European rookies at Ryder Cup just want to have fun

Martin Kaymer thought he was supposed to deliver extraordinary shots at the Ryder Cup because that’s all he ever saw.

He was a Ryder Cup rookie at Celtic Manor in 2010, sensing perhaps even more pressure because he had won his first major a month earlier in the PGA Championship. The week went as well as Kaymer could have hoped. He didn’t lose any of his three team matches, except he was trounced by Dustin Johnson in singles.

The most valuable lesson he can impart on Europe’s six rookies at Hazeltine is that good shots – not necessarily spectacular ones – usually are good enough.

“I thought the entire week, I need to make something special happen,” Kaymer said Thursday. “When you watch the Ryder Cup, most of the time you see the highlights and you only see great shots, bunker shots holed from the fairway and things like this. So you think you need to do that, too.”

It’s a message for half of the European team.

Europe also had six rookies at Celtic Manor, and it went on to beat the Americans. Neither team, however, has had at least six newcomers and won the Ryder Cup when playing before a visiting crowd.

The Europeans had seven rookies, including 19-year-old Sergio Garcia and British Open champion Paul Lawrie, in 1999 at The Country Club outside Boston. Mark James, the captain, elected to sit out three of them until Sunday singles. Jarmo Sandelin, Jean Van de Velde and Andrew Coltart all lost their matches as the U.S. rallied from a 10-6 deficit to win.

Bernhard Langer had five rookies on his team in 2004, and two of them sat out the entire first day – Paul Casey and Ian Poulter.

“I will, along with the help and guidance of my vice captains, try and put out the strongest eight players ... as I see fit for the position the team is in,” Darren Clarke said, not promising that all six rookies will see action Friday.

But he also expressed full confidence.

One of his rookies is Danny Willett, who won the Masters. Another is Matt Fitzpatrick, who won a U.S. Amateur. And then there’s Thomas Pieters, whose only chance to make the team was to impress Clarke over the final two weeks.