THE OPEN RELATED STORIES The Open Home Page The Open Scores Round 4: Tiger Woods seals two shot victory Round 4: Emotional Tiger Woods thanks late father Round 4: Players give Hoylake top marks Round 4: Ernie Els continues impressive Open run Round 4: Marius Thorp wins Silver Medal Round 4: Sergio Garcia takes positives from Open Round 4: Chris DiMarco consoled by second place Round 4: Tiger Woods edges ahead of field Round 3: Sergio Garcia in sight of first major title Round 3: Ernie Els happy to still be in the mix Round 3: Putting problems keep Woods back Round 3: Chris DiMarco counts on experience Round 2: Woods and Els set for showdown Round 2: Singh & Monty amongst cut casualties Round 2: Ernie Els relishes being in contention Round 2: David Duval frustrated again Round 2: Phil Mickelson well off the pace Round 2: Poor showing by Ryder Cup hopefuls Round 1: Woods makes move with eagle on 18th Round 1: Clarke to take break to care for wife Round 1: Seve Ballesteros happy with opening 74 Round 1: Ernie Els finds putting touch again Round 1: Garcia amongst early front runners Leading contenders for the British Open Tiger Woods ready for Open defence Geoff Ogilvy enjoying life as a champion Weather set fair at Hoylake Phil Mickelson in confident mood Tiger Woods & Nick Faldo fued simmers Trevor Immelman pulls out of Open Players expecting to score low at Hoylake Ben Curtis has sights on second Open title Montgomerie still optimistic about breaking duck Rest of the World catching the Americans Hoylake ready for a new chapter Europeans seeking a Major turnaround Trevor Immelman celebrates birth of first child Tiger Woods is bookmakers favourite Hot, dry and fast Hoylake awaits players Nick Faldo & Tiger Woods row diffused Hoylake a mystery to the whole field John Daly plays "The Cavern" Retief Goosen not confident heading into Open John Senden joins record number of Australians Woods starts Open defence with Faldo The Open Preview Course Guide: Hoylake - Royal Liverpool 2006 European Tour Schedule NEWS & TOUR TOP STORIES Nick Faldo receives his Knighthood LPGA wins Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge Mickelson raises expectations for 2010 Race to Dubai nears its conclusion Thousands follow Tiger Woods practice round Fans warned about fake Ryder Cup tickets COMPETITIONS, GIFTS AND OFFERS WIN a 3 night sunshine break in Spain! WIN 18 holes, dinner, B&B at Oulton Hall WIN the Official Open 2011 DVD WIN The Golf Miscellany Open Champion Tom Watson's DVD Get the Open Fairways card for just £59!

Poor showing by Ryder Cup hopefuls

Tom Lehman had plenty of reasons to be disgusted Friday at Royal Liverpool.

He celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his British Open victory by taking triple bogey on the seventh hole to tumble out of contention. Needing a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to make the cut, he took a bogey and was headed home.

Worse yet was the performance of his potential Ryder Cup team.

Of the Americans between Nos. 6 and 18 in the Ryder Cup standings, Vaughn Taylor was the only one who made the cut.

Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink spent two days playing practice rounds with captain Lehman, and neither broke par in the first two rounds. Lucas Glover (No. 10 in the standings), shot 73 and has not made the cut in a major this year.

Perhaps the most troubling was Davis Love III, who is 11th in the standings and is no guarantee to be a captain's pick.

Love went from the lead to missing the cut at The Players Championship. He finished outside the top 20 at the Masters, and now has missed the cut in the U.S. Open and the British Open. He wasn't even close at Hoylake, not making a birdie until the final hole for a 72 that put him at 3-over 147.

Fred Couples is No. 12 and started with a 70, appearing to cope with his ailing back. Then came a 76 in the second round, and he was gone.

Taylor birdied the final hole for a 71 to make the cut on the number.

The other ray of hope came from Chris DiMarco, who shot 65 and was three shots out of the lead. DiMarco started the year at No. 4 in the standings, but only one top 10 -- an eight-way tie for ninth at the Match Play Championship -- has sent him tumbling to No. 21.

"Hopefully, I can get some points," DiMarco said. "And if not, at least show Tom that my game is back and I'm ready to go. I know he knows the drive and the competitiveness in me is there, but he has to see some signs of good golf, and hopefully that will carry over to the weekend."

DiMarco showed Lehman a pulse for two days. The rest of the Ryder Cup wannabes showed a flat line.