GOLF: The Ryder Cup

The last meaningful pro golf event of the year, the Ryder Cup is an exciting team competition that pits a squad of the best American players against one composed of the best from Europe. Played every other year, the Europeans have dominated the competition lately by winning 4 of the last 5 events. But this time US captain Tom Lehman has assembled a talented team with a good mix of veterans and young hungry players.

And yet we know the main focus of play tomorrow will be to see how Tiger Woods looks. For all of Tiger's mastery of traditional tournament play, he's never been a very good team golf player. In fact, the world's #1 player has a subpar 7-11 record with 2 ties in previous Ryder Cup play. I think the primary reason is that Tiger's game above all others depends mentally on him blocking out the rest of the field and merely taking on the golf course. But in Ryder Cup play, not only do you have teammates to support, but the format also mixes it up through different aspects like best ball and alternate shots.

The event starts tomorrow morning with 2 on 2 play. Tiger will be paired with Jim Furyk who always seems to impress in big spots. I'd also like to see Phil Mickelson finish his year with strong play in the Ryder Cup since 2006 will be remembered for Lefty as one filled with the highest of highs (The Masters) and then lowest of lows (72nd hold of the US Open, The British Open).

My pick: Europe. Hope I'm wrong. The 3 day weekend event will be played in Ireland. I'm sure the course is ancient, beautiful, and will probably be a little wet too.

The 3rd place girl of The One To Watch is tennis star Maria Sharapova. I was pleased to see Nike's "pretty girl" win the US Open because it meant additional opportunities to see her in this little black cocktail dress! To Maria's credit, she has managed to balance the endless marketing of her sexy image with also playing very good tennis. That's why she's certainly One to Watch.