Sports Then and Now

After a disappointing 2010 season, can Padraig Harrington show the fight needed to help Europe win the Ryder Cup?

With the Ryder Cup only two weeks away now, many Ryder Cup Betting pundits, experts and commentators are already suggesting that the European team simply need to turn up in order to win. However, whilst they are certainly a good team, is it just possible that the Europeans are being hyped up too much in their tag as favourites?

Whilst the European team’s players have, on the whole, displayed a fantastic level of form this season, the Ryder Cup is a competition that can overwhelm even the most seasoned of professionals. With high hopes surrounding players such as Martin Kaymer, currently being tipped far and wide in the golfing world for a bright future, it is just possible that the levels of expectation will become too great, leaving Kaymer and other debutants looking and feeling like rabbits stuck in the headlights.

With players such as Paul Casey and Justin Rose not even taking part in the competition, Europe are relying upon individuals who have not had much experience of performing against their US counterparts. With Padraig Harrington receiving a wildcard pick despite having endured a poor season, Colin Montgomerie knows that he will need to see his team perform to the very best of their ability if they are to beat a US team full of players who know that they have nothing to lose over the coming weeks.

Players such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are, of course, always capable of performing at a level that few players on the European side would be able to compete with, so Montgomerie will know that he is facing an enemy certainly capable of raising their game at the crucial moments.

If the US team performs at anything near full Ryder Cup Odds potential, Monty will realise that any previous tag of favourites will count for nothing; it will be how the European players perform under real pressure that counts in the end.