With Colin Montgomerie having already announced his European Ryder Cup team to face the US at Celtic Manor in Wales next month, the European Tour goes back to basics this week.

With players no longer chasing Ryder Cup qualification points, the main prize on offer this week will be the trophy presented to the winner of the Omega European Masters at the Crans-sur-Sierre course in Crans Montana, Switzerland.

Despite European Tour players' hectic schedule of late, the tournament features a strong field headed by Louis Oosthuizen, this year's Open champion.

In contrast to his European peers chasing Ryder Cup selection, the Titleist Pro V1x golf ball user has played only three events since his victory at St Andrews, but looks to be in good touch.

Although he missed the cut at his most recent event, the USPGA Championship, the South African finished fourth at the Nordea Scandinavian Masters and ninth at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.

Edoardo Molinari, winner of last week's Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, will also be in attendance.

Having clinched his Ryder Cup spot in Scotland, he has travelled to Switzerland in attempt to secure back-to-back wins and become King of the Mountains.

The Italian carded three birdies in his final three holes at Gleneagles to win by a single stroke and revealed in the tournament's aftermath that his triumph had much to do with the time he has put in at the range with his TaylorMade xFT wedges alongside his caddie, Colin.

"Colin, he is the winner this week, not me, because we spent probably more time this week on the chipping than in the last six months," Molinari confirmed.

"I started working with him three tournaments ago, at Bridgestone in the States, and I think he's the best caddie. I had a good caddie before, but I think Colin is something special."

Another player to look out for is Miguel Angel Jimenez. The Spaniard will be making his 22nd consecutive appearance at the Omega European Masters, although he has yet to win despite finishing second in 1993 and 1994.

Revealing his schedule in the run-up to the Ryder Cup, the Srixon Z-Star X golf balls user said: "I'm going to play Switzerland - I never miss that tournament - but then I change my schedule because I'm supposed to play Holland and I cancel Holland because I cannot play everything.

"So it's better I play next week, cancel Holland, play Austria, week off again and go for Ryder Cup."

Over in the US, the players are gearing up for the Deutsche Bank Championship, which is the second tournament in the FedEx Cup series.

The likes of Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson are all chasing the top prize at the 7,214-yard TPC Boston course in Norton, Massachusetts.

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