, while 40-year-old Mackenzie finally tasted success on the European tour at the 509th attempt by winning the French Open.