Golf: Europe to give the full Monty

At last the lid begins to lift on the error-strewn reign of the last Europe captain. For two years, the side who were so unexpectedly buried in the dirt of Kentucky have refused to go on record about the failings of Sir Nick Faldo.

Until now.

With the 38th staging of the Ryder Cup just six days away, players of the calibre of Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell are prepared to come out and say what many have long suspected.

Faldo, as it has always been officially claimed, was not simply an "unlucky" captain who lost because of the poor form of his leading players.

In fact, his mistakes were numerous.

Westwood and McDowell point out the faults without any axe to grind or knives to implant.

It's just that they see the new man, Colin Montgomerie, ready to rectify the gaffes of Valhalla.

Both plainly believe that if Europe are to reclaim a trophy they had previously lost only once in the preceding 15 years, they will first have to reclaim the "X-factor" which previously galvanised their team room.

"We had a great team two years ago, but we were outplayed by a great US team," recalls McDowell, the US Open champion.

"We might still have lost, but maybe if we'd had a bit more energy in the team room it could have been different.

"What was missing for us? We didn't have that extra spark in the team room; didn't have that X-factor in terms of someone to get up and rally the troops. Jose Maria [Olazabal] gave a great speech on the Saturday evening when the singles line-up came out. But that was the first really emotional speech we'd had all week."

It was too late, by then. Paul Azinger's underdogs were on their roll and, with a partisan crowd behind them, their momentum was to prove irresistible.

"While his opposite number had introduced an SAS-inspired pod system to hurtle his players to the brink of their emotions, Faldo had merely turned up in the week with one vice-captain and not much of a plan.

In the eyes of Azinger and McDowell, they couldn't even turn up at the right time.

"What shocked me was that no European player showed up at Valhalla on those early days," says Azinger, who had granted his opponents access to the course on the preceding Monday and Tuesday.

"Faldo didn't gather his team and have them there, nor did anyone show up on their own. For the first time this made me wonder if we were going to face the same kind of cohesive European squad we had seen in the past."

McDowell certainly felt like a rushed debutant. "I think at Valhalla, we got there on Tuesday," he says.

"It meant the Wednesday and Thursday were very busy days and by the time Friday came around, what with the travelling, it had all been a bit of a blur. This time, Monty wants us there by lunchtime on Monday.

"The build-up's going to be a lot more relaxed and a lot more organised."

Apart from Montgomerie, there are four other reasons why McDowell has confidence in the Scot's set-up - Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia, Thomas Bjorn and Paul McGinley. "I think the back-room staff is going to make a big difference," said McDowell.

"It does seem as if Monty has looked at what happened two years ago and seen where he can improve it. I definitely think that we'll have that extra dynamic in the team room this time around, with Sergio and the boys.

There'll be people with that passion to get the guys up for it from the word go."

Westwood concurs. "Monty has a good mix," says the world No3. "Darren is not afraid to say what he thinks in a team room but is still quite laid back.

" McGinley is fairly studied and thinks deeply about everything. Thomas is pretty blunt and gets straight to the point. And then there's Sergio, who will bring enough passion for 40,000. Yeah, it'll be a good team on and off the course."

The on-course presence of Montgomerie's fab four is important, as Westwood explains.

In Kentucky, Faldo was outscored 4-1 by Azinger in proper assistants; and the word "proper" is used purposefully as Faldo had friends such as DJ Spoony and the Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain manning the buggies, as well as his teenaged son, Matthew.

"Nick didn't have enough vice-captains," says Westwood.

"We felt very isolated out on the golf course. You're already up against it with the American crowd to deal with but they had a vice-captain with every match; we didn't. Monty has now remedied that. Westwood struck bizarre trouble during the Friday afternoon fourballs when he was on his way to equalling Arnold Palmer's record of 12 successive matches unbeaten.

Faldo suddenly arrived on the tee box to inform the startled Englishman he was being dropped from the next morning's foursomes.

It was a decision which still baffles McDowell. "A guy like Westwood needs to be playing every game," he says.

Montgomerie admits to weeks of sleepless nights. "I am anxious about the result and getting the team to play to their undoubted potential," he said.

Monty is wise to have nerves, as it would be an absurd lie to suggest his reign has run smoothly so far.

A personal scandal left him looking vulnerable and at times ridiculous, while his selection dilemma still threatens to haunt as the overlooked Paul Casey eyes the US$11.35 million ($15.46 million) FedEx Cup prize this weekend.

However, it's not the only selection poser. The USA's Tiger Woods is a central figure. He sat out the last Ryder Cup while he recovered from knee surgery. The Americans not only won without him at Valhalla to end a decade of European dominance, they won by their largest margin in 27 years.

Now they go to Celtic Manor Resort in Wales as the defending champion, with the No1 player in the world back on their side. "I think the Europeans will be favoured," US captain Corey Pavin said.

"We will be playing in front of a fan base that's going to be European. We are playing a golf course that they play one of their tour events on.

"Can Team USA overcome those things? I think we can, but it's an uphill battle."

Pavin is not just trying to flatter the opposition. Europe has not lost at home since 1993, and it has never had a team quite like this.

It is so strong that all 12 of its players are among the top 50 in the world ranking. In more than 80 years of Ryder Cup history, the Americans never had a player without a PGA Tour title to his credit.

Now they have two of them - Jeff Overton, who earned a spot on the team, and 21-year-old Rickie Fowler, a captain's pick and the first PGA Tour rookie to play in the matches.

Even so, no one stands out like Woods.

For the first time in his career, he was not No1 in the US standings. He didn't even qualify for the team.

The only reason he has a seat on the charter flight to Wales was because Pavin made him a captain's pick.

That gives Woods a footnote in Ryder Cup history that few could have imagined - the first captain's pick on either side to be No1 in the world.

His greatness as an individual - 82 victories worldwide and 14 majors - has never translated into greatness in the Ryder Cup.

Woods has a 10-13-2 record, which has created the perceptions that he never liked the Ryder Cup.

Woods rarely plays a Ryder Cup without scrutiny, and while that probably won't change, this might be the first time for him to play without expectations.

Who knows what to expect from him any more? One week he ties for fourth at the Masters, his next tournament he posts the highest 36-hole score of his career and misses the cut.

For him to play well would be a pleasant surprise, no longer a requirement.

And, given the trouble he has brought on himself, this could be one time where Woods needs the Ryder Cup a lot more than it needs him.

- INDEPEDNENT, AP