Celtic duo hope to wipe gloss off golden boys

TALK about being thrown in at the deep end! Ireland's Pádraig Harrington, the European team's highest-ranked player, and Ryder Cup hero Colin Montgomerie, have been handed one of the most unenviable tasks in golf.

They lead off the European challenge in the opening session of fourballs in the 35th Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills this morning.

American captain Hal Sutton has flown in the face of all previously perceived wisdom by pairing his two greatest players, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, together and it has fallen to their lot to take on the Scottish/Irish alliance. On paper it should be a massacre with the players ranked 2 and 4 in the world up against those in 8th and 62nd places, but 18-hole match play and the sense of occasion render that kind of statistic almost meaningless.