The thoroughness of its captain will ensure Europe's Ryder Cup team is well chosen, as Philip Reid reports

There's a story doing the rounds of the caddy shack for a long time of how, once upon a time, Bernhard Langer was playing a practice round with Colin Montgomerie and asked the Scot for a yardage. On receiving the information, Langer is reputed to have asked: "Is that from the front or the back of the sprinkler head?"

Yesterday, Langer finally dispelled the myth. "No, it's not true, it didn't happen . . . nobody is good enough to hit the ball within six inches, not from 180 yards or whatever. Germans might be precise, but not that precise."

Still, Langer is meticulous by nature and, as captain of the European Ryder Cup team for the match with the United States in Detroit next month, he has prepared, and will prepare, for the encounter with extreme thoroughness.

For instance, while Langer was preparing to play in the US PGA at Whistling Straits, his vice-captain Anders Forsbrand was actually on a reconnaissance mission to Oakland Hills, where part of his brief was to provide Langer with the necessary information about the course to help him select his two wild cards.

While American captain Hal Sutton names his two picks next Monday, Langer doesn't do so for another two and a half weeks, after the BMW International in Germany.

Who Langer will opt for, though, remains open to debate. Indeed, there are up to "eight players or more" in contention for those two wild cards, the captain yesterday revealing, "if I have a choice of picking someone who has played well lately or someone who played well eight months ago and who is on a downward spiral, I would much rather pick the guy who has confidence."

As things stand, seven players - Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Lee Westwood, Thomas Levet and probably Paul Casey - are assured of their places, while David Howell, Ian Poulter and Joakim Haeggman hold the other spots but are very much on the bubble and could yet be overtaken.

Langer observed: "Probably the last three or four places are in jeopardy and we still have three big weeks to go, so things can change."

When asked to provide possible wild picks, Langer reeled off a series of names. "We're looking at Fredrik Jacobsen, Paul McGinley, who has been playing very well lately, Colin Montgomerie, possibly even Jesper Parnevik, (or) Alex Cejka, who is starting to get into really good form . . . we have Luke Donald, who has played well all year . . . Justin Rose . . . Thomas Bjorn, and a whole bunch of guys I haven't mentioned.

"The great news, and the way I look at it, is that 25 years ago I would have had these guys because we didn't have the depth. We struggled. We probably had five to seven players and struggled to get the rest. We certainly didn't have 25 to 30 players to choose from."

Of all those likely to need a wild card, Monty - a colleague of Langer in so many Ryder Cup campaigns - is probably the favourite for one wild-card selection.

"He's extremely close to being the Colin we know . . . he's gradually creeping up the rankings as well," said Langer.

He also revealed, however, that if the Scot didn't make the team, automatically or as a wild card, then Langer would consider him as a vice-captain.

And, of his own role as captain, Langer observed that the position is exaggerated.

"I think it's overestimated," he said. "I think I'm there to prepare everything, to make sure the guys have everything they need so they can focus on their game. The players have to play. I can only set the stage and let them loose. They have to go and perform. I cannot hit the shots. I cannot make the putts. I can't read the putting lines. I can't judge the wind, or tell them to hit a fade or a draw. In the end, they are the ones winning the points, not me."

For 10 Ryder Cups as a player, Langer contributed his fair share to transform the match from a cake walk for the Americans into a genuine contest that, as he said, is now "the biggest thing in golf, certainly for the Europeans". Now, he is bringing the same studiousness to his role as captain.

After almost a year of attempting to qualify, only three tournaments remain for those aspiring to a place. Whoever finally make it, Langer is convinced of one thing: the chemistry will be right.

"I've been in the team room ten times and experienced wonderful chemistry every time. I think our guys will fit greatly together . . . don't ask me why, that's just always been the case. I don't expect it to be any different this time."