Swiss miss for Westwood

Just two weeks before the Ryder Cup, Lee Westwood has pulled out of this week’s Omega European Masters in Switzerland because of another bout of tonsilitis.

The event in Crans-sur-Sierre was to have been Westwood’s last chance to register a 2008 victory prior to winning his sixth cap against the Americans.

With no Colin Montgomerie in this year’s side, the 35-year-old former European number one and current world number 12 is the most experienced member of Nick Faldo’s side.

Westwood also suffered tonsilitis a month before the 2006 match, but still played the final qualifying event in Germany to secure a wild card from then captain Ian Woosnam.

This time he qualified in third place behind Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia.

Westwood has every reason, of course, for feeling unhappier than anybody else about Darren Clarke’s failure to win a wild card from Faldo.

He and the Ulsterman have beaten Tiger Woods three times out of three when playing together in the match, have won their last four games and six out of eight in total.

But despite that record, despite Clarke winning twice this year and despite Ian Poulter choosing not to fly to Gleneagles last week when he could have earned a place through the points table, Faldo picked the Open runner-up along with Paul Casey.