The American Dream

Inspired by captain Paul Azinger's new-age Cup theories, an underdog U.S. team rolled to victory

Azinger (second from right) exulted with his team after America's first victory since 1999.

By Jim Moriarty

Photo By J.D. Cuban

November 28, 2008

Listen my children and you shall hear Of the biennial ride of Paul 'Zinger; Cap'n said to the PGA "If the Euros march Hang a lantern from yon Belfry's arch, One if by land and two if by sea And I on the opposite shore shall be; Then lo! he looks on the Belfry's light, The fate of the Cup was riding that night; Inside the ropes at ye olde Valhalla The Yanks won foursomes and the four-ball-alla.

In the singles could their lead be blowed? Not if our 'Zinger doth front-end load; A Boo in the darkness, a Kim at the door A victory that shall echo for evermore!

—Longfellow Woods

The cumulative score by which Europe dominated America in the Ryder Cup Matches from 1995 to the gates of Valhalla was 95-73. Had it not been for the "Ghost of Ouimet" comeback at The Country Club in 1999, Europe would have—in fact, should have—won six straight. What was at stake down in the valley outside Louisville was nothing less than the future well-being of the competition. On the heels of back-to-back massive drubbings, the Ryder Cup had gone from Must See TV to Wake Me When It's Over. And America came limping in on a bum knee.

U.S. captain Paul Azinger had gotten everything he demanded from the desperate PGA of America, most notably a change in the point structure and extra captain's picks. While his opposite on the European side, Nick Faldo, was being vilified for selecting his protégé, Ian Poulter, and leaving past Ryder Cup hero Darren Clarke and Ryder Cup legend Colin Montgomerie off the side, Azinger couldn't seem to scrape together enough able bodies to fill 12 team uniforms. On paper Valhalla was shaping up to be another European blue bloodletting. Except Americans don't read papers anymore. What follows are a few reasons why the U.S. won:

Weekley also excited spectators and kept the mood light for the underdog American squad. Photo: Donald Miralle

The Tiger Effect: When Tiger Woods put the Ralph Macchio Crane Kick on Rocco Mediate in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines and followed that by letting a surgeon tie a sheepshank in the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee, it didn't look good for Azinger or the U.S. side. After the Americans beat the Euros 16½-11½, however, the theory immediately surfaced that the U.S. actually was better off without the intimidating presence (to friend and foe alike) of Woods. And while Woods' Ryder Cup results aren't nearly as impressive as his major-championship record, if you ask any sane, rational person if he would rather have the best player who ever lived on his side or not, what kind of moron is going to say "Thanks, but no thanks?" Tiger Woods is not the Swilcan Bridge to nowhere; his leads to immortality. Now, sane and rational might not be the words Faldo would use to describe Azinger, his old TV tower buddy, but the U.S. captain is no dope. Was it a net plus that the most dominant force in the game was not in the U.S. team room? Doubtful. By and large, American captains have figured out how, and how not, to use Woods. What his absence unquestionably did, however, was irrevocably cede the role of underdog to the Americans—as if they needed any evidence beyond '04 and '06.

The Kentucky Effect: The most questionable of Azinger's four captain's picks was spent on Kentuckian J.B. Holmes. While the theory was postulated that it was Holmes' prodigious power, mightily useful in four-ball, that swayed Azinger, it was his hometown of Campbellsville that sealed the deal. With apologies to the Louisville Cardinals, the Americans did everything they could to generate the same kind of home-court advantage the Kentucky Wildcats have in Rupp Arena (sans Ashley Judd, of course). Anyone who has been to Ryder Cups on the other side of the pond has felt the fervor of the European fans. Azinger wanted, and got, the same for his players. Holmes and Kenny Perry, the other Kentucky homeboy, who to the frequent condemnation of the chattering class had dedicated his year, his career and his schedule to making the Ryder Cup team, each played a huge roll in making that happen.