Ireland's Padraig Harrington goes into the BMW International Open at the Golfclub Munchen Nord Eichenried in Germany today hoping to turn in a performance which Ryder Cup captain Mark James can not ignore. Harrington just missed selection in 1997 and seeks to avoid doing so again. At 13th place in the standings, he needs to finish in the top three to have a chance of being picked this time.
An improvement on the greens may be the key to the Dubliner gaining a place in the team. Although well up on the shot average this season, his putter has not been his most popular club with an average of 30.4 putts per round. With the top eight virtually sure of being part of European captain Mark James's team to defend the trophy at the Brookline Country Club outside Boston next month four places are still up for grabs.
Sure to be facing the are Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and British Open champion Paul Lawrie, Spaniards Miguel Jimenez, Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal and PGA runner-up Sergio Garcia, and Jarmo Sandelin of Sweden.
Jean Van de Velde, France's heroic runner-up at the British Open, holds a strong ninth position but could be displaced from the top 10 if he were to miss the cut in Munich.
Anyone right down to 25th place could still make the top 10 who automatically qualify if they were to win the title and in this context Paul McGinley is not out of the running. Giant Swede Robert Karlsson currently occupies 10th spot in the standings and has been playing well enough lately to suggest he might be difficult to dislodge. Scot Andrew Coltart holds 11th place and can clinch a Ryder Cup debut with a high finish. Jesper Parnevik of Sweden, in 12th place, would be doing James a huge favour if he could advance two spots, thereby releasing one of James's two wild-card selections. One is almost sure to be Parnevik if he does not qualify by right.
Bernhard Langer, one of the stalwarts of past European teams, who is seeking a 10th successive appearance, will also be seeking a high finish. He has never won this title but 10 other victories in German events make him a fearsome opponent on home soil.
Langer goes into the event 15th, one place behind James who could also qualify and leave himself the huge dilemma of whether to go to Brookline as captain or player.
All he has promised so far is that he will not do both and he will not pick himself as a wild card.
The best and most threatening of the rest is Costantino Rocca, who has played in the last three Ryder Cups and has dedicated his efforts this summer to extending his sequence.
Winning the West of Ireland Classic in Galway on Sunday took him from 24th to 18th but Rocca knows he must win again on Sunday to be sure of selection.
Outside the top 25 who have a theoretical chance of qualification there is Nick Faldo, seeking to extend his own record of 11 successive Ryder Cup appearances.
While surviving the halfway cut at the PGA, he needs a very strong showing in Munich to convince James his experience and past success make him a valid selection for another appearance.
