Europe

The European captain now has an extra wildcard and will confirm his selections, and the automatic qualifiers, at the conclusion of the Johnnie Walker Championship on August 29.

However, Monty admits that it is looking increasingly likely the 30-year-old Garcia will not be participating for the first time since making his debut at Brookline in 1999.

When asked about the possibility of including the Spaniard, Montgomerie replied: “At this stage, it is not looking likely, no.”

Garcia has not been in the best of form of late, having not won a tournament for nearly two years, and will take a two-month break after the end of the US PGA Championship.

He has been inspirational for Europe though when taking on the USA (15/8, 9/1 the tie), having never lost a foursomes match and holding a career record of 14-6-4 in the event.

Montgomerie admits he is relieved to be able to now concentrate on the European contenders after carding an 11-over-par 83 to fall to 18-over in his fog-delayed second round at the US PGA Championship on Friday.

“It has been a very long two days, a very long week unfortunately,” Monty said. “I’m looking forward to getting the Ryder Cup team picked, and it’s good to see a few [players] are doing well [here].”

Read more at: Online Betting & Sports Betting with Betfred – £50 FREE Bet! » Golf Betting

• American takes three-shot lead into final round
• Ryder Cup worries for Colin Montgomerie

Behold the new power generation of golf, who yesterday flexed the muscles and opened their shoulders at Whistling Straits to set up an enticing final day of the US PGA Championship.

On a day of beautiful conditions and even better golf, Nick Watney, a pupil of the old master Butch Harmon, led the youthful charge, ripping apart a golf course that had been billed as one of the toughest on the major championship circuit. A third-round 66 gave the lie to that reputation, and it also gave the young American a three-shot advantage over the field on 13 under par for the week.

It was a stunning effort from Watney, although his was not the only eye-catching performance of the day. China’s Wenchong Liang signed for a course record 64, eight under par, and a place inside the top five, while Watney’s countryman Dustin Johnson, another muscular protégé of Harmon’s, signed for a five-under-par 67.

Rory McIlroy matched Johnson’s score and will begin today’s final round in pursuit of the leader – a position that may suit the young Ulsterman, whose past performances suggest he is better as the man doing the chasing rather than the man being chased. Remember the final round 62 which won him the Quail Hollow Championship earlier this year? Rest assured, it will be at the forefront of McIlroy’s mind on the first tee today.

The European challenge in a week that has carried a distinctly star-spangled hue was also represented by Martin Kaymer, who finished the day on nine under par, one shot behind McIlroy – good news at least for the Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie on a day when all the news threatened to be bad.

So much for the walkover in Wales – an expectation of an easy European victory at the Ryder Cup has looked more unrealistic with every passing day here and seemed utterly daft during yesterday’s third round.

For one thing, the mid-afternoon leaderboard had a distinctly American feel, with the likes of Dustin Johnson, Jim Furyk and Matt Kuchar to the fore in the chase to catch Watney, who at one point in the day opened up a four-shot lead.

Europe was represented by McIlroy and Kaymer, both of whom played brilliantly on a day of calm conditions and low scoring to move near the top of the leaderboard, and Simon Dyson – although, barring a victory today, he is unlikely to make the trip to Wales.

But there ended the heartening news for the home captain Montgomerie. Did we really expect anything else? Probably not after the week Montgomerie has had. Still, it is one thing to be targeted by the prurient hordes in matters that have nothing to do with golf and quite another to be put in a difficult position by the golfers who were expected to be in the vanguard of one last Ryder Cup triumph for the old warhorse.

Two tournaments remain in the qualification process for the European team, but as the captain acknowledged – or at least was forced to accept by some of the so-called leading players who are not yet on the team – the US PGA Championship represented the crucial stage in the selection process.

“I look forward to selecting a very, very strong team within the next fortnight,” Montgomerie said on Friday night. No doubt he will, but the chances are it won’t the team he might have considered to be his strongest – the performances of Luke Donald, Justin Rose and Padraig Harrington, all three of whom missed the cut here, have seen to that.

Likewise, the determination of all three to play in the FedEx Cup play-offs in the States rather than the Johnny Walker Championship at Gleneagles, the final event in the qualification process for the team, has hardly helped, even if Montgomerie refused to acknowledge as much. “I have spoken to everyone I needed to speak to about their schedules before and including Gleneagles and understand their commitments over here. I am fine with everything,” he said. He could hardly say anything else but what must he have been thinking after Harrington double-bogeyed his final hole of the delayed second round early yesterday morning to miss the cut.

It was a poor effort by the Irishman, and it was matched by his apparent insouciance at the prospect of missing out on Celtic Manor. “At the end of the day, nobody who doesn’t qualify deserves automatically to be picked. I have worked hard, tried hard and if I get picked I want to be ready to play and if it doesn’t happen I will be disappointed,” he said.

“I hope Monty is a guy who looks through things and sees stats. Sixteen top 10s in the last year is going to be a lot of comfort. I am sure he needs some experience in that team and some older guys. I have done everything I can now and there is nothing more I can do. My majors have been poor this year but everything else has been good,” he said.

“There is nothing more I can do” Really? Well, Harrington could make the trip to Scotland, inconvenient though it might be. The same suggestion could be made to Rose, Donald and, for that matter, Paul Casey, who for the time being remains outside the nine automatic places on the 12-man European team.

Things could yet break the right way for the European captain both today and in the coming fortnight, but given his recent luck the chances are they will not. Indeed, the wrong combination of results could leave Harrington, Casey, Rose and Donald competing for the three wildcard picks.

Who to choose? Montgomerie will not be short for advice but, for what it is worth, Donald’s efforts earlier in the year – not least his decision to play in the Wales Open while most of the leading contenders for the team played in the States – should surely count for something.

Of course, the European captain does not have the monopoly on vexation. His counterpart Corey Pavin has long been viewed as the man facing the more difficult selection problem – where on earth was he going to find 12 players capable of matching a strong European team? The efforts of Furyk , Johnson and Watney yesterday provided an answer, and so, too, did the performance of Tiger Woods.

“He is under consideration,” Pavin said earlier in the week when asked if the world No1 was likely to get one of his four wildcard picks should he require one – an obfuscation that seemed silly at the time and seemed even sillier after Woods’ efforts this week. Woods remains a long way short of his best form and his prospects of victory disappeared with a flawed level-par round of 72 which left him in 39th place. But he has been a different man from the morose and diffident figure who finished second from last at Firestone last weekend. “I am thinking about tomorrow,” he said after his round. No doubt he is. And the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after….

Read more at: Sport: Golf | guardian.co.uk

Read more at: Golf Betting at BetUS Sportsbook

Tiger Woods

Many pundits were writing off the world number one, who has won this tournament on four previous occasions, after his struggles in recent weeks.

But Woods (Woods 11/10, Singh 11/5, Yang 11/5 – 2nd 3-Ball Betting) responded with an opening round 71 to leave him on one-under-par, three shots off the lead after a weather-affected day one.

Fog delayed the start in Wisconsin before bad light brought Thursday’s action to an end, with many players still to complete their first rounds.

Italy’s Francesco Molinari and in-form American Bubba Watson hold the clubhouse lead after first rounds of 68.

But Woods is safely in the clubhouse and feeling a bit better with his overall game, describing golf as a “fickle game”.

He added: “It’s not where I want it, but it’s better. It felt good to be a little bit more steady. I felt so much more comfortable with the putter – I got my lines back.”

Woods also has a battle on his hands to stay top of the rankings, with closest challengers Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker (20/1 in Outright Winner Market) are also one-under-par, after 11 and 13 holes respectively.

Read more at: Online Betting & Sports Betting with Betfred – £50 FREE Bet! » Golf Betting

Read more at: Golf Betting at BetUS Sportsbook

Louis Oosthuizen

The South African surprised the golfing world with his success at St Andrews last month, with his good form continuing since then.

Oosthuizen followed up his success at the Open with a fourth-placed finish at the Scandinavian Masters, before finishing ninth at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week.

The 27-year-old finished the WGC event strongly, with rounds of 68 and 65 on the final two days, and will play alongside Masters champion Phil Mickelson and US Open winner Graeme McDowell (Oosthuizen 9/4, Mickelson 5/4, McDowell 15/8 – 1st round 3-ball Betting) for the first two rounds of this week’s major.

Oosthuizen (South Africa 9/1 Winning Nationality) admits winning at St Andrews has given him ‘confidence’ and says he wants a ‘second and then third’ major title.

Speaking about this week’s challenge, the world number 18 said: “I’ve not heard much about the course other than it is tough and windy.

“The windy part I like and I am looking forward to seeing Whistling Straits for the first time.”

Read more at: Online Betting & Sports Betting with Betfred – £50 FREE Bet! » Golf Betting

Tiger Woods

The 34-year-old had slipped to ninth in the US Ryder Cup standings and was looking for a couple of decent finishes at Firestone Country Club and in this week’s US PGA Championship to regain his automatic qualification place.

However, he finished on 18 over par in Ohio and will now have to finish near the top of the leaderboard at Whistling Straits on Sunday to force his way into the top eight.

US captain Corey Pavin can select four players of his own choice and so Woods does have another possible route into the line-up but the world number one believes he would be more of a hindrance than a help to the team on current form.

“I wouldn’t help the team if I’m playing like this. No-one would help the team if they’re shooting 18 over par,” he said. “I think I can turn it around. We have lots of time between now and then.”

Woods has never performed at his best in the Ryder Cup and the USA won back the trophy two years ago when he was absent through injury.

There are many in the media who believe that his presence in Wales could be detrimental to the team spirit but Pavin will be under severe pressure to pick a man who has won 14 majors to date in an illustrious career.

Read more at: Online Betting & Sports Betting with Betfred – £50 FREE Bet! » Golf Betting

• Spaniard plans break after falling to 50th in the world
• Padraig Harrington also outside automatic places

Sergio Garcia plans to take a two-month break from golf to refocus his game after falling to 50th in the world. He is now in an even more precarious position for making Europe’s Ryder Cup team than Tiger Woods is in the US.

Garcia was second in the rankings only 16 months ago, but has had a torrid time since and finds himself only 19th in the European Ryder Cup standings as the players enter this week’s US PGA Championship.

The 30-year-old Spaniard is so despondent about where he is at that he is planning a two-month break after this week – and only making the Ryder Cup team would change that. “It’s been a long year,” he said. “I haven’t had a nice, long break my whole career.”

Asked whether he has told the Europe captain Colin Montgomerie his thoughts he added: “I’ve talked to him – he knows what I’m planning to do. I need the break. I need to miss the game a little bit.”

Garcia has been an ever-present in the Ryder Cup since becoming the youngest-ever player at 19 in 1999, but with competition for the three wild cards stronger than ever he needs to show the captain, Colin Montgomerie, some real form at Whistling Straits.

Padraig Harrington, too, remains just outside an automatic qualifying place despite finishing joint ninth at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron. The 22nd place of Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez was just enough to keep him in the ninth spot on the points table with three weeks to go.

There were no changes to the leading nine in what proved to be a disappointing week for the Europeans. The Swede Peter Hanson had the best finish with his eighth place.

Most worrying for Europe, of course, was the withdrawal of Lee Westwood – the clear leader in the standings – after two rounds because of a ruptured calf muscle. He misses the US PGA Championship, the final major of the season, and is battling to recover fitness in time for the match at Celtic Manor in Wales on 1-3 October.

Four players – Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter – look safely in Montgomerie’s side already, but for the rest it could go to the final week. Harrington, Justin Rose and Paul Casey look favourites for the three wild cards.

Meanwhile, Hunter Mahan earned an automatic spot on the US team when he secured his third PGA Tour victory – by two shots at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational yesterday.

“It’s great,” Mahan said after holding off a high-quality field with a six-under-par 64 in the final round. “It’s definitely the best win of my career. To win any time on the PGA Tour is great but at an event like this, with 80 of the best players in the world, it’s something special.”

Even better for Mahan was booking his place on Corey Pavin’s US team. “I just wanted to make it on my own,” said Mahan, who jumped from 10th to second in the US standings. “I felt my game was good enough to make it on my own, and that was a goal of mine this year. I was in it early and I’ve kind of been falling slowly but surely out of it.”

Latest leading positions in European Ryder Cup table

(The top four on the world list qualify, then next five on European points list. Captain Colin Montgomerie adds three wild cards on 29 August)

World points

1 LEE WESTWOOD 422.0, 2 RORY MCILROY 281.9, 3 GRAEME MCDOWELL 249.3, 4 LUKE DONALD 231.1, 5 Edoardo Molinari 214.4, 5 Ian Poulter 211.2, 7 Padraig Harrington 204.9, 8 Justin Rose 195.7, 9 Martin Kaymer 185.4, 10 Francesco Molinari 168.5

European points

1 Lee Westwood 3,446,137, 2 Graeme McDowell 2,305,136, 3 IAN POULTER 2,236,968, 4 Rory McIlroy 2,036,678, 5 ROSS FISHER 1,706,709, 6 MARTIN KAYMER 1,609,405, 7 FRANCESCO MOLINARI 1,584,447, 8 MIGUEL ANGEL JIMéNEZ 1,497,870, 9 Padraig Harrington 1,484,624, 10 Ross McGowan 1,383,587

(Capitals denote players in qualifying positions)

Latest leading positions in the United States Ryder Cup table

(The top eight on 15 August qualify, then the captain, Corey Pavin, adds four wild cards on 7 September):

1 PHIL MICKELSON 5,818pts, 2 HUNTER MAHAN 4,043, 3 JIM FURYK 3,646, 4 STEVE STRICKER 3,528, 5 JEFF OVERTON 3,505, 6 ANTHONY KIM 3,274, 7 MATT KUCHAR 3,064, 8 LUCAS GLOVER 3,052, 9 Dustin Johnson 3,032, 10 Tiger Woods 2,809

Latest leading positions in the world golf rankings:

1 Tiger Woods 9.63pts, 2 Phil Mickelson 9.19, 3 Lee Westwood 8.99, 4 Steve Stricker 7.51, 5 Jim Furyk 6.83, 6 Ernie Els 5.71, 7 Luke Donald 5.49, 8 Rory McIlroy 5.46, 9 Paul Casey 5.46, 10 Ian Poulter 5.23.

11 Graeme McDowell 4.94, 12 Hunter Mahan 4.94, 13 Martin Kaymer 4.86, 14 Anthony Kim 4.80, 15 Retief Goosen 4.45, 16 Padraig Harrington 4.30, 17 Robert Allenby 4.25, 18 Louis Oosthuizen 4.23, 19 Sean O’Hair 4.13, 20 Justin Rose 3.99.

Other leading Europeans:

21 Edoardo Molinari, 22 Ross Fisher, 26 Henrik Stenson, 34 Robert Karlsson, 36 Miguel Angel Jiménez, 37 Francesco Molinari, 42 Alvaro Quiros, 48 Peter Hanson, 50 Sergio Garcia, 52 Rhys Davies, 58 Oliver Wilson, 68 Soren Hansen, 69 Soren Kjeldsen, 76 Fredrik Andersson Hed, 79 Anders Hansen, 80 Brian Davis, 82 Shane Lowry, 84 Simon Dyson, 86 Chris Wood, 88 Fredrik Jacobson, 89 Danny Willett, 94 Stephen Gallacher, 96 David Horsey, 97 Ross McGowan, 100 Darren Clarke.

Read more at: Sport: Golf | guardian.co.uk

Read more at: Golf Betting at BetUS Sportsbook

South Korean Yang is aiming to win back-to-back USPGA titles after becoming the first Asian player ever to win a major last year when seeing off Woods at the Hazeltine National.

The duo will tee-off alongside another former PGA Championship winner, Vijay Singh, while the three previous winners of the majors of the year will again go head-to-head next week – Masters winner Phil Mickelson (9/1), US Open champion Graeme McDowell and Open winner Louis Oosthuizen – all playing together.

Lee Westwood, meanwhile, is to be replaced by Kevin Sutherland, who will tee-off with Ernie Els (25/1) and Dustin Johnson and European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie goes up against Koumei Oda and Matt Kuchar.

US skipper Corey Pavin, plays with Ian Poulter (40/1) and Camilo Villegas (50/1) and 2008 champion Padraig Harrington (28/1), will enjoy the company of Davis Love III and John Daly during the first two days.

Read more at: Online Betting & Sports Betting with Betfred – £50 FREE Bet! » Golf Betting