Watson to lead US in Ryder Cup

Updated December 14, 2012 06:55:56

Eight-time major champion Tom Watson has been named as captain of the 2014 US Ryder Cup squad.

Watson, a five-time British Open champion, was selected in hopes of ending an American slump in the biennial golf showdown. The Europeans have won five of the past six Ryder Cup matches, including at Medinah near Chicago last September.

The 63-year-old Watson, who contested the Australian Open in Sydney last week, is the oldest captain in US Ryder Cup history.

The prior US Ryder Cup captain age mark belonged to Sam Snead, who was 57 when he guided the Americans in 1969.

"It's going to be a great journey. I hope that we will change the tide," Watson said.

Watson will be 65 when the next Ryder Cup is contested in 2014 at Gleneagles in Scotland.

He first served as the US captain in 1993, the last time a US squad won a Ryder Cup on European soil.

AFP

Tags: golf, sport, united-states

First posted December 14, 2012 06:55:56

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US in sight of Ryder Cup triumph

Updated September 30, 2012 13:27:09

The United States maintained a stranglehold on the 39th Ryder Cup, winning the foursomes and sharing the fourballs overnight to leave Europe trailing 10-6 at the end of the day.

That left Davis Love and his men in prime position to retain the trophy they lost agonisingly at Celtic Manor, Wales two years ago.

It left Europe needing to match the record last day comeback set by the US team at Brookline, Massachusetts in 1999 when it won from four down.

The afternoon's fourballs ended with two wins for Europe as darkness fell after the Americans had won the first two on the back of dominating the morning foursomes 3-1.

To retain the cup, Jose Maria Olazabal's men need to win eight out of the closing 12 singles, a highly-unlikely scenario given that the Americans have habitually been stronger on the final day.

The Americans need just four and a half points to get past the winning post.

Mission impossible as concerns Europe for some, but US crowd-pleaser Bubba Watson said there was still plenty fight left in the European team.

"The team is not going to lay down. Europe is not going to lay down.

"They are not going to give it to us. We have to play good golf and come out focused and ready to win some points," he said.

Love said he would continue with the approach he has had all week telling his 12 players to relax and have fun.

"All I'm going to stress to them is - all you can do is just go win your match.

"You can't think about the outcome of the day and what the other guys are doing, and we don't want to talk about how many points we need or what it's going to take to win. We just want to go play." he said.

The home team took up early on Saturday where it left off on Friday evening with one hand round the European throats as the star duo of Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley once again led the charge.

Their 7 and 6 thumping of former world number ones Lee Westwood and Luke Donald equalled the highest ever 18-hole winning margin by a Ryder Cup pairing, and the first time such a drubbing had been handed out since 1991.

Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson scored their second straight win for the United States, while Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker turned the tables on Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell who beat them in the first match out on Friday.

Only English pair Ian Poulter and Justin Rose provided some respite for Olazabal with a victory at the last hole over Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson.

That left the Americans 8-4 ahead at the end of the morning's play and Olazabal saying his team had to at least carry the afternoon session to have any realistic chance of retaining the trophy on Sunday.

But that never looked likely as once again the hosts dominated from the start of the fourballs.

Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson came home with their second straight win in the format, edging the untested partnership of Nicolas Colsaerts and Paul Lawrie by 1 up.

Watson and Simpson then put their morning reverse behind them to romp away to a 5 and 4 win over Rose and Francesco Molinari.

That put the Americans 10-4 up with two games to go and the dejection was clear to see on the faces of Europe's players, fans and skipper Olazabal.

There was something for them to cheer at last when Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia, both pointless through the three first sessions, defeated Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker at the last hole.

It was a third straight defeat for the Woods-Stricker pairing, having been left out of the morning session - the first time that Woods had been benched in a Ryder Cup career dating back to 1997.

And then five straight birdies from the 14th from Poulter, including a clutch 12-footer at the last saw the Englishman and world number one McIlroy, playing for the first time without McDowell, overhaul the previously unbeaten Dufner and Johnson for a win that left Europe with a glimmer of a hope.

"It was huge - those last two matches were massive. That keeps us in just with a chance.

"It's been done before in the past. And tomorrow is going to be a big day," Olazabal said.

AFP

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First posted September 30, 2012 13:27:09

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Europe pulls off Ryder Cup miracle

By Andrew McGarry

Updated October 01, 2012 11:39:23

Europe has won the Ryder Cup on the final day with the biggest and most remarkable comeback in the competition's history.

Once again, the biennial competition ended in heart-stopping drama, with German Martin Kaymer setting off wild celebrations when he sunk a difficult putt on the last hole of the penultimate match to ensure at least a tie.

The German's victory meant Europe retained the Cup, having won two years ago at the Celtic Manor club in Wales.

Francesco Molinari and Tigers Woods halved the final, dead rubber to deliver a 141/2-131/2 outright win for the European team.

It was an emotional result for Europe, whose golfers were wearing the colours of Cup legend Seve Ballesteros who died from brain cancer last year.

Captain Jose-Maria Olazabal - who formed one of the great Ryder Cup partnerships with Ballesteros - shed tears in the aftermath of victory.

"The boys have done a wonderful job - I had a few thoughts about my friend Seve and this one's for him," he said, before breaking down.

Asked if he had ever experienced anything like it, Olazabal replied: "No. That's why this event is so special, you get 12 guys to give their hearts to win this, those guys give their best, they give 120 per cent."

"Unbelievable day, one that will go down in history.

"It's hard to express it in words. I knew it was going to be difficult but, at the same time, I truly believed we could do it."

Kaymer said he embraced the pressure on the back nine.

"This is indescribable," he said.

"I was so nervous in the last two or three holes. Olazabal came up to me on the 16th and told me we needed my point to win the Ryder Cup. I loved that feeling. Loved it.

"You cannot compare the pressure of winning this to winning my major. I won that for myself. But today I could hear my team and hear all the people. My season hasn't been good but today I made a huge step for my confidence."

The crowd at Medinah Country Club in Chicago had been heavily behind the home side, letting out roars at every American putt holed and point scored.

But there were plenty of European supporters in the crowd as well, meaning rival chants of "USA" and "Ole, Ole, Ole" punctured the air as each team made decisive shots.

Europe, which was 10-6 down going into the final 12 singles matches, won the first five on the card in a stunning start to the day.

Luke Donald beat Bubba Watson 2 & 1, and then his fellow Briton Ian Poulter fashioned a stunning recovery shot on the 18th to hold his lead and beat Webb Simpson 2-up - giving Poulter a 100 per cent win record for the week.

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy defeated Keegan Bradley 2 & 1 after nearly failing to make his tee-time.

Phil Mickelson was leading late against Justin Rose, but the Brit holed a putt of more than 12 metres on the 17th to level the match and then took advantage of a shocking failure of the American's short game to sink a putt and seal the win.

When Scot Paul Lawrie beat FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker 5 & 3, the United States team looked under pressure.

The home side rallied with wins to the Johnsons, Dustin and Zach, over Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell respectively to leave the score at 12-11 to the US.

Lee Westwood levelled the match again with a 3 & 2 win over Matt Kuchar.

The tension built, as a usually taciturn Jim Furyk jumped for joy on 16 thinking he had holed a birdie putt to go 2-up with two to play against Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

His joy turned to horror however, as the ball spun out of the cup to give Garcia hope of victory.

On the next Furyk hit long into a bunker, and lost the hole to even the match going down to the last.

Then the American hit his drive into the bunker again on the 18th and was off the green in two.

Garcia had a putt for victory which missed, but Furyk's putt to halve the match slid wide to give Europe the lead for the first time in the entire competition.

Jason Dufner got the Medinah crowd roaring again as he closed out a 2-up victory over Swede Peter Hanson.

It came down to the final two matches - Kaymer versus America's Steve Stricker, and Woods against Italy's Molinari.

The first match was level going to 17, where Stricker had the advantage with a much closer tee-shot.

However the German lagged an extremely long first putt to within a few feet, and then holed a pressure putt to go 1-up with one to play when Stricker - normally a rock-solid putter - inexplicably three-putted.

The last match was also all square with two to play. Molinari drove over the pin but his ball trickled over the edge of the green. Woods landed in almost the same spot but stayed on the green to take the advantage.

Molinari ran his ball well past and missed the one back to give Woods a one hole lead going down the last.

The decisive drama came fittingly at the 18th, where Kaymer drove into the bunker and Stricker landed on the fairway.

Somehow the German hit the green with his second, receiving a kind bounce to give himself a birdie chance.

Stricker's approach ran to the back of the green, then his long putt ran well to the left of the hole. Kaymer had a 25-footer to win the Cup, but it slid well by.

The American had to sink his par putt to keep his team's hopes alive, and it went straight in the centre to put the pressure squarely back on Kaymer.

As everyone held their breath, the German then holed the longest five-footer of his life to clinch the vital victory that took Europe to an unassailable 14 points.

Woods missed a short put on the last to halve his match with Molinari, and somehow Europe had won the Cup outright.

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First posted October 01, 2012 08:39:45

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McIlroy in Ryder Cup times mixup

Updated October 01, 2012 06:52:15

Rory McIlroy nearly missed his tee off time in the third Ryder Cup singles match at Medinah Country Club on Sunday following a mixup over times.

The world number one was seen being driven hastily into the course with 10 minutes to go before he was due to take on Keegan Bradley.

He rapidly pulled his golf shoes on and acknowledged skipper Jose Maria Olazabal before heading straight to the practice putting green.

US TV reports said that McIlroy in his hotel room had mistaken eastern seaboard time for Chicago time which is one hour later.

McIlroy promptly pushed his first drive into the crowds lining the side of the first fairway and the ball bounced back to nestle in a bunch of TV cables.

He got relief from that but then badly under-hit his approach shot.

A superb chip stone dead ensured his par, and the hole was halved.

"We didn't have that in mind," said Olazabal of McIlroy's no-show drama.

"All of a sudden we realised that he wasn't here. We looked for him and nobody knew where he was. He came in with a police escort and made it with 10 or 12 minutes before he was due to tee off," he said.

The incident did not have too much impact on the Northern Ireland golfer, who went on to beat Bradley by 2 & 1.

AFP

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First posted October 01, 2012 06:52:15

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US takes first-day Ryder Cup lead

Updated September 29, 2012 12:18:35

The United States lead 5-3 after a pulsating first day's play in the 39th Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club - a lead that would have been greater but for an extraordinary afternoon round from European rookie Nicholas Colsaerts.

In a format that habitually favours the Europeans, Davis Love's team took the fourballs 3-1 after sharing the alternate ball foursomes 2-2 in the morning's play.

All 24 players were in action during a day which started so promisingly for Europe but which ended so positively for the United States who are out to regain the trophy lost in Wales two years ago.

The one downside for America was Tiger Woods' miserable Ryder Cup record (now 13-16-2) continuing losing the two games he was involved in with Steve Striker and both players have been rested for the foursomes on day two.

He cannot be blamed for the afternoon's reverse when Belgian Colsaerts carried partner Lee Westwood with one of the greatest rounds in the history of the competition.

Colsaerts hit an eagle and eight birdies, meaning Europe won the final match of the day by one stroke despite Woods' five birdies on the back nine.

"I didn't play very good this morning at all," Woods said. "I was hitting it awful and not doing anything well. But drove it great this afternoon and was in position.

"Nicolas probably had one of the greatest putting rounds I've ever seen ... we had a chance to all square on the last hole, and I missed it."

The American heroes were rookie Keegan Bradley, showing passion and talent in securing two points with Phil Mickelson, who was winning a record ninth US cap, and Bubba Watson who fired up the big Chicago crowd with his attacking game.

"This is one of the most emotional days playing in a Ryder Cup that we'll ever have," Mickelson said.

"It gets emotion out of every player, good or bad, and this has been one of the biggest highs that we've had.

"I just love playing with Keegan. He's just played so good all day and it's just kept me up the whole time. It's been awesome."

For Europe, eyebrows were raised over captain Jose Maria Olazabal's non-selection of Ryder Cup firebrand Ian Poulter for the fourballs after he and Justin Rose had beaten Woods and Stricker in the morning.

The two have been reunited for day two's foursomes.

World number one Rory McIlroy played both sessions with fellow Ulsterman Graeme McDowell and they met with mixed success, winning in the morning and losing in the afternoon.

"Obviously it was just a high to end this morning and then to try to get ourselves back for the afternoon, just didn't start as well as we would have liked," McIlroy said.

The US charge in the afternoon was spearheaded by crowd-pleaser Watson who teamed up with US Open champion Webb Simpson to crush Paul Lawrie and Peter Hanson 5 and 4.

Then, the on-fire pairing of Mickelson and Bradley led all the way to see off a tired-looking McIlroy and McDowell 2 and 1 in what was the pick of the later matchups.

Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar made it 3-0 with a 3 and 2 win over Rose and Martin Kaymer before Colsaerts was the inspiration for Europe as he and Lee Westwood held off Woods and Stricker to win by one hole.

Earlier in the day, the atmosphere at Medinah, at 7,658 yards the longest course in Ryder Cup history, was electric as McDowell got proceedings under way shortly after the crack of dawn in chilly conditions.

But it soon deflated as Europe took an early command, leaving US skipper Love complaining that it was all too quiet for his liking.

Europe were ahead in all four of the foursomes as the lead group stood on the eighth green, but it was Mickelson and Bradley that led the US fightback.

At one stage the advantage was briefly with the Americans, but a share of the spoils to get things going seemed a fair result for the morning's play.

It was the first time that had happened in the opening session of the Ryder Cup since 1997 at Valderrama in Spain.

All that was to change in the afternoon though as the United States took command and Europe will need to quickly redress the balance in Friday's second round of foursomes and fourballs.

In the last 15 Ryder Cups the team leading after the first day has eventually gone on to win the trophy 12 times.

Day two foursomes pairings:

10.20pm - Webb Simpson/Bubba Watson (USA) v Justin Rose/Ian Poulter (Europe)

10.35pm - Keegan Bradley/Phil Mickelson (USA) v Lee Westwood/Luke Donald (Europe)

10.50pm - Jason Dufner/Zach Johnson (USA) v Nicolas Colsaerts/Sergio Garcia (Europe)

11.05pm - Jim Furyk/Brandt Snedeker (USA) v Rory McIlroy/Graeme McDowell (Europe)

AFP/ABC

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First posted September 29, 2012 09:57:11

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Ryder Cup foursomes pairings announced

Updated September 28, 2012 15:11:25

Northern Irish duo Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell will kick off Europe's defence of the Ryder Cup on Friday when they take on Americans Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker in the first of four foursomes.

Phil Mickelson will win a US record ninth cap when he goes out in the second tie with rookie Keegan Bradley, up against Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia who are unbeaten in four previous foursomes matches.

The third tie sees rookie Jason Dufner partner Zach Johnson against Europe's most experienced campaigner Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari of Italy.

In the morning anchor match Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker resume the winning partnership they formed two years ago against the English pair of Justin Rose and Ian Poulter.

US captain Davis Love said that Snedeker's fine recent form had been a key factor in his reckoning.

"This is the best four we felt like to start us off," he said.

"And order wise, there was not a whole lot of rhyme or reason to it, except that maybe pace of play. We wanted to get Brandt going - Brandt likes to get out there and get after it. Brandt was a good one to lead off.

"Obviously Phil and Keegan are a little bit excited to be playing, too, so get them going. And then we've got some pretty cool customers at the end that can handle whatever happens in the last two matches."

European counterpart Jose Maria Olazabal said that he had simply opted to send out what he felt were his four strongest foursomes pairings.

"When I look at foursomes, I want to have players who are consistent and are steady from tee to green. There were no surprises from Davis Love, they are all strong pairings and some of those have played before.

"The way my players are playing is the most important thing. They believe we can win here even though the US have the crowd advantage and the experience of playing here."

World number one McIlroy made his Ryder Cup debut with close friend McDowell at his side at Celtic Manor, Wales two years ago and they had one win, one loss and one halve.

But since then the 23-year-old from Holywood near Belfast has shot to superstardom with eight stroke triumphs at the 2011 US Open and 2012 US PGA Championship.

Up against them will be the veteran Furyk and Snedeker, who won over 11 million dollars last weekend by winning the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

The pairings for Friday morning's opening foursomes in the 39th Ryder Cup between the United States and Europe:

10.20pm - Jim Furyk/Brandt Snedeker (USA) v Rory McIlroy/Graeme McDowell (Europe)

10.35pm - Phil Mickelson/Keegan Bradley (USA) v Luke Donald/Sergio Garcia (Europe)

10.50pm - Jason Dufner/Zach Johnson (USA) v Lee Westwood/Francesco Molinari (Europe)

11.05pm - Steve Stricker/Tiger Woods (USA) v Ian Poulter/Justin Rose (Europe)

(All times in AEST)

Non-playing

United States: Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Bubba Watson

Europe: Nicolas Colsaerts, Paul Lawrie, Peter Hanson, Martin Kaymer

Fourballs to follow at 3.05am, 3.20am, 3.35am, 3.50am (pairings announced after foursomes finish)

AFP

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First posted September 28, 2012 09:47:38

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Love names star-studded Ryder Cup team

Updated September 05, 2012 13:32:45

US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love has named Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker as his captain's wildcard picks for the American Ryder Cup team.

Snedeker was chosen for his first Ryder Cup because of his stellar putting touch in the past month.

"We need hot putters," Love said. "There really hasn't been a better putter since the British Open."

The Americans will face holders Europe in the 39th edition of the biennial team golf matches on September 28-30 at Medinah near Chicago.

"I look forward to getting to Medinah and trying to make Davis look like he is a genius," Snedeker said.

Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Matt Kuchar qualified for the American side based upon points accumulated in tournaments through last month's PGA Championship.

"I think we have a great team," Love said. "We're extremely deep this time, deeper than we have ever been.

"There were a lot of guys who played a lot of good golf. It was tough to leave anybody off. It was a tough call for me."

Hunter Mahan, a two-time US PGA winner this year who has struggled in recent months, was not selected for the squad.

Furyk, making his eighth Ryder Cup start, and Stricker, another US veteran of team events, were joined by Dustin Johnson, who made his second Ryder Cup squad.

"I'm really looking forward to playing one on US soil," Dustin Johnson said.

"I can't be more excited," Furyk said.

Love said he was counting on veteran leadership from Stricker on and off the course.

"We all know how much fun it is and how much pride it takes to be part of this team," Stricker said.

"It will be exciting to play for Davis. It will be tremendous to get together for that one common goal and get that Cup back."

USA Ryder Cup team: Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, Jason Dufner, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Brandt Snedeker

European Ryder Cup team: Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Justin Rose (England), Paul Lawrie (Scotland), Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland), Francesco Molinari (Italy), Luke Donald (England), Lee Westwood (England), Sergio Garcia (Spain), Peter Hanson (Sweden), Martin Kaymer (Germany), Ian Poulter (England), Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium)

AFP

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First posted September 05, 2012 13:32:45

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Garcia takes third-round lead to boost Ryder Cup bid

Updated August 19, 2012 09:23:24

Sergio Garcia, seeking a European Ryder Cup spot, fired a 4-under par 66 on Saturday to seize a one-stroke lead after the third round of the US PGA Wyndham Championship.

Garcia, trying for his first US title since the 2008 Players Championship, stood on 14-under 196 after 54 holes, one shot in front of South African Tim Clark and American Bud Cauley.

"We've played good enough to put ourselves in a decent position to have a shot," Garcia said. "We'll go out there and see if we can play better than we did today and close it out."

The 32-year-old Spaniard birdied the par-3 third and par-5 fifth, then jumped into contention with back-to-back birdies at the par-3 12th and par-4 13th. He took a bogey at the 14th but answered with a birdie at the par-5 15th.

Garcia would need a high finish to put himself back into an automatic qualifying spot for the Ryder Cup team, otherwise he would have to catch the eye of European captain Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain for a captain's pick.

Garcia could also boost his chances in the upcoming US PGA playoffs with a victory, but the Ryder Cup was foremost in his thoughts.

"I am thinking more about the Ryder Cup than I am about the playoffs," said Garcia. "Hopefully, I'll be able to play well tomorrow and even if I don't win, it fixes everything up."

Clark fired a 67, opening with a birdie and adding another at the third, then sandwiching birdies at the 11th and 13th around a bogey at the 12th.

Cauley had back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth holes, took his lone bogey at the 13th and put himself in the hunt with birdies at 15, 16 and 17.

American Jason Dufner fired a sizzling bogey-free 63 to jump into a share of fourth place on 198 alongside compatriot Harris English and Sweden's Carl Pettersson, who both fired 68s.

Another stroke back on 199 were Americans Davis Love, Matt Every and Jimmy Walker.

Dufner, who squandered a late lead at last year's PGA Championship, won his first PGA title last April at New Orleans, got married the next weekend and then won again in May at the Byron Nelson Championship.

On Saturday, Dufner birdied the first, third and fifth holes, added another at the eighth, then closed with birdies on three of the last four holes, sinking one at 18 as well as the par-5 15th and par-3 16th.

"Kind of what I needed to get back in this tournament, post a low score and kind of be in the mix tomorrow," Dufner said.

AFP

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First posted August 19, 2012 09:23:24

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Garcia snaps title drought, qualifies for Ryder Cup

Updated August 21, 2012 10:35:48

Sergio Garcia snapped a four-year PGA Tour title drought with victory at the rain-delayed PGA Tour event in North Carolina overnight that secured the Spaniard a spot on the European Ryder Cup team.

Garcia, who had a one-shot lead after four holes on Sunday when play was halted at Sedgefield Country Club because of rain and thunderstorms, shot a 4-under 66 in the final round for an 18-under total, two shots clear of South African Tim Clark.

The Spaniard, who needed a strong result to force his way onto Europe's team for the September 28-30 Ryder Cup, guaranteed a place on the squad by securing his eighth PGA Tour victory and first since the 2008 Players Championship.

"I kind of did it last year, too, in Germany when I needed to play really, really well to get into the British Open, which is my favourite tournament, and almost won there and then got myself into the British Open," Garcia said.

"Now this year, here, hopefully this will secure my spot in the Ryder Cup team."

Garcia - who has played five Ryder Cups and finished on the winning team three times but missed Europe's victory at Celtic Manor in 2010 - dislodged Ian Poulter from the 10th automatic spot in the biennial team competition.

In Garcia's last appearance at Greensboro, he held a share of the third-round lead only to watch it slip away into a fourth place finish.

Garcia, 32, was one-under in his final round when play was halted on the weekend but this time held his nerve mixing five birdies with two bogeys on the back nine to secure the win.

After a bogey at the par-three 12th, Garcia stepped it up a gear with four birdies over his next five holes, including three straight from the 15th before ending his round with a bogey.

"I think that that year (2009) I was pretty much in control and I lost it myself," Garcia said.

"The course didn't do anything wrong to me.

"I was just trying to be confident (this time), trying to be aggressive as much as I could and believe in my ability to play."

Reuters

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First posted August 21, 2012 10:35:48

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Ballesteros factor could move Ryder Cup

Posted May 17, 2011 08:49:00

European golf officials must decide between honouring the memory of Spanish great Seve Ballesteros and taking the Ryder Cup to new lands when they choose the venue for the 2018 edition on Tuesday.

Since the death of Ballesteros this month, support has grown for the Spanish bid which had the backing of the five-times major champion, who famously captained Europe to victory on home soil at Valderrama in 1997.

France, Germany, Netherlands and Portugal are bidding to stage the event for the first time.

Ballesteros' brother Baldomero has appealed "to the sensitivity of the Ryder Cup committee" when deciding on the best tribute to the Spaniard.

Others believe changing the European Tour logo into an image of Ballesteros capturing the 1984 Open at St. Andrews would be a better way of remembering one of golf's most charismatic figures rather than giving Spain another Ryder Cup.

"It would not be a good thing to give the Ryder Cup again to Spain because of Seve and besides, you should not be showing your appreciation for Seve in seven years' time," France's former Ryder Cup player Thomas Levet said.

"If you have to do something for Seve, you have to do it now like changing the European Tour logo."

Levet, who played at the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills won by Europe, said France could put on a memorable show.

"Everything has been paid for, and also if you look at where the Le National course is located, it's just outside Paris and how attractive will that be for those attending the Ryder Cup?" he said.

Portugal's economic problems are potentially a factor when the European Tour announces the decision at Wentworth.

Europe won last year's edition of the biannual contest against the United States at Celtic Manor in Wales with the next Ryder Cup taking place at the Medinah Country Club near Chicago.

The 2014 event is scheduled for Gleneagles in Scotland.

- Reuters

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