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Playing Without Tiger May Unify Americans

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By DOUG FERGUSON

The Associated Press

Published: September 17, 2008

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - No one will miss Tiger Woods at the Ryder Cup more than the Europeans.

Yes, the Americans will have to make do without a guy who has won 75 times around the world, 14 majors, and who has been No. 1 in the world ranking for 513 weeks.

But they might be better off without him.

For all his greatness when the trophy is awarded to only one player, Woods has compiled a meager 10-13-2 record in his five Ryder Cup appearances. He went 3-2 at the last Ryder Cup, his first winning record.

Plus, nothing motivates European players more than beating Woods in the Ryder Cup, which they have done 12 times in 20 team matches.

Even so, it's easy to see why U.S. captain Paul Azinger can't find a silver lining when asked if any good can come from Woods sitting this one out while he recovers from reconstructive knee surgery.

"I can't imagine how you can argue a team would be better off without ... potentially the greatest player who has ever lived," Azinger said. "As far as I'm concerned, it really puts Europe in an advantageous place. It puts Europe in a favorite role. There's just no question about it."

Europe would have been favored, anyway.

It has captured the Ryder Cup four of the last five times that Woods has played. And if not for the mismanagement of European captain Mark James and the fortune of Justin Leonard's 45-foot putt at Brookline in 1999, it would have been a clean sweep.
Padraig Harrington pondered this question a few weeks ago and agreed with Azinger that "there is no way you could say their team is not weaker without Tiger Woods."

But he also slipped in a comparison that is only laughable until closer inspection.

"I'm not saying it's the same, but Luke Donald would have been on our team if he weren't injured," Harrington said.

Donald has won four times in his first seven years on tour. Woods won four times in his first seven months.

Donald, however, has a 5-1-1 record in his two Ryder Cups. For Europe, he is one of 12.

For the Americans, Woods is the one out of 12.

Woods has a larger-than-life presence wherever he plays, no matter the format. Because of his accomplishments, there is deference paid when he is in the room, an intimidation factor that affects even his own teammates. It should not be surprising that Woods had 10 partners in his first four Ryder Cups before settling in with tough-as-nails Jim Furyk for all four matches two years ago at The K Club.

This U.S. team is no longer Tiger Woods and 11 other Americans.

They are 12 equals.

"Even though everybody likes Tiger and we get along with him, we all feel like we're more similar to each other," Stewart Cink said.

"I'm hoping that our team can be a good unit," he said. "Nothing against Tiger at all. I hope we can make the best of a situation in that the best player who ever played golf is not playing this year."

The Americans feel the challenge.

"There are times in sports when a team loses its quarterback or running back, and it creates a rallying point," former U.S. captain Curtis Strange said Tuesday. "It doesn't last the entire year, because you need that person. But I truly believe these kids might believe that. 'Let's prove we can win without him, that we can do this on our own.'"

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