HE is currently the best player in the world, having won the last two major championships, and is expected to be the talisman who leads his side to victory.
But for once it is not Tiger Woods but Padraig Harrington who arrives at a Ryder Cup as the focus of attention and one of the key figures in Europe's quest for a fourth-straight victory.
While Woods recovered from knee surgery following his amazin
g US Open victory at Torrey Pines, Harrington successfully defended his Open title at Royal Birkdale before winning the USPGA Championship at Oakland Hills just three weeks later.
His form since then has, unsurprisingly, been less than stellar and the Irishman is well aware he contributed just half a point from five matches to Europe's record-equalling nine-point victory on home soil two years ago.
Yet he is relishing taking on the Americans in their backyard and is actually looking forward to feeling the pressure after admitting Europe's easy victory at the K Club contributed to his own poor form.
"I think there will be lots of pressure, lots of nerves and lots of adrenaline come tomorrow morning, and that can only help me," said the 37-year-old, behind only Lee Westwood in terms of cup experience with Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke absent. And embracing that pressure will extend to assuming Montgomerie's role of first man out in Sunday's singles if necessary, or wherever the tension will be highest.
"I've thought about the Monty role on Sunday. I won't play any different golf if I'm playing at number one or number 12," added Harrington, expected to partner Graeme McDowell in tomorrow's fourballs and either Paul Casey or Henrik Stenson in the opening foursomes.
"I'll go out and approach it the same way and do the same thing.
"Monty, he played vastly different and improved so much by playing him number one compared to playing him number two. It just made the man to be out there as number one and to be leading.
"You know, there's no point in wasting that spot on me. Maybe I will go out number one, but it's unlikely. If there's another person there who can relish it, let's say, give it to them.
"I'd pride myself on treating every situation the same and just being able to play the 72nd hole of a major like I'm playing the 18th hole of a friendly game of golf.
"I'm a good player at being able to do my own thing. I've always tried to play at the tail in the Ryder Cup in order to get the sort of pressure situation. I don't know if it's going to be different this time, but certainly I'm the leading player on the team to be out there and do those things."
That will be music to the ears of European captain Nick Faldo, who attempted to laugh off being photographed holding a piece of paper with what looked like two of his Friday pairings – Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood and Harrington and Robert Karlsson – during Wednesday's practice.
Faldo at first claimed it was a list of what each player wanted for lunch, but then insisted it was simply today's practice pairings which had changed later anyway.
The six-time major winner also gave a light-hearted response when told opposite number Paul Azinger said the European side had "spies" watching them practice.
"My spies are so secret I don't even know who they are," Faldo said, but there was no hiding his dislike of the question and the feeling from both captains is that tomorrow cannot come quick enough to put an end to the phoney war.
Play gets under way at 8:05am local time (1.05pm BST) tomorrow with the first of four foursomes matches, with Garcia and Westwood strongly expected to lead the way for Europe. In 2004, Harrington and Montgomerie chose to perform that role knowing that Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson would do the same for the home side, and their 2&1 victory set the tone for the team to follow. "It was good that we had that choice and the momentum definitely helped," Harrington conceded. "But we tried it again in Ireland in 2006 and it didn't work (they lost to Woods and Furyk)."
One other thing which may not work is Azinger's decision to cut back the rough at Valhalla, the American admitting: "I think both sides really like the way the course is set up. I'm giving the players an opportunity to play."
The long-hitting of Kentucky native JB Holmes and the effect he and fellow local favourite Kenny Perry will have has also been built up beyond belief, but Faldo had the perfect answer to those wowed by Holmes' length.
"The guy is impressively long, simple as that. But fortunately there's more to it in this game," he said.
The full article contains 823 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
