U.S. hopes for first Ryder Cup win since 1999

Louisville, Ky. — The United States players don’t need a history lesson. Each of the dozen members of the team is aware that America has typically won the Ryder Cup by hanging close in the team matches and closing the deal with a big performance in singles.

No dominance is required today. The Americans need only to hold their own at the Valhalla Golf Club in order to win the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1999. They lead 9-7 going into the final day and need only 5.5 points to reclaim the trophy.

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Boo Weekley (left) and J.B. Holmes of the U.S. team celebrate a 2-and-1 victory during Saturday’s Ryder Cup fourball match.

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“[Sunday] is a big day,” said U.S. captain Paul Azinger. “There’s a lot up for grabs. We’re not there yet.”

It’s no given that the U.S. team can put away the Euros in singles. Europe has posted no less than a three-point win in singles over the past three Ryder Cups. The last time the Americans dominated singles was 1999, the remarkable comeback at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.

The Europeans won the morning foursomes 2.5-1.5, but the afternoon fourball session provided the most theatrics. Three of the four matches finished on the final hole, and the two teams wound up splitting the four points, although any possible permutation was possible at one time.

Duluth’s Stewart Cink is expected to have a big impact on the outcome. The former All-American from Georgia Tech will meet Graeme McDowell, one of Europe’s hottest players, in the ninth singles match at 1:31 p.m. Cink is 1-2 in previous singles matches, the victory a 4 and 3 victory over Sergio Garcia in 2006.

Cink (0-1-1 this week) will have his hands full with McDowell, a native of Northern Ireland who played college golf at UAB. McDowell is 1-1-1 in his first Ryder Cup.

Azinger wanted to get his four most aggressive players out of the box first, so he’s opening with Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan, Justin Leonard and Phil Mickelson. “We’ve got out 12 guys out in the order we wanted them,” Azinger said. “We had a big group huddle and decided this is the way we wanted to do it.”

European captain Nick Faldo conferred with his team and will send Sergio Garcia out in the opener and three-time major winner Padraig Harrington in the last match.

“It’s all about being comfortable,” Faldo said. “We want guys to play when they want to play.”

Cink needs a better showing Sunday. He and Chad Campbell were paired in morning foursomes for the second day and again fell behind early. But unlike Friday, when they bounced back from being 3-down to win the match, they got down five holes after seven and couldn’t dig their way out of the hole en route to a 4 and 3 loss.

Cink had plenty of problems early. His approach shot at No. 1 wasn’t close. He drove his tee shot in the hazard at No. 2. He missed a tricky five-footer for birdie at No. 4. He hit an approach in the water at No. 7. It didn’t help that their opponents in the rematch, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose, made birdies on five of the first seven holes.

Conversely, the day went quite nicely for former Augusta State All-American Oliver Wilson, who holed the winning putt in his Ryder Cup debut. After sitting out the first day, Wilson teamed with Swede Henrik Stenson in a foursome match against the American glam team of Mickelson and Kim.

Wilson and Stenson were 4-down after six holes before starting their unlikely comeback. The Euros won four of the next six holes to square the match, went ahead with a birdie at No. 15 and finished off the 2 and 1 victory when Wilson rolled in a 20-footer with a two-foot break for a birdie on the 17th.

“I felt like I’ve been waiting to hole that putt all year,” said Wilson, who has a residence in Atlanta. “I’ve done quite a few things like that in my amateur career and it’s annoying that I haven’t done it as a professional. I love team competition and there’s no better stage to do it on.”