ROSE CONFIDENT DESPITE MAJOR FAILURE

Justin Rose is back in Britain sounding far happier about his game that he did when he left just over a month ago - despite missing the halfway cut in the US Open.

The world number nine, building up to his return to Royal Birkdale 10 years on from finishing fourth there as a 17-year-old amateur, plays first in the European Open at The London Club in Kent.

Rose's last "home" appearance was at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and missing the cut there was his fourth early exit from a tournament in a row.

Straight after that, though, came a second-place finish in the Memorial tournament in Ohio and he said today: "That's the one week I feel I putted to my expected standards and I was in contention, so that was good to know.

"I feel good about my game - things are going in the right direction and I'm working hard."

As for the Kent course, Rose's caddie reported to him at the start of the week that it looked like a week for low scoring, but on playing it himself he reported: "Not so easy, scoring might not be low."

He will be pleased to see some wind each day though, because of the benefits that could have for the coming Open Championship.

Sergio Garcia received advice from his father, a member of the European Seniors Tour, that it could be better for him to play this week rather than at the Scottish Open.

"Loch Lomond is good to get your competitive juices going, but it has more of a links look here," said Garcia.

This is Garcia's first event in Europe since the Volvo Masters last November. For several years now he has played only rarely in Britain for tax reasons.


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HUDSON SEEKS HOME COMFORTS

Rebecca Hudson is hoping to make full use of home advantage as she goes in search of a second title in the space of three weeks at the Ladies English Open, which starts on Friday.

The Doncaster 29-year-old is one of three top-10 ranked players leading the British challenge at The Oxfordshire, which is hosting one of only two Ladies European Tour events taking place in England this season.

Hudson won last month's Tenerife Ladies Open after a play-off with Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal but she is looking forward to receiving support from a home crowd this week.

"In Tenerife there were a lot of Brits watching and it's always a great experience to play in front of the fans in your own country," she said.

"The British love their sport and playing on home soil is always a highlight."

Solheim Cup player Becky Brewerton, from Wales, defends her title against a field which also includes England's Lisa Hall, compatriot Melissa Reid, the tour's leading rookie and Australia's Joanne Mills, who won last year's S4C Wales Ladies Championship of Europe.

"I think there are a lot of new and established players who have a chance this week," said Hudson.

"I think Joanne Mills is playing very well. Becky Brewerton, with her swing changes, just needs to get one good round in and she will have a good chance of defending her title.

"However with the absence of some of the top players such as Gwladys Nocera and Amy Yang it gives someone with less experience who is maybe more relaxed a very good chance."

Leeds 18-year-old Kiran Matharu and Birmingham's Felicity Johnson, 21, are both looking for their maiden tour wins while Scotland's Curtis Cup player Carly Booth, 16, is one of eight amateurs in the field.


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Two weeks before they return to The Open, Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia, the two men in last year's play-off at Carnoustie, can do Nick Faldo a favour at The London Club this weekend.

The countdown to Royal Birkdale continues with the Ј2.4million European Open, which switches to Kent after 13 years at The K Club, near Dublin.

It marks the first time Harrington and Garcia have played together on British soil since last July's Open, but almost inevitably there are Ryder Cup implications as well.

Garcia, despite his victory in May in the prestigious Players Championship in Florida, is in danger of dropping out of the top 10 on Europe's standings.

Harrington is already outside an automatic selection spot - and if both of them need wild cards come the end of next month then Faldo's hand could well be forced.

That in turn, of course, is bad news for the likes of back-to-form Colin Montgomerie, the currently out-of-action Luke Donald, Paul Casey, Darren Clarke and Ian Poulter. They are not in the top 10 either.

For Harrington and Garcia, though, the first priority is to see signs of the form that could bring the Irishman a repeat triumph in a fortnight - he has not won since Carnoustie - or the Spaniard instant amends for last year's heart-breaking near-miss.

Four clear early in the final round, he would have lifted his first major title with a closing par after Harrington had double-bogeyed the hole, but his eight-footer failed by a fraction and he lost the play-off.

"I've always told myself the same thing at the majors," said Garcia.

"I try to ask myself to play well, to give myself chances and try to win as many as possible.

"I've had my chances, so that's one goal accomplished. Now we have to try to get it to the next level and hopefully start winning majors.

"That's what we're here for and that's what we work hard for. I think all these years have really made me mature and get myself to know even better myself as a golfer and as a person and kind of control myself even better when I'm coming down the stretch.

"We'll see if we can start achieving that."

Montgomerie is this week's defending champion, but good though last week's runners-up finish in France was for his confidence - it was easily his best display of the year - retaining his title now would be on a totally different level.

As well as Harrington and Garcia, world number nine Justin Rose is playing and eager to secure a Ryder Cup debut for himself after the disappointment of missing the halfway cut at the US Open.

"Basically I've got five weeks in England, which will be great," said Rose on his website, justinrose.com.

"For me, the US Open is history now. I've got to put it behind me and get ready for the next big challenge."

Birkdale, of course, is where 10 years ago he finished an amazing fourth, only two strokes away from the play-off, as a 17-year-old amateur.

Montgomerie, back up to 77th in the world, also made a move to 14th on the Ryder Cup table and retaining the title could see him sixth on Sunday night.

"I know that it's a different golf course, but I have played The London Club a few times and I have gained some confidence, so I look forward to it now," he said.

Shock French Open winner Pablo Larrazabal is having the week off and will return at next week's Scottish Open, but Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley are in action again and seeking a top-five finish to qualify for The Open.

What also makes the European Open notable is that it will mark the start of the Tour's drug-testing era, although no details are being given on when exactly the first samples will be taken from players.


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MONTY: I WOULDN'T PICK ME - YET

Colin Montgomerie claimed he would leave himself out if he was selecting the Ryder Cup team right now.

"I would pick (Luke) Donald and (Padraig) Harrington," stated the Scot, who is back in the limelight thanks to his runners-up finish in the French Open last Sunday.

However, Montgomerie, who confesses to self-doubt throughout his career, knows captain Nick Faldo does not have to make his two wild choices until the end of next month.

And by then he hopes to have forced his way into an automatic spot or, failing that, provided much more evidence that he is the man for the job against the Americans yet again.

"I'm not resting on any laurels," said Montgomerie, now at The London Club for the defence of the European Open title he won in Ireland last year.

"It's getting harder, there's no question about it. I'm 45 now and you have to dig a little deeper every time. But it's nice to know that it's there.

"Last week's last putt (a 40-footer that made him second behind young Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal) felt like a win, but I've got to keep going here.

"I don't feel I've played my last Ryder Cup - it will be a shame if I have. I think I have at least one left to play.

"It's been part of my life since 1991 and I don't feel I'm ready to give that up."

There is also the Open fast approaching, of course, and when asked if he would take second place at Royal Birkdale with a guaranteed ninth Ryder Cup cap to follow he replied: "Yeah, of course. Definitely yeah. Can I take it now?"

Yet with no Tiger Woods in two weeks' time Montgomerie knows first place is a lot more up for grabs than has been the case in recent years.

Runner-up to Woods at St Andrews three years ago he added: "The door is a little wider open and it's given a lot of players on form the opportunity of winning a major.

"Someone is going to win these next couple of majors and it's not Tiger Woods.

"This is a big week for me defending here, then I have the Scottish Open, which speaks for itself, and then the British. I'm looking forward to it."

How Faldo feels on the relative merits of Montgomerie, Harrington and Donald (currently out of action recovering from a wrist injury) is unknown and will not be known until he unveils his wild cards.

It could have all changed by then, but things would also get even more fascinating if, for example, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose fell out of the top 10, as could yet happen.

They, like Open champion Harrington, are also in this week's field, though, and are determined both to secure spots in the side as quickly as possibly and show they could be the ones to take advantage of Woods's absence at Birkdale.

Harrington admits to having "a bit of a dodgy neck" as he tries to avoid going to the Open without a single victory since his Carnoustie triumph.

Rose has also yet to win this year, but Garcia lifted the prestigious Players Championship in Florida in May.

This is the week when drug-testing becomes a possibility at tour events and Harrington said: "I've asked a few times about certain things, but nothing to be feared.

"I don't need a medical pass for anything as of yet and hopefully I won't in the future.

"It's so new there are going to be teething problems and we're not like athletes who know from the age of 13 or 14 that you can't take this and that and with experience golfers will become like that too."

Garcia is a rare visitor to these shores and has been for some time because of the tax situation following the Andre Agassi court case in 2004 where the Inland Revenue successfully claimed he owed money on a portion of his endorsement income because of his appearances here.

The 28-year-old Spaniard insists he does not see the Open as "unfinished business" following his play-off loss to Harrington.

"It took me just a couple of days to get over it," he said. "I just came up about half an inch too far left (a reference to his putt to win on the 72nd hole), but I felt like I learnt a lot and that probably made me a better player for this year.

"If I had made that putt maybe I would never have gone back to the short putter and never won the Players Championship.

"Everything happens for a reason and if I wasn't meant to win the Open last year there must be a reason for it."


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HANSEN OUSTS McDOWELL

Dane Soren Hansen has knocked Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell out of the top 10 on the European Ryder Cup list.

And while Hansen's third-place finish in the French Open boosted his hopes of a debut, taking him above not only McDowell but also England's Nick Dougherty, runner-up Colin Montgomerie has moved from outside the top 40 to 14th in the standings.

The top 10 who would earn places as things stand are Lee Westwood, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Robert Karlsson, Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson, Oliver Wilson, Hansen and Dougherty.

Open champion Harrington and Luke Donald are currently favourites for Faldo's two wild cards.

Latest leading places in the European Ryder Cup tables after the French Open (top five on world list on August 31 qualify, plus next five on European list. Captain Nick Faldo then adds two wild cards):

(Capitals indicate players currently in qualifying positions)

World List

1 LEE WESTWOOD 224.48, 2 MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ 174.86, 3 ROBERT KARLSSON 173.28, 4 JUSTIN ROSE 167.46, 5 SERGIO GARCIA 163.70, 6 Henrik Stenson 163.02, 7 Martin Kaymer 148.45, 8 Padraig Harrington 135.82, 9 Luke Donald 134.66, 10 Daniel Chopra 123.58, 11 Ian Poulter 110.82, 12 Oliver Wilson 108.40

European List

1 Westwood 2,085,621, 2 Karlsson 1,867,485, 3 Jimenez 1,789,641, 4 MARTIN KAYMER 1,305,447, 5 HENRIK STENSON 1,293,239, 6 OLIVER WILSON 1,251,857, 7 Rose 1,240,877, 8 SOREN HANSEN 1,199,331, 9 NICK DOUGHERTY 1,032,337, 10 Graeme McDowell 1,030,822, 11 Soren Kjeldsen 1,002,885, 12 Steve Webster 853,305


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GIANT LEAP FOR LARRAZABAL

New Spanish sensation Pablo Larrazabal has moved up a total of 343 places on the world rankings thanks to his French Open victory.

The European Tour rookie beat Colin Montgomerie by four strokes and improves from 481st to 138th.

Montgomerie is back in the top 100 at 77th through his runners-up finish, while American Kenny Perry is up to 19th following his second US Tour victory of the month.

Current leading places in the world rankings:

1 Tiger Woods 20.73, 2 Phil Mickelson 9.94, 3 Geoff Ogilvy 5.66, 4 Adam Scott 5.64, 5 Ernie Els 5.53, 6 Stewart Cink 5.44, 7 Steve Stricker 5.13, 8 Sergio Garcia 5.10, 9 Justin Rose 5.09, 10 KJ Choi 4.96

11 Vijay Singh 4.95, 12 Padraig Harrington 4.76, 13 Jim Furyk 4.73, 14 Trevor Immelman 4.58, 15 Rory Sabbatini 4.51, 16 Henrik Stenson 4.48, 17 Lee Westwood 4.29, 18 Luke Donald 3.87, 19 Kenny Perry 3.78, 20 Anthony Kim 3.76

Other leading Europeans:

21 Miguel Angel Jimenez, 23 Robert Karlsson, 30 Martin Kaymer, 40 Ian Poulter, 42 Niclas Fasth, 44 Paul Casey, 47 Oliver Wilson, 55 Anders Hansen, 59 Nick Dougherty, 70 Carl Pettersson, 72 Graeme McDowell, 77 Colin Montgomerie, 79 Soren Kjeldsen, 85 Daniel Chopra, 88 Steve Webster, 89 Fredrik Jacobson, 91 Peter Hanson, 94 Alastair Forsyth


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OLAZABAL STRUGGLING WITH FATIGUE

Jose Maria Olazabal began the Open qualifier with a one over par 71 at Sunningdale Old on Monday - and then talked about the possibility of taking another lengthy break from golf.

Struggling badly from fatigue since returning from seven months out battling rheumatism, the double Masters champion was left needing something special from his afternoon round if he was to gain one of around 15 spots on offer.

Olazabal's last appearance was his missed cut in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth just over a month ago and he said: "I haven't played at all and can't practise much, so I'm not really expecting great things.

"Because it's the Open, it was a good reason to come, but it's basically a test for me and if I don't qualify I don't think I will be playing for four or five weeks at least."

The Spanish star, who after watching Spain's Euro 2008 triumph was up at 4.30am and first player to tee off at 6.30am, is entered for next week's Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and is in the field for the Bridgestone World Championship in Ohio at the end of next month, but it now remains to be seen when he next plays.

"The doctors have taken one of my medicines away, but we have to do this gradually to see if I improve.

"It's going to take two months at least to see if my body is cured. I feel like practising, but I just get tired and can't hit balls and play 18 holes in the same day.

"But at least my lower back is not getting as tight as it did before and that's positive. I have to really look for those signs."

Ryder Cup team-mates Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley were all in today's 120-strong field playing over both the Old and New courses.

Early leader was England's Simon Wakefield, after a five-under-par 65 on the Old.

The 34-year-old, who has made it through twice in the past, had a sense it might be his day when a 15-footer on the 13th he thought he had pushed well wide bobbled, turned left and went in.

He was one ahead of Australian Matthew Zions - while on the New Course, Challenge Tour player Anthony Wall and Mark Tullo, listed as English but a Chilean international in his amateur days, led with four-under 66s.

Thomas Bjorn, so close to winning at Sandwich in 2003, had a two-under 68. But Darren Clarke, a runner-up in The Open in 1997, was out in a five-over 40 to be near the rear of the field.


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