Obviously Captain Davis Love III does not share the NHL superstition of not touching the Cup prior to the win. Hopefully his grasping the Cup goes the same way it did for Sidney Crosby when he grabbed the Prince of Wales Trophy prior to the Stanley Cup.
Recent history is not the best place to look if one is to have high hopes for American victory. The American team has won only 4 times since 1985 and two of those wins are rather controversial. And indeed the record of American players is just as bad as the team record. Hopefully, though, having 4 rookies on the team will give the team a needed infusion of new, "dumb" talent. Dumb meaning not having those demons in the bag from multiple losses. Hopefully these rookies step up and take some control because if we are to go with history, waiting on Tiger or Phil to lead the charge to victory will only lead to 2 more years without the Ryder Cup.
Hopefully the American team can start off well in the Friday morning Foursomes session. However, the first match, on paper, does not look very appealing. The inconsistent Jim Furyk teams with the currently hot Brandt Snedeker to face World #1 Rory McIlroy and his countryman and good friend Graeme McDowell. The Americans will likely be lucky to make it past the 14th hole in this match. The two middle matches seem relatively even on paper. The anchor match of the morning has Tiger Woods, who, despite his records elsewhere, has been a perennial underachiever in the Ryder Cup, and Steve Stricker facing off against Justin Rose and good friend Ian Poulter. That should be a solid match.
A perfect situation for the Americans would be to come out of the session leading 4-0, but considering recent American mediocrity in Foursomes, a 2-2 tie would be a good result. The Americans need a good start to the event to make sure the Chicago crown is energized and even a bit rowdy heading to the afternoon matches.
And, if there is any question of this writers objectivity during the upcoming matches, let us settle that quickly:
Clear enough??
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