Mickelson yet to fire on the Ryder stage

SOMEWHERE ALONG the way, he hit a bump on the road and swerved off his designated route. For Phil Mickelson, who made a perfect start to his Ryder Cup career at Oak Hill in 1995 when he won three matches out of three, the event - more often than not - has blotted his golfing copybook. In six previous appearances, old Lefty has only tasted glory once. It's become a thorn in his side.

With no Tiger Woods for company in the team room, Mickelson comes into this match at Valhalla as the most-capped player on the US team. A time to show leadership, perhaps? Not in Phil's eyes, it seems. "My only responsibility is to play well, that's something I've been working on," replied Mickelson.

Mickelson is due a break in the Ryder Cup, and it's up to him to make it himself. The 38-year-old three-time major champion - but without a major since the 2006 US Masters - has endured a miserable time in the past three stagings: his overall record in the match is nine wins, four halved matches and 12 losses; but, in the last three, that record has fallen to three wins, two halves and nine defeats.

He hasn't won a fourballs match since partnering David Toms to a one hole win over Pádraig Harrington and Niclas Fasth on the first morning at the Belfry in 2002. Since then, Mickelson has lost all four fourballs he has played. Mickelson, more than anyone, is at a loss to understand why, during a time in his career when he discovered how to win majors, he should struggle in the Ryder Cup environment.

Earlier this week, Woods ended speculation that he would attend this Ryder Cup in a supporting role to the US team. Woods did, however, let it be known he would be watching the matches on television and that he would have his mobile phone at the ready in case anyone sought his advice. You can be sure that Mickelson, for one, won't be making the call.

At Oakland Hills in 2004, Mickelson was on the butt-end of the joke when his captain Hal Sutton paired him with Tiger Woods. The world's top-two ranked players fell flat on their faces, losing both of their first day matches and Sutton - nor any subsequent team captains - didn't repeat the mistake again.

When the golf commentator Johnny Miller took part in a teleconference ahead of this match, he was asked whether Mickelson might play better in Tiger's absence. "You mean he might win a match?" responded Miller. "He couldn't play worse than he did the last time . . . I don't know what happened (at The K Club, where he only got a half point from five matches). I'm sure it was an anomaly. Phil has to step up and have a hot week."

Mickelson hasn't fired in the Ryder Cup the way he does in regular tournaments. And, even over the past few days, he hasn't appeared pumped up. When asked what excited him most about the Ryder Cup, there was no fighting talk or any inkling of how much it meant to actually win. "I think," said Mickelson, "that the week becomes a week where friendships are formed that last a career and memories occur that last a lifetime. These are events that we recall and look back fondly upon as we reflect on our career." What schmaltz!

What the Americans need is a player who leads, but Mickelson has decided that the leadership role isn't one that he wants or needs and that Paul Azinger is very much the leader of the team. "I feel like the guys who have not played in this event are ready to play, so I think the leadership has really come from our captain," said Mickelson.

Whether he likes it or not, though, the world's number two player is the main man on a team that are underdogs on home turf. "I don't feel there is any question about that," replied Mickelson when it was put to him that the USA were underdogs. "Given our play, given the fact we've lost our best player, that is the case . . . but it doesn't mean we can't come out and play well, with the help of the crowd and with a golf course that's very well suited for many of our players."