Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
September 18, 2008, Washington Post

Without Tiger, Can U.S. Swing a Victory?

The Ryder Cup, the big international match between the best American and European professional golfers, begins tomorrow in Louisville, Kentucky. But Tiger Woods will not be playing for the United States.

Woods, who won the U.S. Open in June despite having a torn ligament in his left knee and two stress fractures in his left leg, is recovering from surgery. So the American team will see if it can beat the European team without the best player in the world.

Can the United States do it? Sure. Sometimes teams, whether kids or pros, have to play a game or match without their best player. The other team members can't just hang their heads and give up. They have to play harder and hope for the best.

Look at this year's U.S. women's Olympic soccer team. Abby Wambach, the team's high-scoring forward, broke her leg in the final exhibition match before the Summer Olympics and didn't play during the Beijing Games. Wambach is the Tiger Woods of American women's soccer. She has scored 99 goals in 127 international matches.

The U.S. women's team pulled together and won the gold medal. It wasn't easy. After losing its opening match to Norway, 2-0, the team regrouped and won four straight to face powerful Brazil in the gold-medal match. The United States persevered in the final and won 1-0 in extra time even though the Brazilians outplayed the Americans.

So what are the chances the American golfers can pull off the same kind of upset? The team still has great players including Phil Mickelson, ranked the No. 2 golfer in the world; Kenny Perry, who has won three tournaments this year; and Anthony Kim, 23, who won Tiger's tournament, the AT&T National, at Congressional Country Club this year.

Besides, as great a golfer as Tiger Woods is, he does not have a great Ryder Cup record (7 wins, 11 losses and 2 ties). And golf is not the kind of game that requires teamwork, like soccer. A golfer plays his or her own ball.

But the Europeans are pretty terrific. In the last 10 Ryder Cup tournaments, Europe won six times, the United States won three times and there was one tie. The European team is led by Padraig Harrington of Ireland, who won two of this year's major tournaments, the British Open and the PGA. Now that Tiger is on the sidelines, Harrington may be the best player around. The Europeans also have Sergio Garcia of Spain, whose career record in the Ryder Cup is 14 wins, 4 losses and 2 ties.

Still, the American golfers can win the Ryder Cup, even without Tiger. That is, if they play like the American women's soccer team.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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