Can Americans shake off Ryder Cup hangover?

It was 3 a.m., at the earliest, when the Ryder Cup merriment began to break up on Monday morning in Louisville. There were celebratory parties and more than a few songs had been sung.

Boo Weekley had shared his story about being knocked out by an orangutan at the county fair. The losing European team even stopped by to join the fun and share a few barley-laced drinks with the Americans.

“I had a couple adult beverages,” Anthony Kim said. “But it was all in good fun. Definitely enjoyed being around the guys that fought so hard for me, and vice versa. It was just a time to blow it all out and have some fun.”

“We were just having a real good time,” Chad Campbell said. “We had a few drinks out of the Cup. It doesn’t hold much.”

There’s no question that the Americans had waited a long time — since 1999 — to celebrate a Ryder Cup victory. After fighting so hard and enduring three days of intense pressure, the U.S. team members weren’t about to turn in early.

Now, 72 hours later, 10 of the 12 members of the American Ryder Cup team are at East Lake Golf Club to compete in The Tour Championship. There’s a $7 million purse, with $1.26 million going to the winner. And there’s plenty of FedEx Cup bonus bucks available for those who play well and climb up the playoff ladder.

But the question remains: Is there anything emotionally left in their tanks after enduring the emotional wringer known as Ryder Cup week?

“There better be,” said Kim. “I’m playing against 29 other players who deserve to be here, who played great golf for a number of tournaments to get here.

“It did take an emotional toll on me because the team did grind so hard. We put everything we had into it. But it’s what we do for a living. You’ve got to get up, be ready to play, and go out there and try and make some birdies.”

Kim, Campbell, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Kenny Perry, Justin Leonard, Ben Curtis, Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk, as well as European team member Sergio Garcia, are in this week’s field and must try to regain their emotional footing for the FedEx Cup finale.

“It’s so intense all week, especially the last three days,” Campbell said. “I think we’ll be fine. Might be a little tough that first day getting back into things, but once you start to feel it again, it’ll fall into place.”

The players, some who got out on the course Tuesday, will ease into the process with practice rounds today. They’ll also participate in an unusual pro-am, with each player joining the corporate sponsors at either breakfast, lunch or for clinics on the range.

The tournament begins in earnest on Thursday. Players will go off in twosomes starting at 11:50 a.m. in reverse order of their standing on the FedEx Cup points list. The final group, which starts at 2:10 p.m., includes Camilo Villegas and Vijay Singh, who needs only to compete the tournament’s four rounds in order to collect the $10 million bonus.