Lee
Westwood and Darren Clarke have the perfect chance to build some confidence for
next month's Ryder Cup as they head to Switzerland for this week's Canon European
Masters.
The
picturesque Crans-sur-Sierre Alpine resort is famous for yielding low scores and
20-under-par won't necessarily be enough to pocket the first prize this week.
The thin air means the ball
tends to fly far and as the course measures just 6,747 yards then it really is
there for the taking.
Clarke
and Westwood are joined by fellow Ryder Cupper Miguel Angel Jimenez and a host
of former winners at the Alpine course including Costantino Rocca, Mathias Gronberg
and Sven Struver.
The
three Ryder Cup men dominate the betting but with no Colin Montgomerie in the
field there'll be plenty who'll feel that they're in with a chance.
THE LEADING CONTENDERS
Lee Westwood: The
young Englishman has won his last two starts on the European Tour but his chances
of making it a hat-trick must be hindered by his outing in the NEC Invitational
last week. As well as the possible jet-lag there's also the little matter of his
substandard performance which saw him finish tied 31st of the 41 runners. Westwood
has performed pretty well here in the past (tied 10th in 1996 and tied 12th last
year) but his odds look skinny.
Darren
Clarke: The Ulsterman shared Westwood's disappointment last week, matching
his hugely disappointing tied 33rd in the NEC. Again the jet-lag factor will apply
but that may be balanced by the confidence that his past record here will give
him. In the last six years, the Ulsterman has finished in the top seven a staggering
five times with a third place last year his nearest brush with victory. Clearly
he loves the course so expect him to be high on the leaderboard in spite of last
week's flop.
Miguel
Angel Jimenz: The Spaniard was another to hardly promote Europe's Ryder Cup
cause last week as he finished an out-of-contention tied 27th at the NEC Invitational.
Like Clarke though he may find some solace in his fine record here. Twelve months
ago he finished tied seventh for the second time in three years while he was actually
runner-up here in 1993. He's played some excellent golf this year despite some
inconsistency of late and looks a fair bet for the top 10.
Per-Ulrik
Johansson: The Swede has probably known for some time that his golf hasn't
been good enough to get him into another Ryder Cup team and he must have felt
low over the last few weeks with all the talk about Brookline and his name not
mentioned once. The bookies respect his chances this week however as he has put
in some strong performances at this venue. Between 1992 and 1994 he was in the
top ten three times so that suggests he's not a no-hoper.
Thomas
Bjorn: The Dane will be another to feel the disappointment of a failed Ryder
Cup bid and his recent form suggests it will be hard for him to shake that setback
off. Bjorn managed tied seventh here in 1996 but his form was much better then
and his tied 30th last year might be a more likely outcome this time.
Patrick Sjoland:
Many expected great things of the young Swede this year but he's fallen way short
of those high hopes with not a single top five finish. He threatened to make a
big mark at the Open when briefly taking the lead in round three before fading
to tied 18th. And since then he seems to have lost his game completely, missing
four cuts in succession including the USPGA last time. In direct contrast is his
form here. Two years ago he finished tied fourth and last year he was runner-up
so there's conflicting evidence over his chances.
Costantino
Rocca: Rocca's win in the West of Ireland Classic gave him a shot at making
the Ryder Cup but he made a mess of his chance by finishing down the field in
Munich. With the pressure off the Italian could bounce back this week at a course
where he has thrived. He has three superb performances here – a fourth last year,
a tied second in 1995 and a victory in 1997 which was achieved with a final round
62.
Jarrod
Moseley: The young Aussie has made a huge impact this year after being a virtual
unknown to many punters at the start of the campaign. He came to prominence when
winning the Heineken Classic in Perth at the beginning of the year and he's proved
that was no fluke with three top three finishes in his last seven starts. The
most recent came in the BMW International Open on his last outing so he is one
of the hot players arriving in Switzerland this week.
Mathias
Gronberg: Gronberg isn't rated as one of the very top Swedes but he could
prove to be the best of his countrymen this week. In the last three starts he's
recorded a top 20 in the Scandinavian Masters and a ninth place in the BMW International.
As well as that he also has impressive course form. He won this tournament in
1995, was 12th in 1997 and tied seventh in 1998. Looks one for the shortlist.
Angel Cabrera: The
Argentine has been one of the European Tour's real form horses over the last few
months and registered two runners-up finishes and three other top tens in a spell
of eight tournaments before he missed the cut in the USPGA on his last start.
One of those high finishes was at the British Open at Carnoustie and his performance
there showed what a fine player he is despite an continued inability to get his
nose in front. At this venue his form is a bit of a disappointment however with
a tied 23rd in 1996 his best result in five years.
BEST
OF THE REST
Veterans
Nick Faldo and Sam Torrance both have fine records here and a win
for the former would certainly be ironic given his Ryder Cup snub. Last year's
winner Sven Struver could be inspired by a return while Swede Mats Lanner
has been a regular in the top ten. David Park has shot some low scores
this year and this could be the perfect place for him.
SUMMARY
On a track where a 59 is
not beyond the realms of possibility (60 is the course record) then it should
be a real birdie blitz this week.
With
the course playing very short then it's really down to who will hole the most
putts and that's why we'll go with young Aussie Jarrod Moseley as our headline
pick.
The
Aussie, who caused a sensation at the start of the year when wiping out Ernie
Els' six-shot lead in the final round to win the Heinken Classic, has gone from
strength to strength since then, posting three other top three finishes.
In the last month his form
has been superb with finishes of third, 18th, ninth and third. Over those four
tournaments he's a combined 44-under-par and that shows he has the ability to
shoot the low numbers that are required to do well at Crans-sur-Sierre.
He's able to do that because
of his expert touch on the greens and it's no surprise to see him tied sixth in
putting.
You'll
find 33-1 on offer over the Aussie which looks a good price with question marks
over many of his rivals.
The
two who could really push him closest are former winners Costantino Rocca and
Mathias Gronberg.
Rocca
failed in his Ryder Cup bid in Germany two weeks ago but prior to that he had
won the West of Ireland Classic.
And
with the pressure off again he has a fine chance of winning back the title he
claimed here two years ago when he burst through the field with a closing 62.
Also fourth in 1998 and
tied second in 1995 this course is right up Rocca's street and he's fair value
at 25-1.
Gronberg
gained his win here in 1995 and has made several happy returns since including
a tied seventh last year.
A
top 20 and a top 10 in two of his last three starts suggests his form is solid
enough to have another crack at one of his favourite tournaments. Take the 33-1.
Finally, on a course where
birdies are crucial, we'll throw in David Park.
The
rookie Welshman burst onto the scene as he made an amazing start to his European
Tour career when losing a play-off at the sixth extra hole on his debut and then
winning the European Grand Prix on his second start.
Naturally
he's cooled off since but he showed another burst of wonderful golf with a first
round 62 in the BMW International Open two weeks ago.
A
final round 80 rather spoiled that effort but on an easy course he's unlikely
to throw in another score like that. Much more likely is a string of low scores
and his third place on the putting stats must bode well.
