Nine of Europe’s Ryder Cup team return to action on the European Tour in this week’s £1,250,000 (1,750,000 euro) Linde German Masters at Gut Lärchenhof, Cologne.
It will be a case of business as usual for the players who produced a series of stirring performances at The Country Club last week and only narrowly missed the chance to become the first European side to win the Ryder Cup on three successive occasions.
Colin Montgomerie, Europe’s Number One in monetary terms and by example following his on-course leadership in Boston, will head the list of top class entries in the last of four tournaments in Germany this season.
Montgomerie will defend the title he won last year by a single stroke from Robert Karlsson and Vijay Singh while also in the field is another of the Brookline sensations, Sergio Garcia.
Garcia, who linked up with Jesper Parnevik to such dramatic effort on his Ryder Cup debut, returns to Europe for the first time since the Smurfit European Open in July.
Also competing in Cologne are José Maria Olazábal, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Lee Westwood, Andrew Coltart, Jarmo Sandelin, Jean Van de Velde and Padraig Harrington.
American Fred Couples and South African Ernie Els, now a resident at Wentworth Estate in England for part of the year, are also back in Europe to play in the Linde German Masters along with several Ryder Cup heroes of the past in Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam, Costantino Rocca and Bernhard Langer.
Sam Torrance, one of Mark James’s vice-captains last week, can get the clubs back out following a week of shouting himself hoarse as one of the tremendous European backroom team.
Also back in action following a short break at home in Las Vegas is American Bob May, recent winner of the Victor Chandler British Masters at Woburn, while Swede Pierre Fulke, who captured the Trophée Lancôme, plays in a field of the highest quality.
