It is nearly nine years since Ben Crenshaw, the U.S. captain at the time, sank to his knees and kissed the 17th green at Brookline. If the immediate aftermath of the 1999 Ryder Cup was marred by arguments about unsporting behaviour, America's woeful performances since that emotional yet controversial confrontation have left them wondering where and how it has all gone wrong.
Having lost when firm favourites in 2002 and 2004, and then been beaten by a record 181/2–91/2 margin in the 2006 encounter at The K Club, the inspiration that helped the U.S. overturn a 10-6 deficit on that electrifying final day at the Country Club has proved infuriatingly elusive.
After winning the Ryder Cup just once in six attempts, the PGA of America has turned to Paul Azinger to rekindle that missing spark at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, where the 37th matches will be staged from 19-21 September.
Azinger is certainly an inspirational character both on and off the course, having battled cancer before returning to play some of the best golf of his career. Despite having an unorthodox method, he has 14 Tour victories to his name, the highlight of which was the 1993 USPGA Championship.
American fans will be wary of another captain with swashbuckling tendencies following the debacle of Hal Sutton's gung-ho leadership in 2004, but Azinger, though staunchly patriotic, has so far adopted a reassuringly analytical approach.
His first move was to overhaul the selection process, reducing the automatic qualifications from 10 to eight players and increasing the captain's picks to four. Also, while only top-10 finishes at PGA Tour events previously earned points, the new system is based on total prize money won.
"Making these changes was important," said Azinger. "Now only 55-65 per cent of the players on Tour these days is American, we find that top-10 finishes alone aren't the key [to determining the best team]. I would rather let prize money be the barometer, and that will make it hard for someone who hasn't won a tournament to make the team this year, which will be a good thing."
If Azinger is to spearhead the U.S. to victory, he will have to get the better of his opposite number and commentary-box sparring partner Nick Faldo, who also happens to be Europe's most experienced Ryder Cup campaigner. A lot has been made of the rivalry between the two, and Azinger recently turned up the heat with some stinging remarks about the six-time major champion.
"Faldo has re-invented himself as a TV analyst…some people have bought it, some have not," he said. "The bottom line is that the players from his generation and mine really don't want to have anything to do with him. He did what he did as a player and there are relational consequences."
But even at this early stage, both captains are adamant the 2008 Ryder Cup is not about Azinger vs Faldo. If nothing else, both realize it is the players and what they do on the course that makes for a memorable contest, not older men feuding on the sidelines.
None the less, many pundits are dubious as to how the single-minded, self-absorbed approach Faldo adopted as a player can be translated successfully into sensitive and inspirational captaincy. But having a leader with his experience and Ryder Cup track record can surely only help a team approaching a transitional period.
If transition is the key word from the European perspective, it is
even more so for the U.S. Team, especially as Tiger Woods will be missing for the first time since he made his Ryder Cup debut at Valderrama in southern
Spain in 1997. Much has been made of the world No1's apparent failure to dominate his European opponents in this biennial event, but the fact remains he has been the leading American points scorer over the past five matches and has been the talisman around whom his team-mates have become accustomed to rallying.
Paul Azinger the Captain of the USA Team and Nick Faldo the Captain of The European Team pose with the Ryder Cup trophy
Faldo, though, does not see Woods' absence as a potentially mortal blow to the U.S. cause. "On the one side it could be a loss, but on the other they know that they don't have the option to bank on Tiger this year and I'm sure they'll all pull together because of that," he said.
"I don't think it's a given that it improves our chances. The best player in the world over 18 holes in match play can be very vulnerable–players raise their game in that kind of situation."
"On paper we're coming off some strong wins and have a great tradition of team spirit, but look at the rankings and you'll see that even without Tiger the U.S. has a wealth of talent. This is match play. You're playing for pride and a point and that makes things pretty equal."
Even before Woods' announcement that he was taking the rest of 2008 off to recover from knee surgery in the aftermath of his astonishing U.S. Open triumph at Torrey Pines, it was obvious the American team at Valhalla was destined to feature quite a few new faces.
In general this was being seen as a positive by Azinger, especially as the newcomers would be untainted by the three previous, largely humiliating, defeats. Certainly, this new crop of American talent will arrive at Valhalla without any lack of confidence.
With Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry and Justin Leonard likely to provide a veteran spine to the team, the likes of J.B.Holmes, Anthony Kim, Brandt Snedeker, Boo Weekley, Sean O'Hair, D.J.Trahan, Jeff Quinney and Hunter Mahan are preparing to form the next generation of American standard-bearers.
Factor in a handful of steely competitors who are on the fringes of automatic qualification—2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker, Woody Austin and Scott Verplank—and it is clear Azinger will have plenty of options when it comes to dispensing his wild cards, according to what he feels is needed to bring balance to his team: more youthful exuberance or greater experience.
Valhalla suits the risk-reward format that seems to bring out the best in Ryder Cup players
On the other side of the Atlantic, meanwhile, some stalwarts from recent European teams—Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke, David Howell, Jose Maria Olazabal and Paul McGinley— look as though they might miss out this time. But with Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Robert Karlsson, Luke Donald and Henrik Stenson all likely to qualify, Europe will still parade a hard core of proven world-class performers.
Add to this a sprinkling of maturing players such as Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Carl Pettersson and Paul Casey, and in-form youngsters like Martin Kaymer, Oliver Wilson and Nick Dougherty, and it seems that Faldo should arrive in Kentucky with a team not to be taken lightly.
Of course, the identity of his two picks could have a big influence on the outcome. Two years ago it seemed inconceivable that Montgomerie would not be playing in his ninth Ryder Cup at Valhalla, but his results have dipped dramatically over the past 12 months and picking him on his current form would be a considerable risk. The same could be said of K Club hero Clarke, but his form was understandably in free fall throughout 2007 as the enormity of the loss of his wife Heather to cancer hit home and even though the Ulsterman, bolstered by a recent victory in China, has been more like his old self this year he is still unlikely to qualify for the team by right.
As wild-card speculation mounts in Europe, it is quite possible that Faldo will turn to his predecessor in 2004, Bernhard Langer. With Kaymer virtually certain to make the team, the double Masters champion might prove to be the ideal shepherd.
A symmetrical precedent for the bold and surprise move of plucking an in-form fifty-something player from the Champions Tour was made by Tom Watson when he captained the U.S. to victory at The Belfry in 1993. One of his two picks that year was four-time major winner Raymond Floyd, then 51 and himself a Ryder Cup captain four years previously. Floyd's contributions on that occasion, including a crucial singles win over Olazabal, proved pivotal and Faldo, on the receiving end of defeat in 1993 as a player, will remember all too well the impact the wise old bird had on proceedings.
As at any Ryder Cup, the course will have a huge part to play in both the result and the spectacle. Measuring more than 7,500 yards from the back tees, Valhalla will suit not only the "risk-reward" format that seems to bring out the best in Ryder Cup combatants, but also a home team expected to have a considerable length advantage.
The course hosted the 1996 and 2000 USPGA Championships, but head greenkeeper Mark Wilson is making changes at no fewer than 13 holes. "We've been going 30 months on this and we've really only got a couple more projects to complete, so the course should be in perfect shape come September," he said.
Valhalla's designer Jack Nicklaus helped to oversee the changes. "To challenge the players of today we needed to add some length," said Nicklaus. "But we've also softened some of the greens to create more potential pin positions."
As the captains, players and course all gear up for the big occasion, it is unlikely this Ryder Cup will be as easily won by either side as the last two have been by Europe. Perhaps Azinger will end up kissing one of the greens, as Crenshaw did, but first he must outwit Faldo–and that is easier said than done.