Posted by Jason Sobel
Here's a little-known fact about the United States Ryder Cup team: It hasn't been very good lately.
Yep, that's the kind of critical analysis that you won't find just anywhere.
But what will it take for the red, white and blue to break through for its first win since 1999? Let's break down five important keys to victory.
1. Get off to a fast start
Four years ago, the Europeans claimed an 11-5 lead entering Sunday's singles matches. Two years ago, they led "only" 10-6 at the same point. In each instance, the team cruised to an easy victory. You have to go back to 1995 to find a Ryder Cup in which the U.S. won the foursomes/four-ball portion of the proceedings.
How will captain
Paul Azinger try to combat this discrepancy? Such decisions might prove to be the most critical of his campaign. We already have heard rumors that he could send
Kenny Perry and
J.B. Holmes out in the first pairing Friday morning in an effort to get the galleries going, which leads us to …
2. Kentucky guys need to be wildcats
Perry and Holmes are each back in their old Kentucky home, where galleries will be buzzing in support of the Bluegrass boys. As such, no one on the U.S. team will feel more pressure to succeed than they will.
"You know what? This is what I wanted. I'm expecting it. I'm expecting to feel a lot of heat and a lot of pressure and a lot of nervousness -- something I've never felt before," Perry said recently. "Hopefully, I can handle it, and it will be a magical week for me."
If he does -- and Holmes does, too -- expect Valhalla to be worked into a fervor over such accomplishments. If not, the place will feel like a balloon with the helium sucked out of it.
3. Rookies will be relied upon
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Azinger knows the saying and knows how it could translate to his team.
"[2004 U.S. Ryder Cup captain]
Hal Sutton said it took a generation to get into this mess," Azinger relayed, "and it will take a generation to get out of it."
That new generation could come in the form of a half-dozen rookies, three of whom made the team through the points qualification process (
Anthony Kim,
Boo Weekley and
Ben Curtis) and three of whom were named as captain's picks (Holmes,
Steve Stricker and
Hunter Mahan). Combined, they boast an average age of just more than 30.
4. All the right moves for Zinger
Let's not mince words: On the scale of job importance, Ryder Cup captain ranks somewhere behind air traffic controller and ahead of Maytag repairman. And it seems as if even Azinger knows his place once the matches begin.
"Friday, I'm going to kick back and relax," he said with a laugh. "I'm going to watch these guys play."
Though he has the right attitude, Azinger will need to push the right buttons for his pairings to bring success to the team. If nothing else, winning these things is in his blood; Azinger played on successful sides in the first three of his four appearances as a player.
5. Make more putts than the other guys
If some golf-writing hack was blogging from the first-ever Ryder Cup back in 1927 at Worcester Country Club, chances are he would have included the very same thought. These competitions can be strategized and analyzed, discussed and debated for months leading in, but there's no doubt it always comes down to which team rolls the ball better on the greens.
If the Americans do that, they'll hold the Cup come Sunday evening.
(Yes, I used the very same final entry for the blog on Europe's hopes. Hey -- this putting thing goes both ways, right?)
Jason Sobel covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Jason.Sobel@espn3.com.
