Schofield's rejected plan gains favour

A qualifying system, by the very nature of the beast, can never please all of the people all of the time.

So it is that, every second year, the format used to determine what 12 players should represent Europe in the Ryder Cup comes under scrutiny, debate, and inevitably leads to demands for change.

This year is no different. Among those to voice their views on the subject are two of Europe's most respected Ryder Cup players - Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer - who both want changes to be made.

"We have to waste a pick on the world number seven?" remarked Faldo, referring to Sergio Garcia's nomination by captain Sam Torrance, adding: "What's the good in that?"

Langer, who made the team as an automatic selection despite playing most of his golf on the US Tour this season, and who is the only European team member with a major title to his name, said: "At the moment the system favours the players who play the most in Europe . . . but we need the best players!

"I think we need to pick the best Europeans from the world rankings. But if we need to stay with wild cards, then it must be four or five."

Richard Hills, the director of the Ryder Cup, told me that the whole qualifying system would be reviewed after the Ryder Cup takes place at The Belfry on September 28th-30th.

Such reviews are standard but there is a growing belief that there will be a change in the system and, ironically enough, the system being touted as the favoured one - five players from the world rankings, five players from the qualifying table and two captain's picks - is one that was previously put forward by European Tour executive director Ken Schofield but rejected by the main body of players who felt that it militated against them.

There was also a feeling that it would possibly weaken the European Tour, as top players would be less inclined to remain on their home tour.

Another irony, though, is that, if that system had been in place on this occasion, it would have only resulted in one possible change (Phillip Price, who wouldn't have qualified by right) from the team that will attempt to regain the Ryder Cup from the Americans later this month.

Under that system which was rejected, but which is now favoured to replace the existing one, this is how the team would have worked out:

Top five (in the world rankings) - Sergio Garcia (7), Darren Clarke (8), Colin Montgomerie (10), Padraig Harrington (13) and Lee Westwood (16);

Top five (in qualifying table, not already qualified through world ranking) - Thomas Bjorn (3), Pierre Fulke (5), Paul McGinley (7), Niclas Fasth (8) and Bernhard Langer (9).

That would have left Sam Torrance with two captain's picks, one of whom presumably would have gone to Jesper Parnevik - now down to 22nd in the world rankings and who wouldn't have qualified via that route - while the captain would then have had to decide whether to hand his second captain's pick to Price, the next man on the qualifying table, or to Jose Maria Olazabal.

One thing is clear, though - under either system, the team that will take on the US would be remarkably similar, which maybe suggests that the existing system isn't that bad after all.

Indeed, it has served Europe well in recent Ryder Cup matches. Since Europe's win at The Belfry in 1985, the Europeans have an edge on actual match results, winning four, losing three and halving one.

And Torrance, for one, who is a great believer in the current system, insisted that two wild cards are sufficient.

When asked if he would have preferred three picks, he replied: "No, absolutely not. That would be very unfair to someone like Phillip Price in 10th spot, who has earned his place on the team. I think it's a testament to the strength and depth of the European Tour that players like Olazabal are missing. It shows how strong we are now."

Parnevik, meanwhile, received the confirmation of his wild-card pick while on the range prior to competing in the final round of the Air Canda Championship on Sunday.

"I didn't really know how to react because there was so many people around and I didn't really want to spread the news before he had the press conference.

"I had a great time last time, there's no other tournament like it. It's more the Super Bowl in football or something like that. The crowd is unbelievable - they're loud and energetic and the adrenalin is pumping pretty much from the first tee shot. It's a lot of fun," insisted Parnevik.

While the debate about the qualifying system will resurface after The Belfry, no matter what the result, a more immediate change will take place with the commitment from the European Tour and the PGA to donate some of the Ryder Cup surplus to charitable causes.

The move has been prompted by a similar decision made by the Americans at Brookline two years ago, where a number of US players led a campaign that would have led to paying them to play in the event. Eventually, a compromise, to donate money to charity, was reached.

"We have provision in our budget for a charitable donation which has been agreed in principle. The amount has not been agreed but it will come through the European Ryder Cup effort," said Schofield, who said that preliminary estimates put the anticipated surplus at approximately £10 million, an indication of how much the event has grown in recent years.