No surprises in US practice pairs
American captain Tom Lehman sprung no surprises when he unveiled his first pairings for Ryder Cup practice at the K Club this morning.
Perhaps as a result of the jetlag some of them were suffering, the United States were the first on parade before 7.30am and after a gentle warm-up Lehman called the players and caddies together on the driving range for what came close to a team huddle.
He then read out the groups to practise fourballs and, as expected, Tiger Woods was with Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson with Chris DiMarco and David Toms partnering Chad Campbell.
With Lehman having already stated he has decided on who he will send out when the match begins with four Friday-morning fourballs, these three combinations were at the top of everybody’s predictions.
As for how he uses the other members of his side, Lehman gave some indications. Wildcards Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank were each handed an uncapped player in JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich respectively, while rookies Zach Johnson and Vaughn Taylor were together.
