The United States has lost the last three Ryder Cups with Tiger Woods. How can they win without the world’s best player?
Easy. Lowered expectations.
The absence of Woods, who is recovering from June knee surgery, is what the U.S. needs to play its best this weekend at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. With Europe attempting to win its fourth straight for the first time, the pressure shifts to Nick Faldo’s men.
U.S. coach Paul Azinger is playing up the underdog role. Is there a better man to take up the cause of feistiness than cancer-survivor Zinger?
“I think the Europeans have brought an incredible team over here and we have a great opportunity to change it,” Azinger said Monday. “We have everything to gain in this situation. Not a lot of people expect us to pull this off, minus Tiger Woods, but hopefully they will be free-wheeling out there.”
Pressure drop is a good thing for a U.S. team that always has a better team on paper, but has won only three of the last 11 Ryder Cups. Blame for recent failures has centered on the world’s two best players — Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Face it, the Tiger and Lefty thing wasn’t working. Their icy relationship was poison in a team event and affected their own play and that of their teammates.
As young gun of Team U.S. in his first Ryder Cup, Mickelson was 3-0. But since Woods usurped his role in 1997, Lefty has gone 6-12-4. Meanwhile, Woods has a 10-13-2 Ryder Cup mark, his demeanor indicating his distaste for the event.
For a model of superstar leadership, think Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. No need for teammates to take sides there. With Arnie (22-8-2) and Jack (17-8-3) as the lead dogs of the era, the U.S. retained the Cup 13 straight times.
Now it’s Lefty’s team. Will he thrive in his new role?
