H. I. J. = Pre-Game To The K Club
Shhhh... If you listen closely, you can hear the whispers on the range. There is no smiling, fist bumping, or joking between teams. It's game time. The Gourmet Golfwrx build-up to the Ryder Cup starts with some pre-game analysis from Marcus Vindictus, G.Gwrx' new contributing writer. Don't forget to add your comments and opinions.
Enjoy!
cannot be beaten. He will take the youngsters under his wing and teach them how to win tough matches. Phil is now clearly the second best player in the world and DiMarco proved his value in team competition with last year’s amazing performance in the Presidents’ Cup. If nothing else, the law of averages must even-out the lucky bounces and 25-foot bombs the Euros have dropped on the Yanks in the past two Ryder Cups. The Americans will bounce back, won’t they? They must! It was great that the Euros won a couple of times to make it a true rivalry but this is getting out of hand. The Americans have lost three out of the last four and their only victory was secured by a 50-foot prayer by Justin Leonard. It is time for them to puff out their chests and reclaim the cup that they possessed from 1959 to 1983, an astonishing 24 year dominance. It is time. They will bounce back. Won’t they? No. No they won’t.
Top five reasons why the cup will stay on Euro soil in 2006:
1. Top Guns – Forget about major championships, world events, and world rankings. This is a team event. You can only objectively draw on similar events to determine the cumulative value of each team. Tiger and Phil can only control two total points in the Sunday single matches. They are dependent on the play of their partners for the other four matches in which they are expected to compete (hopefully they are not paired together again, which was a well-documented disaster). The European team, consisting of accomplished Ryder-Cuppers Monty, Olazabal, Westwood, and Sergio, have a combined Ryder Cup record of 55-27-13 record. The most experienced U.S. Ryder-Cuppers; Tiger, Phil, Furyk, and David Toms, have a combined record of 24-31-8. We may laugh at the anguish of another failed attempt by Monty and Sergio to win an elusive major championship on any soil of the planet but they are much more accomplished in this event. There are only four competitive players in this event with double-digit career point totals in this event and they are all on the Euro side.
2. Experience – The cumulative Ryder Cup record of all Euros competing in this event is 75-62-21 compared to 31-39-10 on the American side. Unlike past years, in which the American team looked superior on paper, this team will include the likes of J.J. Henry, Brett Wetterich, and Vaughn Taylor. I do not recall a single significant event in which any of these players excelled. I realize that the PGA Tour is the deepest, most competitive tour on Earth and these players earned the right to be on the team based on their accomplishments over the past 12 months but can we expect them to win pressure-packed Ryder Cup matches on foreign soil? No. No they won’t.
3. Ireland – For years it was considered the red-headed step-child of Europe. Remember learning of the potato famine in Junior High? How about decades of high unemployment and a legitimate reputation as one of the highest per-capita drinking populations in Europe? Well, the economy has rebounded dramatically, in large part due to the largest source of revenue in the country – tourism. Americans love to travel to Ireland because we like to drink. We also like to play golf and Ireland has a rich, underrated array of historical courses form which to choose. Royal Portrush, Royal County Down, Ballybunion and the K Club are all listed among the greatest courses in the world. It is a shame that this storied event has yet to be played in this country. The excitement and anticipation that awaits this event will be electric and will prove to be an added measure of “home-course advantage” for the Euros.
4. Team vs. Individuals – This point has been made by Johnny Miller and other media “experts” and it is true. The Euros buy in to the fact that they are a team that is a sum of their parts. They have closer personal relationships and they believe that no one is expected to carry the load for victory. It is one putt and one point at a time. It is a familiar formula that has proven successful. The Americans, on the other hand, are products of the largest, most lucrative tour in the world. Their two top players do not get along well which must have a polarizing effect on the other players on the team. They seem to feel that they have a “bulls-eye” on their backs rather than trusting that if they fail, their teammates will have their backs.
5. Captains – Although they have made only two significant decisions thus far and the comprehensive analysis can only be made after the event, it is worth noting that Ian Woosnam made much better use of his two captain’s picks. Lee Westwood is an accomplished Ryder Cup competitor, compiling a career record of 11-8-1. Despite falling short of individual expectations he always seems to play solid in this event. He has more career points earned than any player on the American side. Darren Clarke, currently enduring the tragic personal loss of his wife due to cancer, will prove to be an additional emotional lift for the Euros. 
If there was any doubt that complacency would set in it will be replaced by the will to support one of the best European players of our generation. In terms of raw talent, there is no one the European side with as much “game” as Darren Clarke. It should also be noted that he is one of three Irishmen on the Euro team and the fans will be supporting every shot he makes. Tom Lehman, on the other hand, decided to go conservative with the selections of Scott Verplank and Stewart Cink. These are fine players with Ryder Cup experience, but combined career records of 4-5-1 and no wins on any tour over the past two years do not intimidate anyone on Euro soil. This was not a good sign for American golf fans. Instead of taking two players that have similar games and career pedigrees, Lehman would have served his team better by choosing a more accomplished player, such as Fred Couples. With a career record of 7-9-4 in this event and a stellar showing at last year’s President’s Cup, Freddie is a player that commands respect and can still beat anyone in the world on a given day. A more risky pick to complement Fred Couples could have been Sean O’Hair. Although he had a disappointing year, O’Hair has immense talent and it would have been good to give valuable experience to an aging team void of budding young superstars.
The Americans will be focused. They will put up a good fight. But in the end, they simply will not have enough to win the upcoming matches at the K Club. At least this time around we should not expect them to win because, on paper and in spirit, they are not the better team.
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