Ballesteros keeps them guessing

The charisma has been swopped for confused small talk, it would seem. Seve Ballesteros, using the injury to his Spanish compatriot Miguel Angel Martin as a crutch, has delayed finalising his European team for this month's Ryder Cup match at Valderrama until Thursday.

"Everything is very clear and very simple," insisted Ballesteros, of a situation that is anything but straightforward. Of course, Padraig Harrington - or, indeed, Jose-Maria Olazabal - could have averted all the confusion by jumping over Martin when the 12-month qualifying process finished at yesterday's BMW International Open.

They didn't, though. Martin, who hasn't played golf of any nature since the British Open at Troon in July, where he played against medical advice and with the aid of a cortisone injection, held onto the 10th - and last - automatic place, 3,004 points clear of Olazabal and 15,802 points ahead of 12th placed Harrington.

Both Ballesteros and the European Tour chief executive, Ken Schofield, spoke to Martin, at home in Madrid, by telephone from Munich yesterday. The upshot is that Martin, who can't even putt as yet, has been given until Wednesday to "prove his fitness".

What proof will be needed? "He should be able to swing a club, hit the ball properly and play a round of golf," said Ballesteros, giving the impression that Martin must be undertaking visits to Lourdes.

As yet, it hasn't been decided who will actually judge Martin's fitness, but the player himself is very anxious, despite his lack of tournament play (he hasn't played in six weeks and hasn't entered any of the remaining tournaments before the Ryder Cup) to take his place in the team.

Ballesteros was due to name his two "captain's picks" last evening, but Martin's situation has changed all that. Now, the plan is to name them at the European Masters in Crans, Switzerland, a tournament which is also shrouded in confusion because the course is waterlogged. A decision on whether it goes ahead will be made after an inspection by tournament director Andy McFee today.

If Martin is deemed unfit, by persons as yet unknown, then Olazabal - as 11th placed player - becomes an automatic choice. Otherwise, Olazabal is virtually certain to become one of Ballesteros' "wild cards", with Nick Faldo, the favourite, and Jesper Parnevik the prime contenders for the other spot.

Ballesteros' hands have been tied. If he had named Olazabal as a "wild card" last night, and Martin was subsequently found to be unfit, then Harrington, as the next player in line, would have made the team. However, the Dubliner, who celebrated his 26th birthday yesterday, said: "Miguel has made the team on merit and I hope he is fit to play. It is not nice to get in on somebody else's misfortune."

"I've delayed naming my team to be fair to everyone," insisted Ballesteros, who'd hoped this situation wouldn't arise. Indeed, he assumed the role of captain early, so to speak, to encourage Harrington's efforts in the BMW, and telephoned the Irishman on Saturday evening to wish "him the best of luck".

"The call boosted me," said Harrington. "I think he felt he had to smooth things over a bit because of some remark about my course management made during the European Open. But, to be honest, I wasn't really aware of those comments. Still, it was nice of him to ring.

"Seve advised me not to look at the scoreboard on the way around," revealed Harrington, who shot a final round 68 to finish in tied-ninth place, five shots behind eventual winner Robert Karlsson of Sweden, who beat Carl Watts in a playoff.

Harrington, in fact, sneaked a peek at the bottom of a couple of scoreboards which told him that the precious fifth spot (which he needed on his own to catapult over Martin in the rankings) was occupied by players on 20-under-par, although Ryder Cup rookie Thomas Bjorn, the man who beat him for rookie of the year last year, eventually took that place with 21-under. "I knew I needed a birdie or two over the last few holes," admitted Harrington. The birdies didn't arrive.

He had made out a list of his goals while lounging in his room on Saturday night, the main one reading "GO FOR IT!" And, in fairness, he did - playing aggressive golf in his final round and, after a hat-trick of birdies from the fourth, Harrington appeared to be on course. However, a bogey six at the long ninth, where he three-putted from five feet in a rare misdemeanor with his putter, proved crucial.

So, unless Ballesteros surprises everyone and hands him a wild card, Harrington's Ryder Cup odyssey is over, for now. "I won't travel down there, I will watch it on television," said Harrington, a player determined to learn from the experience of the past few weeks.