Letter from Hazeltine: Lee Westwood must now repay Darren Clarke's faith

Maybe we have been spoiled by recent European domination but lest we forget, there was a time when Americans made a habit of bullying their way to Ryder Cup success.

The results of previous encounters in this 89-year-old biennial battle for transatlantic bragging rights tells a tale of near monopoly for Stars and Stripes up until around the mid-1980s that make Europe’s bid this week for a fourth successive win look modest.

Having not won since 2008 at Valhalla and only achieving two wins in the last 10 meetings, the United States clearly needed to get their act together, and whether it has been down to the taskforce set up in the wake of the 2014 defeat at Gleneagles or because this is a really talented and tight group of American golfers, the way the United States went about their business from the first hole of the opening foursomes session was a telling indication that they have at last found a way to put together a genuine team rather than assemble a collection of distinctly singular golfers.