United States trying to be united for Ryder Cup

SUTTON COLDFIELD, England -- Fierce rivals the other 51 weeks of the year, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson spent their first night at The Belfry staring each other down -- not inside the ropes, but on opposite sides of the net.

They were playing pingpong.

"They were having a hell of a go at it," U.S. Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange said.

No one revealed who had won, but it illustrated what Strange is trying to accomplish in the four days leading up to the start of the matches on Friday: The Ryder Cup is all about team, and the United States has a history of not being nearly as united as Europe.

American players travel in their private planes. They keep their own schedules. For the most part, they keep to themselves.

Perhaps that explains why Europe brings a less talented team to the Ryder Cup and usually walks away with the 14-inch gold trophy. And perhaps no one should be surprised that the key to Europe's success lies in the team matches.

"We tend to feel that way," Colin Montgomerie said Wednesday. "We tend to do better in the first series of games, and then America tends to be better in the singles."

Europe has won five of the last eight Ryder Cups. Only once during that time has the United States led after the four series of team matches. That was at Oak Hill in 1995, and Europe went on to victory, anyway.

Strange has a good idea of who his teams will be, and they have been playing with each other on the first two days of practice: Woods and Mark Calcavecchia, who practice in the early morning at the majors; Davis Love III and David Duval, who flew to Ireland together last week and shared a house at Mount Juliet.

"I feel very strongly that Friday morning is important to get off to a good start, to get the guys confident, to give them some momentum," Strange said. "If we do well Friday morning, then we'll be all right."

Europe doesn't need to try as hard to turn 12 guys into a team. That's the way it seems to be every week on the European tour, which spans the continent, if not the globe. They represent nine countries but know each other as if they grew up next door.

"We've got a game room as well," European captain Sam Torrance said. "Nobody has been in it. We just sit and talk and watch motivational videos. For Europeans to get together this week and be part of the camaraderie ... that's every week, anyway.

"We're a big traveling circus and go around Europe all the time. It's very easy to be part of the team."

How close is the European team? Torrance was taking a hot bath Tuesday night before the team dinner when the phone rang. It was Pierre Fulke, one of his four Ryder Cup rookies, and he had a major crisis.

Torrance was concerned. He told Fulke to come to his room immediately, and he put a towel on his dripping body and went to the door. Fulke delivered the bad news.

"He says, 'Sam, I can't do my tie.' I could have killed him," Torrance said, laughing.

David Duval understands the unique bond that Europe enjoys over the United States. It reminds him of his days on the old Nike Tour, when players shared expenses, ate at the same restaurants and traveled together to the next stop.

"In Europe, you play a tournament in Stockholm and everyone flies home together Sunday night, then flies back out on Tuesday," Duval said. "You don't have anyone going to Helsinki for a corporate outing."

On the PGA Tour, it's not unusual for players to scatter at the end of the week. It's different in Europe.

"We tend to share courtesy cars, we share airplanes, we tend to meet up in bars and hotels before we go out to dinner," Montgomerie said. "We are closer than the American tour in general. It's easier for us to help each other out and play alongside each other."

Still, the Americans are hardly a group of distant, spoiled players. Mickelson was leaving his interview when he warmly clasped hands with Stewart Cink. Scott Verplank stuck his finger in Duval's chest in mock argument during their practice round Wednesday, and two guys who don't spend much time together shared a hearty laugh.

Hal Sutton said the U.S. victory three years ago at Brookline was more meaningful to him than beating Jack Nicklaus in the 1983 PGA Championship, or beating Woods two years ago in The Players Championship.

They bonded that day at The Country Club, rallying behind each other Saturday night and then producing the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history.

"The way the team jelled at the end and the kind of golf we played on that Sunday afternoon was one of the special moments in my life," Sutton said. "I felt as if I was very close to every guy on that team. I could feel their feelings. And I felt like they could feel mine."

It might take a game of pingpong between two rivals for the Americans to feel like a team, but there appears to be a genuine effort to be together from the time the matches begin Friday.

"I can speak for myself, and I can speak for the team," Jim Furyk said. "We're all very passionate about the sport we play, the game we play, and about representing our country this week."