Davis among Reno field

With the big names away in Akron, Londoner Brian Davis will be disappointed if he does not give himself a chance to end his long wait for a PGA Tour victory at this week’s Reno-Tahoe Open in Nevada.

Davis has now had five runners-up finishes on the circuit since moving to the States six years ago and one of them came in this event on his last visit to Montreux in 2008.

The 37-year-old former England World Cup player’s 309 birdies on the circuit this season are second only to Zimbabwe’s Brendan De Jonge and he is also the 12th most accurate driver.

But it is results which mean most, of course, and one top-10 finish in 23 events played is a poor return for a player ranked 97th in the world.

Jose Maria Olazabal is also in the field as he seeks some form ahead of next week’s US PGA Championship, an event he has been invited to as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain.

The twice Masters champion is now only 506th on the world rankings, but had a fifth place finish in Majorca in May before being forced to miss some more events in his on-going battle with rheumatic pains.

Olazabal has played only three events since, pulling out of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after only seven holes because of back trouble and missing the cut the last two weeks in the Canadian Open and Greenbrier Classic.

He plays the opening two rounds this week with two more major winners – John Daly, who in a return to form came ninth in Canada, and 2002 US PGA champion Rich Beem, who has made only four cuts in 16 starts this season.