These Ryder hopefuls spent time riding each other

NORTON - You'd be hard pressed to find a more compelling soap opera than the European Ryder Cup team. Specifically, the saga revolving around Ian Poulter and Colin Montgomerie, which is pure entertainment.

With seven spots locked up and Justin Rose, Soren Hansen, and Oliver Wilson in good shape to snare the other three automatic slots when the deadline arrives late today, what is left are the two captain's picks of Nick Faldo. Conventional wisdom suggests that Darren Clarke, Paul Casey, and Poulter are the leading candidates, though the incomparable Montgomerie is hard to ignore, given that he's played like Tiger Woods in his eight Ryder Cup appearances.

Passion runs deep for the Euros when the Ryder Cup is at stake, which is why Poulter apparently got Montgomerie in a flutter by choosing to play the Deutsche Bank Championship this week and not the European tournament in Scotland. The Scotsman said Poulter "had a pipeline" to Faldo, to which Poulter responded, "I don't need to talk about Monty. He should just keep his head down and try to play good golf."

From across the Atlantic came Montgomerie's return volley: "Oh, well. It is nice to be told what to do by one so young and so inexperienced."

It was Poulter's serve, but apparently the double bogey at the par-4 ninth to close out his round of 74 -144 was too much for him. He had missed the cut, and much of it was the media's fault.

"A lot of misspent energy has been taken up by talking to the media," said Poulter. "It's so mentally draining with the b.s. all week. I'm spent, to be honest with you."

He's also at the mercy of Faldo, as is Casey, who shot 73 to also miss the cut.

The captain will announce his picks today, but when he asked if he thinks he'll get the call, Poulter let go with some final steam:

"I'm sick and tired of all this nonsense. I can't waste any more energy thinking about it. If I get the call, I'm ready to play and, trust me, I will do my job."

A year ago, Phil Mickelson used a second-round kick to get himself into contention and eventually pave the way to victory. Yesterday, he needed some second-round heroics just to make the cut. "I had to fight to get back," said the lefthander, who started the day 2 under, but quickly went backward - bogeys at 10 and 11, then a water ball and double bogey at the par-3 16th. He was up against it, but Mickelson birdied four of the next six holes, then shook off a bogey at the par-4 sixth with a brilliant third shot to set up a birdie at the par-5 seventh, which got him to 2 under. It was thought that that score would be bubble material, but it took a 12-foot left-to-right birdie putt at the ninth to ensure that the lefthander will be on hand for the rest of the way. He shot 70 -139 and at 3 under he's joint 67th, but a whopping 11 back.

Nice touch by the Red Sox as they invited veteran caddie Greg Rita to throw out the first pitch before last night's game against the White Sox. A Connecticut native and longtime Red Sox fan, Rita has shown an indomitable spirit after being diagnosed with a brain tumor, and while he's been unable to work during his recovery, he's maintained his passion for the Red Sox. Earlier this year, he expressed his desire to bring son Nicholas, 3, to a game at Fenway, and the Sox made it happen. Three times in his career, Rita caddied for a major championship winner: Curtis Strange at the US Open in 1988 and 1989 and John Daly in 1995 at the British Open. "I'm going to have to take a deep breath and hope it works out," said Rita before the game.

In five previous editions of this championship, the cut had never been lower than 141. This year it fell at 139, and 86 players made it. That means there will be a second cut after today's third round, with the low 70 and ties making the cut . . . Among the 29 who did miss the cut already, the most notable name was Padraig Harrington. Having opened with a stunning 75, the Irishman made a bid to make the cut as he got to 6 under on his round through 14 holes, but he couldn't birdie any of the last four holes, settling for a 65 -140 to miss by one . . . Brett Quigley birdied two of his last three holes to make the cut on the number. He had missed the cut in each of the first five years here. Fellow Rhode Islander Patrick Sheehan (74 -142) missed the cut for the fourth straight time here . . . With a round of 70 -138, Jay Williamson made the cut, sitting in a share of 54th, and that assures him of a spot in next week's BMW Championship in St. Louis.

Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com