Europe's Team is Weak
The Vivendi trophy has suffered with withdrawals this week and the Brits and Irish are going into the tournament as underdogs.
Captain Paul McGinley is worried about his team as he has lost his four highest ranked players. Britain and Ireland have beaten Europe four times in a row however a victory this year is doubtful.
Main players Paul Casey, Lee Westwood, Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose are all missing.
However the European captain Thomas Bjorn is missing key players Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer. Casey and Kaymer are both injured but the other players are simply unavailable.
Although there are so many big names missing there are 18 of the 20 players in worlds top 200. The exception are Steve Webster and Robert Rock who are both English.
The competition will be held at St Nom la Breteche and is unlike the Ryder Cup running over four days rather than three.
Thursday and Friday will be four balls then greensomes and foursomes on Saturday. To finish on Sunday there will be singles.
Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie will be attending the competition scouting for players for Celtic Manor next year. This is a fantastic opportunity for Rory McIlroy and Chris Wood where this will be their first taste of international team golf.
Mcilroy has had a fantastic season so far and has risen to number 24. This made him one of Britain’s and Ireland’s players.
Montgomerie said: "You can't do anything about players who are injured (Kaymer and Casey) and scheduling is also difficult.
"What I would rather focus on is who is there because there is an awful lot of talent in both teams.
"Also, due to players not being there, it gives an opportunity to others who otherwise might not have been involved. It is a very important four days."