Four Europeans warm up in Germany for Ryder Cup

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COLOGNE, Germany (AP) -- Defending champion Søren Hansen and three other European players are using this week's Mercedes Benz Championship to warm up for the Ryder Cup.

The Dane returns to the Gut Larchenhof Club seeking to become the first player to retain the title. The Ryder Cup takes place next week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.

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Soren Hansen was the eighth player to make the Ryder Cup team in points standings.

Hansen won the Cologne tournament by four strokes last year. His closing five-under 67 included a pair of eagles on the back nine.

Since then, Hansen has maintained his impressive form with a series of top-10 finishes to become only the second Dane after Thomas Bjorn to make the Ryder Cup team.

The other three members of Europe's Ryder Cup team competing in Cologne are Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez and Robert Karlsson of Sweden.

That foursome headlines an elite field of 78 that includes 29 European Tour winners from this season, as well as Fred Couples, John Daly, Bernhard Langer and Retief Goosen, the 2005 winner from South Africa.

Langer, attempting to win his home tournament for a fifth time, is coming off his first European Senior Tour victory in the Czech Republic last week.

Another German, Martin Kaymer, will be looking for his second home title after winning in Munich in June.

The Jack Nicklaus-designed Gut Larchenhof course was opened in 1996. This typically flat German venue has water hazards on half of its holes, and the fairways are tighter than normal, making accuracy from the tee vital.

Besides the first prize of $452,600, the winner will also collect a luxury car donated by the sponsor. A hole-in-one on the 16th will be worth another car.