Parnevik may need to rely on Ryder wild card

Nothing about Jesper Parnevik is conventional. Certainly not his dress sense, which is likely to embarrass his four daughters when they're older, nor his eating habits, which have been known to include volcanic dust on the menu.

And, even at this stage of the year, the Swede's route into Europe's Ryder Cup team also looks certain to be different.

Although his win in the Honda Classic on Sunday ensured he has won a tournament on the US PGA Tour for the fourth successive year, the fact he is based in the US means he must perform exceptionally well in the majors or the few European-based tournaments he does play in if he is to earn a place on captain Sam Torrance's team by right.

As things stand, Parnevik is 55th on the European Ryder Cup rankings which indicates he has a lot of ground to make up if he is to secure an automatic place. So, a captain's pick (Torrance has two "wild-card" choices to augment the 10 players who qualify by right after the BMW in August) still seems Parnevik's most obvious way into the team.

Currently ranked 12th in the world, one spot behind Darren Clarke, it would make Torrance's task considerably easier if Parnevik were to perform well in the majors and win sufficient points to qualify that way, especially with the likes of Jose Maria Olazabal (17th), Miguel Angel Jimenez (18th), Bernhard Langer (19th), Nick Faldo (20th), and Jean Van de Velde (23rd) among those who are playing the majority of their events this year in America.

Parnevik took a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Honda at Heron Bay on Sunday but that had disappeared by the turn, and he trailed Australian Geoff Ogilvy - another player who cut his teeth on the European Tour - by one shot as he headed into the back nine.

Ogilvy faltered over the closing stretch with bogeys at the 15th and 18th holes and Mark Calcavecchia, who had knee surgery just two weeks ago, emerged as Parnevik's main threat - but he three-putted the last for a bogey, missing a 15footer that would have forced a play-off.

Parnevik's closing round of 72 for an 18-under-par total of 270 gave him a one-shot win over Calcavecchia, Ogilvy and New Zealand's Craig Perks. The winner's cheque for $576,000 moved the 35-year-old Swede over $7 million in earnings on the US Tour.

While Parnevik has decided to sit out this week's US Tour event in Bay Hill, there is an exceptionally strong European challenge. Darren Clarke, who arrived in Orlando last Sunday for the first of three tournaments in four weeks, Thomas Bjorn, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, Langer, Olazabal, Jimenez and Van de Velde are all included in the field.

Richie Coughlan, meanwhile, who made his third cut in six tournaments at Heron Bay, has failed to get into the field and lies 169th in the US money list. He won't reappear on the circuit until the Bell South Classic in two weeks' time.

Clarke's itinerary over the next month will see him play in Bay Hill, the Players' Championship at Sawgrass and then take a week off before the US Masters at Augusta. The Ulsterman, who signed a new attachment deal with Castletown links in the Isle of Man last week, intends to concentrate on practising his short game for much of the week before the Masters.

Meanwhile, Philip Walton, who will play mainly on the Challenge Tour this season, will make his seasonal debut in a full tour event - the Madeira Island Open - this week. Former Walker Cup player Paddy Gribben and Gary Murphy are also in the field.

Of the Irish regulars on tour, only Des Smyth - playing in his third successive tournament - is in action.

Eamonn Brady will play his fourth event on the Canadian Tour at Myrtle Beach when he plays in the Can-Am Championship at the Barefoot resort, starting on Thursday. Brady won the opening event, the Myrtle Beach Open three weeks ago, and finished in 34th place in last weekend's South Carolina Open.