Woods absence offers chance to others

The European golf tour has returned to the St Leon Rot club in Heidelberg this week – but the man who has triumphed in the three previous tour events there has not.

Tiger Woods, winner of the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in 1999, 2001 and 2002 with an amazing collective total of 57 under par, is not taking part this time.

And that just has to be good news for all those with aspirations of lifting a record first prize of €500,000.

With even more on offer at next week’s Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth, this is a time to stand up and be counted. As well as a fortune, a Ryder Cup place might well be up for grabs too.

That last element is of no interest to the biggest star on show this year, world number three Ernie Els, former world number one Nick Price, Open champion Ben Curtis or young Australian Adam Scott, who is making his first appearance in Europe since his fabulous victory at the Players’ Championship in Florida in March.

But it certainly is to the likes of Padraig Harrington – defending the title he won with Woods in the field in Hamburg 12 months ago – Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, Colin Montgomerie and every other member of the top 18 on the current Order of Merit.

Harrington, the world number eight and second highest-ranked player in the field after Els, defeated Ryder Cup team-mate Thomas Bjorn at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off at Gut Kaden and called the victory “one of the greatest of my career”.

The Dubliner is back from a trip to the Far East which brought two very moderate performances, but he will be extra keen to leave his mark on this week because, for the second year running, he has taken the controversial decision to skip the PGA Championship.

It is not that he does not crave the tour’s flagship event, just that he gives himself little chance on a West Course where he has yet to have a top-10 finish. Much better, he feels, to take the week off, recharge batteries and build for next month’s US Open and then the Open in July.

Montgomerie cannot do that until he knows he is in them.

The seven-time European number one finds himself 50th in the world now and cannot afford to drop a single place this week if he is to earn a exemption for his home course Royal Troon, while the top 50 after Wentworth are given places in the US Open.

Not that Montgomerie is consumed by these golfing matters at present. A split from his wife is to the forefront of his life and he is taking the attitude of “if I am there I am there, if I am not I am not”.

Barry Lane last played in an American major in 1995, but after his victory in the British Masters two weeks ago – his first in Europe for 10 years – he is fourth on the Order of Merit behind Els, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Clarke and if he can climb to second these next two weeks he will be at Shinnecock Hills next month.

This is a landmark tournament for the 43-year-old whatever happens – it is his 500th European Tour start.