Ryder Cup places up for grabs at BMW
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2006 BMW International Open | Preview | 30 Aug 2006
The BMW International carries even greater significance this week than an event bearing €2 million in prizemoney normally would.
With the United States Ryder Cup team having already been in the Europeans’ backyard this week for early Ryder Cup preparations which starts on September 22nd, the naming of the final twelve to make up the European team now becomes the focus of attention in this week’s event in Munich.
Perhaps as many as seven of the current list can be confident of a trip to the K Club in mid September but for several others this week could well mean the difference between experiencing one of the greatest weeks of a golfing life or watching the 36th Ryder Cup from afar.
The Golfclub Munchen Nord-Eichenried will see the drama of the race for final Ryder Cup places, both automatic and captain’s choices, played out. The course in the north and east of Munich has been the home for this event since Robert Karlsson’s win in 1997. The defending champion is David Howell who when winning twelve months ago won his first event since March of 1999.
Howell returns to the course not only as the defending champion but as the leader of the European Tour’s money list. The Englishman has lost his way a little in recent months and will be keen to get things headed in the right direction again especially given the importance of the next month or so.
The players who are on the bubble as far as automatic qualification for a Ryder Cup place is concerned are Paul McGinley, Padraig Harrington and Jose Maria Olazabal. There are however just so many permutations left in the puzzle that is Ryder Cup selection, that Ian Woosnam will be burning the midnight oil just to keep pace with the daily swings and roundabouts.
One player whose performance Woosnam will not have to worry about is Olazabal who has decided to not play this week and leave his fate in the lap of the gods. It might yet be that Woosnam will be keen to have Olazabal’s presence at the K Club as one of his captain’s picks. Olazabal has not exactly been amongst the leaders in recent tournaments but there has been plenty of good solid form and his experience and toughness would be a great asset to the team.
Montgomerie has been a previous winner of this event and although he missed the cut at the PGA he has been in good enough form in 2006 to handle this field if he gets things right.
Luke Donald should be the favourite as he is the second highest world ranked player in the field after Retief Goosen but has played much better than Goosen of late. Donald did well in this event last year and actually led into the final day before a last round stumble. He was third at the recent PGA Championship and has been remarkably consistent of late.
Paul Casey played well enough at Firestone last week to finish 4th behind Tiger Woods and finished 3rd in this event in 2004.
Henrik Stenson has hardly been contending of late but he has played well enough. He finished strongly last weekend and the weekend before started quickly but struggled over the weekend at the PGA. He is getting closer to putting four good rounds together and this week might just be the week.
A good finish for Ian Poulter might be enough to convince Woosnam that he is worthy of a trip to Ireland and the same could be said for many of the others.
Paul McGinley has been just average in recent weeks and has his work cut out to hold out those behind him on the Ryder Cup list. Thomas Bjorn might well be one of them. The two time winner of this event has been hot and cold in recent weeks but a big week here might just get him a start back in Ireland where he won earlier this year.
Australians are represented well this week but the surprise is the inclusion of Jason Day in the field. Last Sunday Day cost himself a place at this week’s Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston when a three putt par at the 17th and a bogey at the last saw him drop out of the top ten which perhaps could have had him in the Boston event this week. An invite into this event further emphasises the growing awareness of Day’s superb start to his professional career and his progress in what must be one of his first ever starts in either amateur or professional golf in Europe will be watched with interest.
Peter O’Malley, Brett Rumford, who was runner up last year, Wade Ormsby and Peter Fowler will join Day in flying the Australian flag.
