EUROPEAN TOUR:PETER HANSON, the Swede who has given Colin Montgomerie what Europe's captain calls a "more or less impossible" task, yesterday questioned how much some stars want to be part of the Ryder Cup.
Hanson spoke out shortly after arriving at Gleneagles for the final counting event. “If you really want to make the team – and, of course, if you are that close – then you should be here and playing,” he said.
The 32-year-old moved up from 15th to eighth by capturing the Czech Open title in a play-off on Sunday, and as a result pushed Paul Casey out of the top nine who automatically earn selection this weekend.
Casey and Pádraig Harrington, with top-five finishes, and Luke Donald, with a win, could all have guaranteed themselves another cap by switching from the first of the FedEx Cup play-offs to the Johnnie Walker Championship.
But not one of the trio has, and with Justin Rose and Italian World Cup winner Edoardo Molinari needing one of the three wild cards as well, Montgomerie knows he will have to face the Americans without two players who are in the world’s top 22.
“This isn’t difficult – it’s more or less impossible,” Montgomerie said.
“It’s a bit like Fabio Capello having to leave out Theo Walcott, I suppose. He could only take 23, I can only take 12.
“I wish I could take 20 – I do, I really do – because 20 deserve their spots this year. They’ve played great. Unfortunately, I can’t please everybody on Sunday night.
“They understand my dilemma and their own and it is up to them to try to prove to me – this last final chance to make it pay.”
Molinari is in Scotland, but Rose is with the other three at the Barclays tournament in New Jersey.
Montgomerie will make his decision before the winner there is known.
With so many big names now relying on a call-up, Hanson believes he has no chance of a wild card if he falls out of the top nine.
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