If Paul McGinley is looking for “horses for courses” for his Ryder Cup team there is a veritable stampede of them careering down the slopes of the PGA Centenary Course after the first round of the Johnnie Walker Championship.
The European team captain was not half bad himself in the opening round at Gleneagles, with an opening 68.
However, he will have surely noticed the preponderance of those who thrive on the Jack Nicklaus-designed track which will host the famous matches in 13 months jockeying nervously like the Grand National field in front of the starters’ tape at Aintree.
After the first circuit of the four, Bernd Weisberger stood at the top of the leaderboard with Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez after a 65.
He credits the loss in the interminable five-man, five-hole play-off here two years ago as the catalyst to him becoming a fully-fledged Tour winner and European team candidate.
Ignacio Garrido, recovered from a bout of glandular fever that afflicted him all season, is another PGA Centenary specialist on six-under.
Mark Foster, who went all five holes of that infamous play-off before losing to Thomas Bjorn, also shot 66. Ross Fisher, who has done well around here several times, and has Ryder Cup experience from Celtic Manor, is on the same mark.
On a windless day, scoring was notably low and McGinley confirmed that he would be taking a wide scope of views on the course set-up from all and sundry.
“I can take something for everyone, the guys who’ve played many times before to the young lads I played with today, Shane Lowry (68) and Danny Willett (72),” said the captain.
“This is why we in Europe think it’s so important that the captain is out here competing, speaking to the players and getting their views and I’ll be looking forward to speaking to guys like Jose (Maria Olazabal).
“It’s certainly different this year. The sub-air system means the greens are firm and running great, the drainage in the fairways means the ball’s running out and there’s less rough and it’s less severe.
“I lost a ball right with my second shot on 15 last year but today there’s nothing out there.
“I’ll be interested to hear what the guys say. Certainly, I’m only thinking about what the Europeans want, not guessing what the Americans don’t want.”
The 68, while welcome, will not turn his head for a moment. “It’s one round in what has been a mediocre, poor to be honest, season for me,” he said.
“I think I’m going to do what Monty did and take myself right out of the points list. You sure as hell can’t captain and play at the same time, that’s for sure.”
Weisberger remembers two years ago, when he was in the play-off but did not get past the first extra hole, as when he first realised what he had to do to win.
“Then I was not safe with my card and still needed to get the feeling of how it is to play for the win,” said the German, who has since won twice, while the PGA two weeks ago was his first missed cut since last year’s Dunhill Links.
“It was definitely part of my progress as a player. You lose in a play-off, you’re obviously disappointed but it was a positive.”
However, being back here a year from now is not remotely in his thoughts.
“I don’t want that in my mindset right now,” he continued. “But if I keep on playing like this for 12-13 months, I don’t see why not. Playing well on the Ryder Cup course can’t be bad for putting your name up there.”
Wiesberger did not make a single bogey in his 65 and youth got a good representation from two recently-touted young Englishmen, Ollie Fisher (66) and Tom Lewis (67).
Fisher is still only 25 but has been out on tour since he was 17.
The same is beginning to be said of Lewis, who is just 22 and struggled since his Open emergence at Sandwich, followed quickly by a win in the Portuguese Masters in 2011. He is presently 193rd on the Race to Dubai.
“I don’t look at that, it’s too upsetting,” he laughed. “The win in Portugal gave me two years to learn, instead of doing it on the Challenge Tour and EuroPro and building myself up, I did it in the limelight.
“It’s going to be better for me in the long-term, even if the results haven’t come my way.”
Lewis has worked with a succession of coaches, including Butch Harmon, Dave Pelz, Bob Rotella and most recently Luke Donald’s performance coach Dave Alred, as well as his father.
“I couldn’t ask for a better team, so I’ve got no reason to fail,” he added.
Non-European candidates, include Gonzalez, who had seven birdies and an eagle in his afternoon round and Brett Rumford, runner-up to Paul Lawrie last year, who shot 66.
Lawrie started with two birdies but needed another at the last to finish two-under, a double bogey six at the eighth costing him.
The leading Scots on three-under were Craig Lee, Ramsay and Chris Doak, who through successive Johnnie Walkers and Scottish PGA Championships has probably played this course competitively more than anyone.