“IN the hole!” they shouted without a trace of irony. “You the man!” they added with palpable sincerity. But the ball did not go in the hole, and the Americans were not the men. Instead, the first morning of the Ryder Cup was the best start Europe have ever made in fourballs: after four matches, Europe led 3 ½ to ½.
It was utterly deflating for the American captain, Hal Sutton, who, watched by President Bush and John Major, sought to make a psychological point on the first tee by wearing a cowboy hat. Alas, he shot himself in the foot with his first pairing.
Daringly, he sent his two top men out first: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. This was supposed to be a stroke of genius: the top men in the top game to set the tone of American dominance. Instead, the two established a mood of colossal under-achievement. Colin Montogomerie and Padraig Harrington birdied the first hole and took a lead they never relinquished.
Montgomerie remains an American hate-object. That upsets him when he plays in individual competition, but when he is warm and snug in a team, he becomes Monty Unbound. Europe’s storming start was entirely of his making. Then Harrington raised his game in a display of team mentality that was more than the American individualists could handle.
Woods is supposed by many to be the finest golfer that ever drew breath, but he hated everything about his morning. Neither his demeanour nor his game carried any degree of conviction. Like all his team, he wore the Stars and Stripes between his shoulder blades. More appropriate would have been a badge saying: “I’m a genius . . . get me out of here!”. If you had told him that pressing a button would end the Ryder Cup there and then, he’d have broken his finger on it.
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Montgomerie’s early success went to everybody’s head, and the Europeans played throughout with extraordinary composure and self-certainty. The competition has a long way to go, but as James Bond remarked when he played Goldfinger: it’s never too early to start winning.