US give fans plenty to stamp about

American PracticePaul Gallagher witnessed Tom Lehman make a major gaffe at yesterday's second practice session

When the American team were sent back to bed, under captain's orders, instead of taking to the course at 7.30am for their pre-arranged practice session yesterday, you soon got the impression that all-concerned were in for a bizarre day at The K Club.

The K-Club gates finally opened to the public at 10am (after a three-hour delay) and many scampered to the Palmer Course in the hope of gaining the optimum vantage point for when their idols would take to the course - grandstands around the first tee were one of the most popular.

Meanwhile, after a long lie-in the Americans started chugging into gear with a spot of practice on the range before they were due to set off for nine holes from the first tee at the delayed time of 2pm. Persistent gale-force condition necessitated the likes of Chad Campbell and rookies Brett Wetterich and JJ Henry trying to play knock-down shots under the wind.

Tiger Woods was last to arrive onto the range. After media obligations he swung in on a speedy chauffeur-driven buggy with caddie Steve Williams hanging onto bag, and dear life, at the back. Tiger eased into practice with some deft pitches hitting off the 50-yard marker with great regularity.

This was easily the main ticket the packed grandstand at the range had come to see - to hear the perfect, crisp sound of the world's best golfer nipping balls of the manicured turf. Needless to say all eyes quickly refocused when Woods, still holding his lob wedge, teed a ball up like a driver and proceeded to hit it so high and almost vertical that he tried to get the wind to take the ball and land it behind him.

Onlookers were now entering trick-shot territory not Ryder Cup practice for just behind Woods, Jim Furyk and Zach Johnson were up to their antics. Furyk, too, was opening the face of his sand wedge and lobbing balls high into the wind as Johnson chased down the range hoping to catch it before landing on the ground. Credit to the rookie, he showed great speed and caught it on his third attempt. Bizarre stuff, yet highly entertaining.

Captain Lehman soon whistled to call a "team powwow" on the range where it looked as though he was finalising pairings. Then, buggy by buggy, it appeared Lehman's troops were making their way to the first tee where the expectant and full capacity grandstands had waited patiently for at least two hours.

When the entourage of players and caddies on buggies eventually made their way through the crowds onto the hallowed turf of the first hole the next bizarre twist emerged. Instead of turning right and onto the tee the whole team turned left and made their way speedily down the first fairway where 12 guys lined-up and started pitching to the green from just behind the water-hazard.

At first the grandstand audeince were confused, then the mood quickly turned bitter as they collectively stamped their feet in unison on the metal stands and chanted "Europe, Europe" while the 'charge of the light brigade' impression was already down the first hole. The spectators had been deprived of seeing the Americans tee off.

Lehman later shed some light on the whole situation, right from sending his troops back to bed, to apologising to the waiting fans and admitting he had made a mistake not teeing off at the first.

"I was up at 6am, in the cart, and driving around the golf course and realised very quickly that it was blowing 35-40mph and nobody was going to have fun playing golf in that mess," explained Lehman.

"When they decided to keep spectators off the course until later, it was a no-brainer so I sent everyone back to bed and we all slept in. We later had a great team meeting and decided our plan of action for the day.

"Our focus was on the short game, wedges nine-irons plus putting and chipping. We wanted to make it fun and we wanted to go out on the course to do this as opposed to sitting on the practice range and greens," continued Lehman, feeling obliged to give something back to the die-hard fans.

"So, we made our way down the first to about 120 yards short of the green and started from there and kind of left everybody sitting in the stands by the first tee waiting. That was a mistake.

"You know, we should have at least hit a tee shot, at least on the first hole. To all those fans left waiting I apologise, that was my mistake," said Lehman, who got his team to play only approach shots to every hole on the front nine. "They played every hole on the front from roughly 100-150 yards out, played all the par threes as normal and the par fives from about 250 yards in. The guys were in teams and everybody hit, then the teams alternated shots from there, like a mini skins game."

To see so many people traipse over one hole at the same time was extremely odd. But then again it was that kind of day.