• Out of Bounds

Ryder Cup worries aplenty for Pavin

Jeff Overton showed a soft underbelly when the pressure was on © Getty Images

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For Colin Montgomerie, things are shaping up quite nicely with the Ryder Cup now just two months away. The Europe captain has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, with 11 Europeans inside the world's top 20. But it is a total contrast for his US counterpart Corey Pavin.

The big names in US golf took the weekend off, ahead of the Bridgestone Invitational which gets underway on Thursday, and the result of the Greenbrier Classic saw Tiger Woods tumble out of the automatic qualification spots. That really is of no significance, as if Woods makes himself available he will be in the team.

Scratch a little further below the surface and the problems facing Pavin become clear. Take out the US No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 - Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker and Anthony Kim - and quality and experience looks a little thin on the ground. At No. 4 and virtually guaranteed a place in the team is Jeff Overton, a player of quality but one who showed a frail side under pressure at the weekend. Overton held a three-shot lead heading into the final round, but Stuart Appleby's closing 59 turned up the heat and a couple of simple missed putts cost Overton the Greenbrier Classic title.

The pressure at the Greenbrier Classic will be nothing compared to the intensity at Celtic Manor at the start of October. There is no doubt that Montgomerie will have noted Overton's failure to get over the line, given the attention to detail he has shown in his preparations, and it will be something he will look to expose.

The exuberance of youth can be good for the dynamic of a team, but the final three in the current US standings are Lucas Glover, Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson and none of the trio have tasted Ryder Cup action. Glover has a major title to his name, the 2009 US Open, and has winning form in the Presidents Cup but there is no substitute for Ryder Cup experience.

Woods, Hunter Mahan and Stewart Cink are on the fringe of the team and Pavin will have his fingers crossed that they can produce late charges to secure automatic selection. Cink and Mahan played their part in the USA victory in 2008 and that experience could be a deciding factor. Woods may not have the greatest record in the Ryder Cup, but he is still the No. 1 player in the world and he carries a presence with him that could inspire others around him.

There are likely to be changes in the next few weeks before the final teams have to be named, but as things stand the Europe team towers over their USA rivals in terms of experience, form and overall quality.

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