Monday Singles Pairings Set**
/A lot of great matches but no made-for-marketing matchups. Interesting that Tiger, Fowler and Mickelson are in the spots post-Brookline where you try to hide your rookies or slugs from the week. Not that I suspect anyone would disagree with the Captain's placing of them there. He needs wins early!
4:05 a.m. – Steve Stricker (U.S.) vs. Lee Westwood (Europe)
4:17 a.m. – Stewart Cink (U.S.) vs. Rory McIlroy (Europe)
4:29 a.m. – Jim Furyk (U.S.) vs. Luke Donald (Europe)
4:41 a.m. – Dustin Johnson (U.S.) vs. Martin Kaymer (Europe)
4:53 a.m. – Matt Kuchar (U.S.) vs. Ian Poulter (Europe)
5:05 a.m. – Jeff Overton (U.S.) vs. Ross Fisher (Europe)
5:17 a.m. – Bubba Watson (U.S.) vs. Miguel Angel Jimenez (Europe)
5:29 a.m. – Tiger Woods (U.S.) vs. Francesco Molinari (Europe)
5:41 a.m. – Rickie Fowler (U.S.) vs. Edoardo Molinari (Europe)
5:53 a.m. – Phil Mickelson (U.S.) vs. Peter Hanson (Europe)
6:05 a.m. – Zach Johnson (U.S.) vs. Padraig Harrington (Europe)
6:17 a.m. – Hunter Mahan (U.S.) vs. Graeme McDowell (Europe)
**Tim Dahlberg's not a fan of Pavin's strategy, though I'm not really sure what else the man could have done based on the play of Woods and Mickelson.
Surprise might be an understatement for Pavin's decision to put Woods out eighth in the day and Mickelson two pairings later. It's almost like the taciturn U.S. captain looked at Woods' balky swing and Mickelson's lousy putter and decided they had little chance of giving him points anyway.
But emotions are everything in the Ryder Cup, and relegating the best two players in the world to support roles can't do much to inspire a U.S. team that kicked away any realistic chance of winning Sunday afternoon after briefly rallying to make it a contest. By the time Woods and Mickelson make the turn Monday, the Europeans might already be celebrating in front of crowds who care as much about this competition as they do.
Steve Elling on what the U.S. faces:
In his past four Ryder appearances, Lefty has managed two victories in 17 matches. Seemingly mindful of the struggles of Woods and Mickelson, Nos. 1-2 in the world ranking, Pavin front-loaded his singles lineup for Monday with veterans Stricker, Cink and Furyk, but left Woods and Lefty in the eighth and 10th slots.
"There have been special days and we are going to need another one," Mickelson said.
He's referring to the rally at Brookline in 1999, which absolutely nobody has forgotten. Sorry to say for the Americans, that goes double for the Euros.
"Other than coming close in a couple of majors, that is easily the most upset I have ever been at Brookline, so I will be impressing that on everyone tonight," Westwood said. "I have never seen grown men cry like they did after that loss at Brookline and we had a bigger lead then than we do now."
