Zach thrilled to fly US flag

29-year-old Zach Johnson from Iowa City came over all starry eyed at Vilamoura yesterday as he contemplated the prospect of partnering Stewart Cink in the World Cup starting over the Victoria Course here on the Algarve this morning.

On the face of it, few in the US - and certainly their top players come into this bracket - care very much about the destination of the trophy presented by one of their own John J. Hopkins, back in 1953.

But there are exceptions to every rule and Johnson is a case in point. And given that he has won only once on the US Tour, it is perhaps understandable that Johnson appreciates more than most what this week could hold in store for him.

He insisted that it was “a privilege and honour” to represent his country and went on: “I always dreamt of playing on the Olympic basketball team but that never happened. So this clearly helps and is something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Cink explained how he came to lead the American team. One after one, their top ranked players declined the opportunity until he realised that if Fred Couples opted out, then he would lead the side and have the right to nominate his partner. And that’s just what happened. Cink chose Johnson because he felt he had as much right as Justin Leonard and Couples to be one of Jack Nicklaus’s “wild cards” in the US President’s Cup team and also because “his golf game has been really solid for a long time now.

The US last captured the World Cup in 2000 when Tiger Woods and David Duvall triumphed in Buenos Aires. Since then, they have found it impossible to put out their best team and 12 months ago Scott Verplank and Bob Tway finished well down the field in Seville. The current duo, however, look a far stronger proposition and obviously believe their prospects are helped by their liking for what to them looks a very familiar type of golf course.

“It’s a very American-style lay-out,” said Cink. “With Arnold Palmer being the designer, it’s not unlike a course we see pretty regularly on the other side of the ocean so we’re comfortable with the design and the demands the course puts on you.”

And so to the vexed question. Why did so many turn down the chance to come and represent America? Disappointingly, both men preferred to remain politically correct with Cink claiming it’s because it has come at the end of a long season.

And he went even further down that road, claiming that “it’s tiring when you play a lot of golf and are in contention for much of the time. It’s mentally draining. When we go overseas or when there’s a Ryder Cup, President’s Cup or World Golf Championships, they always ask the same question: ‘why don’t the Americans come overseas more?’ I like going overseas, experiencing new cultures, playing an unusual format like this. I think it’s great and makes you a better player. But I really can’t answer why the other guys didn’t come. This year, I’m glad they didn’t because I got to come with Zach.”

For now, though, the Yanks are rated well behind the English team of Luke Donald and David Howell with the bookmakers. Howell won the tournament in Seville last year with Paul Casey but opted for Howell this time and is glad he did so considering his partner’s current outstanding form, culminating in a great win over Tiger Woods in Shanghai on Sunday.

Donald explained that “David was the in-form player this time and obviously made me look quite clever with his victory last week. So we’re looking forward to a successful defence and I think we’ll have good support out here too. ”

Neither Englishman could quite conceal a view that the Victoria Course will be something of a soft touch, especially in the fourball rounds, and Howell claimed it was “going to be a birdie-fest although probably that’s not a bad way to have it for a tournament such as this.”

Those kinds of words could well come back to bite Howell and Donald, especially at the weekend when yesterday’s sunshine is expected to be replaced by wind and rain. And even if a lot of the world’s finest stayed away there are several teams, most notably Spain, whose duo of Sergio Garcia and Miguel-Angel Jimenez lost out by a shot last year to Donald and Casey; South Africa (Trevor Immelman and Tim Clark), Argentina (Angel Cabrera and Ricardo Gonzalez) and, of course, Ireland and the US who could make the English eat their words over the next four days and make them look not quite so clever!