Ryder Cup Betting / Steven Rawlings / 23 August 2010 / 1

The Punter takes a look at the quandary facing Colin Montgomerie

When Peter Hanson sank his birdie putt on the 18th green to win the Czech Open yesterday, he knocked Paul Casey out of an automatic place in the European Ryder Cup team and added to captain Colin Montgomerie's selection headache.

Back in June, on the eve of the Celtic Manor Wales Open, Monty drew a clearly defined line in the sand that everyone seems to have completely disregarded...

"I'll be very surprised if I pick any player on the border of the team whom I ask to play at Gleneagles and they don't show up," he said.

"I expect there will be about eight candidates for my three wild cards and it should be a given that they turn up at the final event."

Of those on the border, Casey, Padraig Harrington, Justin Rose, and Luke Donald won't be lining up in Scotland on Thursday but did he ask them to anyway? I hope for his sake he didn't, otherwise he's backed himself into a particularly tight corner.

Currently holding the last spot is Miguel Angel Jimenez, who was going to attend a nephew's wedding this weekend but he's changed his mind, and is now playing. Alvaro Quiros, Simon Dyson, or Ross McGowan can all gazump him though. Dyson and Quiros need a win, McGowan a top-two finish. But after such commitment, can Monty drop the European Tour legend, even if someone does pass him!

Making the big assumption that those three fail in their last ditch attempt and it all stays the same as it is now, who will be Monty's three? Harrington, Casey, Rose and Donald are staying Stateside in an attempt to win the lucrative Fed-Ex Cup, which starts at The Barclays on Thursday - the first of the four Fed-Ex Cup play-offs.

If Monty sticks to his word we could be in for a massive shock with all four 'names' being omitted but he couldn't, could he? It's not as if he doesn't have alternatives though...

Edoardo Molinari would be an excellent addition to the side given he and his brother won the World Cup last year and the two would make a formidable pairing. Then there's the rapidly rising Welsh star Rhys Davies, who has already shown and aptitude for Celtic Manor when shooting 62 on his way to second place at this year's Welsh Open (another event snubbed by the 'names'). Quiros has a demeanour that would relax and enhance any team and he's been a decent supporter of the European Tour. As has the plucky Dyson, who's clearly in good form all of a sudden.

But I think that Monty will stick with the tried and trusted and despite what he said back in June, Harrington, Casey and Donald will be in, with Rose left out. His form has dipped again since a pair of wins in the States and the South African-born Brit has hardly been a strong supporter of the European Tour over the years.

Whatever he decides to do, I'd wager plenty Monty wasn't overly pleased by yesterday's result - Hanson's birdie putt may have knocked Casey from the current standings but I think it's Edoardo Molinari that he effectively nudged from the team. But the big question has to be how on earth did the schedulers get it so wrong?

As the next European Ryder Cup venue, Gleneagles, home of the Johnnie Walker, was the obvious place to tally up the totals and see who's in and who's out but why wasn't it last week? Asking the European elite to effectively forfeit their chance of winning the Fed-Ex Cup is unfair and unnecessary and it's put poor ole Monty in a tough position. It's also got me wondering whether he'll stick to his guns and whether there's any value in the US Team at [2.86]?

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1. Ronsk | 23 August 2010

   I thought you held very little interest in Ryder Cup 'happenings' fella?? ;0)

   Given up on the Forum for good, or just taking a break? You're much missed I should add!

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