Given that the 21-year-old Spaniard is now the leading European on the world rankings, where he lies seventh, and has won twice in the States this year, there can be no arguments.Garcia has ruffled a few feathers with some of his behaviour in his short career as a professional, but the maturing process is well underway. And it is surely stretching a point to suggest, as one magazine has done in its publicity for an upcoming profile, that bullfighting is now the second most unpopular thing to come out of Spain.To stand any hope of qualifying automatically, Garcia has to win the first prize of £189,000 and claim the 300,000 points available, and then hope others do not move up the list as well. Olazabal, whose form has been patchy since winning in Lyon in May, is in the same situation but a high finish would bring him into the thoughts of Torrance as a wild card.By not being here, and there would be little point since he now cannot get in the points, Parnevik could end up the odd man out, even though it was rumoured the Swede had been given the nod some time ago. “If Ollie ran second in the tournament and jumped up to 11th on the list, or Paul Lawrie, or any of the established Ryder Cup players with bottle did – that would definitely put the cat among the pigeons,” Torrance said. Ian Woosnam would be on that list as well.The top seven on the list are definitely in the team, with eighth-placed Paul McGinley and Langer, ninth, almost certain.

“I can’t see Bernhard dropping out to be honest,” Torrance said. “It is logistically possible but it is Germany and it is Bernhard Langer. Tenth place is a bad result for him here.” David Feherty once had to win in Germany to qualify but knew he had no chance once Langer came out “with his red trousers on”.Torrance has also been in the thick of a Ryder Cup race, in 1991, when he had to finish fourth and duly did so as one of three players to pass Eamonn Darcy. The Irishman had been so sure of his place that he spent the week fishing. “I was cruising, not thinking about it at all, when I took a double bogey at the 17th,” Torrance said “Suddenly my tee shot on the 18th was much harder.

I had to make a four and two-putted comfortably but, being under the cosh, knowing what I had to do and doing it, definitely prepared me for the match.”The man in the hot seat this time is Phillip Price, who is in 10th place, just under 30,000 points ahead of Ian Poulter. Price won the Portuguese Open earlier in the season and has been defending his place ever since. He slipped down to 10th at the start of the month but has held that position through the USPGA and the NEC World Invitational.Poulter, a 25-year-old from Leighton Buzzard, was the rookie of the year last season, an award he sealed by winning the Italian Open. He maintained his form this year by winning the Moroccan Open in April and a good week at the NEC in Akron lifted him a place above Miguel Angel Jimenez.