Only Darren Clarke, of the three Irish players who performed at The K Club just under a year ago, will be in action when Europe's Ryder Cup qualifying campaign tees off at the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland this week, the start of a road that ultimately - for 12 players - will lead to Valhalla in Kentucky for the 2008 match.

Yet, there is no mad rush to be under starter's orders.

Padraig Harrington was always going to miss the European Masters, originally scheduled to be playing the third of the FedEx Cup series of play-off tournaments on the US Tour. However, the British Open champion has withdrawn from this week's BMW Championship in Cog Hill, outside Chicago, citing "fatigue".

And Paul McGinley - who has already been named as one of Nick Faldo's vice-captains for next year's Ryder Cup - is determined to qualify for a fourth time but has chosen not to start his own qualifying quest until next week's Mercedes Benz Championship in Cologne. "I'm finishing my mid-term break, regrouping before the second half of the season," explained McGinley of his decision to wait.

While the US Ryder Cup qualifying has been restructured in an attempt to halt their dismal record of late in the competition, Europe has stuck to the tried and trusted formula that enabled it to claim a record third straight win at The K Club last year.

It means that five players will qualify through the World points list and another five will come off the European Tour points list, starting with the European Masters this week and concluding at next year's Johnnie Walker championship in Gleneagles.

The Ryder Cup European points list is based on one point per euro earned, from all officially sanctioned European Tour events between September 6th, 2007, and August 31th, 2008. Faldo will complete the line-up with two captain's picks.

Clarke will be part of a small five-man Irish challenge in the European Masters, where Damien McGrane, Graeme McDowell, Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy will also be in action. Clarke is also one of five members of last year's winning Ryder Cup team in action, along with Lee Westwood, David Howell, Robert Karlsson and Paul Casey.

McGinley, meanwhile, won't start his Ryder Cup qualifying campaign until next week's limited-field tournament in Cologne.

"I don't feel like I'm a million miles away," said McGinley, of his bid to hit form in a season he admits has been "steady" without "playing to my potential . . . there have been glimpses, particularly at the US PGA and the British Open, of the sort of golf that I know I am capable of producing. Consistency is something that has been the mainstay of my career, but that has not been much in evidence this season."

Incidentally, McGinley is hoping to secure a captain's pick onto the Britain and Ireland side for the Seve Trophy match with continental Europe which takes place at The Heritage, outside Portlaoise, in three weeks' time.

The Seve Trophy could also mark Harrington's return to competition. Harrington withdrew from the BMW Championship in the States after missing the cut in the Deutsche Bank championship in Boston by one stroke.

It was Harrington's fourth tournament in five weeks in the United States and he felt it more prudent to take a break so that he can re-energise ahead of the run-in to the European Tour season as he attempts to retain his Order of Merit title.

Harrington's rescheduling of his itinerary is likely to see him take a break from tournament play until the Seve Trophy (although, despite his absence in Cog Hill, he could still conceivably make the top 30 on the US Tour for next week's Tour Championship), after which his schedule includes the defence of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship the following week, then immediately followed by the HSBC World Matchplay in Wentworth and the Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.

After that the Dubliner is unlikely to appear on tour again until the season-ending European Tour event, the Volvo Masters at Valderrama.

But, although the 2007 European Tour campaign concludes with that tournament in Spain, he will start out on the 2008 campaign almost immediately with the HSBC Champions tournament in Hong Kong and then move on to Japan to defend the Dunlop tournament.

There are no luxuries with scheduling for Colm Moriarty, though, as he seeks to win a full tour card for next season.

The former Walker Cup player heads the Irish contingent in the Telia Challenge in Sweden this week as he bids to break into the top 20 on the Challenge Tour and, so, claim that precious tour card.

Moriarty is currently 24th in the Challenge Tour money list and intends to play all the way through to the Grand Final at San Domenico in Italy in late October.

He is joined in Sweden this week by Michael Hoey, who is currently 43rd on the standings, Stephen Browne and Michael McGeady.