Course favours US - Darcy

GOLF - INTERNATIONAL OPEN: If you're inclined to listen to wise old sages, and even though Europe's Ryder Cup men made a considerably better fist of playing the course in yesterday's second round of the International Open than they did in the first, then the Americanised set-up that currently pertains on the Brabazon course at The Belfry should be altered before the match takes place in September.

Certainly, Eamonn Darcy - whose own eyes are cast further down the line towards the possibility of captaining the team when the event takes place at The K Club in 2006 (although Colin Montgomerie has complicated matters by throwing his hat into the ring for that particular shindig and Christy O'Connor Junior and Des Smyth are also interested) - is of the view that the course, as it stands, would play mainly into American hands.

"You could drop this course right into the US Tour in any given week and it wouldn't look the slightest bit out of place," insisted Darcy. "The Americans would be right at home here. With all that rough, it is ideal for all those little flop shots they play around the greens." Darcy, who made a crucial contribution to Europe's win in the Ryder Cup at Muirfield Village in 1987 when beating Ben Crenshaw in the singles, holds the event close to his heart and doesn't believe that captain Sam Torrance will favour a set-up that is conducive to the United States.

"Sam's no fool, he's a wise old horse and will be on the ball. Whatever he does, he will have to make the set-up suit our team." Of the 10 members of Europe's Ryder Cup team in action here this week (the two exceptions being Jesper Parnevik and Sergio Garcia who chose to play in the Byron Nelson Classic), five of them missed the cut: Niclas Fasth, Pierre Fulke, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley.

For McGinley, it was his first missed cut on the European Tour since last season's European Open in July, while Clarke, who had a touch of tonsillitis - "but that's not an excuse, I just played shocking again," he said - bogeyed the last to miss the cut by one stroke. Fasth missed out by suffering a quadruple bogey on the 18th; while both Fulke and Westwood inflicted the damage on themselves in the first round and simply could not recover yesterday.

The scenario was not one which Torrance had envisaged when assembling his troops for a practice round on Tuesday and a team get-together (along with his vice-captain Ian Woosnam and back-room team of Joakim Haeggman and Mark James) when, among the topics discussed, was how they would like to see the course set-up. It could be that a re-think could be on the cards and Darcy's suggestion of shaving back the rough around the greens could yet happen.

Not for the first time in his career, Montgomerie sought to provide the inspiration for his team-mates, shooting a second round 67 for six-under-par 138, which put the Scot into a three-way tie for the midway lead along with Greg Owen and Roger Wessells, neither of whom have Ryder Cup matters on their mind.

"If any Ryder Cup player wins this tournament, it will give a huge momentum boost for him and the rest of the ream," said Montgomerie.

Montgomerie is best positioned to provide that spur heading into the weekend - but Padraig Harrington, Thomas Bjorn and Phillip Price, all on three-under are close enough to be considered genuine challengers.

Who knows? Maybe one of the Ryder Cup men can yet provide the boost that Torrance was looking for earlier in the week.