IT'S GETTING close now. In a little less than a fortnight we'll be on Louisville time, in thrall to the greatest bunfight in golf, the most hysterical show the game has to offer. Grown men shake like kids on the first tee. How many times have we heard it? Some feel like throwing up, such is the angst. It's all so intense and so self-important and such fun. Nobody's immune. Even Tiger Woods. Remember his opening shot at the K Club in 2006? Pulled the head off it. Ended up wet. Not
It's bubbling nicely. Nick Faldo is under the cosh, Ian Poulter right there beside him. There's been flak flying. Some grandees of captaincies past have slaughtered Faldo for ignoring the obvious claims of Darren Clarke and opting instead for Poulte
r, a great force in the world of golf fashion and self-promotion but a little less convincing when it comes to leaderboards on Sunday afternoons. They're waiting in the long grass for the European captain. Just waiting to bury him should things go wrong in Kentucky.
What are the chances? Europe were favourites before Paul Azinger announced his wild card picks on Tuesday afternoon and, if anything, they're even greater favourites now. It was tempting to respond to Azinger's four names with, "is that all you got?" but, then, it was hardly a surprise. The American captain's resources have been thin all season. Him talking about his great dream of Tiger Woods suddenly declaring himself fit to play was a sign of that. Desperation.
He's picked Chad Campbell for heaven's sake. Campbell finished miles down the points list in 20th. Azinger said he's in the team because of his experience but Campbell's kind of experience is something you might well do without. He has one victory from six matches in the last two Ryder Cups, he is up to his neck in scar tissue from the batterings at Oakland Hills and the K Club. Chad can contribute some horror stories in the team room. What else?
JB Holmes was another pick. He's missed five cuts in his last seven tournaments. There isn't a single guy on the American team with a winning Ryder Cup record; that is, more victories than defeats. Mickelson has won nine, lost 12 and halved four. Jim Furyk has won six, lost 12 and halved two. Stewart Cink has won three, lost five and halved four. And Justin Leonard? Like Campbell, a player of experience. He's played eight matches and hasn't won any of them. Kenny Perry has played two and got beaten both times. In comparison, Sergio Garcia is 14-4-2, Lee Westwood is 14-8-3, Paul Casey is 3-1-2. Padraig Harrington has seven wins and eight losses but he's also got the Claret Jug and the Wanamaker Trophy sitting on his sideboard at home in Dublin. He's playing poorly right now but nobody will doubt his ability to rouse himself when he needs to.
So, Europe to win in a rout, yes? Not so fast. There is the old maxim of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. We can understand that in Europe all too well. There's something about that American line-up that is troubling from a European perspective. You can see how Anthony Kim, Boo Weekley, Ben Curtis and Holmes might galvanise the team, might shake Mickelson out the torpor he's been in in recent matches. None of them are fearful, all of them motivated. The Ryder Cup has been their goal, their ambition. That kind of energy can be intoxicating. Their presence, like the impact a young Sergio had on Europe, could be significant. They won't be intimidated, that's the key.
There's something else going on as well. A few weeks ago Graeme McDowell did an interview and revealed some things that Phil Mickelson had said to him when they played together during the final round of the PGA at Oakland Hills last month. McDowell reckoned there was something going on with Phil. Some mind games, perhaps. "These guys (meaning the Valhalla galleries] won't be golf fans," said Mickelson. "These guys are Nascar fans. They're going to be drinking beer."
The point was that it's going to be rowdy in Louisville, that there's some good ol' boys waiting for the European team, ready to give them some of what Monty got in his prime.
Mickelson told McDowell he'd better be ready for some serious intimidation from the crowd. Brookline revisited. "Yeah, that's what he said. I suspect he's talked to (Paul] Azinger about this. It certainly wasn't as if it was a casual conversation. I played with Phil before a couple of times and found he wasn't a chatty guy on the golf course. In fact, he's pretty quiet. Which made this the most prolonged conversation I've ever had with the guy. I thought to myself. 'what's this guy up to?'"
What indeed?
The days leading up to the first ball being struck will be rich with psychology. There's a storm brewing, you can tell. Somebody is going to say something very soon that's going to kick it all off. Azinger and Faldo won't be able to help themselves. There's too much history between them, too much of a will to win for either of them to get through the week without a barb or a mind game.
There is a theory that captaincy in the Ryder Cup has assumed a level of importance far greater than it deserves, the example being Ian Woosnam who never struck anybody as a great strategist even though his team won in a canter in Ireland two years ago. This time, it's different. Their choice of wildcards has set things up beautifully, particularly Faldo's. He did a poor job trying to justify Poulter's inclusion last Sunday evening at Gleneagles and Azinger will be alive to that, aware of the sensitivities. The first salvo is coming. Question is, who's going to fire first?
The full article contains 1013 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
