Despite a gentle warning from the press officer, American reporters persisted with their normal, forthright questioning when Mark James came into the media centre yesterday afternoon. Though he generously described the course as "faultless", many responses from the European skipper were laced liberally with dry humour and were somewhat different in content to what his audience expected.

What did he think of Jeff Maggert's assertion that the Americans had the 12 best players in the world? "I've always said the world rankings are wrong: I'm glad Jeff agrees with me." How serious is this week's confrontation? "It's serious golf but at the end of it all I'll be able to shake Ben (Crenshaw) warmly by the neck."

Did he consider Jarmo Sandelin to be a bit eccentric? "I wouldn't say Jarmo was a bit eccentric: I'd say he was very eccentric. But we understand him in Europe." And one suspects that the eccentric James understands him better than most.