US boys out to make the Ryder cut

The T-shirt carries the message: "Last major of the year . . . Last major of the century . . . (no pressure)." Clearly, the 81st USPGA Championship, which starts here at Medinah this morning, is different from those that have gone before, but it is a difference more of circumstance than status.

This is the last opportunity for American aspirants to claim automatic places in the Ryder Cup team for Brookline next month. It is also a chance for leading US players to demonstrate ball striking that is somewhat straighter than much of their ambivalent talk this week about playing for pay in the Ryder Cup.

In this context, skipper Ben Crenshaw will need to display far greater toughness than is generally associated with his gentle nature. And European counterpart Mark James will be hoping that some of his problems are resolved by Sunday night, notably with regard to Bernhard Langer and Sergio Garcia, currently 11th and 12th in the Ryder Cup standings.

Taking a broader view, it is yet another chance for Colin Montgomerie to achieve a long-awaited breakthrough in a major championship. And he could hardly be better positioned, coming here directly from Sweden where the Scandinavian Masters last Sunday gave him an unprecedented fourth triumph this season.

But typically, the Scot insisted on making things awkward for himself. Scheduled for an 11.0 a.m. interview in the media centre here yesterday, he opted out. Instead, there was a scramble around the 18th after he had completed a particularly early practice round looking remarkably calm and relaxed.

Unusually, he got here only on Tuesday night, which meant he had only the one practice round on this, his first visit to Medinah. Montgomerie's first US Open was 1992 at Pebble Beach, two years after Hale Irwin won the title here.

"It won't be the end of the world for me if I don't win a major championship, but I have to admit that everything is now clicking together quite nicely," he said. "I like the course, which offers a strong, honest challenge where 10 or 12 under may win.

"Tiger Woods has to have an advantage here with his length at the par fives," he added, "but some of us Europeans are playing well. Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke have shown very good form in recent weeks and should do well around here. It looks like being an interesting four days."

Clarke's mood is brightening each day, not least because of his liking for the course. "It's the fairest I've played in an American `major'," he said. "The greens are quick, the quickest I've played anywhere this year, but I'm confident about my chances. I feel I'm now capable of contending for any tournament I enter."

Where Ryder Cup points are concerned, Europeans have a further qualifying chance in the BMW International next week, but the finality of this exercise from an American perspective gives it a certain edge. It is particularly important for Tom Lehman, Steve Stricker, John Huston and Chris Perry, who are currently 11th to 14th in the US standings.

Lehman, for instance, must finish ninth on his own on Sunday to have any chance of replacing Jeff Maggert in 10th position on the table; Stricker would need to be eighth on his own; Huston seventh and Perry in a share of sixth place. And clearly those requirements would increase if Maggert were to produce form comparable to two years ago when he was third behind Davis Love at Winged Foot. Then there is the question of wild cards.

Still, the European situation is even more fraught. There is little doubt but that skipper Mark James would want Langer, Garcia and Jesper Parnevik (18th) in his team to play the Americans. Which means that one of them must get into the top 10 in these two remaining tournaments.

Meanwhile, a particularly strong European entry includes British Open champion Paul Lawrie, who has been admirably thorough in his preparation for this, his first tournament in the US. In anticipation of temperatures in the high eighties with appropriate humidity, Lawrie went to an Aberdeen sports club last week.

"I'm not very good in extreme heat, so I took the precaution of spending time in a sauna and steam rooms every day last week," he said. "I'm not the fittest person in the world so I thought it might also be helpful to do some biking. Hopefully I'm going to be okay."

With so much hype this week over the money issue, the importance of the actual championship and its defending champion, Vijay Singh, tended to be side-tracked to a certain degree. But the Fijian reported himself fit and well yesterday and ready to stage a spirited defence of the trophy he captured at Sahalee 12 months go.

At 7,401 yards, Medinah is one of the longest courses in the history of major championship on this side of the Atlantic. In fact it is 40 yards longer than Carnoustie. And given the difference between the run of the ball on lush parkland and firm links terrain, the importance of power at Medinah cannot be overstated.

"I think that whoever drives the ball well and keeps it on the fairway has got a very good chance this week," said Singh. "I used a lot of three woods at Sahalee where I hit the driver only four times in the whole tournament. But it will certainly be different here."

The claim that no European has ever won the USPGA is based on the premise that the 1930 Scottish-born champion, Tommy Armour, was a naturalised American. But Westwood has the ability and current form to end all argument this weekend.