ESPN 2008 Ryder Cup

There is no way to know what they do not know. They can ask questions, seek advice, try to simulate the feeling, recall their amateur match-play days, even fall back on what it was like to be in contention during a tournament or a major championship.

But nothing can really prepare a player for his first Ryder Cup.

The event's uniqueness, intensity and pressure all combine to make the three-day tournament between the United States and Europe quite stressful for those teeing it up for the first time.

Chris DiMarco said he was so nervous in 2004, he begged off the opening tee in alternate shot and had his partner, Jay Haas, go first. Padraig Harrington said he could not even see the ball on the first tee in 1999.

The stories are endless, and it only seemingly makes the Americans' task all the more difficult as they will try to halt a three-match losing streak to Europe when the 37th Ryder Cup matches begin Friday at Valhalla in Louisville.

Half the U.S. team will be newcomers -- Anthony Kim, Boo Weekley, Ben Curtis, Steve Stricker, J.B. Holmes and Hunter Mahan -- for a team that has not won since 1999 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., and has lost five of the last six.

Of course, does experience really matter when most of it is negative? Of the players on the 2008 squad, only Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Justin Leonard were around for the '99 victory, yet all three have losing Ryder Cup records. Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell have all played on losing teams.

"I think after what we've all been through in the last three Ryder Cups, we should have 12 rookies," quipped Cink -- who has been part of consecutive nine-point defeats -- before turning serious.

"The rookies we have this year are fearless competitors," he said. "It's hard to consider Anthony Kim a weak point on our team. He's played so well; he's got that cocky attitude. Boo is solid. There's enough of them that they aren't going to play like rookies. There's enough of them out there where I don't think there will be the deer in the headlights, as if there were just one or two."

Cink said he felt the pressure build as his first Ryder Cup approached in 2002 at The Belfry. Then he had to sit out the morning matches, adding to the stress.

That might be one factor for captain Paul Azinger to consider as he ponders his pairings. Trying to get some of the newcomers into the mix immediately might work well for them. The problem is, with six rookies, not all of them will be in the lineup Friday morning with just four matches and eight players able to tee it up.

Almost certain to be there, however, is Kim, who has two victories this year and, at age 23, is ranked 11th in the world. He's a solid bet to play in all five matches, has six top-10s since April and could be a U.S. Ryder Cup team rock for years to come.

Weekley is considered a strong ball striker, and his naiveté might actually prove to be an asset. He still catches grief for an incident at the Accenture Match Play Championship in February, when during his first match against Germany's Martin Kaymer, he didn't realize that he could concede a putt -- a staple of match play.

"It was kind of weird," Weekley recalled of the situation, in which Kaymer had a tap-in on the first hole and was wondering why the putt wasn't conceded, until finally Weekley's caddie Joe Pyland told him to pick it up. "I was like, 'Man, you gonna putt that thing in or you just gonna look at it? It ain't going to go in the hole by itself.' "

If Weekley didn't know that about match play, imagine what it will be like for him at the Ryder Cup, although perhaps what he doesn't know will work to his benefit.

"It can't be no different than any tournament is the way I feel about it," Weekly said. "Because I get the butterflies when I tee off in any tournament. I feel the same way every time I tee it up."

Curtis, who won the 2003 British Open and made the U.S. Ryder Cup team by virtue of his tie for second at the PGA Championship, correctly points out that neither side -- no matter how many Ryder Cups they have played -- is very adept at the team formats, especially alternate-shot. And like Azinger, he wonders if all the negativity associated with previous U.S. teams might mean this one is better served with new blood.

"If experience is bad, it is really experience?" said Curtis, who said he has not competed in a team format since the 2000 World Amateur -- and that is stroke play. "Paul has a great point about that. For the Europeans, their experience is really good. When they get there, their feelings are really positive. 'Hey, we've done this in the past. Even though I'm not playing that good, I can get my game to come around.'

"It's just like going to a place where you've won before; you can be playing the worst golf of your life, but you get the old feelings back real quick. A lot of stuff can go on in golf. It's a funny game. Obviously Phil and Jim are world-class players and haven't had much success the last few years in the Ryder Cup. But the Europeans have played so well."

Holmes is a Kentucky native who was chosen for reasons other than how he fared in stroke play this year. The winner of the FBR Open in February, Holmes is tied for second on the PGA Tour in driving distance at 310.9 and is tied for 12th in average birdies per round at 3.61.

Being able to hit it a mile, playing on his home turf, and making lots of birdies are important factors in the team competition, especially in the best-ball format.

And then there are the remaining rookies, Mahan and Stricker, each of whom at least has played in the Presidents Cup, which is virtually the same format. In fact, they were partners last year in Montreal.

"From what I understand, it's a difficult week as far as pressure and everything goes, so going in there, you try to prepare yourself and realize that it is going to be a little bit different," Stricker said. "Just try to play as hard as you can, to the best of your ability. I don't know if the rookie thing really matters."

It didn't matter to Sergio Garcia in his first Ryder Cup in 1999, when he went 3-1-1 in a losing effort for Europe. Harrington was also a rookie that year and went 1-1-1, his lone victory coming in the Sunday singles when he knocked off Mark O'Meara 1-up and thought it might clinch the Cup for Europe.

Perhaps the abundance of rookies for the Americans would be more of an issue if it weren't for the fact that Europe also has four: Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell, Soren Hansen and Oliver Wilson.

"For many rookies, the huge part of their week is actually Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and getting their game together," Harrington said. "The senior players, they'll take Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday like they do every week, and just be having a look at the golf course and gradually getting themselves into it. But certainly for rookies, the competition starts early because if they're going to play early on in the week, they've got to prove themselves."

Harrington recalled playing well in the practice rounds of his first Ryder Cup, leading to captain Mark James choosing to use him the first morning with Miguel Angel Jimenez. Not that it made things any easier.

"I know the first shot I hit in the Ryder Cup, I couldn't see the golf ball," he said. "It was gone by the time … by the time I had to hit it, I was just so nervous I couldn't even see it. You've got to expect that in your first Ryder Cup."

Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.