Davis looks for new start after Ryder sorrow

Londoner Brian Davis has admnitted the crushing disappointment he felt when he missed out on the Ryder Cup.

A bogey six at the end of his second round in the final counting event meant the end of the 30-year-old’s bid for a debut in Detroit.

“I was pretty upset about it, but you have to move on,” said Davis, the son-in-law of former England goalkeeper Ray Clemence.

Davis has not had a top-10 finish since, but he went into the second round of the season-ending Volvo Masters today in joint third place, only a stroke behind Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Jose Manuel Lara.

Davis now finds himself 84th in the world rankings and his new goal is to climb into the top 50 to qualify for the majors and world championships next season.

“You’ve got to learn from your mistakes and mine was playing too much trying to make the team. It was quantity, not quality.

“I was at my wit’s end after the Open. I came back a bit early after our baby came (in April) and overall I struggled a bit mentally. I sort of lost my focus on what I was doing really.

“Our life is all about routine and when routine changes, as it did with the baby, it can mess you up a bit because this game is all mental. We’re all good players, but you’ve got to have that edge upstairs and I haven’t had that.

“I’m looking forward to next year. I hope to play more in America and I’ll be working on my fitness. When the baby came along I was just too tired to work out and I neglected it a bit.

“We’ve moved now (from Bishop’s Stortford to Camberley in Surrey) and have had a gym put in the house. I think it will make a difference.”

Garcia is favourite this week and while he opened with a 67 his Ryder Cup foursomes partner Luke Donald, with a 69, was the only other member of last month’s team to break par.

Paul McGinley fared worse with a 76, while only one better was Thomas Levet and Colin Montgomerie.

After falling from fourth in the world to 48th while he made swing changes Garcia is back to 10th, and if he can achieve his fourth victory of the season he could overtake eighth-placed Padraig

Harrington and become Europe’s leading player again. He was five behind overnight following a 72.