Diplomat Smyth ready for vice-captain's role

For much of the summer, Des Smyth has focused on his game; now, though, the time has come for him to put away his clubs and to focus on his role as vice-captain to Ian Woosnam for the defence of the Ryder Cup at The K Club, where Europe will be seeking an unprecedented third successive win in the competition.

Woosnam, Smyth and the other vice-captain, England's Peter Baker, will be in situ in Straffan from Saturday week, ahead of the arrival of the teams. The American team, apart from those, among them Tiger Woods and Chris DiMarco, who are making their way independently from London where they are competing in the World Matchplay, are due to arrive on Monday morning, September 18th. The European team, apart from those who have made their own way, are due to arrive later that afternoon.

Smyth, who was competing on the Champions Tour at Pebble Beach last week, where he claimed a top-10 finish, was consulted by Woosnam prior to naming Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood as the wild cards to complete the 12-man team for the match.

"I just gave my opinion, as I was asked to do a long time ago. Ian had told me, 'When we come down to the wire, I'd like you to give me your picks'. That's what I did. Darren was always going to get one, so it was really down to one guy. I gave Ian my opinion and he put it on the table. But, ultimately, it was his decision. It wouldn't be fair to say who I said (should be picked)," said Smyth.

"You could make an argument for five players. You could say Thomas (Bjorn) has played well this year. He won the Irish Open. He was a great (possible) pick. Equally, Lee (Westwood) has been running into form lately. He was great in the last Ryder Cup, a great team player. You're splitting hairs (between the two)."

Of Woosnam's decision to make his picks public before talking to the players concerned, Smyth remarked: "Everyone has a different style of captaincy. Some guys will go and talk to 10 players. This was Ian's style, his decision to pick, and he chose to do it that way. He kept his cards close to his chest, (players) knew what they had to do to get on the team."

For the third successive Ryder Cup, three Irishmen will be on the team, a feat that Smyth acknowledged as "fantastic. All three had a big part to play in the winning of the last Ryder Cup and, hopefully, they'll play a big part in this one too. The job now is to go and prepare for The K Club and try to get the best out of all the players."

Two of the European team will be in action in this week's Barclays Singapore Open in Sentosa. Paul McGinley, who claimed the ninth automatic place, and Westwood have decided to play in the Asian Tour event as the last tournament before the match. Now that he has safely qualified, McGinley, who visited his coach, Bob Torrance, in Scotland, on Saturday, will be hoping the weight lifted from his shoulders will lead to a turnabout in form. He has managed only two top-10 finishes this season.

Meanwhile, Sergio Garcia is among those playing in the Omega European Masters in Crans, Switzerland, where Michelle Wie is making her debut on the European Tour on a sponsor's invitation. Graeme McDowell, Peter Lawrie, Damien McGrane, Gary Murphy, Michael Hoey, David Higgins and Stephen Browne are also in the field.

Darren Clarke, who hasn't played since he missed the cut at the British Open in July, will sharpen his game by playing in next week's Madrid Open, where Padraig Harrington, who is taking a week's break after his runner-up finish to Henrik Stenson in Munich, will also be competing.

Ryder Cup 2006: How European race finished

World points list

1 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 258.70
2 Luke Donald (Eng) 243.72
3 Sergio Garcia (Spa)225.89
4 David Howell (Eng) 223.24
5 Colin Montgomerie (Sco) 216.24
6 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa) 208.15
7 Paul Casey (Eng) 187.03
8 Padraig Harrington (Irl) 180.05
9 Carl Pettersson (Swe) 157.71
10 Robert Karlsson(Swe) 155.86
11 Johan Edfors (Swe) 126.38
12 Paul Broadhurst (Eng) 125.73

European points list

1 Colin Montgomerie (Sco) 2,500,883
2 David Howell (Eng) 2,406,520
3 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 2,250,080
4 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 1,964,354
5 Paul Casey ( Eng)1,945,114
6 Robert Karlsson (Swe)1,930,902
7 Padraig Harrington (Irl) 1,736,533
8 Luke Donald (Eng) 1,571,818
9 Paul McGinley (Irl) 1,499,849
10 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa) 1,446,006
11 Paul Broadhurst (Eng) 1,343,773
12 Johan Edfors (Swe) 1,298,526

European team

1 Henrik Stenson (Swe)
2 Luke Donald (Eng)
3 Sergio Garcia (Spa)
4 David Howell (Eng)
5 Colin Montgomerie (Sco)
6 Paul Casey (Eng)
7 Robert Karlsson (Swe)
8 Padraig Harrington (Irl)
9 Paul McGinley (Irl)
10 Jose Maria Olazabal (Spa)
11 Darren Clarke (NIrl)
12 Lee Westwood (Eng)