Sport360° view: Europeans have it all to prove to make Ryder Cup cut

Joy Chakravarty 12:26 07/08/2014
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  • Swinging into action: Europe will be hoping that Ian Poulter continues his superb Ryder Cup form.

    With the struggles of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson grabbing all attention, Ian Poulter has managed to remain under the radar as the qualification process for the Ryder Cup teams enters its final stretch.

    The PGA Championship at Valhalla represents the last chance for the Americans to punch their ticket to Gleneagles.

    Their counterparts from Europe will have three more tournaments to do so.

    Both the captains – Tom Watson and Paul McGinley – will then announce three names as their chosen wildcards.

    Almost similar to the plight of Watson concerning Woods and Mickelson, is McGinley’s worries about three established European stars outside the top-nine in the points list.

    Apart from Poulter, the other two are Luke Donald, who has an equally amazing record in the tournament with 70 per cent wins, and Lee Westwood.

    It is near enough certain that one of McGinley’s three is reserved for the 38-year-old Poulter.

    With an 80 per cent win record in four Ryder Cups and 15 matches, no European player even comes close to his success in the history of the tournament.

    And his exploits became almost legendary in the context of the biennial tournament when he single-handedly sparked Europe’s revival at Medinah two years ago.

    Having said that, Poulter will not want to depend on McGinley’s largesse and would prefer to make the team on his own merits.

    He is currently 12th in the list, with Donald 10th and Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher in 11th place.

    Westwood, meanwhile, still has a long way to go, with six players between him and an automatic spot through the European Tour’s World Points List.

    One good performance either this week, or the first two FedEx Cup Playoff events, will push Poulter into the team, or at least will make McGinley feel happier about handing him a wildcard.

    Because right now, that one eye-catching display is proving to be hard for Poulter to produce as he struggles with form and injuries.

    And while he continues to insist that his game is in great shape, his last three results include two missed cuts and a tie for 52nd in last week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, where a lot better was expected from him in a limited field event of 76 players.

    He is 74th in the FedEx Cup, and that represents a real danger that he might not even make it to the second FedEx Cup Playoff event.

    A wrist injury sustained at the Scottish Open, followed by a horse-fly bite the week after The Open, did not help matters much.

    But it is not just the last three tournaments that is a worry.

    Poulter’s form has deserted him since the beginning of the year.

    In 16 starts in 2014, he has just two top-10 finishes and has missed the cut four times.

    On the world rankings, he is slipped to 29th, which is a spot below Spain’s 50-year-old Miguel Angel Jimenez, yet Poulter is almost a shoo-in for the wildcard.

    It just remains to be seen whether McGinley hands it to him with a big smile on his face, or with a bit of anticipation.

    It’s the other two wildcards that will have to make the captain think a lot harder.

    Right now, Welshman Jamie Donaldson is on the cusp, having slipped to ninth place.

    The toss-up for McGinley would be between Donaldson, if he slips further, Westwood, Donald, Gallacher and the consistent Italian, Francesco Molinari.

    Westwood is having a nightmare on the golf course, having missed four cuts in a row before registering a top-20 finish at WGC, thanks to a scintillating final round of 64.

    If he can carry on that form to Valhalla, that should take care of the second wildcard.

    Donald’s another European star who is not having a very good time.

    After showing flashes of brilliance at the middle of the season, his best finish in last six starts is a tied-16th place at the Scottish Open.

    It’s crunch time for these proven European stars and they will have to make their moves now to justify their inclusion in the team.

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