Loaded U.S. team due for a win
Posted: Wednesday December 09, 1998 07:38 PM
On paper, the President's Cup is no contest. The U.S. team should kill the International team. But we've been down that road in the last two Ryder Cups, and seemingly overmatched European teams found a way to beat the Americans. There is a lot more going on in these things than what's on paper.
Still, we can't dismiss the black and white. The U.S. team has the top four players in the world -- Tiger Woods, Mark O'Meara, David Duval and Davis Love. The highest ranked player on the international team is Ernie Els at No. 5.
As big as the advantage at the top of the lineup is, it's even greater at the bottom. The player with the lowest world ranking on the U.S. team is John Huston at No. 28. The international team has six players ranked lower than that -- from Stuart Appleby at No. 34 to Greg Turner at No. 61.
These numbers are deceptive, however. Els, Greg Norman, and Steve Elkington were hampered by injury this year, but all three are feeling better now. Appleby is still recovering from his wife's tragic death in July, but his second place finish at last week's Australian Open was a strong sign he's back on his game.
Finally, the intangibles fall in the favor of the International team. They will be more familiar with Royal Melbourne, they have an inspirational leader in Peter Thomson, and they will have the support of a very enthusiastic Australian gallery. Most important, the President's Cup almost surely means more to the core of the International team -- which has been on the losing end of the first two -- than it does to the Americans. That collective desire will make the whole of the International team greater than the sum of its parts.
Having said all that, I'm still picking the Americans. They are the better players. Match play at this level is a crapshoot, and always will be, but considering the outcome of the last two Ryder Cups, the better players are due to win.
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