Kite flying high with current top 10

IN an uncharacteristically expansive mood, US skipper Tom Kite looked at the current Ryder Cup standings and declared: "I would be comfortable taking those top-10 players to Valderrama." One suspects, however, that his counterpart, Seve Ballesteros, will be hoping for considerable movement among European aspirants before the deadline is reached at the end of August.

Certain players and officials on both sides of the Atlantic like to indict the media for excessively building up this biennial showpiece. But the honest ones will readily acknowledge it to be a very special event, growing in popularity with each staging.

As Ireland's Paul McGinley said last night: "You can see it in the attitude of the players. They're already talking about it. Some, like Sam Torrance, seem to thrive on the challenge of a Ryder Cup year whereas others react negatively. But whatever the reaction, there is no doubt it generates enormous interest."

Kite's enthusiasm for the way the US table is taking shape, can be explained by the presence in the top-10 of prospective new caps in the reigning USPGA champion, Mark Brooks, US Open champion Steve Jones, the experienced Scott Hoch and the incomparable Tiger Woods.

The newcomers in the European line-up on current standings would be last Sunday's Heineken Classic winner, Miguel-Angel Martin, Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Jean Van de Velde. And it is interesting to note that further rookies, Peter Mitchell and Lee Westwood, are in 11th and 12th positions.

Even at this early stage, it seems that Tom Lehman and Mark O'Meara are certain to be in the US line-up. Which means the realisation of a burning ambition by Lehman who, on an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin after the defeat at Oak Hill in September 1995, told me: I would love to be going directly to Valderrama so we could get that cup back."

The US skipper is more concerned, however, about the general lack of knowledge among the Americans regarding the Spanish venue. Kite himself spent a day and a half at Valderrama on the occasion of his triumphant trip to La Moraleja in Madrid where he captured the Oki Pro-Am. "While playing 18 holes at Valderrama, he photographed the course from every conceivable angle," said PGA of America official, Julius Mason, last night.

But the only other American player familiar with Valderrama is Fred Couples. All of which has prompted Kite to try and arrange a trip there with four or five potential US team members. around the time of the British Open at Royal Troon in July.

It is estimated that European aspirants will need about 350,000 points (effectively £s) to secure automatic places among the top-10. So it is hardly surprising that McGinley, currently languishing in 32nd place with 44,678 points, is reluctant to look seriously at his prospects.

"All I know is that Darren (Clarke) has it all worked out," he said. "I would obviously love to make the team but I can't afford to allow it dominate my thinking. And I know of other players who are determined to adopt a similar attitude."

He went on: "With that in mind, I have decided not to alter my schedule from last season when I played 28 events in Europe. As it happens, I have the additional commitment of playing in the US Open at Congressional. And there is also the chance of an invitation to the USPGA in August, depending on how I play over the next few months."

Players face a further problem in that the season's tournament schedule has yet to be finalised. Problems with certain courses last season, have caused European officials to defer decisions on dates and venues for the Catalan Open, the Cannes Open and the Austrian Open.

Meanwhile, the Americans are not all that enamoured of the notion of travelling to Spain. "It's a pretty big undertaking for the average American; not cheap and not easy to get at, said Mason. He then added: "Against that background, you won't be surprised to hear that we haven't had to take on extra staff to deal with the telephone enquiries."

Still, he acknowledged that Woods could become a significant factor as the battle for places nears a climax. "Tiger has made it clear that he wants to make the team and obviously we would be delighted to have him," said Mason. "There's no doubt but that he has gripped the imagination of the American public like no other player in recent years."

Woods's European plans around this year's British Open have yet to be announced, but we can already see the huge advantage the £800,000 Loch Lomond World Invitational gained in being given the July 9th to 12th slot, vacated by the Scottish Open. Latest additions to the field are US Open champion Jones and South Africa's Ernie Els, winner of the recent Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia.

They will be joined by US Masters champion Nick Faldo who described the Tom Weiskopf-designed layout as "the best and the best-conditioned course in Europe," after competing there last September. Colin Montgomerie is also expected to return to a venue which produced a surprise, inaugural winner in the gifted young Dane, Bjorn.

By then, the battle for European Ryder Cup honours will have entered a crucial stage, starting with such big-money events as the Benson and Hedges International, the English Open, the Volvo PGA Championship and the Deutsche Bank Open, all in May.

Then there are the European Grand Prix, followed by the German Open, the French Open and the Murphy's Irish Open. "Druids Glen should be very interesting this year," said McGinley with obvious relish.

Meanwhile, on the domestic front, one of the oldest pro-ams on the PGA Irish Region calendar will have its 20th staging this year. The Great Northern Hotel Pro-Am, with a prize fund of £10,000 is scheduled for Bundoran on April 7th to 10th. Amateurs will be competing for £2,000 worth of prizes.

Officially known as the Irish Team Championship, the tournament's status has been upgraded by its inclusion for the first time in the domestic Order of Merit. This guarantees a strong field including last year's joint winners, Leslie Robinson and Liam Higgins.