It will be a test of short game

At 1.20pm today, the 39th Ryder Cup will officially commence.

Gone will be the official functions, the posturing and experimentation. Gone too will be the friendships as both teams go into action in what, on paper, looks the most evenly contested Ryder Cups of all time.

The players will now carry the expectations of both continents. There will be no place to hide. They will no longer be judged as individuals but as a team.

For 12 long months, they busted their guts to qualify for professional golf’s ultimate team event, the Ryder Cup. Why? Because this team tournament provides an golden opportunity.

History shows the greatest sporting events are never about money but personal and national pride. The Ryder Cup is no exception. The European team have prepared themselves for a loud and possibly hostile reception from the US spectators. But they have the experience in the team to cope with every eventuality.

For the US team, the expectation to deliver a victory on home soil will bring its own pressure. That’s why their morning foursomes pairings are laden with proven individual talent. But as we have seen all too often in previous Ryder Cups, that may count for little or indeed nothing in this team format.

Take for example the three most famous golfers on the American team, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk. No other American trio has qualified for more consecutive Ryder Cups. Collectively, they have won 146 official tournaments worldwide, including 19 majors. They have provided the spine for every US team since Valderrama ‘97, yet none has a winning record in Ryder Cup. They have been on six teams together yet their only victory was that remarkable comeback at Brookline.

One of the more interesting points to take notice of tomorrow is how Davis Love III, the US captain has elected to set up the course at Medinah. Can we read anything into this? I believe that we can. By eliminating any heavy rough and making the greens a little slower than the scary-fast ones the players faced last week at East Lake, he has allowed his players to bomb the ball off the tee boxes, to be more aggressive with their shot making while also prioritising their short game. This indeed should help the American cause. For example, the strengths of Westwood, Garcia, Molinari & Hanson lie more in their all-round ability from tee to green than necessarily their ability on and around the greens.

For Europe to perform well, they need to put on an incredible short game exhibition.

I don’t buy into Love’s assessment that he has built a course exclusively to excite the US fans. He may well want to get them all charged up but what they want most is victory.

What we have seen from both captains this year is them exercising the option of picking “tried and trusted” combinations. From a European perspective, expect to see the experienced combinations but body language and balance in the pairings is all important. The very different player skills required for foursomes (controlled), fourballs (explosive) and singles (mental strength) demand close scrutiny but there are few in the game as experienced as Love and Olazabal.

From Olazabal’s point of view, he will be hoping this week’s cauldron will ignite the passion and enthusiasm of both Garcia and Kaymer. The return to form of Garcia in particular gives Olazabal the option of resurrecting two of Europe’s all-time most successful partnerships. Garcia and Luke Donald have won all four times they have played together, while the team of Garcia and Lee Westwood have taken 4½ points from a possible six. Both Garcia and Kaymer have shown indifferent form at times this year, but both have the potential to settle the outcome in Europe’s favour come Sunday.

A word of caution perhaps for Rory McIlroy. It would be unfair to expect him to win the Ryder Cup on his own. He is still very much a novice when it comes to the Ryder Cup so expect Olazabal to try and take the pressure off him, even rest him before Sunday’s singles.

The US will have home advantage, but never underestimate the determination of Olly, the spirit of Seve and the motivation of Europe.