Nick Faldo is hardly brimming with confidence at the now-or-never moment in his bid to play his way back into Europe's Ryder Cup side.

The recently married 44-year-old needs to recapture top form at this week's PGA Championship in Atlanta to climb into an automatic spot. But after practicing on the 7,213-yard, par-70 Highland Club course, he's not optimistic.

"It's too long for me," said Faldo. "I think there are two birdie chances for me. I'm at a serious disadvantage here. It's a slugger's golf course."

But Lee Westwood was one of Faldo's practice partners, and afterward he refused to write off the chances of the man with whom he was successful on his cup debut at Valderrama in 1997.

"You can still see that Nick's got it," said Westwood. "I don't think he missed a fairway. The quality's there. You don't win six majors without being a great player."

Faldo's Ryder Cup hopes have receded since he was third in the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club in May. He was only 72nd at the U.S. Open and missed the cut in the British Open to fall outside the top 25 in the points race.

Only if he gets into the top 12 of the table by the end of the PGA Championship will he qualify for next week's $5 million NEC Invitational in Akron.

Faldo could still be a wild card call-up by captain Sam Torrance, of course, but Torrance's hands are tied somewhat at present by the fact that U.S. Tour winners this season Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik are not in an automatic spot. Neither are other major winners in Jose Maria Olazabal, Ian Woosnam and Paul Lawrie, or world No. 34 Miguel Angel Jimenez.

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