The 2004 Ryder Cup is held on American Soil at the South Course of the Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield, MI. The par 70 layout measures 7,084 yards, has playable but deep rough and the greens should be very fast come Friday for the opening round.
The European Team is the defending champion and only needs a tie to retain the Cup.
The current betting line is:
United States -1/2 pts -170
Europe +1/2 pts +150
We very much like the U.S. Captain Hal Sutton. He has been original in his preparation, assertive with team meetings and decisive in his actions. He has not told his squad who he pairing for Foursomes and Fourball matches. (a unique strategy) He has included caddies in all team meetings for the first time in Ryder Cup history.
I believe Captain Sutton has made a major fumble by picking Jay Haas and Stewart Cink as his captain's picks. Haas will not intimidate the opposition and Cink has no spark or fire to ignite the team.
During the PGA Championship was it not clear whom one of his picks should have been. Justin Leonard of course. Leonard came close to winning his second major and who can forget that winning putt at Brookline! I also would have added Todd Hamilton who won the British Open and had the best final round of any player at the PGA. Add in the fact that Oakland Hills is a shorter and tighter track than most and Hamilton who is very accurate off the tee and won twice on the PGA Tour should have been a no brainer. Conversely, I think Langer's two picks were right on the money with Luke Donald the hottest player in Europe and steady Colin Montgomerie who has a stellar Ryder Cup record of 16-7-5.
Sutton said, " In order for us to win Tiger must be at his best." Sure, Tiger has been close, but hardly at his best. He needs Tiger to dominate the Ryder Cup, but he never does posting a 5-8-2 record to date. Can you imagine playing alternate shot with Tiger right now. He can hit one four fairways over to the right and his playing partner must execute from there. No thanks.
The U.S. team needs someone like David Toms or Jim Furyk to rise-up and win four or five points. Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry recently have played little and showed poor current form coming into the Ryder Cup. Phil Mickelson has switched to playing the Callaway ERC Fusion driver and the new Callaway Tour ball. This is something that you try in the off season.
European Captain Bernhard Langer says he will employ strategies that have worked well in the past for the team. He will match previous successful pairings such as Darren Clarke and buddy Lee Westwood together. They beat the top U.S. pair of Tiger and Phil!
Each team has five rookies. Hal Sutton will play everybody. Langer will sit the rookies until the singles in matchplay on Sunday. By then the Europeans almost always have the lead.
I do like the Euro up and comers Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter. Throw in Monty, Sergio and Padraig and this team will be tough to beat.
The Ryder Cup is usually a very close match and decided by a few putts.
The European team has won 3 of the last 4 Ryder Cups. I've been with them in all 4 taking the plus a half point and sometimes plus 1.5 points. I'll repeat, if there is a tie the European team retains the Cup.
Right now, you can get Alf Musketa's prediction on the Ryder Cup in his exclusive pick pack! Also, be on the lookout for his matchup plays (+685) throughout the tournament!
