Martin Dempster: Colin Montgomerie's Ryder Cup options border on farcical

WITH Tiger Woods and Anthony Kim certainties, surely, to earn two of the four wild cards, Corey Pavin's American team for the forthcoming Ryder Cup is looking a whole lot stronger than it was shaping up a month or so ago.

More to the point, he'll have players at Celtic Manor at the beginning of October who seem a damn sight more interested in playing in the event than some of Colin Montgomerie's potential "clients".

"I'm happy as heck to be on the Ryder Cup team," declared Bubba Watson as he quickly got over the disappointment of his play-off loss at Whistling Straits. "I've wanted to play the Ryder Cup my whole life." Sadly, I'm beginning to wonder if playing for Europe in the event means as much to some people as it should do and, as a consequence, there's a danger the conclusion to the battle for spots in Montgomerie's team at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles next week could turn into a farce.

Paul Casey won't be there. Neither will Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald or Justin Rose. Yet, in a week's time, they could all be needing wild cards. Montgomerie has said all along how important it would be for players vying for those wild cards to be at the final counting event yet, when push comes to shove, they're all going to be chasing dollars in the FedEx Cup instead of Ryder Cup brownie points. Add in Lee Westwood's injury and Ian Poulter pulling out of the last round of the USPGA with a chest infection and Montgomerie has more than just a minor headache to cope with at present.

Consider this, too. If Stephen Gallacher, one of the form European golfers, were to win at Gleneagles, where would that put him in terms of one of those three wild cards?