Will the Americans prove too strong at the Belfry?

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With the Ryder Cup less than six weeks away, Torrance insists he is not concerned by his players' poor performances at Hazeltine.

Sergio Garcia and Pierre Faulke were the best placed Europeans - in a distant 10th place - while Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood and Thomas Bjorn failed to even make the cut.

But Torrance refuses to be downhearted, and believes that his 12-man team will be able to rise to the occasion when it really matters.

Is his optimism justified? Or are the European team facing another defeat?

I don't think one can be overly optimistic about Europe's chances of winning the Ryder Cup. A pity Sam Torrance cannot reshuffle his nominees. I recall that B. Langer once stepped down from the team owing to his poor form at the time of the competition - shouldn't someone like Lee Westwood make his slot available?
Desmond Cremer, Germany

We seem to forgetting why the cup was postponed from last year. I think the matches will be played in a very different atmosphere. These players are professionals and when the time comes to play well for their team, current form won't mean a thing.

It's not long ago that the press were worried that Fulke had fallen off the radar screen, but the swedes always do the business on the day. Let's stop worrying!
Paddy McCullagh, London

Although the Europeans had a poor showing at Hazeltine, playing at the Belfry will surely play to their advantage. However, I think the biggest problem facing Sam is the morale at an all-time low of the majority of his team, apart from Harrington and Garcia.

It will by no means be a whitewash, but the superiority of the Americans will show in the singles on the final Sunday. This is what happens when you don't pick the most capped Ryder Cup player of all time.
James, UK

On paper and current form we do look weaker than the Americans, but has it ever been any different? I don't recall us ever being stronger so why should Sam worry too much? If Europe win he's a hero, if they lose then that's what we expected.

It's Sam's job to motivate the team and get the pairings right. I think a mjor factor this year will be the Americans attitude towards the match. Up to yet there hasn't been the ballyhoo and media hype we have come to expect so it will be interesting to see how the match pans out.
Ian, UK

Just a note to Whitsa (UK): Olazabal isn't playing in the Ryder Cup and Harrington won't be playing with Clarke, he will be partnered by Paul McGinley.

But the one thing the Europeans have in their favour is that the tournament is at the Belfry: home advantage and a course that holds a lot of great Ryder Cup memories.

Hopefully Westwood, Monty, Parnevik, Clarke, Fasth, McGinley etc find form between now and then, otherwise we will have to clone Harrington and Garcia and play them in every match.
John, Ireland

The form of the European team is absolutely awful. Westwood, Fulke and Price can hardly hit the ball in the air at the moment - what chance have we got?
Paul, UK

Our team always looks weaker on paper, but we make up for it with desire. I don't care how bad somebody like Monty's form is going in to the event, he won't let us down and his desire to beat the Americans will be worth a point or two. Hopefully the same goes for Westwood, Parnevik, etc.

When you look at some of the foursomes we can put out - Olazabal/Garcia, Monty/Westwood, Harrington/Clarke, Bjorn/Langer, Parnevik/Fasth, etc. I can see it being another close one.
Whitsa, UK

Sam Torrance will be concerned deep down by a few players' recent form - it is impossible not to be. People can say that it will all change on the day, but I disagree. If people cannot raise their game for a major, then they can't just turn on the form because they have to.

Players like Phil Price, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, and Monty are struggling to get anything going, and Jesper Parnevik and Lee Westwood are shockingly out of form. These players need to get back to basics before the big event and although I disagree with not using players until the last day, Parnevik and Westwood may give Torrance no choice.

Sam will need to base his team around the experience and brilliance of Bernhard Langer, the reliability of Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke and the youth of Sergio Garcia and Niclas Fasth. These players are the backbone of Europe's team and it is fundamental that they are used to their full potential.

Sam can say that the Americans have problems too, with the likes of David Duval and Hal Sutton, but the rest of their team is much stronger than ours. It looks bleak for our men unless the partnerships are well planned out and a few players return to something like their best.
Sean, England