It's all over but the champagne spraying

Updated: September 24, 2006, 7:43 AM ET

Email Print Share

By Gene Wojciechowski
ESPN.com
Archive

Ryder Cup Day 2 Recap From Irish TV

The Americans are against the wallTags: Golf

Learn More » Report a bug » Feedback »

VIDEO PLAYLIST

STRAFFAN, Ireland -- Alert the engraver. Chill the bubbly. Prepare the victory speech. Unless the U.S. team grows some you-know-whats, or the European team overdoses on Guinness, the Ryder Cup is going to stay on this side of the pond.

There's no nice way of saying it -- the U.S. team is a getting a group golf lesson from the Euros. With the exception of rookie J.J. Henry, the American roster is playing like its underwear is too tight. They're down, 10-6, which means they'll have to win at least eight of Sunday's 12 singles matches and halve another to return to the States with hardware.

In other words, they need to channel the 1999 Ryder Cup comeback, when the U.S. overcame bad shirts and, ta-da, a 10-6 deficit at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.

"You know, we're not too far behind. ... We can easily, easily win this thing," said U.S. rookie Vaughn Taylor.

Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesGarcia has earned four points in four matches so far this week.

Easily? Not against these Euros.

"This is a very different situation," said Europe's Colin Montgomerie. "Also, this is being played in Ireland, not in Boston."

By the way, has anyone seen Tiger Woods? Not the guy who gagged it around the soggy K Club course Saturday morning, but the Tiger who is, you know, the best player in the world. The Tiger who arrived in Ireland with a streak of five consecutive stroke play tournament wins. That Tiger.

Instead, the U.S. team is sometimes getting U.S. Open Woods. Remember him? Missed the cut. Spent the first two days waiting for the ransom note detailing how much it would cost to get his swing back. The same thing is happening here much too often.

Woods leads the Ryder Cup field in eyes rolled in disbelief, hats grabbed in despair, and bridges of noses pinched in anguish. It got so bad Saturday morning that when Woods splashed a shot into the water, TV analyst Nick Faldo simply said, "Trout City."

Woods was so ordinary during the first three pairs matches that you actually wondered if captain Tom Lehman would offer him, delicately, of course, the chance to sit out the Saturday afternoon foursomes competition. Maybe go back to the hotel, dry out, have a nice dinner with Elin, stay up and listen to the Washington State-Stanford game.

But Woods played again, mostly because the loyal Lehman couldn't convince himself to bench the world's No. 1-ranked player, or break up the team of Tiger and Jim Furyk, the No. 3-ranked player. I would have played him too, but with the exuberant Henry, and put the steady Furyk with someone else.

Instead, Henry sat out the afternoon matches altogether (huh?), and Woods and Furyk rewarded Lehman's trust with a 3 and 2 victory. That precious point keeps the U.S. in miracle-comeback range. But just barely.

"I can't tell you how big that point was," said Lehman.

If the U.S. loses its second consecutive Ryder Cup and its fifth in the last six times, it will be because it never figured out how to sink a putt that mattered, never got a smile out of Woods, and never could match match the joy generated by the Europeans, especially pain-in-the-butt Sergio Garcia.

Garcia is doing everything Woods isn't. If body language had names, you'd say the hair-gelled Spaniard is fluent in Fun, and the granite-faced American is fluent in I'd Like To Wrap A Three-Iron Around Sergio's Neck. Generally speaking, Woods' facial expressions have been the same as the weather: overcast and gloomy.

The high-fiving, fist-pumping, back-slapping Garcia is a hot dog with the works, but the U.S. team would love to have him. Or at least, it should. He is unbeaten in his last nine Ryder Cup matches and overpowers these competitions much like Woods does the majors. It is role reversal when the Cup is in play. Garcia becomes Woods -- aggressive and full of flair. Woods visits Trout City.

"Our team, I can tell tell you right now, draws so much confidence from Tiger Woods," said Lehman. "To a man, we're all thankful Tiger Woods is on our team."

This deficit isn't all Woods' fault. There are lots of accomplices, beginning with Phil Mickelson, who has a grand total of a half point in four pairs matches. Maybe he's suffering from post-U.S. Open Collapse Syndrome. Whatever it is, Mickelson has been about as useful here as sunscreen.

Chris DiMarco, the U.S. resident tough guy, was Chris DiMisso during Saturday's morning match with Lefty. Rookie Brett Wetterich has played exactly one pairs match, which was one too many. David Toms was hitting women in the head with golf balls. And Scott Verplank did nothing Saturday, except watch his partner Zach Johnson record all seven birdies in their 2 and 1 fourballs win.

But most of all, the Europeans have outplayed, out-thought, and out-gutted the Americans. That's partly because the Euro roster is as a deep as the River Liffey and the U.S. roster is as thin as green fringe.

I picked the U.S. to win the Ryder Cup because I figured Woods would finally deliver, that Lehman would keep things organized and light, and that Euro old-timers Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal might finally scuffle. I was wrong. So far.

There's still time for another Brookline-type of miracle, but only if Paul Casey quits making holes-in-one (his first-ever professional ace closed out the Saturday afternoon match against Johnson and Stewart Cink), and the Americans freak out the Euros with a handful of early morning singles victories. Otherwise, champagne will be sprayed Sunday. And it won't be aimed at anyone wearing stars and stripes.

Gene Wojciechowski is the senior national columnist for ESPN.com. You can contact him at gene.wojciechowski@espn3.com.