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Dutch Open win raises Langer's hopes for Ryder Cup

By BOB HARIG

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 2, 2001

On more than one occasion, Germany's Bernhard Langer has reinvented himself, overcoming dreaded putting "yips" to win two Masters and a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

The pressure of earning a spot on this year's European Ryder Cup team, then, was nothing to a man who endured so much.

And yet Langer knew he had to produce a high finish last weekend at the Dutch Open. He knew European captain Sam Torrance would more than likely make Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik his captain's selections.

That he won the tournament, his first in four years, is one of Langer's top achievements in a career that has seen him win 38 European tour events and 64 worldwide.

"It's great to be in the Ryder Cup at the moment and hopefully for good," said Langer, who rose to seventh in the European standings. The top 10 automatically make the team. "I got a phone call from Sam straight after I walked off the course, congratulating me on making the team and helping him out. He only has two wild-card picks and he probably wishes he had three or four."

No doubt.

Now residing outside the top 10 in the European standings are Ian Woosnam (15th), Jose Maria Olazabal (17th), Garcia (18th) and Parnevik (outside top 25). Other than Woosnam, most of those players, including Langer, have competed in the United States, where they don't earn European Ryder Cup points except at the major and World Golf Championship events.

Langer was bitterly disappointed to not make the European team two years ago at Brookline. In retrospect, he probably should have been a wild-card pick of captain Mark James, who could have used Langer's experience. Langer played in every Ryder Cup from 1981 through 1987, posting an 18-15-5 record.

Now it looks like he'll be back for his 10th Ryder Cup appearance.

MORE BATTLES: The Battle at Bighorn may have had disappointing television ratings, but only in the context of the previous two exhibitions involving Tiger Woods. A 6.1 rating is huge in golf, nearing the levels of major championships. And because of Woods' new deal with Disney, he is under contract to play prime-time exhibitions, such as Monday night's competition that pitted him and Annika Sorenstam against David Duval and Karrie Webb, for the next four years.

One possibility suggested for next year: A match pairing Woods and Jack Nicklaus against South Africans Ernie Els and Gary Player.

TAMPA BAY CLASSIC: The tournament's Birdies for Charity program got a boost from TECO Energy, which announced that charities participating in the program will split $100,000 from a bonus pool.

The funds in the pool will be divided proportionately among charities that collect more than $2,400 in pledges for the new program that is part of the Tampa Bay Classic presented by Buick, Sept. 13-16 at the Westin Innisbrook Resort.

Participants make pledges to various charities based on the total number of birdies made in the tournament. Each charity keeps 100 percent of the collected pledges and is eligible to collect more from the TECO pool. For information on Birdies for Charity, call (727) 789-2755.

AROUND GOLF: When David Gossett won the John Deere Classic on Sunday, he became just the fifth U.S. Amateur champion in the past 15 years to win on the PGA Tour. The others: Billy Mayfair (who won the Amateur in 1987), Phil Mickelson (1990), Justin Leonard (1992) and Tiger Woods (1994, '95, '96). ... For those tired of Tiger, this is your Web site: www.AnybodyButTiger.com. "You turn on the TV, and all you see is Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods," site founder Bill Foss said. "You start to wonder, 'Is there anyone else out there?' " Foss said he's got nothing against Woods, but wants to see more exposure for other players. ... LPGA commissioner Ty Votaw is hoping ABC-TV will agree in the future to televise the Women's British Open the week after the men's championship. It might attract better media attention. He also wants to get St. Andrews in the women's rotation.

- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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