Despite a paltry four top-10s from 24 starts this year, the player ranked 112th in the world eventually missed out on a trip to Straffan by just one spot.

Before a ball was even struck in Kildare, the Rollins (right) case was cited as evidence America might have to contemplate yet another revision of its qualifying process.

Since the last of the champagne was drunk, there has been serious talk of Lehman's successor even being allowed a dozen captain's picks. The problem however may run far deeper than a flawed system of selection. There is a view abroad that an entire generation of American golfers have had their competitive edges blunted by the bloated prize money and pampered existence available on the US Tour.

"When our youngest player is 30 years old, that's not a positive thing, " said Woods.

"They have Luke [Donald] and Sergio [Garcia], Paul Casey, all in their 20s. We don't have anybody in their 20s. Hopefully we'll have a new crop of guys that will come up from college and start producing, and the guys right now in their 20s will start winning tournaments and get on these teams.

Dealing with pressure-packed situations in regular tour events, that's one of the reasons why I think the Europeans are able to win tournaments around the world as well."

Charles Howell III, a name that has featured a lot in post-mortems over the past few days, appears to be a case in point. Once tipped by Jack Nicklaus as the player most likely to challenge Woods's hegemony, it was assumed that, at the very least, Howell would grow into a serious Ryder Cup player. With a single tournament victory (the frankly lightweight Michelob) on his record, he has earned over $12m in prize money yet has failed to make three Ryder Cup teams since turning pro. In 2005, Howell won $2,074,329 on the course. Off it, he banked an estimated $3.25m from endorsements.

In the decade since Tiger Woods famously announced "Hello world", the prize money has quadrupled and you no longer have to play great to be rich. It is now possible to become a multi-millionaire without ever actually winning a serious tournament. Six years ago, 15 players on the American circuit made over $2 million, and 45 players earned at least $1 million.

With a few weeks to go in the current season, there's a good chance 40 players will go through the $2m barrier and as many as 90 could pass the $1m mark.

Little wonder some are linking the explosion in earnings with the fact America has won the Ryder Cup just once in the Tiger era.

The figures bear comparing to their European counterparts. The 126th spot on the US money list at the end of last season went to Briny Baird. The $624,191 he earned was a couple of grand short of allowing him to keep his tour card. Taking the exchange rate as one euro equalling a dollar and 20 cents, Baird's total purses would have been good enough for 43rd on Europe's Order of Merit. At the other end of the scale, Billy Mayfair didn't win a tournament in America in 2005 but still took home $2,236,455, a sum that when converted would have had him on the fringes of Europe's top five. He finished 25th in the Ryder Cup standings.

Money is the reason why so many of Europe's finest hold cards for both tours. The lucre to be made across the Atlantic is simply too attractive to pass up.

JJ Henry's cheque for winning the Buick Championship in Connecticut was almost twice what Robert Karlsson received for taking the Celtic Manor Wales Open. Crucially though, the best British, Irish and Swedish players usually have to excel on their own tour before gaining regular access to the cash cow that is the American scene.

They have to work hard to get to where the big bucks are.

There are many ways in which the US Tour is a victim of its own financial success. Without any pressing monetary need, the best golfers don't need to play every week so they pick and chose their outings.

Consequently, players can also win tournaments without ever having to face down Woods or hold off Phil Mickelson on Sunday. Of the four most derided American representatives in Ireland . . . Henry, Brett Wetterich, Zach Johnson and Vaughn Taylor . . . only Wetterich's win at the Byron Nelson earlier this year could be classified as a victory over a truly quality field.

That Henry beat out Hunter Mahan, Ryan Moore and Nathan Green to take the Buick sums up the two-tiered nature of the American game. There are the events graced by the big stars. Then, there are the others. Not to mention the tournaments that take place the same weeks as the British Open or the World Golf Championships. Woods and the planet's best may be busy at The Grove today but at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic in Mississippi, there will still be $3m to be won. Winner takes home $540,000 of that. Nice work if you can get it.