Price of failure spur Phillip on

Phillip Price, one of Europe's Ryder Cup heroes two years ago, admits he does not have a clue how he is doing in the present race for places.

"I could be 60th or 40th, I don't know. I am so far away it does not matter," said the Welshman as he prepared for the start of his European Open title defence at the K Club near Dublin today.

Price is 36th in the list and a repeat of last year's display would take him into the thick of things with nine more qualifying tournaments to come. The 37-year-old (above), who beat Phil Mickelson in the singles at The Belfry in 2002, said: "I had a purple patch this time last year, but it is difficult to keep it going."