If we're to believe Colin Montgomerie after his win in the Dunhill Links championship, the race to be part of next year's Ryder Cup team at the K Club (and not the Order of Merit title) is uppermost in his mind. He's not alone.

So, those Europeans among the elite players who have secured places in this week's $7.5-million American Express championship at Harding Park in San Francisco have yet another opportunity to make early strides in the race over those who are outside the loop.

In fact, with Darren Clarke understandably deciding that his place is with his ill wife, Heather, rather than competing on a golf course eight time zones away, three Irishmen - Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley and Graeme McDowell - will be competing in the World Golf Championship event on a course that, any other week, is a municipal one, which people can walk in off the street to play.

This week, though, is different, with strict qualifying criteria limiting places to the elite of the elite. As such, McDowell can thank his stars he was in the world's top 50 when the initial cut-off point for qualification came a week ago. After missing the cut in the Dunhill Links, McDowell dropped from 48th to 53rd in the rankings. However, his place in the limited, no-cut field had already been assured.

McGinley, who is sixth in the European Order of Merit but won't play again after the AmEx until the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama on October 27th-30th, conducted some reconnaissance of the course when he was in the area for the AT&T at Pebble Beach earlier this season. And he admitted he was "looking forward to the event on many fronts. First and foremost, my form has been good the last couple of months; secondly, San Francisco is a city that I enjoy visiting and have many friends there; and, thirdly, my mum and dad are coming over for their 40th wedding anniversary."

McGinley, who finished third in the NEC Invitational in Akron in August, described the experience in Scotland as "rather disappointing golf-wise".

"The weather was not too kind and I really struggled adjusting to the strong winds and cold weather in terms of my distance control. Those factors should not come into play this week."

McGinley has allowed himself a special treat on the way home from America next week: tickets to see U2 in Madison Square Garden, before he takes a two-week break ahead of Valderrama.

If a good performance in San Francisco would make the music sound all the sweeter, the AmEx, which was won last year at Mount Juliet by Ernie Els, who is unable to defend his title owing to injury, is a chance for the European players to make huge inroads not only towards Ryder Cup qualification but also towards the Order of Merit, which is led by Michael Campbell.

The Kiwi's nearest pursuer in that particular race is Montgomerie, who seems to have his eyes set on other goals.

"Don't worry about the Order of Merit," claimed Monty after his Dunhill Links win. "The Ryder Cup points are crucial at this stage. I want to play in Ireland along with everybody else on this European Tour. We want to be part of that . . . I have a T-shirt for the Order of Merit. I have a few of them. I don't need another one. If I happen to win another one now, great.

"There's still a big gap between myself and Michael Campbell, who is obviously playing very well. So I have to keep going and doing well, and if I do happen to win, great. But the Ryder Cup points are the crucial thing and this is what I'm playing for right now, Ryder Cup points and not Order of Merits," said Montgomerie, who has risen seven places to 16th in the world rankings.

He also put his resurgence this season down to desire.

"I had a long chat with myself at the start of the year and I came out and I practised," he explained. "I went to Dubai to practise in January and I took (coach) Denis Pugh out with me. My first round of golf in Singapore was 65 and it made my intention for the year. I was not prepared to go any lower than the 83rd in the world that I'd sunk to.

"I gave myself a goal of 25th, and to beat this so far is even remarkable for me. So I'm thrilled about that, yeah. But I had to do something about it. There were two options, I was sliding: did I let it slide, or get off one's bum and do something about it? I did do something."

For Harrington, his third-place finish in the Dunhill Links moved him from 50th to 32nd on the European Tour money list and confirmed his place in the field for Valderrama. Only the top 60 on the Order of Merit qualify for the finale to the European Tour season.

But the Dubliner, who will follow up the AmEx by playing in the Las Vegas Classic next week, left St Andrews on Sunday evening suggesting he needed to "swing the club better", adding: "I need to work on the mental side."

While Harrington, McGinley and McDowell compete in the megabucks AmEx, the Canaries Open, which counts on both the full European Tour and the Challenge Tour, offers a different type of goal for the trio of Irish players competing.

Michael Hoey and David Higgins are in the battle to top the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, while Stephen Browne will be hoping to follow on from his victory in the Kazakhstan Open with another good showing as he attempts to retain his playing rights on the full tour for next season.