Golf Clubs � Ryder Cup � Will Faldo Hold on to the Cup?

Europe have swung their golf clubs triumphantly in three successive Ryder Cup matches. Will Nick Faldo make it a fourth?

The pressure is on

It's not an easy job. Let's face it, Europe has swung their golf clubs to go on and win five of the six encounters with America in the Ryder Cup. And 2006 saw a record victory that matched 2004's winning scores. It's not an easy act to follow.

Or as the 2008 American Captain Paul Azinger put it to the world's press: �I've got more of an everything-to-gain situation,� Azinger said. �There's going to be a little more heat on Nick to get it right, and I think a little more of the microscope will be on Nick if he gets it wrong.�

Faldo is walking in the giant footsteps of Sam Torrance, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam, all of whom have guided Europe to victory.

Mind games

Nick Faldo also has a few more psychological disadvantages. Previously the Ryder Cup was hosted at golf clubs familiar to the Europeans but in 2008 it will be held at Valhalla , the home of the American PGA.

If Nick Faldo did manage to lead Europe 's golf clubs into a fourth victory at the 2008 Ryder Cup, it would be unprecedented. The pressure is on.

Team spirit

Faldo believes the American's lack the team spirit needed for victory. Judging by the fact the 2006 Ryder Cup team boasted the number one, number two and number three top players in the world and the Europeans still left them swinging their golf clubs in the dust suggests there is some truth in that.

Faldo v. Azinger

Nick Faldo will be squaring up to Paul Azinger in 2008, and it won't be for the first time. The pair have worked as commentators for ABC television and competed against each other's golf clubs in four Ryder Cup contests.

�I'm sure we will have our moments as Ryder Cup captains because we are both hotheads and we're going to have to lock horns over some issues to protect our teams,� Faldo told the press.

Nick's career

Faldo is a six-time major winner and has won more Ryder Cup points than any other European. He has gone a long way from picking up his first set of golf clubs at the age of 13 to captaining the European 2008 Ryder Cup. He switched from cycling to golf after watching legend Jack Nicklaus on TV at the 1971 Masters. After borrowing a set of golf clubs he went on to win amateur tournaments, turned pro in 1976 and played the first of his record 11 Ryder Cups in 1977. Aged 20, he was the youngest player to compete in the event.

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