Year's delay adds even more intrigue to wide-open match

Three years on, and a year late, the time has come. Put away into cold storage a year ago after the terrorist attacks in the United States, the 34th Ryder Cup has re-emerged as a bigger event than at any time in its history; and with more intrigue.

Both teams - Europe and the United States - have seen players suffer severe dips in form since the decision to postpone was made and, consequently, there is more uncertainty than ever in an event that has always possessed that commodity in abundance.

The uncertainty is most acute in the European camp. For instance, no fewer than five players on the European team reside outside the top-50 in the world rankings and one of them, Lee Westwood, has plummeted from being fourth in the world at last year's US Masters down to 148th. Colin Montgomerie has been plagued by a bad back, and Jesper Parnevik has something that resembles the putting yips. The omens, to be sure, are pretty bleak.

And, yet, things are not all sweetness and light in the American camp either. Indeed, the average world ranking of the US team a year ago was 13.5, and that has now dropped to 28.8. Then, there is the question which hangs over Tiger Woods. Is he, or is he not, a team player? In any major, you could almost put your mortgage on Woods dominating. But his Ryder Cup record - only three-and-a-half points out of 10 - is poor, and he hasn't had the impact on this event as much as expected. Not yet, at any rate.

Yesterday morning, breaking with customary procedure, Woods and Mark Calcavecchia sneaked out at first light to play their practice holes and were finished by the time most people entered the course. Was it a sign of disharmony in the ranks?

"Not at all," insisted Curtis Strange, the US captain. "I told them to prepare like a major championship and Tiger did just that. This is not an exhibition. It's a hell of a competition that we take great pride in winning and playing well."

Given his penchant for rising early, it was not surprising that Woods was put into the first fourball - with Paul Azinger - although Sam Torrance, the European captain, refused to indicate he was second-guessing Strange by putting two men who have beaten Woods head-to-head against him. In opting for Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn to lead from the front, Torrance has put down an aggressive marker of his own.

If there were any surprises in selection, they came from Torrance. Westwood - "Class is permanent, form is temporary," insisted Torrance - was preferred ahead of Parnevik to pair up with Sergio Garcia in the second fourball against David Duval and Davis Love, breaking a partnership that performed so well in Brookline in 1999.

"Jesper understands he is not right on top of his game. He was fine with it, when I told him," said Torrance.

Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer, meanwhile, renew a fourball partnership that was briefly used - in one match, a loss to Woods and Mark O'Meara - in Valderrama in 1997. The two oldest members of the European team take on Scott Hoch and Jim Furyk.

Torrance, though, has decided to use only one of his rookies in the opening series of fourballs. Niclas Fasth, the tenacious Swede, has been paired with Padraig Harrington - and the duo face a potentially explosive fourball in Phil Mickelson and David Toms. Before the draw was made, the one player that Harrington felt would be a tough draw was Toms.

"This is a good course for him," said Harrington. "He's a good, solid player and hits it straight. It looks to me like the Americans are going for the kill, but, then, so are we."

Although only confirmed to him yesterday, Harrington had an inkling about his captain's decision to split the Harrington/Paul McGinley partnership for the fourballs.

"I've played every day in practice with Niclas, and he has showed good form. On the course, he is the reverse of his personality. He's a real roller-coaster ride, he makes plenty of birdies and he is unbelievably determined," remarked Harrington.

Indeed, the two have experienced matchplay fare against each other in the dim and distant past. In their amateur days, Fasth beat him in a St Andrews Trophy match by 6 and 5. "Nobody's ever given me a whipping like that," he said.

However, it is likely that Harrington and McGinley will team up for the afternoon foursomes.

"I had a strong temptation to play Paul (in the fourballs)," admitted Torrance, "but he is probably more of a foursomes player, which might give a wee indication of when he is coming in. Paul is very steady, doesn't miss much."

If Europe are to upset the formbook, then their big players must perform. It means that Harrington, Clarke, Garcia, Bjorn and Montgomerie must shoulder most weight; and Harrington, who had more manipulative treatment on his neck from physiotherapist Dale Richardson last evening, knows it.

"I probably wish there was a little bit more time," he said, "because I'd like to be a bit better prepared. Haven't prepared the way I would like to, because I have been working on my game. Normally, you don't like to do that the week of a tournament. You'd rather bring it with you. Had to work pretty hard to get to this situation, and sometimes it can distract a bit from your play. But I'm now looking forward to it and ready to go. It is much easier the second time round."

Experience has shown us that Europe, the perennial underdogs, should never be written off. The United States, for all their class, have some weak spots. Six of their players are ranked outside the top 100 in driving accuracy on the US Tour and six are outside the top 75 in greens in regulation. All of which suggests that if Europe manage to get the blend right, and if they can use their knowledge of the course to good effect, then this match should be as close as the past seven, when no more than two points separated the teams.

In the Ryder Cup, it seems that Europe always find a way to compete. To win, they will have to get 14½ points. "That's it," said Torrance. "We have to get 14½, any way we can. Fairly."