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Europe's likely Ryder Cup team

Author: Brandon Barker
Date: 21/02/2010
Golf betting

Colin Montgomerie will be a happy man despite the Ryder Cup still being more than eight months away.

There's plenty of golf to be played between now and then but captain Monty has, on paper at least, what looks to be the makings of an exceptionally strong European team.

The omens look so good that already his team has been made the favourites in the online betting markets to reclaim a trophy they lost in such devastating fashion in 2008.

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Under the much-criticised leadership of Nick Faldo, Europe lost 16.5-11.5 at Valhalla - the largest margin of defeat since 1981.

However, just 18 months on, there is genuine optimism that a European team could exact revenge on their American opposition due to the sheer strength in depth Montgomerie will have at his disposal at Celtic Manor.

Headlining the team will be three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington and Europe's reigning number-one ranked player Lee Westwood. The experienced duo are veterans of 11 past matches between them.

Spain's Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson of Sweden and England's Paul Casey are also expected to be included.

The high-profile trio all currently occupy places in the top 15 of the world rankings and have shown their class with multiple tournament victories on both sides of the Atlantic.

Perhaps more importantly, all three are fearsome matchplay opponents and relish the prospect of going toe-to-toe with an American adversary.

Rory McIlroy is nailed on for a place in Montgomerie's team following his stunning start to life in the paid ranks.

The 20-year-old from Northern Ireland has the talent to go right to the top of the game and his feisty personality makes him an ideal candidate for a debut in Wales.

Ian Poulter should win his place in the team by rights after requiring a captain's pick by Faldo in 2008.

The colourful Englishman has already declared that his 2010 schedule is more focused on peaking for the four Majors and the Ryder Cup.

Poulter can also point to the fact that he silenced the critics who questioned his wildcard pick after ending the 2008 matches as the leading points scorer on either side.

Martin Kaymer is set become the first German since Bernhard Langer to play in the Ryder Cup if his own early-season form is anything to go by. The 25-year-old five-time European Tour winner is second only to McIlroy in the rising star stakes.

Robert Karlsson too should qualify automatically for his third successive appearance where he will reprise his big-hitting all-Swedish partnership with Stenson.

That leaves three captain's picks - and that's where the trouble starts for Montgomerie.

England's Ross Fisher, Alvaro Quiros of Spain and Swede Alexander Noren are the current front-runners as the captain will, for the first time, be allowed to pick three wildcards instead of the traditional two.

However, that leaves the likes of Justin Rose, Francisco Molinari, Oliver Wilson, Luke Donald and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano out in the cold.

It's a quandary for Montgomerie but one that the Scot will tackle with trademark relish.

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