• World Rankings

Monty calls for stars to earn their stripes

Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia are in danger of missing out on Ryder Cup qualification © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Captain Montgomerie happy to shoulder responsibility
  
• News: Monty chooses Clarke for vice-captain role
  
• News: McDowell plans rest after 'diabolical' performance
  
• Profile: Paul Casey | Luke Donald | Sergio Garcia | Rory McIlroy | Colin Montgomerie | Ian Poulter | Lee Westwood

Colin Montgomerie has called for his Ryder Cup stars to stand up and be counted as the Europeans continue to creep up the world rankings.

Ahead of this year's Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in October, European golf is looking strong with five British players in the top ten.

But despite moving up to eighth in the world rankings after finishing tied for third at the Open Championship, Paul Casey may not get an automatic place in Montgomerie's Ryder Cup team.

World No. 3 Lee Westwood leads the European Ryder Cup standings, followed by Rory McIlroy, US Open Champion Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter, with players like Casey and Sergio Garcia in danger of missing out on automatic selection.

Montgomerie has called for the big European names to step up and secure automatic qualification, leaving him free to choose his wildcards without obligation to pick the big name players who have failed to qualify.

"I want as many of our so called big-hitters to pick up from now on so I don't have to waste picks on stars and use my wild cards the way I'd like to," he said.

"So I'll be looking at the likes of Paul Casey, Martin Kaymer and Henrik Stenson. And Sergio Garcia, too - he is in form and if he can prove to me and his peers he's still there to enable himself to get picked, then great."

Montgomerie finished tied for 68th after finishing four-over-par, 20 shots off the pace and is quick to accept admitted his own form is well off his best.

"I'm not firing on all cylinders at all," he said. "I need to be firing on all eight and I'm not doing that unfortunately. But with the Ryder Cup in mind things couldn't be going much better when you look at the leaderboard.

World Rankings:
1. Tiger Woods (USA), 2. Phil Mickelson (USA), 3. Lee Westwood (Eng), 4. Steve Stricker (USA), 5. Jim Furyk (USA), 6. Ernie Els (RSA), 7. Rory McIlroy (NI), 8. Paul Casey (Eng), 9. Luke Donald (Eng), 10. Ian Poulter (Eng), 11. Graeme McDowell (NI), 12. Martin Kaymer (GER), 13. Anthony Kim (USA), 14. Robert Allenby (Aus), 15. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA), 16. Retief Goosen (RSA), 17. Padraig Harrington (IRE), 18. Justin Rose (Eng), 19. Sean O'Hair (USA), 20. Zach Johnson (USA)

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.