Ryder Cup Day 1

Filed in archive Golf News on September 20, 2008

Courtesy: AP

The United States roared out of the gate on day one of the Ryder Cup at Valhalla in Kentucky.

In fact, it was the best start in years for an American team.

On paper, side by side, the Europeans look like the stronger of the two squads. 6 out of the 12 American players had no Ryder Cup experience at all prior to this year.

And one - Kenny Perry -played a total of two matches on the squad in 2004.

The Europeans have four rookies but their overall team has been racking up more wins this season than the American team, especially on the PGA Tour.

So what do we make of Day One? Of course, you can't read too much into one day - just look at the world stock markets this week. For every bit of good news and rising share prices there was more devastating bad news that took world markets lower by hundreds of points.

Could the U.S. team be likewise whipsawed in Day Two? I wonder.

The European squad played their guts out - there were no dogs out there under the EU flag. Yet they head into the second day of the competition trailing by 3 points.

It's not insurmountable. There is more foursome play this morning - alternate shot, if you will. 2 wins and 2 halves for the American side on Friday morning. Not bad. The afternoon four-ball was the big winner for the U.S. team with 3 wins and a half - points in every match.

Euro captain Nick Faldo will have to change that outcome today if the Europeans are to stand any chance of retaining the Cup.

Watch for Paul Azinger to leave Anthony Kim and Phil Mickelson together. It's a winning combination. Mickelson doesn't have to fight for time in the spotlight playing alongside the world number one as he's done in the past (has there been a worse pairing in Ryder Cup history than Lefty and Tiger together?) and Kim just loves to compete.

There's a subtle mentoring going on in that twosome that works.

This is the first Ryder Cup in a long, long time without two key players. Woods has had a so-so impact in Ryder Cup play but he's shone at times and his ever-present leadership is invaluable. I think the presence of Anthony Kim goes a long way to plugging that enormous gap - but in playing ability only.

The other missing figure is Colin Montgomerie, a bear with a fish in his mouth at dinner time whenever he played in Ryder Cup competition. He quite simply could always get the job done and always played to make a point, both for his team and himself.

I think the European side is missing a key ingredient without his essence. Garcia is a sparkplug but without Monty's steely stare and brick-wall determination, the Americans might be able to exploit a gap in the mind game of the European team.

We'll just have to wait and see.