O'Meara lifts US morale

With less than a fortnight to go before the Ryder Cup, Mark O'Meara secured a morale-boosting victory for America at the Lancome Trophy yesterday. Seven of the European side were playing here, whereas O'Meara was the sole representative of Tom Kite's American team.

This was O'Meara's second win in Europe (10 years after his Lawrence Batley International victory at Royal Birkdale), his third of the season, his sixth outside America and the 20th of his career. However it is described, it still added, despite an otherwise sunny weekend in Paris, to the depressing nature of the European tour of late.

"This certainly puts a smile on my face," the 40-year-old American said. "It gives me a confidence-booster and the fact that I have won also gives captain Kite and the rest of the team a boost of their morale."

O'Meara, extending his career earnings of more than $10m (pounds 6.41m) with the first prize of pounds 116,660, compiled a final round of 69. It was good enough to hold off the two overnight leaders from Australia, Greg Norman and Peter O'Malley, and a late charge from the Swede Jarmo Sandelin, who finished one behind after a 67 that included three bogeys in his first four holes.

After an eccentric front nine of five birdies and two sixes, O'Meara played the last three holes in one under despite pulling his tee shot on each occasion. He chipped and one-putted each time, holing sizeable putts at the 16th, for birdie, and the 17th, for par.

The absence of a big European name from the top of the leaderboard - Lee Westwood was the leading member of the home team on seven under - was not a concern to the Ryder Cup captain, Seve Ballesteros, or Colin Montgomerie. Ken Schofield, the executive director of the European tour, also refuses to be concerned about the possible regular absence of some stars from the tour in the future.

Montgomerie maintained his No 1 position on the money list after Bernhard Langer took a double bogey and a quadruple bogey on the front nine, and reports that Monty is thinking of going to America full time in yesterday's papers merited the tag of "old hat" rather than "world exclusive". The Scot denied again yesterday that he has made up his mind, although he will have to make a decision whether to take up his US tour card before November.

Events of recent weeks, particularly the sub-standard nature of the Crans- sur-Sierre course, may have hardened Montgomerie's attitude, but he is reluctant to uproot his wife and two young daughters from the new house they moved into in May.

Schofield is hopeful that a minimum requirement in Europe of seven tournaments, outside the four majors, is sufficiently flexible for players to play on both his and the US tour. "I see no evidence of players leaving full time," Schofield said. "We are not running a prison. It's up to each individual player to make the best decision for themselves."

Schofield also reported that lawyers for the Ryder Cup committee met representatives of Miguel Angel Martin, the Spanish golfer axed from the European team due to his wrist injury, at Madrid airport for two hours on Thursday. "Talks are continuing," Schofield said, although he added: "Our team thought they had been concluded at the meeting."

Martin is still entered for the British Masters, which starts at the Forest of Arden on Thursday. "Miguel has been informed of his pro-am time for Wednesday and, as we speak, we expect to see him there," Schofield said. That is also the day a meeting of the tournament committee will be asked to consider the matter under "any other business" by Jean Van de Velde.

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