Golf Update - Montgomerie to choose the best lot for Ryder Cup
Ready to announce his picks - Ryder cup captain Colin Montgomerie wants to make sure that he has the best team at the Ryder cup this year. Italian player Eduardo Molinaro is very eager to win at Gleneagles not only for the sake of the tournament but also to be picked for the Ryder cup. On the other hand, the players at Barclays are also doing their best in the hopes to be chosen to play in Wales.
Rumour has it that Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald, Paul Casey or Justin Rose - the quartet who have been especially significant at the previous Ryder cups might not be able to be in the top-nine for the European team. After all the entire pick is in the hands of Montgomerie.
Prior to the Gleneagles tournament, choosing the team was a somewhat impossible job, said Montgomerie. He said he has chosen three in his mind but there is always room for some event or a certain quality to change his mind. Therefore, the way players perform at Gleneagles and at Barclays is a huge determining factor and something Montgomerie is certainly looking forward to.
According to Sam Torrance, the winner of the 1985 match at the Belfry and captain of European team that was victorious in 2002, Eduardo Molinari has caused a lot of trouble to Montgomerie. He quoted him as a fly in the ointment. If it were up to Torrance, he would pick Padraig Harrington due to the three majors he emerged in as the Tiger Woods of the east, Paul Casey and Luke Donald. According to Montgomerie, this time is definitely the hardest time choosing players for the Ryder cup. The records, the victories and the remarkable skills exhibited by all of them make it an extremely tough job for the 37-year-old captain. If it were up to him, he would have chosen all twenty payers because all of them deserve to be on the team. Where the captain for the US team Coley Pavin is taking the selection very lightly, Montgomerie is not. Possibly because of the politics and indifference of the European golfers.
Where the captains are worried, players are trying hard to get noticed. Luke Donald flew all the way from Madrid to Europe where he played the European open and finished third. Donald and Casey make a great team together, which is evident from their victory in the world cup in 2004. There is not much hope for Eduardo Molinari since the players a captain can select according to world-raking points has been reduced from five to four. Tough luck there Molinari, since he was number five – however, the picks of the wild cards are pretty wild and anything can happen.
Montgomerie also said that in this week he was not taken aback by the choice of the “Fed-ex four” to not attend the last European qualifying event. "My remit at the start of this campaign is same until now - and it's never changed. My duty was to assemble the best 12 players," he noted. According to him, the condition of the golfers in America has altered. He is happy that they are still playing competitive golf though.
The last Ryder cup that took place in 2008 was won by America, which according to Montgomerie was because they had playing in tournaments up to the Ryder Cup and were in good condition. Until now, players in the European team are Englishmen Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher, German Martin Kaymer, Northern Irishmen Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, Francesco Molinari, Swede Peter and Angel Jimenez.
The pick for the American team will be announced on September 7th. The Barclays is a good place for players to be chosen by American captain Corey Pavin. This year the Ryder cup is set to take place from October first to October third at Celtic Manor in Newport, South Wales. Taking place after two years, this is a highly-anticipated event. With captain’s trying to pick the best teams possible, the Ryder cup will be one tournament to look forward to.
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