Nick Dougherty would love to join fellow StrokeAverage.com clients Ross Fisher, Richard Finch and Graeme McDowell by collecting his second PGA European Tour victory inside 12 months.

The Liverpudlian golfer, who finished second behind Sweden’s Peter Hanson in the SAS Masters on Sunday, last entered the winners’ circle in October when landing the Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews.

But right now Nick Dougherty knows another victory in the final two qualifying events before Nick Faldo finalises Europe’s Ryder Cup team that takes on Amercia in Kentucky next month, could well put him on the plane to Valhalla Golf Club.

Richard Finch is still only on the fringe of the race to win a place via the European Points List despite his wins in the New Zealand Open in November, and his memorable victory at the Irish Open when he ended up waist high in water after falling off a bank on the last hole at Adare Manor Golf Club, in May.

Ross Fisher is the defending champion at this weeks KLM Dutch Open and is also handily placed to gatecrash the Ryder Cup party, following his £400,000 win at the European Open at The London Golf Club, in July.

But Nick Dougherty has struggled to stay in the race having made a very fast start with victory in the Dunhill Links Championship. He lost his way understandably following the death of his mum shortly after the Masters.

Yet he found some form on the Arlandastad golf course in Stockholm matching his runner-up finish of 12 months ago.

Last year it was Finn Mikko Illonen who pipped him to the title while on Sunday, Peter Hanson gave the Swedish crowd a first home-grown winner since Jesper Parnevik.

Nick Dougherty’s dream of making his Ryder Cup debut in the team captained by Nick Faldo, the three-time Faldo Junior Series winner would love to put his back into the big push to make the five spots available through the money list.

But the back spasm that plagued Nick Dougherty in the final round in Stockholm could yet scupper his Ryder Cup goal.

The two-time PGA European Tour winner woke with back pains before the final round as he lay two shots behind overnight leader Peter Hanson.

Luckily the injury did not stop him from collecting the runners-up cheque for £102,000, which lifted him to 14th in the Ryder Cup race, some £120,000 behind Soren Hansen, who is in 10th and final place.

But ahead of him Oliver Wilson is just £2,000 ahead of the Dane, who in turn has 23-year-old German Martin Kaymer, who has already won twice himself this season, just £200 behind Hansen, having finished 14th in Sweden while his rivals rested.

Justin Rose, who is in ninth place, is taking no chances of missing out on his Ryder Cup debut by opting not to play in the first of the FedEx play-offs in America. Last year’s European number one is in the field in Holland and could yet be forced to play in the final qualifying event at Gleneagles next week.

For Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer victory this week would catapult them into the mix, but along with Richard Finch, there is still the mathematical possibility that a win in Holland still might not be enough to get them into the automatic places, if results go against them in the more valuable Johnnie Walker Championship.

Johan Edfors suffered the same fate in 2006 when three victories during the qualifying campaign was not enough to get the Swede into the European Ryder Cup team that went on to thrash the Americans at Dublin’s K Club.

Golf article end.