Ryder Cup runneth over with pressure
By RON SIRAK / AP Golf Writer
SOTOGRANDE, Spain (AP) -- As Tiger Woods walked off the ninth
tee, angling toward his shot in the rough, Ryder Cup captain Tom
Kite placed his hand on Woods' shoulder and whispered while the
young man nodded.
Neither would say what Kite said, but the brief exchange between
the 47-year-old veteran of seven Ryder Cups and the 21-year-old
rookie underlined a challenge facing both teams at Valderrama
Golf Club this week -- keeping the rookies calm.
Nine of the 24 players in golf's most pressurized event --
four Americans, five Europeans -- will hear their national anthem
for the first time at a Ryder Cup opening ceremony on Thursday.
How those newcomers perform in spotlight when the 32nd Ryder
Cup starts Friday will be critical.
"You've got to put them under your wing, shield them from
the bullets and let them go and play and be themselves,"
Nick Faldo said Wednesday.
"That is what we want to help them with," said Faldo,
who will play in his record 11th Ryder Cup. "Take a little
bit of pressure off them and set them free."
Woods, Jim Furyk, Justin Leonard and Scott Hoch are playing
their first Ryder Cup for the United States. Darren Clarke, Lee
Westwood, Thomas Bjorn, Ignacio Garrido and Jesper Parnevik are
making their debut for Europe.
"If you don't enjoy pressure you are in the wrong place,"
said Leonard, who won the British Open this year and was second
in the PGA Championship.
"I'm not saying I'm a great pressure player," Leonard
said. "But that's when I learn the most about myself."
While the Americans have only Davis Love III (2), Mark O'Meara
(3) and Fred Couples (4) with experience in more than one Ryder
Cup, Europe has six men who have played in a total of 34 Ryder
Cups.
"I was under Nick's wing in 1993 and he gave me a lot
of advice," said Montgomerie, who is playing for the fourth
time.
"But the number one thing he always told me was always
remember no matter how nervous you are, the other guy is just
as nervous so just get on with it," Montgomerie said.
In addition to Faldo and Montgomerie, the European team has
a wealth of experience with Bernhard Langer, who has played in
eight Ryder Cups, Ian Woosnam with seven, Jose Maria Olazabal
with four and Costantino Rocca with two.
Both teams gain experience from their captains. Kite was one
of the best competitors in his seven Ryder Cup appearances, as
was European captain Seve Ballesteros in his eight.
There is a vast stylistic difference, however, between Kite
and Ballesteros. While Kite offers gentle words of wisdom in a
casual way, Ballesteros is much more direct.
On one hole, Clarke shanked two shots from a downhill lie in
a bunker. Ballesteros climbed down into the bunker and showed
him how it was done.
"I worked it out in five seconds so I don't know why he
even needs to ask," Ballesteros said when asked if he had
any hesitation about helping out.
"If I see something I can fix I will go straight away,
even if it is Faldo, even if it is in the tournament," Ballesteros
said.
Kite, on the other hand, has tried to create a fun atmosphere
for his players.
"Tom is not being extra strict and he's not standing over
us on every shot," Love said.
"I think we are a little more relaxed," he said when
asked to compare this team to the other two he has been on. "Tom's
stressed to have fun and work hard and that's made this team come
together real well."
Furyk, who may play the maximum of five matches because his
putting touch suits the subtly disguised slopes of Valderrama,
is one rookie who will need to play well for the Americans to
reclaim the Cup they lost in 1995.
"The danger is you start to try a little extra hard, put
a little more pressure on yourself and go beyond the line of duty,"
Furyk said. "I just need to do what I've been doing this
year. That's one of my goals. To play the same golf as I'm playing."
That will be a key for all the players, and it will be a real
test for the rookies.
Nothing is normal about the Ryder Cup. Not the format, not
the team play and certainly not the pressure.
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