Ryder Cup rhythm is a test for Curtis

American Ryder Cup rookie Ben Curtis could be facing a tough opening morning at Valhalla on Friday as he gets to grips with foursomes golf.

The 2003 Open champion has never played the alternate shot format and got his first taste of it during yesterday’s first official team practice session when United States team captain Paul Azinger paired him with Steve Stricker against Chad Campbell and Stewart Cink.

“We played nine holes on the front nine,” Curtis said today. “Steve and I just played against Chad and Stewart just to get used to it, get the feel for it.

“We all hit a drive on each hole, but we kind of designated odds and evens before we started just to get experience for it, just to see what it’s like.

“Yeah, it’s very unique. It’s still not what it’s going to be like on Friday because we didn’t do a true alternate – we all hit tee balls, but I knew which hole was mine and which hole was his, so it was very unique.”

If he is selected by Azinger to be in one of the United States’ four pairings against Europe, the comments from Curtis suggested his initial brush with foursomes had left him with more questions than answers.

“I think it’s hard to get into a rhythm,” Curtis said.

“I could see where that could be an issue, just because you hit one drive and then you may not hit until the second shot on the next hole.

“So it could be you could go a half hour without swinging a golf club.

“It’s hard to keep that rhythm when you’re not – you’re used to hitting a shot on every hole, so it’s going to be different.”

While Curtis, 31, sees pitfalls from the tee box and fairways, he believes there are also potentials for trouble on the greens.

“You could go 10 holes without having a meaningful putt really, and then all of a sudden you’ve got a 15-footer to win or tie a hole,” Curtis said.

“I’m sure there are going to be some thoughts in your head, like, ’Okay, I haven’t had a putt in 10 holes, I wonder what this green is going to be like’, or if they got faster from the morning from being soft to drying out a little bit.

“It’s something everybody has to deal with – not just us, but Europeans do as well.”

Curtis, though, explained how conversations with Campbell and Cink had put him a little more at ease and Azinger had sent the same quartet out together today.

“I think the more experience you have in it, you can relate back to those times when you did play in this format,” Curtis said.

“Chad and Stewart have played – yesterday when we played, we talked about it a little bit, and they’ve had experience in it, so they know what it was like.”