VALHALLA APPROACHES

As the latest Ryder Cup clash looms ever nearer - just over a couple of months to go, in fact - the U.S. and European teams seem to be taking shape. But with eight more big money tournaments to be played, with about 20 million Euros at stake, it's just possible that the ten present incumbents could find themselves replaced, if those snapping at their heels perform well in these eight events.The same could equally apply to the U.S. team, whose selection process has been modified to allow the captain four picks to make up the team of twelve.

The European team's automatic selection process includes the five players with most Ryder Cup world points, who are currently* Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia, Robert Karlsson, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Justin Rose and the leading five players, not otherwise qualified, from the Ryder Cup European points list, who are: Soren Hansen, Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson, Oliver Wilson and Graeme McDowell. Conspicuous by their absence are Podraig Harrington, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, Paul McGinley and Colin Montgomery, all Ryder Cup stalwarts in recent years. But a couple of top five finishes before August 31st. could see all of them in, depending on how those currently qualified fare.

The American selection is just as fluid, as automatic selection is limited to the eight leading players in the world ranking list. With Tiger Woods now unavailable, the eighth U.S. player in the world list is Boo Weekly, currently the world's 28th. best player, so the Americans can no longer boast the strength in depth that they once enjoyed. It would be logical to view the Americans as underdogs, given recent results and the absence of Woods, but this could result in melding them into a team, rather than a collection of individuals, a process which has come naturally to the Europeans, who often enjoy friendly relations with their fellow competitors on and off the golf course. I reckon this year's match could be the closest fought for many a year