Straffan, Ireland – On Monday, the night before their first official practice here for the 2006 Ryder Cup, the United States team got together for what captain Tom Lehman termed “a good old Irish barbecue” complete with Guinness and song-singing that supposedly went deep into the night.
The tableau was meant to illustrate the new-found closeness of the Americans, a quality that has been lacking in recent editions of this biennial competition, one that has seen the Red, White and Blue come out on the short end in four of the past five matches. However, all the touchy-feely goodness failed to impress at least one observer.
“We’ve actually been playing golf, believe it or not,” said European stalwart Colin Montgomerie, when asked what his side was doing to get ready. “That’s why we’re here.”
While it might be easy to dismiss Monty as being his usual fussbudgety self, one could also appreciate the weight carried in his cheekiness. Each of Europe’s previous wins was considered an upset at the time. When play begins Friday at the K Club, Montgomerie and his mates will be the favorites to win their third consecutive Cup.
“This is probably – I hate to say it before the event starts – but it’s our strongest team we’ve ever put together,” said Montgomerie, a member of the previous seven European teams.
While publicly expressing such sentiments might cause Nick Faldo’s lips to purse or set Seve Ballesteros’ blood a-boiling, the idea isn’t as daft as it would initially appear. Six of the 12 players on the European team have won tournaments this season, and three of them – Paul Casey, David Howell and Cup rookie Robert Karlsson – have multiple victories this year.
By contrast, seven members of the U.S. squad have won this season, with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk coming through more than once. While Woods and Mickelson have combined to win three of the season’s four major championships, the European depth is hinted at in the side’s combined six top-five finishes in this year’s majors.
According to Montgomerie, “All the eggs were thrown into one basket (in the 2004 Cup) with Woods and Mickelson playing together. You won’t find that, all the eggs in one basket with us because we’ve got 12 great players; we can mix and match as well as I’ve ever known any team to mix and match.”
Woods and Mickelson, the world’s top two players, lost to Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington in the competition’s opening match two years ago, setting the tone for the European victory.
In Tuesday’s practice rounds, European captain Ian Woosnam took more of a geographical bent, pairing Swedes Karlsson and Henrik Stenson, Spaniards Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia and Irishmen Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke and Harrington. However the Welshman cautioned not to read too much into that, saying any number of factors could shape the lineup he sends out on Friday’s opening day.
“I’m going to wait until Friday to see who is going to match up with whom, because it’s very difficult to sort of get it right,” Woosnam said. “Do you put a long hitter with a shorter, straighter hitter? Do you put two longer hitters out?”
One element that might become a major consideration in what goes on is the weather. Although Tuesday turned out to be almost perfect, local forecasters are saying it might be the last dry day of the week. While inclement weather isn’t unexpected in these parts, Woosnam said he worked six months on finding just the right rain suits for his squad. Things supposedly will get so bad that frequent stoppages in play are expected.
When both sides arrived Monday, the biggest topic of discussion was whether players would be allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls during the competition if the rains hit.
“There’s two ways of looking at it,” Lehman said. “One is, you know, luck is part of the game. If it’s hit-and-miss with a ball, the ball gets mud or not, maybe that’s part of the rub of the green and you just kind of take it as it comes because it’s probably going to affect each team equally.
“The flip side of the coin is, do you want to see a bunch of mud balls squirting and going dead sideways? I don’t think anybody wants to see that. … As long as the rub of the green affects everybody equally, it’s probably not a big deal.”
Staff writer Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
