The Ryder Cup is very much on the agenda as the European Tour lands in Scotland for this week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
It's the final event counting towards qualification for the European team and Colin Montgomerie will name his three wild-card selections on Sunday, once play has concluded. As it stands, he is going to have to disappoint two of the world's top 22, with Paul Casey, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and Justin Rose all electing to play in the The Barclays this week, the opening event of the lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs.
Their absence leaves the door open for either Alvaro Quiros or Simon Dyson (both need to win), or Ross McGowan (top-two finish) to force their way into the squad. The player most at risk of losing his place is Miguel Angel Jimenez, who is ninth in the points list, and the Spaniard has elected to play this week rather than attend a family wedding.
My Three Off The Tee:-
Shane Lowry @ 50/1 Paddy Power
Clearly, Quiros, Dyson and McGowan all have a big incentive to play this week and of the trio, I like Quiros most as he has more bottle than the other two. However, a lousy weather forecast puts me off backing him as he's not the greatest player in the wind and rain and the draw could well be factor too. Lowry on the other hand will be licking his lips at the prospect of a soggy week as he is a sound operator in poor weather, as he showed when winning the Irish Open as an amateur last year. It's taken him a while to make an impact as a pro but his golf of late has been eye-catching, with 17th place at the BMW Championship, third in the JP McManus Pro-Am and seventh in the Scottish Open his best efforts. A second round 64 at last week's Czech Open shows his game is still in good order.
Stephen Gallacher @ 28/1 bet365
The Scot has no chance of making Monty's team but will nevertheless fancy his chances of winning on home soil as he is playing as well as anyone in the field. Fourth place at the Scottish Open in July has been followed by an excellent 18th at the USPGA and a respectable 23rd at St Andrews, while he can also boast fourth place finishes in top notch company in the Wales Open and British PGA. His course form isn't that shabby either with four top-10 finishes here in the last 10 years. A must for any staking plan for sure.
Graeme Storm @ 66/1 Totesport
The Englishman is harder to fancy after his woeful 78th place in the Czech Open but we can forgive him one bad run as his form before that was pretty decent, with his 11th in Paris and 12th at Loch Lomond particularly eye-catching. What I really like about him this week, though, is his form at Gleneagles, which reads: runner-up in 2008, fifth in 2007 and tied-14th last year. That's no surprise really as wind is nearly always a factor here and the Englishman copes better than most in those conditions.
Bubbling Under: Jamie Donaldson (60/1 Skybet)
Another player who seems to excel when the elements get tough, as he showed when tied-6th here last year, and has enjoyed a fine 2010 with six top-10 finishes - 5/1 with Stan James for another one this week.
Punters Beware: Alvaro Quiros, Simon Dyson and Ross McGowan
There'll be a lot of pressure on the trio of Ryder Cup hopefuls and the pressure might tell at the business end; the forecast poor weather won't help Quiros either.
Recommended Bets:-
Shane Lowry 1pt each-way @ 50/1 Paddy Power
Stephen Gallacher 2pts @ 28/1 bet365
Graeme Storm 1pt each-way @ 66/1 Totesport