Soft day delivers few clues

The kind of day that we Irish have a tendency to describe as soft, with a persistent and sometimes heavy drizzle forcing waterproofs to be rescued from inside golf bags, only served to increase the guessing game.

It's not so much a question of who will provide the opposition but, rather, what way the pairings will actually work out when the phoney war that is an inevitable part of a Ryder Cup build-up finally finishes.

Yesterday, as autumnal showers soaked the manicured grounds of the Brookline Country Club, Europe's captain Mark James mixed and matched his players for a tough day's work. The rain not only softened the course, but changed its complexity. "I guess they got a good dose of what it takes to get the ball into the hole on a heavy sort of day," remarked United States captain Ben Crenshaw.

There were certainly few enough clues as to the intentions of James, apart from the fact that Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik were again paired together. For instance, Padraig Harrington, who had played with Jarmo Sandelin the first day, teamed-up with Lee Westwood yesterday in a nine-holes foursomes match - against "El Nino" and the volcano-dust eating Swede - in which the Irish-English axis triumphed before switching partners for a four-ball back nine.

Elsewhere, similar swaps were enacted as James attempted to instil spirit as much as designing natural partnerships. "I'm fairly close to knowing who I want to play in the actual matches," said James, "and my intention is for everyone to play before the singles. That's what I'm hoping to do. If it doesn't happen that way, then the players concerned know that it is all about getting the biggest amount of points we can for the team before the singles."

All of which suggests James won't be afraid to make tough decisions when that time comes. "One thing I won't be doing," added James, "is getting in their faces too much, telling them what shots to hit. They've played their way into the team and know how to play golf."

If Crenshaw is to be believed, then the Europeans will have to play some golf to win. "My guys are playing beautifully, all of them," he said. Indeed, a more obvious trend is emerging in the American set-up and observations from the past two days of practice suggest that his initial foursomes pairings for tomorrow morning could be: Tiger WoodsMark O'Meara, Hal Sutton-Jeff Maggert, Phil Mickelson-David Duval and Payne Stewart-Justin Leonard.

"My problem right now is leaving four players out," said Crenshaw. "I didn't think it was plausible, or possible, that 12 fellows could be playing well at one time, and we're darn near at that point. But this is one of the beauties and the difficulties about trying to put teams together. The knee-jerk reaction is to put two players out there who play the same type of golf, but it really is a terribly hard and complex thing."

Whatever way the American lineup unfolds, there is no hint of any hostility towards the Europeans who will be attempting to win for a third successive time. The crowds, in fact, have been extremely supportive of the Europeans - and one reason is the impact that Garcia has made over here.

Everywhere he went yesterday, he was cheered and applauded like a native. And, when he chipped in for a birdie at the eighth hole, the roar that reverberated around the course would have done justice to a home-grown miracle shot. "He's a 19-year-old kid jumping all over the place and, it seems, he is even more happy than the rest of us to be here," remarked Darren Clarke. "It's just really exciting, he brings a buzz about the place to everybody."

Equally relaxed, though, and soaking in the whole atmosphere, was Harrington. On Tuesday, almost 30,000 spectators were present for practice and, despite the rain, that figure was repeated yesterday. It was quite remarkable, indeed, to hear so many greet Harrington's arrival onto tee-boxes and greens with familiarity: a large number of travelling Irish have been bolstered by the ex-pat contingent in this most un-American of American cities.

"The amount of support I've received is tremendous," remarked Harrington. "I don't think it makes it more nerve-racking, it probably makes you concentrate more. It's inspiring too, and shows just how special this week is."

Has James given any indication of his role this week? "I think we realise that if we play all five matches or just one match, that we're all an essential part of the team. The fact that somebody's in good spirits even if they are not playing may boost the guys who are. It's a team effort, regardless of how many times you play."

Yet, the Dubliner is certainly playing well - and, after teaming-up with Westwood in yesterday's foursomes, he switched to play with Parnevik in the fourballs and contributed a number of birdies, including one on the 10th where, to the amusement of the crowd, he followed Garica into the hole.

Clarke, too, appeared extremely relaxed in his play yesterday. "Quite chirpy," acknowledged James of the Ulsterman's on-course demeanour. Although a partnership with Westwood still looks the most likely option for Clarke, he was suitably impressed with a course that he describes as having many European features.

"With the greens being as small as they are, you require a lot of accuracy with your approach shots into the greens. It is very important to hit the fairways because the rough, although not that penal, still takes away a lot of control coming out. Keeping the ball on the fairway will be vital this week," he said.

And yesterday's conditions certainly made the players use all their powers of concentration, even if it was all conducted in a relaxed manner. Certainly by the Europeans.

The Americans seemed to be a bit more uptight, with one or two exceptions. Mark O'Meara, the man with Irish links and whose chripy face is posted on trolleys and billboards around the Boston area proclaiming his ancestry, took a camera off a spectator out on the course to take a snapshot while Payne Stewart joking stood in front of the second green a like a goalkeeper to jokingly block Westwood's tee-shot at the hole.

Otherwise, the home team have adopted a rather serious attitude in their attempts to win back the trophy. In that regard, they got a boost yesterday when Davis Love, who has been troubled by a neck injury in recent weeks, took a full part in preparations. He didn't smile much, but that was a good sign and Crenshaw professed himself "elated" at Love's declaration of fitness. The phoney war, though, will go on for another day before the real thing commences.