Mickelson gets a final try at Ryder Cup in Europe

AT LAN TA » Keegan Bradley was never more nervous than the moments before his Ryder Cup debut. He had the opening tee shot in foursomes at Medinah against Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald, a European tandem that had never lost in four matches against some of America’s best players.

“I was worried I would not be able to hit the ball,” Bradley said.

At least he had the calming influence of his partner, Phil Mickelson, the most experienced American on the team. Calming?

“Phil walks over to me and says: ‘Listen, I don’t want an 8 or a 9iron into this green. I want a sand wedge,’ ” Bradley said. “It made me laugh, and I absolutely hammered that drive. He had a sand wedge and we made birdie.”

Mickelson is 48, the oldest player on the U.S. team that travels to France to try to end 25 years of losing the Ryder Cup on European soil. He is No. 25 in the world, the lowest ranking of the 12 Americans on the team. He has one victory in the last five years and 113 starts on the PGA Tour.

It’s hard to imagine a Ryder Cup without him.

And the fivetime major champion has never wanted to be on a Ryder Cup team more than this one.

“It’s obvious that the one thing that has been missing is for our team to go over to Europe and win,” Mickelson said “I’ve very excited about the team this year. I’m excited to be part of this team. We have some incredible players, great leadership and a really special opportunity to do something we haven’t done in a long time.”

He’s had five chances to be part of a winning team in Europe, including 2002 when he lost a key singles match to Phillip Price, the No. 119 player in the world. What makes this so significant, beyond the record he set for playing on his 12th team, is that he might not get another.

“This is most likely my last chance to go over to Europe and to be a part of a winning U.S. team,” he said.

He is the oldest player at Le Golf National. He finished 10th in the Ryder Cup standings with only one victory over the last five years, the first time he has failed to qualify.

He was an easy choice as a captain’s pick. “He’s someone that knows the inner workings of our team room and provides a spark,” U.S. captain Jim Furyk said. “I think he’s a lot of fun in the team room and has a knowledge of the other players that will significantly help a lot of folks on our team.”