Committee to decide on wild cards

Published on Monday 11 May 2009 22:52

WHEN the European Tour's tournament committee meet in Ireland today they can expect to hear Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie deliver an eloquent argument in favour of increasing the number of wild cards for the 2010 match against the USA at Celtic Manor.

Long before he was handed the responsibility of leadership, the Scot made his personal view on this issue clear. He believes the captain should effectively have the same freedom of selection as an international football manager and be able to pick all 12 members of the European team.

It goes without saying there's no chance of Monty being given carte blanche in Wales. On the other hand, it does seem likely there may be an increase in the number of captain's picks from the present allocation of two.

While the Scot could seek four picks, the same number available to his American counterpart Corey Pavin, it remains to be seen if the committee will be persuaded by this request. Some committee members see no need for any change. Three picks could be the compromise solution.

Since 1995, the European team has consisted of ten qualifiers and two captain's picks. Of the seven matches over this period, Europe have won five and lost two. The wild card concept was first introduced in 1979 by Europe in order to accommodate players based on the US Tour. The Americans didn't adopt the practice until 1989. As tournament committee chairman Thomas Bjorn noted: "I believe, just because we lose one (match] there's no need to panic. The two matches prior to that we did very well with the system we have at the moment.

"But I also see where Monty's coming from. There's an argument for both. It's a hard one to call. He'll get all the time he wants to put his case forward and we'll do our best to accommodate him. But as much as it's the captain that runs the Ryder Cup team, it's all about the 12 players who want to qualify for it."

Incidentally, the last time a European captain enjoyed the luxury of three picks was in 1993 when Bernard Gallacher was in charge at the Belfry. Europe lost 15-13.