Player profiles.
SERGIO GARCIA
Age:28.
Birthplace:Castellon, Spain.
Residence:Borriol, Spain.
Turned Pro:1999.
Tournament Victories:17.
Ryder Cup Record:Played 20, Won 14, Lost 4, Halved 2: Points 15.
Lowdown:A four-time Ryder Cup veteran, despite his tender years, and a record-breaker at the K Club. Unbeaten on the first two days, Garcia followed European captain Ian Woosnam into the Ryder Cup record books by becoming only the second European to take maximum points from the foursomes and fourballs.
Trivial Pursuit: He drives a Ferrari 360 Modena and a Jaguar XJR. His former girlfriends include Martina Hingis and Greg Norman's daughter, Morgan Leigh. He is close friends with Villarreal striker Diego Forlan.
Least likely to say:"I'm kind of apathetic about the Ryder Cup."
MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ
Age:44.
Birthplace:Malaga, Spain.
Residence:Same.
Turned Pro:1982.
Tournament Victories:15.
Ryder Cup Record:Played 9, Won 2, Lost 5, Halved 2. Points 3.
Lowdown:In the past, famously requested "Rioja wine, an espresso machine and cigars" as his requirements for the European team room. Had an outstanding 2008 season in which he has won twice, including the BMW PGA Championship. Seven top-10 finishes this season highlight the Spaniard's consistency.
Trivial Pursuit:Jimenez's sporting hero is fellow Spaniard and multiple Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain. His favourite film is Papillon(1973 classic, with stars Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman), and is a car nut: he drives a Ferrari, a BMW M5 and BMW X5.
Least likely to say:"I think ponytails are a thing of the 80s."
HENRIK STENSON
Age:32.
Birthplace:Gothenburg, Sweden.
Residence:Dubai, UAE.
Turned Pro:1998.
Tournament Victories:9.
Ryder Cup Record:Played 3, Won 1, Lost 1, Halved 1. Points 1.5.
Lowdown:Holed the winning putt at the K Club in 2006. He is a fine exponent of the matchplay format, having been the leading points scorer in the 2005 Seve Trophy and won the 2007 Accenture World Matchplay, defeating Geoff Ogilvy in the 36-hole final. Finished fourth in the US PGA Championship behind Harrington and third behind the Irishman at Royal Birkdale.
Trivial Pursuit:Met his wife, Emma, on a golf course; she is a scratch golfer.
Most likely to say:"Okay, who is the short boy going to be in this fourball."
PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON
Age:37.
Birthplace:Dublin.
Residence:Rathmichael, Co Dublin.
Turned Pro:1995.
Tournament Victories:24 (including three Majors).
Ryder Cup Record:Played 17, Won 7, Lost 8, Halved 2. Points 8.
Lowdown:Europe's premier player. In July, he became the first European to successfully defend the British Open since James Braid. In the process, he moved to a career high of third in the world rankings, and subsequently closed the gap further on number two Phil Mickelson by winning the third Major championship of his career, the US PGA.
Trivial Pursuit:This summer he bought his coach, Bob Torrance, a top-of-the-range Mercedes as a thank you for helping him become the golfer he is.
Least likely to start:any sentence with the words "I demand" or "Do you know who I am?"
SOREN HANSEN
Age:34.
Birthplace:Copenhagen, Denmark.
Residence:Monte Carlo.
Turned Pro:1997.
Tournament Victories:3.
Ryder Cup Record:Debut.
Lowdown:Won the 2007 Mercedes-Benz Championship, the second counting event towards qualification for the Ryder Cup. It was his second tour victory, as he had won the 2002 Irish Open at Fota Island in a five-man play-off. He is only the second Dane to compete in the Ryder Cup after Thomas Björn. Noted for his ball-striking.
Trivial Pursuit:Has a spooky symmetry with namesake Anders. They both won their first European tour title in 2002 and their respective second victories came in the same season last year.
Most likely to say:"Carlsberg don't do golfing dreams, but if they did . . . Valhalla."
OLIVER WILSON
Age:28, tomorrow.
Birthplace:Mansfield, England.
Residence:Weybridge, England.
Turned Pro:2003.
Tournament Victories:0.
Ryder Cup Record:Debut.
Lowdown:One of four rookies, Wilson has been the epitome of consistency on the European Tour this year with four second-place finishes: at the South African Open, the China Open, the Italian Open and the BMW PGA Championship, where he came agonisingly close to winning his first European Tour title, only to be pipped at the post in a sudden-death play-off with Ryder Cup team-mate Jiménez.
Trivial Pursuit:He majored in psychology at Augusta State University.
Most likely to say:"I was just wondering, Phil, do you inhale or exhale on your backswing?"
IAN POULTER
Age:32.
Birthplace:Hitchin, England.
Residence:Milton Keynes, England.
Turned Pro:1994.
Tournament Victories:9.
Ryder Cup Record:Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Halved 0. Points 1.
Lowdown:Nick Faldo gave him a wild card and sparked a storm. The flamboyant Poulter played in the US rather than attend the last Ryder Cup qualification event at Gleneagles, a choice that went down like a lead balloon. Of 32 players canvassed prior to the event in Gleneagles about potential wild cards, 29 went for Darren Clarke and one for the Englishman. Finished second behind Harrington at the British Open.
Trivial Pursuit:In a magazine article, Poulter once proclaimed that, once he plays to his potential, "it will just be me and Tiger".
Least likely to say:"I think we should tone down the colours in the team uniform."
JUSTIN ROSE
Age:28.
Birthplace:Johannesburg, South Africa.
Residence:London, England; Orlando, Florida.
Turned Pro:1998.
Tournament Victories:6.
Ryder Cup Record:Debut.
Lowdown:Burst on to the scene by winning the silver medal as the leading amateur in the 1998 British Open (finishing fourth), but after turning pro missed his first 21 cuts. Won the 2007 Volvo Masters in a play-off.
Trivial Pursuit:In discussing Harrington's 2007 British Open win at Carnoustie, Rose pointed out: "He's very emotionally intelligent and not only believed it was his time, but felt comfortable with it."
Least likely to say:"Come on the Boks." Although born in South Africa he considers himself English.
LEE WESTWOOD
Age:35.
Birthplace:Worksop, England.
Residence:Same.
Turned Pro:1993.
Tournament Victories:29.
Ryder Cup Record:Played 25, Won 14, Lost 8, Halved 3. Points 15.5.
Lowdown:Has not lost a Ryder Cup match since his 2002 singles defeat by Scott Verplank. He has amassed eight points out of 10 in Europe's two recent victories in 2004 and 2006. Hugely consistent this season with nine top-10s to date through the US PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.
Trivial Pursuit:Last November he was presented with a Doctor of Science honorary degree from Nottingham Trent University. His interests include films, snooker and cars, but his passion is Nottingham Forest FC.
Most likely to say:"I'm so glad you asked me about the molecular structure of the golf ball . . ."
PAUL CASEY
Age:31.
Birthplace:Cheltenham, England.
Residence:Esher, England; Scottsdale, Arizona.
Turned Pro:2000.
Tour Victories:8.
Ryder Cup Record:Played 6, Won 3, Lost 1, Halved 2. Points 4.
Lowdown:A wild card pick, he tied seventh in the British Open, tied eighth in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and tied 15th in the US PGA Championship. His Ryder Cup debut came in 2004, when he won one point. He lost his singles to Tiger Woods. At the K Club he had a hole-in-one - and won three points from four matches.
Trivial Pursuit:When asked what historical event he'd have liked to witness, Casey said: "I'd love to have been sitting in the crowd at Wembley when England won the '66 World Cup. That would be cool."
Least likely to say:Anything that could be remotely misconstrued as derogatory about Team USA.
GRAEME McDOWELL
Age:29.
Birthplace:Portrush, Co Antrim.
Residence:Same.
Turned Pro:2002.
Tour Victories:4.
Ryder Cup Record:Debut.
Lowdown:Two victories - in the Ballantine's Championship in Korea and the Scottish Open - as well as a further five top-10s in the 2008 season, propelled him to Valhalla. He helped BI to win the Walker Cup (2001, Sea Island, Georgia). Ranked the number one collegiate golfer in the US in 2002 after winning an incredible six events out of 12 appearances (stroke average of 69.6).
Trivial Pursuit:He is a Manchester United fan and therefore above any criticism no matter how mild the censure.
Most likely to say:to the tune of Hi Hoin Disney's Snow White. "Rio, Rio, He is a Red you know, He met El Tel, And said farewell, Rio, Rio, Rio, Rio . . ."
ROBERT KARLSSON
Age:39.
Birthplace:Katrineholm, Sweden.
Residence:Monaco.
Turned Pro:1989.
Tournament Victories:7.
Ryder Cup Record:Played 3, Won 0, Lost 1, Halved 2. Points 1.
Lowdown:A model of consistency in the 2008 season, he recorded a staggering nine top-10 finishes - including six in a row. Can also claim to be the only European to finish in the top-20 in all four Major Championships in 2008, a feat matched by Phil Mickelson from an American perspective.
Trivial Pursuit:He made his Ryder Cup debut at the K Club in 2006, halving two of his three matches, during which he played with the same partner, Paul Casey, and against the same opponents, Stewart Cink/JJ Henry in the same format (fourballs). How's that for symmetry?
Most likely to say:"Hej." Which is hello in Swedish.
