Monty backs Europe's Ryder Cup claims

Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke, the two star names left out of the Ryder Cup team, both agree with the bookmakers that even without them Europe are favourites to win again.

Nick Faldo’s side will by trying to make it an unprecedented fourth successive victory at Valhalla in two weeks’ time.

Montgomerie said: “Europe are 2-7 and that’s incredible in a two-horse race in America. It’s dramatic.

“It will be tough – it always is in America – but Tiger Woods is usually good for three points out of five and they are losing that this time.

“The United States public are having to come to terms with the fact that not just golf, but tennis as well, are changing worlds. They are not as dominant as they once were.”

That was emphasised again last night when Fijian Vijay Singh made it two wins out of two in the FedEx Cup play-offs in Boston, with Canadian Mike Weir a distant second, South African Ernie Els and Colombian Camilo Villegas joint third and Spain’s Sergio Garcia in a tie for fifth.

Starting with the Open at Birkdale the last nine US Tour-counting events have seen only two American winners – the little-known pair Chez Reavie and Parker McLachlin.

Singh has won three times in total in that period, Padraig Harrington has captured the last two majors of the season and Swedes Carl Pettersson and Richard Johnson have both tasted victory.

Clarke, controversially left out by Faldo in favour of Open runner-up Ian Poulter, told Setanta Sports News: “I think it’ll be very close, but looking at it on paper Europe would appear to have the stronger team.”

Lee Westwood, Harrington and Garcia are now the three most experienced members of the line-up. Westwood is winning his sixth cap, the other two their fifth.

But all 12 members of the European side should be in the world’s top 50 when the new rankings are published this morning and they have never gone into the match in such a position.

The Americans can still do the same even without Woods, but whether that happens depended on captain Paul Azinger this afternoon when he announced his four wild cards.

Whoever he selected – Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan, JB Holmes, Rocco Mediate, Scott Verplank and DJ Trahan were among the names being mentioned – they were not likely to change the odds.

And Clarke has pointed out that the quartet, like Poulter and Paul Casey, have something to prove in Louisville by virtue of the fact that they will have been chosen rather than qualified as of right.

“Being a captain’s pick is a bit different because there will be more pressure,” said the Ulsterman, who was in that position two years ago, but responded magnificently with three wins out of three.

Neither he nor Montgomerie have taken umbrage at their exclusion, although both have said that they would like to have seen Poulter play at Gleneagles when he still had a chance to make the top 10 on the points table.

“I’ll definitely be watching and rooting for Europe,” commented Clarke, while Montgomerie added: “I will look forward to it – to see how people react and to learn how I might do it (the captaincy) in the future.”

He is expected to lead the side at Gleneagles in 2014, but he and Clarke both hope to be back playing at Celtic Manor in two years’ time.