Phil’s plea to wreak revenge with Tiger falls on deaf ears
BY JIM BLACK PHIL MICKELSON is unlikely to get his wish to make up for the United States’ Oakland Hills Ryder Cup debacle 14 years ago.
The Yanks were spanked 18.5-9.5 by a rampant European side led by Bernhard Langer after Mickelson and Tiger Woods flopped in a disastrous opening-day partnership that failed to yield a point.
The American big guns were silenced by Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington in the morning fourballs then by Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood in the foursomes.
Despite failing to gel in 2004, when it was clear there was tension between the bitter rivals, Mickelson says he’d welcome the chance to reunite the spiky pairing in Paris.
When asked yesterday about the prospect of that happening, captain Jim Furyk played it down.
Referring to Hal Sutton’s unhappy stint in charge, Furyk said: “Dusting down Hal Sutton’s 10-gallon hat. Wow! I guess nothing’s out of the realm.
“They did play some golf yesterday and they both mentioned it would be a lot better pairing than it was in the past.
“I won’t say it wouldn’t happen but it’s probably not too likely.
“I’m not really from Texas and we don’t wear a lot of 10-gallon hats in Pennsylvania.”
It’s been 25 years since the Americans won away from home – at The Belfry in 1993 – and Furyk admits it will be tough to end a five-match losing streak on European soil.
He said: “I’ll praise both the European Tour and the way they choose courses – venues where they have events – and the teams for how they’ve played and been organised as a unit.
“We’ve come to a course they know a lot better than we do and that will be set up to suit their game.
“Their crowd is also phenomenal. So there are definitely some obstacles for us to overcome.”
Furyk shot down claims Woods looked stiff on his way to a team photoshoot.
He said: “I’m not aware of an issue. I was a little stiff on the way to the range – it was about six degrees.
“I watched him play and he doesn’t look stiff at all.”