Ryder Cup stalwarts Bernhard Langer and Costantino Rocca will be aiming to take advantage of a weakened field at the German Open in Berlin, this week, to boost their hopes of making this year's European team.

Langer, who has played in each of the biennial competitions since 1981, currently lies eighth in the standings and victory in this week's £700,000 tournament would almost guarantee his place at Brookline in September.

In contrast Rocca, a team member for the last three matches, has endured a mediocre season and languishes down in 30th in the points table, with only the top 10 certain to be in Mark James' side to face the Americans.

Both will be among the favourites for the first prize of almost £120,000 with many of the big names of European golf concentrating on the build-up to next week's US Open.

Paul McGinley, Padraig Harrington and Philip Walton are Ireland's only representatives in Berlin this week. McGinley and Harrington, who missed last week's tournament, can also take advantage of the weakened field to boost their hopes of making the Ryder Cup team, while it is an ideal time for Walton to kick-start his dismal season.

Langer has won 10 Tour events on home soil, including five German Opens, and will be keen to add another title to his collection after going 18 months without a victory.

"As for the Ryder Cup, it's one of my goals to make the team again but we still have a long way to go," he says.

Langer has failed to win an exemption for the US Open for the first time since 1985, but four other European Tour members will be heading for Pinehurst on Sunday night.

Peter Baker, Sam Torrance, Andrew Coltart and Germany's Sven Struver make up the quartet, although Coltart was given an injury scare. The Scot, who finished 75th in his only previous US Open start in 1997, experienced a pain in his chest on Tuesday night and has so far been unable to get rid of the mystery illness.