LEE Westwood has poured cold water on the suggestion that the European Ryder Cup side should revert back to a Great Britain and Ireland team.

The emergence of a host of British and Irish golfers on the world scene has given some critics hope that the match could revert to its old style.

But the 36-year-old Worksop player is having none of it. He said: "I think British, and more precisely, English golf is very strong at the moment.

"But I think we've got a lot of great players from the Continent of Europe too.

"If you look back to the mid-1980s in the Ryder Cups when we started doing well, it was down to the new team format.

"Seve (Ballesteros) coming on the scene was a huge boost to the match and then players like Bernhard Langer helped keep it going.

"I think they are part of the reason the Ryder Cup has kept on going and growing."

Westwood understands the reason why some people have mentioned the change.

He said: "Yes, English golf is very strong just now but it isn't getting recognised, especially here in England compared to some of the other sports which are given reams and reams of column inches in the newspapers.

"Even though it was an all-English final with Ian Poulter and Paul Casey in the Accenture World Match Play, I don't want to see the match going back to Great Britain and Ireland."

Ten years ago, Westwood was the only Englishman in the world's top 100. He was ranked four then and he is still ranked four but the rankings are now awash with English golfers and nearly all upwardly mobile.

The renaissance augers well for the future, especially the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in October.

"I think it definitely goes in cycles," said Westwood. "I think it was 2000 when Nick Faldo pointed out that I was the only Englishman in the top 100.

"I was four back then. Many people were questioning where the next crop of English golfers was going to come from.

"And, ten years later, they are here. I don't know how many it is, I haven't counted, but I know it's very strong and I don't know what to put it down to.

"We are all from different backgrounds. We have all taken different routes to where we are, so there is obviously not really a specific way to nurture young talent.

"You just have to give different players as many opportunities as possible."

Westwood is now one of the most experienced Ryder Cup players on either side of the Atlantic, with six caps already.

During his slump in form, he had to rely on captain Sam Torrance for a wild card selection in 2004. He was a controversial choice by Torrance but Westwood rewarded his faith by going unbeaten through the match.

"Maybe I was a little bit controversial," he said. "Thomas Björn found it controversial but, he finds a lot of things controversial.

"Yeah, it was nice to prove myself and prove the pick. When you get picked for something, you're already under a lot of pressure to try to perform.

"And then people question the fact that you've been picked, so it puts more pressure on the fact that you've been picked.

"It's nice to come out and justify why you were there and also justify your captain's faith in you.

"It's never a nice situation. It's nicer to play your way into something like that, an 'I-deserve-to-be-here' kind of thing."

Westwood will not have that problem this time. He must be right at the top of European captain Colin Montgomerie's team sheet.

Another top-ten finish has stretched his lead at the top of the European Ryder Cup points race.

Westwood came joint ninth at the US Tour's Honda Classic and is a near-certainty for a seventh cap against the Americans in Wales in October.

Latest leading positions (top four on world list qualify, then next five on European points list. Captain Colin Montgomerie adds three wild cards):

World List – Lee Westwood 208.2, 2 Ian Poulter 188.1, 3 Rory McIlroy 148.5, 4 Padraig Harrington 110.1, 5 Martin Kaymer 109.2, 6 Edoardo Molinari 97.7, 7 Paul Casey 91.4, 8 Ross McGowan 90.6, 9 Simon Dyson 84.5, 10 Robert Karlsson 81.0.

European List – 1 Lee Westwood 1,989,765, 2 Ian Poulter 1,947,051, 3 Rory McIlroy 1,405,094, 4 Ross McGowan 1,173,957, 5 Simon Dyson 926,512, 6 Oliver Wilson 822,044, 7 Alexander Noren 804,127, 8 Martin Kaymer 798,042, 9 Paul Casey 774,403, 10 Sergio Garcia (Spa) 763,034.