COLIN Montgomerie and Corey Pavin stood toe to toe on the first tee at Celtic Manor's Ryder Cup course yesterday.

Then Bryn Terfel started singing on his backswing.

The tension was not quite what it will be in just under 12 months' time when Montgomerie and Pavin return for the serious stuff.

The only nerves yesterday were felt by opera singer Terfel, who partnered Pavin, and DJ Chris Evans, who paired up with Montgomerie.

After a nine-hole game was halved, both sides agreed that the Twenty Ten course, built especially for next year's tournament, was shaping up nicely.

"We both felt that the condition of the course was amazing,"

Montgomerie said. "It's a super golf course and we can only hope that the weather is this good next October."

"The one thing that I think is very, very good about this course is that everything is right in front of you," Pavin added. "It's a very fair test of golf — there are no tricks out there.

"There are very few pins that require a tremendous amount of knowledge."

Whether any of the big-name Americans will be in Newport for next year's Wales Open is questionable, but Montgomerie has made it clear to the Europeans that they should think about playing that event.

"I'll be emailing every player to make sure they play our flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, and I'll also be encouraging them to play here," he said.

"It goes without saying that if one of potentials or possibles wins by a few shots at the Wales Open, that does them no harm at all, especially with one extra pick."

If Montgomerie gets his way, there could be an extra treat for Welsh golf fans next summer ahead of the main event, which begins on October 1.

Pavin's defending champions come in search of a first win on European soil since 1993 having upset the odds to win in Kentucky 13 months ago.

They managed that victory without the injured Tiger Woods, who is now fit again and helped inspire the Americans to a Presidents Cup victory over the weekend by winning five points from five matches.

"It's very interesting that he seems to have this team game now as well as the individual one," noted Montgomerie. "We're all thrilled."

Cue smiles all round, with one of the broadest etched on Pavin's face.

But there was a serious note to finish, with the two captains making an early appeal to Welsh fans to resist the temptation to roar when American putts don't disappear.

Pavin spoke of the need for a respectful pause before any applause, and Montgomerie added: "It's not okay to cheer for a missed putt and never will be. But I don't believe that will be a problem. Here in Wales, as across Britain and Ireland generally, I think the spectators who attend the Ryder Cup are golfers, and golfers respect the traditions of the game."