An event made for second-guessing
By JIM LITKE / AP Sports Writer
SOTOGRANDE, Spain (AP) -- The Ryder Cup is one of those events
made for second-guessing. So guess who is going to finish second
again.
It's almost certainly the United States, which Saturday staged
the golfing equivalent of Black Monday, giving up points to Europe
like the Dow Jones in a panic.
The Americans started the day even at 3-3 and finished it trailing
9-4, with three matches suspended due to darkness. They were ahead
in only one, but wins in all three would still leave them in a
daunting position. Two points is the most ever made up in final-day
singles by the winning side, and that's happened only three times
in 31 previous Ryder Cups.
"It's not insurmountable," U.S. captain Tom Kite
said. "We'll have to play like crazy, but it's not insurmountable."
Kite was not the only American responsible for the stunning
shift in momentum, only the last one dragged before reporters
to explain it. He was exactly right when he said, "They've
severely out-putted us. Even our guys who've putted well have
been out-putted."
But there's more to it. Kite's liability is limited because
the Ryder Cup captain, like the coach of any squad, doesn't hit
a shot. But he determines who does. And in this instance, Kite's
determinations have produced more questions than answers.
Justin Leonard, for example, came to Spain the hottest golfer
on the planet, having finished first and second in the last two
majors. But Kite left him on the bench for the opening round of
better-ball matches. Not only that; when Leonard first went out
Friday afternoon, it was in an alternate-shot pairing with Jeff
Maggert, not the guy he needed to face down the tough English
duo of Nick Faldo and Lee Westwood. Not surprising, the Americans
got smoked, 3 and 2.
Saturday morning, Kite saddled Leonard with Brad Faxon in best-ball
against Ian Woosnam and Thomas Bjorn. The pairing worked like
that old golf joke in which one player suffers a heart attack
and someone asks the survivor how the round went. "Fine,"
he says, "until I got tired. It was hit the ball, drag Brad,
hit the ball, drag Brad ..."
Just as he did Friday with Fred Couples, Faxon played 18 holes
without contributing a birdie. Leonard, meanwhile, shot a sizzling
30 on his own ball on the front, but was worn down by the Europeans
2 and 1. He finally got out with Tiger Woods in one of the afternoon
matches suspended by darkness. But even if they win Sunday morning,
it could turn out to be too little, too late.
Speaking of tardy, the numbers usually associated with hindsight
are 20-20. But here are a few more: 5 and 3 ... 2 and 1. Those
were the scores by which Woods and Mark O'Meara lost two matches,
first to Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer, then to Faldo-Westwood.
Playing Woods in all four matches was not a bad idea. In hindsight,
pairing him with good buddy O'Meara for three of them might have
been. They beat Montgomerie-Langer on Friday morning, mainly because
the Europeans managed just one birdie between them, and that on
the hole that ended the match.
Woods has looked listless and played that way throughout. He
needed a spark that neither O'Meara not Kite has figured out how
to provide. Michael Jordan -- yes, that Michael Jordan -- jetted
into Valderrama for the day, saw Woods' demeanor and offered this
assessment: "He ought to smile, look more comfortable. He
needs to make the other guys feel they're playing on his court."
For whatever reason, Woods has managed none of the pyrotechnics
usually associated with his game -- not even in short bursts.
The guess is because he's hit the driver only once each round,
which is like Jordan playing with one hand behind his back.
If the Europeans win, that could yet turn out to be captain
Seve Ballesteros' greatest contribution. He may have gained some
small edge by talking Kite into switching the order of play, so
that the best-ball matches traditionally dominated by the Europeans
were contested first both days. But he has definitely frustrated
Woods and the other long-hitting Americans -- Couples, Davis Love
III and Phil Mickelson -- by setting up a golf course that forces
them to tee off using 3-woods and irons.
Ballesteros has played mind games with his own squad, to be
sure. Some of his players learned they were sitting out only by
watching television. During the last practice round, he made his
veterans play the 17th hole over and over because they complained
about it.
Unlike Kite, Ballesteros has elected to play his big guns all
the way through the pairs. Faldo and Westwood played four matches
together. Montgomerie and Olazabal also played in four matches
each, three in tandem with Langer and Costantino Rocca, respectively.
They have returned huge dividends. So has Ballesteros' habit of
zooming around the course incessantly to provide in-your-face-all-the-time
leadership.
"So far," Ballesteros said, "I haven't run over
anybody."
Unless, of course, you count the Americans and their chances
of winning the Ryder Cup.
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