The Ryder Cup World Points List

The Ryder Cup European Points List

The points competition is for the 8 automatic places is up for grabs, but of course there’s also the very important chance to catch Montgomerie’s eye and play for a wildcard place.

With the Ryder Cup points now zeroed and all to play for Monty had the following to say…

It is a great opportunity for everybody to start from scratch this week in Switzerland and a great opportunity for everybody to make that Team, because I can speak from personal experience, it’s a fantastic atmosphere and a fantastic occasion to be involved with. It’s our Olympic Games, if you like, and I wish everybody every success in their attempts to make it.

Good Luck to all participants!

• All of the controversy generated by Nick Faldo’s wild card selections (as we more or less predicted) will be forgotten about if Poulter and Casey play their part in a European victory. Of course, the opposite is equally true. If Europe loses and Ian Poulter struggles then the press will be on Faldo’s back all the way to Christmas.
• Talk of an English bias on Faldo’s part appears to be unfair. It is possible to make an argument that both Faldo and Poulter have very ‘English’ personalities and that Faldo would find some of Poulter’s strengths more appealing than, say, Olazabal or Monty might. But to suggest that Faldo showed national bias in picking Poulter over Clarke stretches the point too far. Remember that if Luke Donald’s wrist was in good shape, he would almost certainly have taken Poulter’s place. And he’s English too!
• Many have argued that the absence of Clarke and Monty will mean that the team will lack leadership. This remains to be seen but it’s difficult to imagine that a team with players like Garcia and Harrington will be a rudderless ship. Garcia has been sensational as a Ryder Cup player and there’s no reason to expect that he won’t play a leading role once more.
• Paul Azinger has played the local card with his selection of JB Holmes. At the press conference where his final team line-up was announced, Azinger pointedly highlighted the fact Holmes was a local boy and that he was a bomber (hits it long off the tee!) before mentioning his name. Anyone who experienced the visceral roar that greeted Darren Clarke’s arrival at the first tee in the K Club in 2006 will understand how local passion can create a magical dynamic.
• With all the talk about the loss of leadership on the European side, the US team has no fewer than six rookies on board. Monty has advanced the argument this week that Europe’s victory in 2004 came down to the rookies delivering. It’s obvious that a US triumph in 08 will require a significant contribution from these new players.
• As for which pairing combinations would work the best, well, let’s just say that those scientists at CERN with the 17-mile long accelerator have an easier job than trying to work out the Ryder Cup pairings…

*Padraig Harrington (Ire)
*Sergio Garcia (Spn)
*Lee Westwood (Eng)
*Henrik Stenson (Swe)
*Robert Karlsson (Swe)
*Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spn)
*Graeme McDowell (NI)
*Justin Rose (Eng)
*Soren Hansen (Den)
*Oliver Wilson (Eng)
*Paul Casey (Eng)
*Ian Poulter (Eng)

All eyes will now be on Nick Faldo who will be choosing his wild card picks to compliment the 10 players who have qualified. The team so far is Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose, Soren Hansen and Oliver Wilson

With just 16 weeks of golf remaining before European captain Nick Faldo finalises his team for Ryder Cup 2008, it does appear likely that the European team will feature quite a few new faces in Valhalla.

Some of the veterans of the 2006 victory, and indeed of many previous victories, will have to play a lot of successful golf to climb back into serious contention for this year’s team. Previous European stalwarts such as Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Jose-Maria Olazabal are all facing an uphill climb to get themselves into contention on the points lists.

One unknown variable will be Nick Faldo’s policy when selecting his two personal picks; he may choose to go with the experience of proven winners and in that scenario the above quartet come very much into consideration. Alternatively, Faldo may elect to go with players who just miss out on automatic qualification but have been playing winning golf in the weeks leading up to the selection.

Three players who look almost certain to be on the team, based on their present standings in both points lists, are Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose. Rose will be a Ryder Cup ‘rookie’ but has proven his capability to compete at the highest level in recent years, almost a decade after his dramatic emergence onto the world stage when he came so close to winning the British Open as a teenager.

Following his play-off victory this week at Sawgrass, Sergio Garcia has jumped into the Top 5 on the World Points list and will be expected to maintain an automatic qualification position. Padraig Harrington, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Robert Karlsson and Ian Poulter will all be expected to collect sufficient points for qualification, especially given their multiple scheduled appearances on the European Tour.

These names aside, it looks like it will be a very open contest for the remaining places. Last year’s rookie of the year, Martin Kaymer has had a great start to 2008 and will be keen to continue a proud tradition of German contribution to Ryder Cup success. Daniel Chopra has featured high on the World Points list but may be under pressure to stay in contention given his lack of appearances in Europe. This is also a challenge for Luke Donald and to a lesser extent, Garcia.

Other names likely to contend include Graeme McDowell, Soren Hansen, Nick Dougherty and Oliver Wilson.

Predicting is a dangerous business but with the summer of golf upon us, the Ryder Diary team are confident that Harrington, Rose, Garcia, Westwood, Stenson and Jimenez will all qualify for selection. That leaves just four automatic positions between over twenty legitimate contenders. The only certainty is that that race will run all the way to August 31st.

Jose Maria Olazabal, vice-captain of the European team in this year’s Ryder Cup is almost certainly going to contribute in a non-playing role only. Olazabal has played in seven Ryder Cups, most recently in Ireland in 2006. He has battled bravely against different forms of rheumatism and arthritis for over a decade, famously coming back from crippling arthritis in his foot to win the Augusta Masters in 1999.

Olazabal’s Ryder Cup legacy will always be highlighted by his association with his fellow Spaniard, Seve Ballesteros. When the young Olazabal emerged onto the scene in 1987, he was mentored and partnered by the seasoned Ballesteros and they struck up one of the most successful combinations in Ryder Cup history.

Olazabal’s rheumatism appears quite acute, affecting his back, shoulder and knees. Despite that, he is playing for the first time in seven months this week at the Anadalucia Open, where has successfully made the cut. He claims that he’s comfortable with swinging the club but finds trouble with walking and bending. His assessment of his Ryder Cup playing chances was quite fatalistic:

“Unless I completely recover right away and my game hits standards I haven’t yet reached in my life before, as far as playing is concerned, I am out of the picture”

The race for a place on the European Ryder Cup Team for Valhalla (2008) began today at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland today.

The year long points race to qualify for one of the 10 automatic places on the Ryder Cup 2008 team began with this event in Crans-Sur-Sierre Golf Club in Valais, Switzerland. It’s the first event where European golfers can earn points towards qualification for Nick Faldo’s team who will defend the title against Paul Azinger’s US team.

Five of last years victorious European team are competing in this event Paul Casey, David Howell, Lee Westwood, Robert Karlsson and Darren Clarke.