GOLF:FOUR INTO three simply doesn't go. It's a conundrum only Colin Montgomerie can answer and it's a headache the European Ryder Cup captain could surely do without as his team for Celtic Manor comes into focus.
The road to Ryder Cup qualification has been long and winding but now entering the final week a quartet of Monty’s supposed star pupils, Pádraig Harrington, Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Justin Rose, are all relying on wild-card picks come Sunday evening.
However, Monty only has three picks and this leading quartet – all inside the world’s top 25 – have chosen to play in the Barclays, the first of four events in the money-spinning FedEx Cup series rather than in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
This keeps the Ryder Cup door firmly ajar for others within striking distance of automatic qualification, who have chosen to compete at Gleneagles and therefore brought fate into their own hands to some extent.
Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez wasn’t scheduled to play in Scotland so he could attend his nephew’s wedding on Saturday. However the 46-year-old recognises the precarious situation – ninth and final qualifying spot – and chose to try to control his own destiny.
“Basically Miguel feels it’s likely to be his last opportunity to play in the match. He looked at the points situation then texted me to say he was going to play,” said Sarah Phillips, Jimenez’s manager. “It’s sods law that one of the players who can pass him would do so if he wasn’t there, so he wants to give himself the best opportunity.”
This year’s Dubai Desert Classic and French Open champion could be overtaken by English pair Ross McGowan and Simon Dyson, or compatriot Alvaro Quiros. McGowan needs a top-two finish, while Dyson and Quiros need to win.
Jimenez’s decision to play also places Francesco Molinari’s seemingly safe berth back in doubt. The Italian is currently seventh but could drop out of the top nine if McGowan wins, Jimenez is in the top six and Czech Open winner Peter Hanson in the top 10.
Should Francesco keep his place there have been suggestions Montgomerie might even use one of his wild cards to bring in the other Molinari sibling, Edoardo, as last November’s World Cup winners are a natural partnership on paper.
At 39th in the world, Jimenez’s entry increases the world ranking points on offer but even if Edoardo wins he would still finish one point behind Graeme McDowell on the world list.
In theory Montgomerie knows half of his team, well, providing world number three Lee Westwood recovers from a calf injury. If so he will be joined by world number seven Rory McIlroy, US Open champion McDowell, newly-crowned US PGA champion Martin Kaymer, World Matchplay champion Ian Poulter and Irish Open champion Ross Fisher.
Harrington made it clear it would be more beneficial playing the Barclays plus he’d already made a commitment to a Special Olympics clinic in his role as ambassador at this week’s event and wasn’t keen on criss-crossing the Atlantic.
Montgomerie’s decision will not be an easy one as the like of Rose has won twice (Memorial and ATT) in the States this year, while Harrington is a veteran of five Ryder Cups.
The importance of wild cards cannot be overstated if recent history is anything to go by. Poulter found himself in a similar situation as Harrington and co last time around but Nick Faldo gave him a wild card to Valhalla and he finished as Europe’s top points scorer with four points won out of five.
At The K Club in 2006 Darren Clarke was an emotional pick but returned a 100 per cent record with three wins from three, while his friend Westwood justified his selection to finish joint top scorer with four points from five matches.
