On Golf: Parting thoughts from the Ryder Cup

-- Paul Azinger made all the right moves in his role as U.S. captain. He kept his players loose, set up Valhalla to encourage birdies and helped the Americans hoist the cup for the first time in nine years.

One of Azinger's only miscalculations: His insistence that the absence of Tiger Woods carried no positive effect for the U.S.

Obviously, the team would have been stronger, strictly in a golf sense, with Woods rather than Ben Curtis or Chad Campbell. But as Europe's Paul Casey suggested Sunday night, the U.S. thrived in part because of its "no stars" personality.

That vibe is simply not possible with Woods on the premises. His larger-than-life persona - that happens when you win 14 major championships by age 32 - casts a wide shadow. It's easy to envision the U.S. playing tighter with Woods (as it has in past Ryder Cups) - especially the rookies - or becoming deflated if Tiger had lost his matches.

Instead, players such as Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan and Weekley demonstratively seized the spotlight, proving the U.S. is deeper than previously suspected.

-- Three days of tense, entertaining golf in an electric setting showed the power of the team format - which bodes well for Bay Area fans in advance of next year's Presidents Cup at San Francisco's Harding Park.

It always seems awkward, taking a profoundly individual sport and wedging it into a team context. But there is constant resolution in match-play golf, an outcome on every hole and in every match. That creates tension and theater even in the early sessions.

As Phil Mickelson said, "Every round feels like Sunday at a major."

The Presidents Cup historically lacks the intensity of the Ryder Cup, but if several matches go the full 18 holes - as they did Saturday at Valhalla - the scene at Harding could be very cool.

-- Lee Westwood probably comes off as a sniveling whiner in print. He complained about the difficult course at the PGA Championship (played at Michigan's Oakland Hills), objected to Weekley's crowd-inciting behavior at the Ryder Cup and criticized U.S. fans for heaping "shameful abuse" on him throughout the weekend.

In person, though, Westwood projects an entirely different image - thoughtful, analytical, amusing. He was hilarious in describing the way one fan, dressed in a white sheet, jumped in front of Westwood on the course Sunday and shouted "Boo!" in a joking attempt to startle him.

Tournament officials ejected the fan, to Westwood's dismay. He thought the guy was funny.

-- Westwood and Sergio Garcia also earned points in this corner for rising to the defense of European captain Nick Faldo. It has become a ridiculous ritual on the other side of the Atlantic, for the Ryder Cup captain to endure endless scrutiny and criticism.

But in Sunday night's news conference, Westwood and Garcia each spoke up before Faldo had a chance to answer pointed questions about his decisions. It was especially refreshing to see Garcia voluntarily shoulder responsibility, given how often he finds excuses when he falters in majors.

-- In the afterglow of Louisville's whirl as Ryder Cup host, one local journalist figured the event will spark more interest in golf. She then asked Kentucky natives Kenny Perry and J.B. Holmes if they had any advice for kids who might soon take up the game for the first time.

Holmes, one of the longest hitters around, smiled.

"Swing hard," he said.

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