Presidents Cup: Experience is not required

The six American rookies on last year's victorious Ryder Cup team were a loose and confident group. They didn't have the baggage left over from prior U.S. losses or the fear of another letdown on a worldwide stage.

And by the time it was over, they had played a role in nine wins and eight halves in a combined 21 matches.

"We didn't feel like we owed the Europeans anything," said Hunter Mahan, who had a 2-0-3 record at Valhalla (Ky.). "We were just going to go play great golf."

Both the U.S. and International teams will have plenty of experience on their side for the Presidents Cup, which starts today at Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco. But the winner might be determined by the players who are still relatively new to the event.

The Americans have two Presidents Cup rookies in Sean O'Hair and Anthony Kim and three others who are playing for the second time in Mahan, Lucas Glover and Zach Johnson. The International team has three rookies in Y.E. Yang, Camilo Villegas and 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa. Geoff Ogilvy, a two-time WGC match-play champion, is playing for the second time.

"We have some new faces, new talent," said the International team's Ernie Els, who is playing in his sixth Presidents Cup. "Maybe it gives us a bit of a boost. Vijay (Singh) has played every one, Retief (Goosen) has played a lot of them and so has Robert (Allenby). So we've got a little bit of scar tissue."

last year's U.S. Ryder Cup team and this year's International team. Like the Americans, the Internationals are trying to end a losing streak and are going to need to lean on a host of rookies.

Before 2008, the U.S. had lost three straight Ryder Cups to Europe. But the team was infused with some new blood after Kim, Ben Curtis and Boo Weekley qualified for the team and Mahan, Steve Stricker and J.B. Holmes were named to the team by captain Paul Azinger.

The rookies helped earn four points for the U.S. on the first day, as the Americans took a 51/2 to 21/2 lead and never looked back en route to a 161/2 to 111/2 victory.

"Anytime you bring some new fresh blood in," Kim said, "they're out to prove a point."

Clearly, it's a result the International team would like to emulate. Captain Greg Norman wasn't afraid to choose Ishikawa as one of his picks and is optimistic Villegas and Yang are up to the challenge.

And, to put it frankly, turnover might not be a bad thing for the International team. The five players on the 2007 team that are not in San Francisco had a combined record of 4-16-2 at Royal Montreal.

For today's foursome competition, Norman paired his rookies with an experienced player. Villegas will play with Angel Cabrera, Ishikawa will play with Ogilvy and Yang is teeing off with Goosen.

Ishikawa and Ogilvy will face Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in what is arguably the most intriguing match of the day. And one that could set the tone for the rest of the event.

"With two of our new guys, one (Yang) has won a major and the other (Ishikawa) can't stop winning in Japan," Goosen said. "It's nice to have young guys who are on a winning roll. Maybe by the end of the week, they can help bring the team through.'' Source mercurynews.com