As Paul McGinley so succinctly puts it, competing as a professional golfer is all about playing "the numbers game". Of course the fewer shots it takes to get the ball in the hole, the better the score. But it's not the only numbers game in town.
And the Dubliner and his ISM stablemate Graeme McDowell are playing a different numbers game heading into this week's Scandinavian Masters in Malmo, where they require good finishes in their bids to break into the world's top 100.
By so doing, they'll guarantee places in the field for next month's US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin.
As things stand, McGinley, after his tied-fifth finish in the Irish Open at Baltray, has moved up to 102nd in the world rankings - with an average of 1.47 he is an agonising .01 behind the 100th-ranked player, Dudley Hart - while McDowell is ranked 119th.
Padraig Harrington, who retains his eighth place in the rankings, and Darren Clarke, who remains at 14th, won't reappear onto the tournament stage until the US PGA, which will be the start of a three-week stint for the pair that also take in the following week's NEC Invitational at Akron (where Clarke defends) and the next week's BMW International Open in Munich, the final counting event towards the European team's qualification for the Ryder Cup match in Detroit.
For McGinley and McDowell, making that team has become a realistic target, but especially so if places can be secured in the US PGA. Certainly, McDowell, who arrived in Malmo last night after a circuitous journey via the Rosslare ferry and a flight from Cardiff to Stockholm, where he held a corporate day, is bullish about his prospects for the next couple of weeks, which see him follow the Scandinavian Masters with next week's Dutch Open.
"It was a great plus to get so close to a top-10 in the Irish Open. I never got my game together in the first round, in the easiest conditions, but was right there at the weekend. I'm pretty excited about the next couple of weeks.
"I'm playing well and I'm putting well. I'm really looking forward to Malmo because the course is set up well for me. I've endured a tough month and a half and wasn't striking the ball the way I wanted to. Now, I feel like I'm back," insisted McDowell.
Other Irish competing in Malmo are Peter Lawrie, Damien McGrane and Gary Murphy.
Harrington, meanwhile, has accepted the advice of his sports therapist Dale Richardson to take a break prior to competing in the US PGA.
"From what I hear, it looks like it is going to be a bit of beast," remarked Harrington of the links-style course hard by Lake Michigan. "It has got 20-yard-wide fairways, which are very unusual because the US Tour play on 30-yards-wide fairways. It has got heavy rough, and it is the longest course we play all year.
"It has got wind, it has got undulating greens, and it is soft. So every one of those combinations seems like it is going to be very difficult . . . so, yes, it should suit me."
RyderCupTables: Europe and US
EUROPE: World Points
1 P HARRINGTON (Ire) 232.09
2 S GARCIA (Spa) 219.10
3 D CLARKE (Ire) 174.51
4 M-A JIMENEZ (Spa) 166.55
5 L WESTWOOD (Eng) 143.72
6 T Levet (Fra) 132.40
7 F Jacobson (Swe) 128.66
8 P Casey (Eng) 114.44
9 J Haeggman (Swe) 106.95
10 D Howell (Eng) 98.11
EUROPE: Order of Merit
1 Westwood (Eng) 1,565,797
2 Jimenez (Spa) 1,520,367
3 Clarke (Ire) 1,364,954
4 Harrington (Ire) 1,303,008
5 LEVET (Fra) 1,293,779
6 CASEY (Eng) 1,144,066
7 HOWELL (Eng) 1,074,623
8 HAEGGMAN (Swe) 1,018,136
9 I POULTER (Eng) 1,001,727
10 J-F Remesy (Fra) 993,891
US: Order of Merit
1 T Woods 1,781.667
2 P Mickelson 1,755.250
3 D Love III 1,114.107
4 J Furyk 814.479
5 K Perry 780.107
6 D Toms 695.125
7 C Campbell 680.000
8 F Funk 596.959
9 S Flesch 530.937
10 J Maggert 504.143
