DiMarco comes good for K Club

British Open Fallout: So, from a European viewpoint, maybe it is just as well this year's Ryder Cup is on a parkland course rather than a links, for the simple fact of the matter is that, finally, American captain Tom Lehman was delivered considerably more good news than his counterpart, Ian Woosnam, from events in the 135th British Open Championship.

While Europe's great hopes failed to deal with Hoylake's firm fairways and the nuances of links terrain, Lehman, whose team was developing into one based on young blood rather than the veteran leadership and spirited attitude so vital to the unique demands of the Ryder Cup, had the satisfaction of seeing Chris DiMarco, who epitomises feistiness, put a miserable season behind him to virtually guarantee himself a place on the flight to Ireland in September.

Up to now, Lehman's team was like a jigsaw with missing pieces. Sure, it will have new blood, with the likes of JJ Henry, Zach Johnson, Brett Wetterich and Vaughn Taylor in the mix. But what Lehman really wanted was some old, wise heads with spirit; and nobody embodies those qualities as much as DiMarco, who claimed only last Friday that making the Ryder Cup team would mean more to him than winning the claret jug.

DiMarco may only have three US Tour wins and one European Tour (in this year's Abu Dhabi championship) on his roll-of-honour, but he proved in last year's President's Cup he has leadership qualities. It was he who rolled in the 15-footer in the last singles match to give the US victory over the International team (minus players from Europe), their first international team win since 2000.

Apart from that win in Abu Dhabi, which didn't count towards the US points list, DiMarco had a terrible season up to Hoylake. He started the year at number three in the US Ryder Cup standings, behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, but he injured his ribs in a skiing accident in March, tried to return to tournament play too quickly and lost his swing. He had fallen to 21st in the US team rankings prior to Hoylake, and was hardly doing anything to encourage even a wildcard pick from Lehman.

On top of his poor form, DiMarco had to deal with the sudden death, from a heart attack, of his mother, Norma, earlier this month.

What a difference a week has made, though. With double points on offer in a major, DiMarco's runner-up finish to Woods at Royal Liverpool gave him 360 Ryder Cup points to move from 21st to sixth in the rankings.

"I had a lot on the line," admitted DiMarco.

"I was trying to win, obviously. (But) I'm (also) trying to get major points for the Ryder Cup in September. I feel like finally I've gotten over my injury and over the hump."

With just four events left before points close in the American qualifying at the US PGA in Medinah, Chicago, next month, DiMarco, from nowhere, is in good shape to make his second Ryder Cup team. And that's good news for Lehman.

At one point during the Open, DiMarco remarked of the importance of making the team for The K Club: "Obviously, winning a major would always solidify your career, there's no doubt about that . . . . (but) playing for your country is probably the greatest thing I've ever done in golf. So I'd have to say playing for the country (would mean more than winning a major). It would mean that much for me to come back here and go to The K Club and be part of that team.

"Once you've been on a team, you don't want to miss any. It's nice that my form is back with some weeks to go."

It wasn't just DiMarco's form that would have encouraged Lehman. At the recent European Open, Lehman admitted to concerns about how Woods was dealing with the death of his father, Earl, who had been such an important link in moulding him into the world's number one player. Now, those concerns have gone and Lehman can set about working on getting Woods to bring the same drive and focus he does to his quest for individual titles to the intense environment of the Ryder Cup.

With three Americans in the top four at Hoylake (Woods was followed home by DiMarco, with Jim Furyk alone in fourth), it was not a good championship for the Europeans. Sergio Garcia was the only one who entered the final round with any title aspirations, and flunked the examination with early bogeys.

Given he was the only European to get close to contending, Garcia's eventual tied-fifth finish at least improved his status on the European Ryder Cup points list, moving up ahead of Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley into seventh place on the composite team. The Spaniard was the only player currently in Europe's team to secure a top-25 finish at the Open.

It could have been a lot worse for both Irishmen, who missed the cut at Hoylake. In essence, only Paul Broadhurst, who holds the 10th and last automatic place on the team, made any inroads, but not enough to overtake Harrington or McGinley, who still are strongly positioned to make the team.

Likewise, Anthony Wall's tied-11th finish gave him a glimmer of hope to make Woosnam's team, but the captain couldn't understand why European players struggled to make any impact. "We have quality players, we should be there or thereabouts all the time."

Which is what Woosnam would have expected. He'll surely be hoping this lack of a European challenge on the big stage was merely an aberration, and not the start of a general malaise in the run-up to the big shindig by the banks of the River Liffey.