Golf International OpenIt is perhaps a little hard to describe the leader of a tournament as an irrelevance, but in the greater scheme of things this week that is what Retief Goosen is, here at the BMW International Open.
This year's US Open champion is, of course, ineligible for the Ryder Cup and, with none of that extra qualifying pressure on him, the South African yesterday got round in 66, six under par, to take the lead from two other irrelevances - the American John Daly and the Australian Peter O'Malley.
Ireland's Paul McGinley is a definite relevance. And he did his chances no harm with an opening round of two-under-par 70.
Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, is another relevance, and he is five under, as is England's David Lynn, who, though a European, is only a marginal relevance. He cannot win his way into the team even if he finishes first here and is surely well behind the other candidates for a captain's pick.
One of those is Alex Cejka, who had a four-under 68. The first thing the German saw when he arrived for his afternoon round was the names of Montgomerie and Luke Donald, rivals for a pick both, on the leaderboard. That he then went out and matched the latter was a good effort.
It may be some time, if ever, since Daly has been described as an irrelevance but the US Ryder Cup captain, Hal Sutton, by his actions, clearly thinks so. Most of the American media thought Daly should have been a pick for their team but yesterday the Wild Thing thought that very support could be why he is not in the team.
"I think," he said succinctly, "it pissed Hal off."
Had he spoken to Sutton about getting into the team?
"No," said Daly, "I don't like to kiss ass to get someone's attention."
Montgomerie has gradually returned to his old ebullient self, after the trauma of the break-up of his marriage.
Yesterday another step was revealed on the road to recovery when he appeared with his former caddie Alastair McLean back on the bag. The two Scots worked together for 10 years, during which time Montgomerie won seven orders of merit titles and 27 tournaments around the world, so there is little about his game that McLean does not already know.
"He gives me confidence," said Montgomerie, "and this whole game is based on confidence. We have a past together and a very successful one at that. It worked well again today. I played the ninth, my last, differently with him on the bag."
The ninth is a long hole but yesterday, into a slight breeze and with a stream in front of the green, it was out of range in two shots for most.
"I would normally take a driver there, but that is the only club that can get you into trouble off that tee and as you can't get up anyway, why take the risk? Alastair told me to hit two three-irons and a pitching wedge, which I did and got my birdie."
He had previously eagled the long sixth, hitting a five-wood second to 15 feet and he was, naturally, delighted with a 67.
He feels he still needs to keep reminding the Ryder Cup captain, Bernhard Langer, of his qualities and said: "A 67 doesn't hurt, does it? If I went out there and shot 78 it would be a case of 'What's happening here?' but I'm trying to win because if I do I obviously have more of a chance of being selected than otherwise."
Montgomerie played alongside Donald, another looking for favour in Langer's eyes.
The Scot said: "I was very impressed indeed with him. He's under a lot of pressure this week to perform and he's performing very well. In fact, given that, his score (68) was better than mine."
Asked if he was feeling the same kind of pressure as Donald, Montgomerie replied: "No, I don't think so. Bernhard knows me and knows what I can do in that type of competition more than he does Luke.
"Luke is a rookie and if I were a rookie I would feel I had to prove myself more than someone who had played in six Ryder Cups."
McGinley, who missed a big chance last week when he failed to play like he can in the NEC Invitational in Ohio, confessed to feeling extra pressure here in trying to fend off those who covet his 10th, and last, automatic berth.
"I tried not to look at the leaderboard," said the Dubliner, who carded an eagle at the 18th, following a three-wood second shot from 269 yards to four feet, "but it's difficult not to."
Calculating what he needs to do to retain his place is almost impossible, but if he makes the cut it will be a good start.
Last year it fell at four under, but now the course has teeth, with long and, yesterday, wet rough and narrowed fairways. The cut may still fall under par, but only just.
McGinley's biggest danger entering the final counting event was Jean-Francois Remesy, but he shot a two-over-par 74.
Joakim Haeggman, lined up to be one of Langer's assistants, is still a threat after a 69. But he has to be fifth and that is asking a lot a week after he shot 80 and quit.
The three ahead of McGinley in the table - Paul Casey, David Howell and Ian Poulter - might have done enough already to earn debuts, but ninth-placed Poulter did not help his chances with a 73 and Howell had to eagle the last to equal that.
Casey is almost there, though, after his 69.
Brian Davis, Raphael Jacquelin and Graeme McDowell are the three outsiders in the race.
Davis, who cannot be outside the top four, and McDowell, who has to win, returned 72s, but Jacquelin's dream of achieving the second place he requires is still alive after a 68.
Goosen, who suffered a pelvic injury while jet-skiing in Barbados last month, had not played since the Open at Troon. But even though he is still in some pain walking that did not stop him collecting seven birdies.
First round scores
( par 72) 66 - Retief Goosen (Rsa)
67 - Colin Montgomerie, Peter O'Malley (Aus), John Daly (USA), David Lynn
68 - Luke Donald, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Alex Cejka (Ger), Raphael Jacquelin (Fra), Michael Jonzon (Swe)
69 - Emanuele Canonica (Ita), Patrik Sjoland (Swe), Mark Foster, Joakim Haeggman (Swe), Henrik Stenson (Swe), Johan Edfors (Swe), Jamie Spence, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Paul Casey, Ivo Giner (Spa)
70 - Sven Struver (Ger), Paul Broadhurst, Carlos Rodiles (Spa), Paul McGinley, Soren Kjeldsen (Den), Simon Dyson, David Park, Terry Price (Aus), Tino Schuster (Ger)
71 - Markus Brier (Aut), Mark Roe, Marcus Fraser (Aus), Steve Webster, Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Robert Karlsson (Swe), Andrew Marshall, Gary Murphy, Bradley Dredge, Nick O'Hern (Aus), Fredrik Jacobson (Swe), Sergio Garcia (Spa), Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Gary Emerson, Sebastian Fernandez (Ger), Jochen Lupprian (Ger)
72 - Stephen Gallacher, Fredrik Andersson (Swe), Paul Lawrie, Brian Davis, Thomas Kogler (Aut), Santiago Luna (Spa), Simon Khan, Stephen Scahill (Nzl), Matthew Blackey, Miguel Angel Martin (Spa), Klas Eriksson (Swe), Martin Wiegele (Aut), Nobuhito Sato (Jpn), Stephen Dodd, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Anders Hansen (Den), Graeme McDowell, Martin Erlandsson (Swe), Robert Coles, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel), Peter Hedblom (Swe)
73 - James Hepworth, Steven O'Hara, Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned), James Kingston (Rsa), Damien McGrane, David Carter, Peter Baker, Ian Poulter, Peter Lawrie, Thomas Levet (Fra), Thomas Bjorn (Den), Barry Lane, Greg Owen, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Andrew Coltart, Rob Rashell (USA), Darren Fichardt (Rsa), Jonathan Lomas, Ben Mason, Paul Marantz (Aus), Jose Manuel Carriles (Spa), Peter Fowler (Aus), David Howell, Soren Hansen (Den), Anthony Wall, Simon Wakefield, Andrew Raitt, Martin Lemesurier, Iain Pyman, Raymond Russell, Jamie Elson, Thomas Gogele (Ger), David Geall
74 - Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra), Andrew Oldcorn, Tobias Dier (Ger), Marten Olander (Swe), Hennie Otto (Rsa), Pierre Fulke (Swe), David Dixon, Marcel Haremza (Ger), Philip Golding, Alastair Forsyth, Marc Farry (Fra), Marcel Siem (Ger), Kenneth Ferrie, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den)
75 - Philippe Lima (Fra), Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Costantino Rocca (Ita), Gary Orr, Gregory Hanrahan (USA), Per Nyman (Swe), Gregory Havret(Fra), Christopher Hanell (Swe), Brett Rumford (Aus), Miles Tunnicliff, Jarrod Moseley (Aus), Nick Faldo, Stuart Little, Julien Clement (Swi), John Bickerton, Christian Cevaer (Fra), Gordon Brand Jnr, Diego Borrego (Spa), Mikko Ilonen (Fin), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
76 - Peter Hanson (Swe), Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Nick Dougherty, Russell Claydon, (x) Nicolas Meitinger (Ger), Robert Rock, Tony Johnstone (Zim), Erol Simsek (Ger), David Inglis, Christian Reimbold (Ger)
77 - Sandy Lyle, Rolf Muntz (Ned), Richard Sterne (Rsa), Dean Robertson
78 - Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Richard Green (Aus), (x) Florian Fritsch (Ger)
80 - David Gilford
82 - Lei Shang (Chn), Nathan Fritz (USA)
Retired: Roger Chapman.WD: P Hanson.
