Losing records of Woods, Mickelson puzzle Miller

Johnny Miller’s first Ryder Cup overseas for NBC Sports was in 1993 at The Belfry, so long ago that Davis Love III was a Ryder Cup rookie who holed the cup-clinching putt for the Americans.

Could Miller have imagined that 25 years later, it would remain the last time the Americans won on foreign soil?

“The only way it could have come is, Tiger and Phil’s Ryder Cup record didn’t help,” Miller said in an interview at East Lake in Georgia. “They should have been dominant in the Ryder Cup. For them to have losing records didn’t help.”

Woods is 13-17-3 and has played on one winning Ryder Cup team. Mickelson is 1820-7, setting a record for most losses by an American.

“I don’t have any idea. There’s no real reason for it,” Miller said. “It seems like the last 10 years, they’ve gotten to really love the Ryder Cup. Before that, I wasn’t sure.

“Those guys now love the team room, Tiger and Phil. When you have great players like Tiger and Phil, they have a tendency to not want to chum it up with other golfers. Guys who chum it up are just OK. Guys who are great players are loners.”

Miller believes it’s one thing to be a major champion, and another to be regarded as a great Ryder Cup player.

Miller can’t speak from experience. He played on only two Ryder Cup teams (1975 and 1981) and went 2-2-2.

Emotional restraint: British Open champion Francesco Molinari rarely gets overly excited, and he doesn’t expect his demeanor to change at the Ryder Cup.

“I’ll be the same me that I’ve always been,” Molinari said.

Molinari said his style blends just fine with all the high-energy players on the European team. Briefly: Dustin Johnson returned to No. 1 in the world, making it the fifth time an American has been No. 1 at the Ryder Cup. The other four times it was Woods, in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010. The Americans lost all those . ... When the Ryder Cup goes to Whistling Straits in two years, the Junior Ryder Cup will be held at Blue Mound Golf and Country Club in Milwaukee . ... Neither Ryder Cup captain says he has a policy on social media for his players. Ian Poulter says he is tweeting actively, with one exception: “We just need to respect the boundaries of the team room. The team room is there for privacy.”