IRELAND: Final preparations for 36th Ryder Cup.

Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk will launch proceedings at the 36th Ryder Cup in a mouth-watering clash with Europe's Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington in Friday's (September 22) opening fourball matches. The two pairings are, arguably, the strongest on either side at the K Club in Straffan, Ireland and will provide an electric start to one of the biggest occasions in sport. Although only one point will go to the winning combination, the psychological significance will be worth a great deal more and possibly set the tone for the three days of competition. World number one Woods and 2003 U.S. Open champion Furyk dovetailed superbly at last year's Presidents Cup, while Montgomerie and Harrington gave Europe a massive boost by beating Woods and Phil Mickelson in the opening match of the 2004 Ryder Cup. Left-hander Mickelson, the U.S. Masters champion, has been paired with Chris DiMarco in Friday morning's final match against European wildcards Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood in another heavyweight showdown. Mickelson and DiMarco also flourished at the Presidents Cup last September, while Clarke and Westwood have triumphed four times together in six Ryder Cup matches. In the other fourball encounters, Briton Paul Casey and Swedish rookie Robert Karlsson take on Stewart Cink and rookie J.J. Henry, while Spaniards Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal play against David Toms and Brett Wetterich, another first timer. Holders Europe, billed as favourites for the first time in the 79-year history of the Ryder Cup, have won four of the past five matches. Europe Captain Ian Woosnam told a news conference on Thursday: "...I'm just glad it's all going to be starting and I think, I know it's going to be a fantastic day of fourballs in the morning and there some great pairings and you know I'm glad it's started and we can see some great golf this week." USA Captain Tom Lehman commented: "...I'm very excited. It's, you know, been a long time coming. I've been looking forward to these next few days for quite some time. I'm sure both teams have. I'm sure Woosie's (Ian Woosnam) been anticipating this for a long time. And you know, I'm very proud of my team, I'm very proud of the things we've done and prepared for this. I'm sure Woosie feels the same way. And it's just a great honour, a great honour to be able represent your country here in this golf tournament." Pairings for Friday's opening fourball matches in the 36th Ryder Cup at the K Club in County Kildare (European pairings first): Match 1 0800 local (0700 GMT) Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington v Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk Match 2 0815 (0715) Paul Casey and Robert Karlsson v Stewart Cink and J.J. Henry Match 3 0830 (0730) Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia v David Toms and Brett Wetterich Match 4 0845 (0745) Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood v Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco Remainder of playing schedule: Friday - Opening foursome matches (at 15-minute intervals), from 1330 (1230) Saturday - Fourball matches (at 15-minute intervals), from 0800 (0700) - Foursome matches (at 15-minute intervals), from 1330 (1230) Sunday - Singles matches (at 12-minute intervals), from 1115 (1015)

ITN Source | September 22, 2006

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