Alex Cejka – late pick? |
Colin Montgomerie could be sitting in the gutter like Olympic marathon flop Paula Radcliffe on Sunday evening – utterly devastated because Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer changed his mind.
I’ve got a strong suspicion the German is about to make fellow countryman Alex Cejka his wild card selection alongside Luke Donald for the clash against the United States at Oakland Hills at the end of September.
Cejka proved once again that he is in a rich vein of form on the US PGA circuit with a ninth place finish in the NEC World Golf Championship at Akron yesterday – 14 shots ahead of Montgomerie after a best of the day 66. Langer is due to make his selections after the BMW International Open in Munich on Sunday, the final counting event for automatic qualification for the European team and unless Monty performs outstandingly he could – like Radcliffe – miss out on ‘a medal.’
Six places are already settled – Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Miguel Angel Jimenez from the World points list and Thomas Levet, who can’t be caught on the European rankings.
It leaves four automatic spots, currently held by Paul Casey, David Howell, Ian Poulter and Paul McGinley, but with seven other players, including Jean Francois Remesy, Freddie Jacobsen and Brian Davis the main challengers.
Donald has shown great form in recent weeks and is one of the steadiest and straightest hitting players on the US Tour. He also putts well and has a great matchplay record as an amateur.
Cejka has also been hot lately with top ten finishes in the Booz Allen Classic at the NEC and second place in The International. Apart from his emotional return to Royal Troon at the Open, Monty has struggled.
If Cejka can show Langer some last minute solid play in Germany this week, he’ll get the vote alongside Donald – and leave Monty with tears to shed but a role as an experienced assistant as a consolation.
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