Golf/International Open: Miguel Angel Jimenez leads the BMW International at the halfway point on 134 with David Lynn and Retief Goosen jointly second a stroke behind, but these are two of very few facets of this tournament that are clear and incontrovertible writes David Davies in Munich

Jimenez, who spent the morning buying a £60,000 BMW, spent the afternoon trying to pay for it with the almost €300,000 first prize. Lynn, on the other hand, confessed everything was "a bit of a blur" because his last tournament, the Dutch Open, was also his first Tour win and he has yet to get over it.

Rarely can there have been a tournament of so many convolutions, computations and complexities. Never mind the swings and roundabouts, this was a roller-coaster in a maze, where the obvious became obscured behind temporary failure, or elevated by momentary success.

Take Paul McGinley, in the 10th automatic spot on the European Ryder Cup team at the moment. Surely he secured his place with a 32 to the turn, to move to six under? Hang on, though. An eagle chip at the long 11th narrowly fails to go in, so does the three-footer for the birdie, and so does the three-footer for par. Three putts from three feet: has his nerve gone? Maybe not. He plays the next seven holes in one under. Phew.

Or take Colin Montgomerie, as indeed we have done happily for 10 years and more. His five-under 67 on Thursday was a positive statement of golfing good health and when he moved to seven under after eight yesterday it was obvious to everyone he should be in the Ryder team. So what happened next? Having discovered in the first round the way to birdie the long ninth was to hit three-iron, three-iron, wedge; he chose to hit a driver off the tee, his second went in the water, he chipped badly, twice, and missed from four feet for double-bogey seven.

Good grief, how could you possibly have such irresponsibility anywhere near winning a place on the team? This was particularly applicable when the same man, 30 feet from the pin on the 10th, chips 10 feet past and misses the par putt.

Sorry, Colin, out you go. But wait, what's this? A birdie putt on the 11th, and in it goes. So, too, another birdie at the short 12th. Such are the benefits of experience. The Scot was back to six under. Welcome back, Colin.

Then there is Ian Poulter, dressed soberly for once in all-encompassing dark colours, he had to play some serious golf yesterday, after Thursday had yielded only a one-over 73, leaving his ninth place in the team exposed.

There were dark mutterings before play started about how he had gone off the boil; only 37th, after all, in the US PGA Championship and 25th in the British Open. But in between he was fourth in the Scandinavian Masters and 10th in the Dutch Open. What to believe? Well, you have to believe in a four-under 32 outward half, plus further birdies at the 11th and 12th, to go to five under, which is where he finished. Good player, that Poulter.

Similarly, Fredrik Jacobson. There are doubts about him because, although he is the fourth-best European in the world rankings over a two-year period, that is mostly because he was brilliant in 2003, not 2004. Furthermore he took five weeks off in the spring because his partner was having a baby - and how much of a commitment is that to the Ryder Cup cause? But Jacobson, it turns out, is desperate to get into the team.

"We are all trying to prove ourselves to be the man to pick," he said, and to that end produced a 65 which could, perhaps, catch captain Bernhard Langer's attention. But it may not, and that applies to all the foregoing.

Langer has said repeatedly he wants players who have been in form for a couple of months before selection time, and in his last three tournaments Jacobson was 32nd at the NEC Invitational, 17th in the US PGA and missed the cut in the Scandinavian Masters. In or out? It may have been decided already, or maybe not.

At least clear and concise will replace confused and bemused come Monday.