It's appropriate that Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland, home to the Omega European Masters and nestling in the Alps, should mark the start of a 12-month journey for Europe's golfers hoping to scale the heights and secure a place on the team to face the USA in the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield, Michigan.

The Masters is the first counting tournament in a new look qualification process for the European team.

Instead of the old format where the top 10 players on the Volvo Order of Merit in Europe qualified by right with the captain picking the final two team members, there is a new format.

European captain for 2004 Bernhard Langer will now be able to call upon the top five players who compile the most Ryder Cup points in officially sanctioned tournaments around the world, up to and including the 2004 NEC Invitational at Firestone, and the top five players in the Volvo Order of Merit after the BMW International, one week later than Firestone.

He will still be afforded two further picks. The new system is seen as a reward to those European players who achieve success on a global scale and prevents a repeat of 2002 when European captain Sam Torrance had to use his wild card choices on Jesper Parnevik and Sergio Garcia, both of whom were playing on the US Tour.

They didn't earn sufficient money in Europe and therefore missed out on the automatic route.

There is no doubt that the quality of this week's field in Switzerland is directly attributable to the fact that it signals the start of the Ryder Cup race.

Colin Montgomerie, the driving force of the 2002 success at the Belfry, is present as is Garcia, taking time out from his US Tour commitments. Paul Casey heads the list of the young wannabes.

Ireland's presence in Crans-sur-Sierre is headed by Graeme McDowell and Peter Lawrie. Philip Walton and Ronan Rafferty, no strangers to Ryder Cup success also take part along with Damien McGrane, latter promoted from an initial reserve list.

Darren Clarke's presence - and a hugely successful one at that - in the United States will not now inhibit his chances one bit under the new qualification system.

Padraig Harrington wasn't due in Switzerland this week and he may also elect to miss the Trophee Lancome next week before returning for the €3 million Linde German Masters in a fortnight's time.

Paul McGinley plays in the Smurfit PGA Championship at Adare Manor this week, so the three Irishmen who played such a pivotal role in the the 2002 Ryder Cup success will be miss the Swiss tournament.

In fact, of the victorious Belfry European Ryder Cup team, only Montgomerie and Garcia will be in action. Clarke, Harrington, McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Philip Price, Langer, Pierre Fulke, Niclas Fasth, Jesper Parnevik and Lee Westwood will not play.

Westwood's decision is entirely understandable following his superb victory at the BMW International Open in Germany at the weekend.

The 30-year-old from Worksop has had to endure a nightmare three years. The European number one in 2000, his game disintegrated in the interim and only periodically showed an inkling of that ability - and that included a decent performance in the 2002 Ryder Cup.

Westwood wasn't satisfied with his contribution at the Belfry. "I don't think I played that well in the Ryder Cup," he conceded.

"I holed more than my fair share of putts that week and had partners to fall back on. Given a situation like the Ryder Cup, I felt I could just scramble it round the course and make a few birdies and if I made a triple or quadruple bogey on one hole it wouldn't matter."

A decision to work with renowned coaching guru David Leadbetter has finally paid dividends.

"Since I've seen David in February he's broken everything down and said this is the plan, these are the long-term and short-term goals. This is what we're going to work on this week, this is what we're going to work on in your weeks off.

"The Ryder Cup was a bit of a confidence boost but I knew deep down it wasn't that big an improvement. David's rung me two or three times a week since I've been seeing him so he's been very supportive," added Westwood, whose next tournament will be the Lancome Trophy in Paris on September 11th.

"Before I took the two-month break (around the birth of his son in 2001) I felt my technique was becoming flawed and I was just getting by on adrenalin and the knack of winning, so maybe these three years have been a blessing in disguise.

"I hope I come out of it a stronger player. I certainly know more now than I did three years ago."