Belfry welcomes belated Cup

THE posturing and the propaganda have abated and a year later than scheduled, the 34th Ryder Cup is all set to start today at 8am.

As always the Americans with their greater strength in depth and powered by Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, the game’s two best players, are favourites at 4/7. That’s always been the way, of course, yet the widest margin since 1983 has been the 16½-11½ bonanza enjoyed by the Europeans in 1985 here at The Belfry.

There were no Irish men in that side. This time round, there are three and Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington go straight into the action.

Clarke teams up with Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn in the first fourball against Woods and Paul Azinger and Harrington brings up the rear with Niclas Fasth of Sweden against Mickelson and David Toms.

Debutant Paul McGinley is omitted from the European side along with Pierre Fulke, Philip Price and Jesper Parnevik. However, he will almost certainly be seen at Harrington’s side in the afternoon.

“The temptation to play Paul and Padraig together was very strong,” admitted skipper Sam Torrance. “Paul is more of a foursomes player which gives you a wee indication of when he’s coming in. Paul is very steady and doesn’t miss much. Fasth has made a lot of birdies this year and he’s very strong mentally. He’s got an old head on his shoulders. ”

Harrington was nicely laid-back when I spoke to him after yesterday’s impressive opening ceremony. He admitted he wished there had been more time for practice but insisted: “I’ll be ready. The draw is tough but there are no easy matches. Just looking at their team, I must admit I thought David Toms would be a tough guy to play here. He’s a straight hitter and this is a good course for him. Mickelson is Mickelson and the expectations are already there with him whereas with David you might underestimate how good he is. He’s a solid player. They’re obviously going after a good start but so are we.”

Harrington admitted that he realised from early in the week that he would play with Fasth in the fourballs and agreed that he was really looking forward to the partnership.

“Niclas is a very level-headed kind of guy but on the golf course he’s like the opposite of his personality, his game is up and down and a bit like a rollercoaster.

He loves match-play. He’s one of the few guys to trounce me as an amateur, he beat me 6 and 5 in the St Andrews Trophy at Deal. Nobody ever gave me a whipping like that. When we played together during the week, it could be that he’d be out of two or three holes only to come back with two or three birdies. That’s OK in fourballs but at the end of the day, both of you have to keep in most of the holes, it’s better having two putts from 15 feet rather than one.”

On the question of playing with McGinley in the afternoon foursomes, Harrington was typically up front.

“I would think that’s a very strong possibility,” he said with a quiet smile. “From early in the week, I felt I would be with Niclas in the fourballs and Paul in the foursomes provided all was well with me. That appeals to me, definitely. It’s nice playing with somebody you’re familiar with.”

Harrington has always enjoyed team situations but admits he isn’t entirely sure whether there’s an air of optimism or otherwise in the European camp.

“Everybody has been running around doing their own thing so there hasn’t been a situation where you sit down and wonder how this is going to go. You’re too busy looking after yourself to worry about other guys. I haven’t played with Monty, Darren, Langer, Thomas, Sergio and Westwood, that’s six of the team I haven’t been with, so I couldn’t tell you how they’re playing.”

Just as Harrington has been thrown a seriously difficult opener, Clarke comes to face to face with the runaway world No 1. It’s a formidable task by any standards but the Ulsterman goes into battle fortified by his World Match Play final victory over Woods in California in 2000 and a Ryder Cup fourball win at Brookline a year previous.

Furthermore, it will be recalled that Bjorn saw off Woods when they came down the stretch together in the Dubai Desert Classic in March of last year.

“I had no idea where Curtis would put Tiger so I didn’t purposely put Tiger killers out against him,” said Torrance.

“But thanks for reminding me. I’ll remember that for the team meeting tonight. That may be my best point. Clarke and Bjorn are two great players. They’re birdie machines and ideal for fourball golf.”

If there is a surprise in the European line-up, it’s the omission of Parnevik. He and Garcia made a fabulous pairing at Brookline but the Swede’s form has dipped appreciably this year.

“Jesper is not on top of his game yet but he’s very close. He played a lot better today. I didn’t want to put the pressure on him when his game is not right in the first place”.

Pairing Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer together came easily to the captain. “What can I say? They’re great,” he said. Of Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia as a pairing, the Scot explained: “Garcia is obviously one of the best players in the world. Lee has been struggling but he’s been great through this week. I love his attitude, he says it’s not how you’re playing, it’s how you respond to pressure, and he’s very good at that. He’s a class act.”

Given the trend of recent Ryder Cup matches, it is apparent that Europe need to take a sizeable lead into Sunday’s closing 12 singles. It’s a big task against a team of the depth of the Americans and it could be that the majority of this morning’s octet face a very busy and demanding few days, while the likes of Price and Fulke may have to sit it out until the singles.

And Torrance certainly gave no assurances to the contrary.