IRELAND: GOLF - European Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam says it's important to start strongly

European Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam gave an early indication of his pairings for Friday's opening fourball matches in team practice on Tuesday (September 19, 2006). Welshman Woosnam, who plans to field his strongest combinations in the initial exchanges, opted for six duos largely grouped by nationality. On a bright but damp morning at the K Club, he paired Colin Montgomerie with fellow Briton David Howell and put Englishmen Paul Casey and Luke Donald together in the first group out. His second group featured Swedish rookies Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson, along with Spaniards Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia. Bringing up the rear were Irish duo Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley and the experienced British combination of Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood, Woosnam's two wildcard picks. "I think it's important to see how things go," Woosnam said of his practice pairings. "There are so many different pairings I can use. I want to see how everybody is performing over the next two days before I actually put out my pairings on Friday. "I might carry on with what I've got already for Wednesday, but I might make a couple of alterations tomorrow night." While Woosnam could still make a few tweaks for his opening pairings, his opposite number Tom Lehman says he has already inked in his fourball combinations. When the Americans began their first practice session on Tuesday, world number one Tiger Woods was paired with Jim Furyk, Chris DiMarco with Phil Mickelson and David Toms with Chad Campbell in Lehman's strongest permutations. Holders Europe, who have won four of the last five matches against the U.S., are being billed as favourites this week for the first time. Hardly surprisingly, Woosnam is delighted with the quality and depth in his 12-man team. "We've got 12 great players this year and this is probably the strongest team we've ever had," he said. Although Ryder Cup organisers are preparing for driving rain and wind at the K Club, Woosnam and Lehman are unfazed by the weather for this week's matches. Both agree their teams will just have to deal with the expected downpours and gale-force conditions over the next three days. "It is what it is," U.S. captain Lehman said before the first day of official practice on Tuesday. "That's the way our team looks at it. Woosnam said: "It doesn't matter where we have played over the last number of years -- sunshine, rain, whatever it is. We've all got to be prepared to what you're going to play in. "When you're so focused on what you're trying to achieve in the Ryder Cup, I think it doesn't matter what weather you're playing in. "What we've got to worry about is will we be able to play the golf course? If it's going to be that wet, we could be coming in." An inch-and-a-half of rain fell at the K Club on Monday, leaving the fairways waterlogged and some of the bunkers virtually unplayable.

ITN Source | September 20, 2006

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