Don't expect the U.S. team to rally in Monday singles

NEWPORT, Wales — The Ryder Cup is scheduled to have a Monday finish here for the first time in the event's 83-year history.

Put an asterisk on that, though, because it sure looked like the Ryder Cup ended Sunday evening at Celtic Mudhole (Celtic Manor's new name) right on schedule.

Officially, the Ryder Cup isn't over until the European team wins five more points.

Unofficially, Team USA waved farewell to its chances of retaining the Cup when Europe finished off its fast start to the unique six-match session Saturday, mopping up 5 1/2 of the 6 possible points and opening a 9 1/2-6 1/2 lead going into the 12-match singles session.

You can drive a Mack truck through that differential. And that's just about what ran over the Americans in the third session. It may not be so much about whether the Americans can make up 3 points on Monday, but whether they can come back from an ego-crushing defeat.

If you're going to Celtic Manor on Monday, you'd better like the "Ole, ole, ole" song because it's going to be on repeat most of the day.

Anything is possible, of course. American captain Corey Pavin isn't admitting defeat. "I think it's very plausible we can win," Pavin said Sunday night. "Is it an uphill battle? Of course. There are 12 points tomorrow. That's a lot of points. We've got 12 of the best players in the world. They do, too. We'll give it our best shot."

It's true, bigger comebacks have happened. The benchmark is Brookline in '99 when the U.S. faced a 10-6 deficit and famously stormed back to take the Cup. That was a home game, however, and that team featured the four best players in the world on the American squad — Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Payne Stewart.

This U.S. team has players with gaudy reputations. Tiger is still No. 1 in the world and Phil is still No. 2, but Europe's Lee Westwood is scheduled to move up a spot next week and slip into No. 1 before long. The fact is, it's been months since Tiger and Phil looked like the best two players in the world. At the moment, neither looks a top-20 player. There is Ryder Cup rookie Dustin Johnson, whose power game was supposed to fit with Phil and form a dynamic duo. Johnson flamed out badly in the Tour Championship after his impressive win at Cog Hill, and he's flamed out even worse this week. Jim Furyk, ranked fifth in the world, can be excused if he's a little worn out from his Tour Championship win and the whole FedEx Cup ordeal. Steve Stricker, ranked fourth in the world, may have run out of gas Saturday after carrying Woods to two match wins.

If the United States is going to mount a charge of the lightweights brigade, who, exactly, is going to lead it into the hail of artillery that's sure to come from the likes of Westwood, Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Ross Fisher and Graeme McDowell, among others? They all seem to be more on top of their games than the Americans.

Johnny Miller summed it up best for NBC on Sunday night when he said, "The top European guys like Lee Westwood and Luke Donald have played like they're supposed to, and the top Americans haven't."

It's that simple. There was a reason the European team was rated a heavy favorite going into this Ryder Cup, and those players have backed it up.

The Americans had a chance to win, in my opinion, because they had a better lineup of putters, and they out-putted the Europeans Friday and Saturday morning. The putts stopped going in quite as often on Saturday afternoon, and even more rarely toward Sunday's finish. Was it the scattered rain showers that caused the Americans to leave important putts short on the final nine, or was it the pressure of falling behind?

It doesn't matter. Europe made the putts Sunday and the Americans didn't. For six matches, European teams were 33 under par, and the Americans were 18 under par — 15 shots better. That's not a huge spread over six matches, but match play is like the Electoral College — close in total votes doesn't count. You either carry Florida and Ohio, or you don't.

This is what the Ryder Cup has come down to: The Americans have to win seven out of 12 matches, and halve another. That doesn't sound impossible, but who is going to beat Westwood, Donald, Poulter, McDowell and Fisher, for starters?

There is nothing less fun than a Ryder Cup rout and a singles draw without drama and tension. Everyone, with the exception of Monty and the European players, would like to see a close finish. The Europeans are now in position, however, to blow this thing out. An early American rally is almost inevitable, but like Sunday afternoon's rally, likely to be short-lived.

An American comeback is possible mathematically, theoretically and physically. But to do it on an awkward, sloppy course with slow greens and likely a bit of wind — normal European conditions — in front of a vocal pro-European crowd and against a team that is clearly playing better? Possible, I suppose.

It's also possible that the 2010 Ryder Cup ended Sunday night after an Italian golfer made a short putt, stole a crucial half-point from the U.S., drew a thunderous roar of delight and sent thousands of European fans home happy as an autumn sun set behind the Welsh hills.

It sure looked like the final scene of a show to me.

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PGA Tour Confidential: Biggest Ryder Cup surprises so far

Every day this week, writers and editors from Sports Illustrated and Golf Magazine will address one pressing question about the Ryder Cup in a daily version of PGA Tour Confidential, our weekly roundtable discussion.

Jim Herre, managing editor, SI Golf Group: Things look grim for the U.S., but as Johnny might say, there's a lot of golf yet to be played. So we are basically halfway through the Ryder Cup. What has surprised you the most to this point? I've been surprised by the fine play of Martin Kaymer. He's been a rock for the Euros. Maybe he really is the best player in the world.

Mark Godich, senior editor, Sports Illustrated: Sorry, but Lee Westwood is showing why he's the best player in the world. I've been surprised by how well almost all of the rookies have responded. We saw a lot of quality shot-making and putting at the end of the second session, a lot of the sparkling play coming from rookies on both sides. That's what makes the Ryder Cup so special.

Herre: Right, Mark. And the captains' picks haven't been too shabby, either. Cink has been carrying Kuchar.

Godich: True, but this morning Kuchar made the huge putt to win the 16th, hit a rock-solid tee shot at the 17th and negotiated the layup shot out of the rough at the 18th. If the U.S. wins, we may point to the Cink-Kuchar victory over McDowell-McIlroy as the biggest match of the week. The Americans were looking at defeat walking to the 17th green, yet they ended up with the victory. That was a huge two-point swing.

Alan Shipnuck, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: I can't believe how bad Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson have been. Both should be monsters in match play, but they're co-goats so far.

Godich: At least Dustin has hit some quality shots. That said, his putting has been atrocious.

Ryan Reiterman, senior producer, GOLF.com: I'm surprised by the lack of leadership from the U.S. Who's the team leader? It's not Phil. It's not Tiger. It certainly isn't Captain Pavin. If someone doesn't speak up, Europe will destroy them tomorrow.

Gary Van Sickle, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: The biggest surprise is that the Americans are going to bed with a 6-4 lead even though Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods have pretty much looked lost on the golf course. You figured if the Americans were going to contend, those two had to play well. Tiger had Steve Stricker propping him up, but Phil has unfortunately been an anchor. The second biggest surprise is that it took until late Saturday for the Europeans to come roaring back, and they are.

Jeff Ritter, senior producer, GOLF.com: I agree with Gary: it's surprising it took so long for the Euros to get rolling, but they absolutely Mack-trucked the U.S. at the end of the day. Pavin's boys need to flip some of those blue flags tomorrow morning, or this could quickly get away from them on Sunday afternoon.

Van Sickle: I'm surprised Pavin didn't use some of his first-half timeouts Saturday afternoon just to stop the bleeding. It got ugly out there.

Rick Lipsey, writer-reporter, Sports Illustrated: Kaymer is a rock. Pavin is a dud. The Euros want it badly. The Americans are tanking. But beware of the singles. The Americans have a history of jolting to life in those matches.

Herre: If the U.S. can pull out a couple of the close matches, we're looking at a super Sunday.

David Dusek, deputy editor, Golf.com: I am surprised at just how well the U.S. rookie duo of Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton have played. When we saw that pairing on Thursday, a lot of people thought they'd be outclassed by Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington — 'fraid not! Matt Kuchar has also been solid. I'm not surprised that Mickelson and Dustin Johnson failed to make anything happen. Johnson lacks a killer instinct, and as someone with arthritis I can tell you that playing golf in cold, wet conditions is not fun. Phil isn't himself, and playing golf with a partner who can't buy a putt with a £100 bill doesn't help.

Cameron Morfit, senior writer, Golf Magazine: Overton surprised me big time. I had no idea he'd respond like that in the anchor match of the first session, which I consider a totally unexpected gift to Pavin and the U.S. team.

Michael Bamberger, senior writer, Sports Illustrated: The biggest surprise to me is the U.S. unis. Where's the red, white and blue? What happened to Old Glory? What's up with this Saturday scheme, purple and white with a dash of red? Team USA's identity has been subverted by the fashion police. Whatever happened to, These colors don't run?

Dusek:The whole gear situation is embarrassing. First the rain suits fail, then there was talk about the golf bags leaking. I learned that 30 rolling duffle bags were emergency ordered for the team as well. Now we see purple sweaters?

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Sergio Garcia gives Europe a boost from sideline

NEWPORT, Wales (AP) — Sergio Garcia has been running all over Celtic Manor - cheering the Europeans, offering tips to the rookies, relaying messages to his boss, keeping up with all the matches.

Make no mistake, El Nino would rather be playing.

But this is the next best thing.

"It's just so special," Garcia said. "All of the cheers and all of the singing and everything, you just don't get it anywhere."

The 30-year-old Spaniard is serving as an assistant captain for the European team, a role that usually goes to over-the-hill golfers in their 40s and 50s.

Garcia has been mired in a slump and knew he had no chance of being named to his sixth straight Ryder Cup team, even with a career record of 14-3-3. So he asked captain Colin Montgomerie if he could help as a vice captain.

Monty already had named Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley as his assistants, but he decided to bring Garcia aboard, too.

"It's fantastic that a 30-year-old can do that," Montgomerie said. "He's one of the youngest vice captains ever, and one of the best current players ever to be a vice captain. And it's a real positive for the European team to have him in the team room, the passion that he brings to it."

He compared Garcia's love of the Ryder Cup to that of two other Spaniards: Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal.

"I try to bring as much as I can," Garcia said. "Unfortunately, I can't bring any birdies, so I try to bring a little experience, a little joy, and just trying to help everybody as much as I can and make them feel as comfortable as possible."

Maybe serving as a captain will help him get his career on the right track. Garcia hasn't won a tournament in nearly two years, and he's slipped to No. 59 in the world rankings.

"This is no doubt going to help me," he said. "But that's not the main goal. The main goal here this week is for the team to play well, for us to regain the cup."

Olazabal also joined Montgomerie's staff this weekend, returning to a role he said he'd never take again. He served the role two years ago under Nick Faldo, but didn't want to be a deputy again because he said it lacked responsibility. Olazabal lost out to Montgomerie for the captaincy in January.

The 44-year-old Spaniard, who played in seven Ryder Cups, was in Wales for business when asked by Montgomerie to help in the second and third sessions.

Montgomerie praised all his assistants for making his job easier, even though they've been talking so much the captain needed three batteries to keep his radio going Saturday.

"The strength I have in those five guys on the golf course right now is second to none, and they have been superb on this radio, I tell you what," Monty said. "I get reports on every shot, on every putt, on every incident, on every occasion, and they have been brilliant, the five of them on the course to keep me updated on everything."

KIND OF BLUE: Monty wanted more blue on those Ryder Cup video screens.

The boards stationed around Celtic Manor had been showing various matches around the course, with not as much emphasis on the overall scores. European captain Colin Montgomerie asked officials to put up the scores from all the matches, hoping it would spur the home fans if they saw plenty of blue - the color used when a European team is ahead.

"The scoreboards are different this particular year, where every match comes up separately on the right-hand side of the scoreboard, as opposed to having a scoreboard that is the so-called old-fashioned scoreboard, where the plastic numbers are put up."

Monty's tactic worked perfectly in the third session Saturday. The Europeans were leading in all six matches when play was halted because of darkness.

"What I want to have out there is those six blue numbers on that left-hand side of that board shining very bright tomorrow morning, and to continue that way," he said.

FOWLER'S FOLLY: Rickie Fowler made a rookie mistake, and it cost the U.S. team a hole.

Playing in his first Ryder Cup match, the 21-year-old Fowler inadvertently switched balls on the fourth hole while playing alternate shot with Jim Furyk. The mistake was noticed after he hit his shot, and the U.S. had to forfeit the hole.

Fowler was playing off of Furyk's tee shot, which went way left into the muck. He got a drop onto the cart path but instead of picking up Furyk's ball and placing it on the path, he pulled one out of his pocket.

"It was a mental error on all our parts," Furyk said. "That's just a mental error on mine and the caddie's part and actually even the official - he was standing right there. It was a mental error everywhere."

Fowler made up for it, though, making a 4-footer for birdie on the final hole to salvage a tie and a half-point for the U.S. in the match against Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer.

"For a young guy and being as young as he is, I'm very overly impressed with his maturity," Furyk said. "I want over to kind of talk to him and try to calm him down. I think he might have been calming me down. He's a cool customer."

BROTHERS IN ARMS: Francesco and Edoardo Molinari had a built-in edge at the Ryder Cup, but being brothers didn't help them in their debut.

The Molinaris, who won Italy's first world team title last year, were beaten 2 up in their first Cup match by Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan. The Europeans pulled even at the 16th hole and had the crowd roaring, but the Americans won the final two holes of alternate shot.

"We didn't get off to a good start," Francesco said. "They made a great birdie at 17. But it's very disappointing when you're so close and you go away with not even a half-point."

The Molinaris played the final nine holes at 1 under, but it wasn't enough.

"Unfortunately we didn't get the half-point," Edoardo said. "We deserved it with the way we played on the back nine."

The Italians were ahead in their second match against Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar when it was suspended because of darkness. Francesco gave them a big boost with a chip-in that improbably halved their final hole before play was called.

"It's nice to get a little break, even if momentum is definitely on our side," Francesco said. "We were playing well and hopefully we play even better tomorrow."

DIVOTS: How great was Europe's domination of the third session? Before play was suspended because of darkness, the home team had won 17 holes, the U.S. only four. The other 18 holes were halved. ... Phil Mickelson lost his first two matches playing with Dustin Johnson, dropping Lefty's Ryder Cup mark to 10-16-6. He switched to Fowler for the third session but was off to another rough start vs. Ian Poulter and Martin Kaymer.

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Europe leads early as heavy rains halt Ryder Cup

NEWPORT, Wales (AP) — Workers scurried around the greens with squeegees, furiously pushing the water away before every putt. Players sloshed down soaked fairways, desperately searching for a spot to hit from that was somewhat dry. The Americans couldn't even stay dry in their gaudy rainsuits.

Finally, there was no way to go on.

The Ryder Cup was halted in the middle of the fourball matches Friday morning because of heavy rain that turned Celtic Manor into a water-logged mess.

"The first thing I need is to find a hair dryer," quipped PGA championship winner Martin Kaymer, who played the opening match for Europe with Lee Westwood.

The home team was off to a good start, leading three of the four best-ball matches when play was suspended for the first time since the 1997 Ryder Cup in Spain.

"It's a shame," U.S. assistant captain Jeff Sluman said. "There's 10 years of planning that went into this, and we're held hostage by the weather."

The forecast called for the rain to move out by early afternoon, but that didn't pan out. Officials pushed back two deadlines for getting the course back in shape and said it would be at least 4 p.m. local time before they could even consider resuming play.

With only a few extra hours built into a tight three-day schedule of matches, it looked as though the first Ryder Cup in Wales could be headed for a Monday finish.

Impromtu rivers crisscrossed the course, including a particularly wide stream of water flowing down the middle of the 18th fairway, dumping into a pond in front of the green.

"We will see play again this afternoon," insisted Mike McClellan, the Ryder Cup meteorologist. "I can't speak for the golf course, but weather-wise we should be fine."

The Americans, meanwhile, were more concerned with staying dry.

Their rainsuits were panned by British television commentators, including renowned U.S. coach Butch Harmon, as looking more suited for a basketball team. And they didn't work, either. Amazingly, American officials had to hustle over to the merchandise tent, where fans shop, to snatch up about 20 replacement suits on the picked-over shelves.

The rain gear ordered by U.S. captain Corey Pavin was made by Sun Mountain, which provided a navy blue suit with white stripes that had "USA" and the players' names on the back.

"We were disappointed with the performance of them, and we just fixed it," Pavin said. "They were not doing what we wanted them to do, so we went out and bought some more waterproofs."

The new suits, made by ProQuip, have only a Ryder Cup logo, without any special markings for a U.S. uniform, Mason said. They cost about $350 apiece.

The Europeans couldn't resist poking a little fun at the Americans' plight.

"Just have to say our waterproofs are performing very well!" Rory McIlroy tweeted.

The Twenty Ten course, which was built especially for the Ryder Cup, has a complex drainage system that allows the water to flow off quickly. But first, it had to stop raining.

"Our people, we feel, probably need about an hour of pushing water to make it better than it was when we started," said John Paramor, the European Tour's chief referee. "So that is our goal."

The players, meanwhile, headed back to the clubhouse and tried to pass the time. Ian Poulter tweeted a picture of Padraig Harrington sleeping on the floor of the European locker room, using a bag as a pillow.

The defending champion Americans got off to a shaky start, missing the fairway with five of their first six tee shots. Phil Mickelson was the only one to hit it where he wanted - and he flew his next shot over the green.

Amazingly, the only match the U.S. was leading was the last one. That's the slot where Pavin made the heavily debated decision to pair up two rookies, Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton, but they rewarded his faith early on with birdies at the first two holes.

Overton rolled in a long putt from behind the first green, and the long-hitting Watson made birdie at the par-5 second for a 2-up lead on Harrington and Luke Donald.

The Europeans, trying to recapture the gold chalice they lost at Valhalla two years ago, were leading the other three matches.

Westwood and Kaymer bolted to a 2-up advantage through five holes on Mickelson and Dustin Johnson in the leadoff match. Graeme McDowell and McIlroy were 1 up on Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar after four holes, the same edge that Poulter and Ross Fisher held on Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker through No. 3.

The U.S. hoped the delay might stem the European momentum, or at least clear out the nasty weather. European captain Colin Montgomerie felt his team had an edge playing in damp conditions.

"It's not fun for anyone, agreed," Monty said shortly after the opening shot. "But it's probably less fun for the Americans. In America, when it rains it usually thunders, too, and you can't play. I just hope it doesn't get so bad, the course gets so water-logged, that we can't play."

That's just what happened.

Even with the players able to take relief in the fairway, there simply wasn't any place to drop without winding up in another puddle.

"If this was any other golf tournament, it would have been stopped earlier," said Thomas Bjorn, an assistant captain for the Europeans. "It's too wet to really continue. We're in a situation where people are considering dropping from fairways into the rough. Then it just becomes a bit silly."

The atmosphere was electric shortly after sunrise - well, assuming it rose behind the thick, gray clouds - as thousands of umbrella-toting fans chanted "Ole! Ole! Ole!" in hopes of spurring on a European team that featured six rookies. An amphitheater-style stadium was built around the first tee, allowing 2,000 fans to watch the opening shots.

The Americans have five rookies of their own - plus the world's top-ranked player, Woods.

Pavin decided to send out Woods in the third slot, instead of the opening or closing matches that he played in previous Ryder Cups. Maybe he needed a change after struggling through a winless year on the course and the collapse of his marriage, done in by numerous extramarital affairs.

Woods made a birdie at the par-5 second hole, laying up with his second shot and sticking a wedge to 6 feet. But Poulter pushed the Europeans back into the lead at No. 3, rolling in a 25-foot birdie.

Pavin got off to a shaky start at the opening ceremony, and the suit debacle only added to his woes.

First, he overlooked Cink while introducing the 12-man U.S. team. The captain made a quick recovery when he realized his gaffe, urging the crowd to give "a special, special welcome" to the good-natured Cink. But then Pavin said his player was from Sea Island, Ga. - actually the residence of assistant captain Davis Love III - instead of suburban Atlanta.

Of course, you don't get a point for acing the introductions.

The only thing that really counts is what happens on the course - assuming the rain lets up.

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U.S. team has to buy new rain gear at Ryder Cup

NEWPORT, Wales (AP) — The U.S. rain gear at the Ryder Cup is no longer a fashion faux pas.

They don't even work.

In another embarrassing moment, a U.S. team drenched at Celtic Manor had to buy new rain suits from the merchandise tent during the delay Friday because the ones they brought with them didn't keep them dry.

"We were disappointed with the performance of them and we just fixed it," captain Corey Pavin. "They were not doing what we wanted them to do, so we went out and bought some more waterproofs."

Sun Mountain supplied the American team with the rain gear - navy blue, with stripes around the arms and left leg, with last names stitched on the back above "USA." They looked like they belonged to a college basketball team.

The PGA of America bought as many ProQuip rain suits as they could from the merchandise tent. Spokesman Julius Mason said there was enough to fit only the players and caddies - tan suits for the players, red for the caddies. He said they had Ryder Cup logos, but there was nothing to distinguish this as an American uniform.

Tiger Woods had no such issue - he didn't bother wearing his.

Woods had a rain jacket on in the light rain during practice Wednesday, but his was the only one without his name stitched on the back. Mason said Woods' jacket was too big, and he had to find a generic jacket that was smaller.

The Americans soon became the butt of jokes during a rain delay so long that it was unlikely the matches would finish Sunday. Their own version of "Watergate" came one day after Pavin forgot Stewart Cink during player introductions at the opening ceremony.

And now this.

Rain in Wales the first weekend in October? Who could have guessed that?

"Just seen some US waterproofs up close, they're terrible! They feel like they retain moisture, not a good quality for waterproofs!" Oliver Wilson, who player in the last Ryder Cup for Europe, said on Twitter.

Rory McIlroy, who already riled Tiger Woods by saying the entire European team wanted to play him, chipped in with his own tweet to needle the Americans: "Just have to say our waterproofs are performing very well!"

ProQuip already supplied the European team with its rain gear.

Richard Head, the managing director for ProQuip Ltd. in Edinburgh, Scotland, said his company has been supplying the European team since 1983, and the American team occasionally, most recently 2004.

He said the suits cost about $350.

His small corner of the merchandise tent had little left to offer - a few pair of pants, a few dozen jackets, sweaters and wind shirts.

"They requested 20 suits, but I'm not sure who they were for - whether it was players or simply caddies and team officials," Head said of the American team.

Cink emerged from the team room for a Sky TV interview wearing a tan rain suit with short sleeves.

When he was appointed captain nearly two years ago, Pavin said his wife, Lisa, would be helping him pick out the team uniforms.

"Lisa has an unlimited budget with clothing at home, so I just want to give you guys a fair warning right now about the clothing," Pavin said that day.

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Americans hope big hitters provide big advantage at Celtic Manor

Bubba Watson averaged 310 yards per drive on the PGA Tour this year, second longest on Tour, and Dustin Johnson wasn't far behind at 308.5.

Phil Mickelson (12th at 299 yards per drive) and 2010 Ryder rookie Jeff Overton (16th, 297) are considered exceptionally long, while Tiger Woods (296), Rickie Fowler (292.4), Stewart Cink (292.3) and Hunter Mahan (291.8) also are among the Tour's bigger hitters.

The American Ryder Cup team that will take on Europe at Celtic Manor starting Friday is being called the longest side in history. The question is whether all that firepower will help or hurt the Yanks as they attempt to win a Ryder Cup on European soil for the first time since 1993.

"I like the golf course," Johnson said Tuesday. "It fits my eye pretty good. There are a few holes where length is an advantage. A couple of the par 5s, if I hit a good drive, I can get home, where the rest of the guys are not going to be able to get there."

Still, when asked whether there was anything about the course or the set-up that would give a long hitter like him an advantage, he replied, "Not particularly."

European captains have negated Team USA's would-be power advantage by setting up their home courses with doglegs and narrow fairways. This week is no different. Although Euro skipper Colin Montgomerie has not gone out of his way to modify the course, the equalizer figures to be the rough, which has thrived and thickened in rainy Wales.

"The rough is patchy here in June," said Graeme McDowell, who won the Wales Open at Celtic. "It's not patchy anymore. It's just thick. You miss fairways, you're going to be punished."

"It's imperative that we get our numbers and lines straight because with the rough being up like that, you need to hit the ball on the fairways," Woods said.

The good news for Team USA is those fairways are not particularly narrow. The Twenty Ten Course at Celtic Manor features three par-5s, including the 610-yard second hole, the 580-yard ninth and the 575-yard 18th. The finishing hole features a pond in front of the green, forcing players to decide whether to try to carry the water with their second, or lay up and leave themselves a delicate third shot from a downhill lie to an elevated green.

J.B. Holmes, another American bomber who played on the 2008 Ryder Cup team and narrowly avoided making this year's side as a wild-card pick, is perhaps the most recent player to demonstrate the value of a length advantage in match play.

Holmes had Woods on the ropes at the '08 WGC-Accenture Match Play, forcing Woods to make three birdies and an eagle, and 88 feet worth of putts, to avoid a first-round upset.

The long-hitting Kentuckian made six birdies and scored a 2 and 1 victory over Soren Hansen in Ryder Cup singles at Valhalla later that year.

"He hit it quite long," Hansen said. "But quite long is probably an understatement. He hit it really long."

If this year's American Ryder team is to upset Europe, Watson, Johnson and company will have to figure out how to leverage their length advantage the way Holmes did. Given that Watson is 166th on Tour in driving accuracy (55.67 percent), Johnson is 161st (56.35 percent), Mickelson is 180th (52.66 percent), and Overton is 170th (55.44 percent), that may require some doing.

"I think these guys are pretty smart players and they will figure it out," said U.S. captain Corey Pavin, who added that Celtic's reasonable fairways but penal rough reminds him somewhat of the way officials set up Whistling Straits, home of the PGA Championship in August.

Johnson, who nearly won that PGA, said after comparing notes with his teammates that the play at Celtic may be to get aggressive with second shots, not tee shots.

In the end, European rookie Rory McIlroy may be best-suited to capitalize on his strong driving record. He averaged 300 yards per drive on Tour in 2010, and hit 62.64 percent of the fairways, making him far more accurate than any of the aforementioned Americans.

McIlroy drove it "like a man possessed" in practice Tuesday, McDowell said.

Long and straight — the combination never fails.

Croeso! A Ryder Cup comes to Wales

NEWPORT, Wales (AP) — Croeso, Ryder Cup!

Amid the lush, rolling hills of Wales, workers put the finishing touches on a course that was built with this very event in mind.

A giant stage has gone up alongside the 18th hole for the opening ceremony. An amphitheater-style grandstand wraps around the first tee. Signs proclaimed "Croeso," the Welsh word for "Welcome" - even if some of the locals aren't quite sure how to pronounce it.

"We're the only country in the world," a bus diver quipped as he shuttled reporters to the course, "that doesn't known how to speak its own language."

No worries. Celtic Manor looks ready for its moment in the sun, even if there doesn't figure to be much sunshine for this biennial event between the defending champion Americans and the home team from Europe. The skies Monday were gray and dreary, with the forecast calling for rain much of the week.

While the weather is unmistakably British, the new Twenty Ten course is hardly a traditional seaside links. Instead, this is a setting that one might expect from a typical week on the PGA Tour - right down to a towering fountain in front of the 18th green.

That's just fine with European captain Colin Montgomerie.

"There's a so called home-course advantage that can be used for a home team," he said. "On this occasion, I haven't played around with the golf course at all. This golf course is set up in a very, very fair manner to allow the best team to win. I don't think it is right to set the course up in any other way than to what it's been designed for. It's a great, great golf course and it's in super condition."

The Americans haven't won in Europe since 1993, so they'll take any little edge they can get. Even so, they're the clear underdogs against a team that had such a deep pool of talent to choose from that Montgomerie passed over top 10-ranked player Paul Casey and Justin Rose, who won three of his four matches in the last Ryder Cup and had two PGA Tour victories this year.

Monty wasn't buying the favorite's tag, however.

"On paper, yes. Unfortunately, the Ryder Cup is not played on paper," he said. "This will be very, very close and very competitive, as they always are."

U.S. captain Corey Pavin had a firm grip on the gold chalice as he left the media center Monday, though he didn't mind pausing long enough to let others get a look. The early winners are engraved on the original bowl, while the more recent champions - including the U.S. two years ago at Valhalla - are memorialized around the expanded base, a la the Stanley Cup in hockey.

Pavin likes the Americans' chances of taking the cup back home with them Sunday night, even if most everyone on this side of the Atlantic believes a European victory is a lock with a team that includes two of this year's major champions, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell.

The U.S. roster isn't exactly barren. Jim Furyk is coming off a $10 million win at the Tour Championship, Dustin Johnson might have won the PGA Championship if not for his blunder in the bunker and, oh yeah, let's not forget those two guys at the top of the world rankings.

Granted, No. 1 Tiger Woods has made far more news off the course, failing to win in a year when a sex scandal led to the breakup of his marriage, and second-ranked Phil Mickelson hasn't done much since winning the Masters in April. But they're still an imposing duo, even if there's no chance of them playing together as they did during their ill-fated pairing at the 2004 Ryder Cup.

"I like the way Team USA is playing right now," Pavin said. "There's a lot of guys that have been playing well, and that's always a good thing. Any captain is going to want his players to be up on their game, but then again, anything can happen during a week of golf. Things can change quickly."

Both captains issued a no-tweeting ban for the week, hoping that will help keep their focus on the matches rather than trying to entertain their social network fans. Stewart Cink and Ian Poulter both have over a million followers on Twitter.

"We're finally off to Wales!! Won't be tweeting until we get back. I guess I'll have to pass the down time actually reading or something," Cink wrote before the U.S. team's charter flight from Atlanta to Cardiff.

Poulter, however, clarified the policy with a Tweet late Monday night: "For the record Colin hasn't banned twitter, he has asked to be respectful to the teams privacy. I played 7 holes today course is awesome."

Pavin figures his team can survive a week without documenting their every move.

"We talked about it as a team and we thought it best not to do it," he said. "We need to focus on playing and working on preparations and getting ready to play the Ryder Cup. ... Team USA, whatever they would like to do - tweeting or facebooking or whatever it may be - they have the opportunity to do that next week and for the rest of their lives."

Montgomerie figures to be one of the star attractions at Celtic Manor, even though he'll never hit a shot. He never lost a singles match during his Ryder Cup career, and would dearly love to lead the team that brought the prize back to Europe.

"First time I've arrived with no golf clubs, I assure you," he said. "It's strange in many ways. The biggest event in my golfing career and I've come here with no clubs. Quite weird, really."

Not that Monty's giving up on returning as a player in two years at Medina.

"I stood on the first tee on Friday when I arrived," he said. "I had my own thoughts about ever playing again in the Ryder Cup, and after this great honor and responsibility that this is, I intend to do my utmost to try to make the team in 2012."