Golf: Europe's recent success in the Ryder Cup clearly hasn't satisfied the hunger for yet more meals out at the expense of the Americans.

In a clear statement of intent, and signifying that success only breeds the desire for more success, the powers-that-be in Europe have concluded that an increased input from the players in formulating policy is the road to reaping even richer dividends.

So, hot on the heels of a change in the qualifying process for the match in Oakland Hills, Detroit, next year, comes confirmation that a new Ryder Cup committee - more reflective of the players' attitudes - will be in place long before the 2004 match. Despite winning three of the last four Ryder Cups, a new, 10-man Ryder Cup committee - comprising six European Tour players, one of whom is expected to be past captain Sam Torrance, two representatives of the PGA European Tour and two representing the PGA of Europe - will replace the existing committee on January 1st.

"We already have a new qualifying system that was recently decided upon and, while a 2004 captain still needs to be selected, there will be a new Ryder Cup committee structure in place after the present committee structure eventually winds up all its business dealings on December 31st," said Sandy Jones, the chief executive of the Professional Golfers Association, who is based at the Belfry.

The new committee structure will give the players a significantly bigger input into the decision-making process vis-a-vis the Ryder Cup, and this confirmation - coming only days after the changes in the qualifying process were announced - represents a sea change in policy.

As announced last week, the new qualifying criteria will see five players selected off the world rankings (with points earned over a one-year period in events worldwide) and a further five selected off a qualifying table based on points won on the European Tour. The remaining two players will be picked as "wild cards" by the captain.

Just who that captain will be has yet to be decided, and a further meeting of the tour's tournament committee is scheduled at Royal St George's on the eve of the British Open in July, with an announcement from the Ryder Cup committee expected some time before the qualifying process starts in Switzerland in September. However, the odds are increasingly on Bernhard Langer to be given the job, with Ian Woosnam emerging as favourite for the post in Ireland - at the K Club - in 2006.

"If the tournament committee does put two names forward, either Woosnam or Langer, then it would be up to the Ryder Cup committee to decide who captains in 2004 or 2006," said Jones. "We had that situation with (Sam) Torrance and (Mark) James before, and the tournament committee said 'We'd like these two guys as the captains', and the Ryder Cup committee was left to decide the order and we did.

"I can't say that will happen this time, and it's up to the tournament committee, but clearly those two names are well in the frame and that's been well documented."

After the final round of the Volvo PGA on Sunday, Torrance indicated he would be willing to go forward as a member of a new-look Ryder Cup committee, and Jones observed: "Sam will bring the players' experience, which is important. And, obviously, he also has the experience of being a past captain. I don't know who the players themselves will nominate, but I understand Sam is most likely to be one of them and, from a personal point, I would definitely support that."

Despite Torrance being a member of the European Tour's tournament committee which will nominate the Ryder Cup captains, Jones sees no conflict of interest being a member of both committees.

"No, I don't see any conflict of interest and, in fact, I would personally hope there will be representatives from the tournament committee. That would add to the consistency between the two bodies," he insisted.

"At the end of the day, when it's all worked out, it will be a very sensible and a better structure going forward. You won't have the players thinking that they don't have a voice on that group, and then that group sometimes thinks 'what do the players think?', because you have no one on the committee at the moment to tell them.

"It's not a radical change, but something to equip Europe better in ensuring the Ryder Cup remains as important an event as it is, and represents all the facets of the Ryder Cup - the administration and the players."

Meanwhile, Ireland's two highest-placed players in the world rankings will undertake quite different approaches in the build-up to the US Open, which takes place at Olympia Fields, south of Chicago, in a little over two weeks. Padraig Harrington - who has moved up to seventh place, despite missing the PGA at Wentworth - competes in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, starting on Thursday, before moving on to next week's Kemper Open and then the season's second major.

Darren Clarke, now 24th in the world, won't be competing this week. Instead, he intends to ease into a new fitness regime - devised by personal trainer Barry Grinham, who works with the Jordan Formula One drivers - and will resume tournament play at next week's British Masters at the Forest of Arden, where he has won two English Opens in the past three years.

Five Irish players will compete in this week's Wales Open at Celtic Manor. Peter Lawrie, Graeme McDowell, Paul McGinley, Gary Murphy and Damien McGrane will be chasing a title won last year by Paul Lawrie, who has decided not to defend it.

EUROPEAN ORDER OF MERIT - Irish positions: 2, P Harrington €979,754; 12, D Clarke €366,224; 26, P Lawrie €246,856; 35, P McGinley €195,373; 64, G McDowell €123,460; 120, G Murphy €55,650; 155, R Rafferty €32,106; 181, D McGrane €21,331.