|
Woosnam hints at likely European fourball pairings
2006-09-19
European Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam gave an early indication of his pairings for Friday's opening fourball matches in team practice on Tuesday. 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." FEW TWEAKS 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. His other pairings featured Scott Verplank with Brett Wetterich, Vaughn Taylor with fellow rookie Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink with J.J. Henry. "I think Tom is going to come out with the strongest team he possibly can the first day, and I'm going to try to go out with my strongest team," Woosnam added. "So I'm going to go out with the guys who are playing the strongest in practice, definitely." Holders Europe, who have won four of the last five matches against the U.S., are being billed as favorites 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.
|  |
 Woods withdraws from tourney, citing injuries (2009-11-30) | | Montgomerie hails Tiger's fantastic Presidents Cup feat (2009-10-12) | | Golf, rugby make Olympic roster for 2016, 2020 (2009-10-09) | | O'Hair takes 1-shot lead over Woods, others (2009-09-25) | | Woods cruises to eight-stroke win at BMW (2009-09-13) | | South Africa's Goosen shares crowded leaderboard at Boston event (2009-09-07) | | Yang topples Tiger in the PGA (2009-08-16) | | Tiger claws out 2-shot lead at wind-whipped PGA (2009-08-15) | | Woods builds a 4-shot lead in the PGA (2009-08-15) | | Tiger rallies to win at Firestone (2009-08-09) | | Barnes: record score on pushover US Open course (2009-06-20) | | Cabrera wins 2nd major title in Masters playoff (2009-04-12) | | Cabrera wins 2nd major title in Masters playoff (2009-04-12) | | Cabrera, Perry tied for lead; no sign of Tiger (2009-04-11) | | No record, but Campbell grabs Masters lead with 65 (2009-04-09) | | PGA Tour still waiting for a dramatic end of year (2008-09-25) | | Kim gets US a crucial point at Ryder Cup (2008-09-21) | | Americans try to hold big lead at Ryder Cup (2008-09-20) | | Faldo puts Westwood, Garcia on the bench (2008-09-20) | | Padraig Harrington wins PGA for 2nd straight major (2008-08-10) | | Harrington wins British Open, ends Norman's dream (2008-07-20) | | Norman in familiar spot at major, if it was 1996 (2008-07-19) | | Breezy day at the British Open (2008-07-19) | | Woods fires 68, 1 shot behind Appleby at US Open (2008-06-14) | | Toms targets return to form in Memphis (2008-06-04) |
|
|
|
|
| 
