LOUISVILLE (Kentucky), Sept 13: Take some Spanish sunshine, add Swedish steel and mix in doses of British pragmatism and Irish fighting spirit and the result it seems is a winning golf team.

That has been the lesson of the last 20 years when the Ryder Cup has been sensationally turned head over heels.

In the 19 editions of the competition that followed World War II, up until the breakthrough European win at The Belfry in 1985, the United States won 17, tied one and lost just the once.

But in the 11 Ryder Cups since The Belfry, the Americans have won just three times.

To make matters worse, Europe have won five out of the last six including the last three in a row with record margins of victory home and away.

It is widely accepted that the greater team spirit and bonding exhibited on the European side has been a major factor in this dramatic turning of the tables.

This phenomenon will have raised eyebrows in Brussels where promoting European harmony and shared values has proved to be an all but impossible bureaucratic dream.

It also baffles others including Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, who will be Europe’s flag-bearer at Valhalla following his back-to-back wins this summer in the British Open and USPGA.

“It’s hard to explain how well the team bonds together,” he said.

“You’ve got to remember, all 12 of us compete against each other all the time during the year and some of the guys are competing tooth-and-nail to get onto the team with other guys.

“But when we come on Monday, it really is a big team. It all works well.”

Many observers feel that the origins of this “one for all, all for one”ethic lie in the 1970s and early 1980s when the US PGA Tour was the Goliath to the European Tour’s David.

The US Tour’s off-handed treatment of the European hero of those days Seve Ballesteros only served to sharpen the sense of resentment and the Ryder Cup was the perfect vehicle for exacting a satisfying measure of revenge.

It helped also that there emerged at that time in Europe an eclectic bunch of top class golfers who each brought different ingredients to the table.

The dash and bravura of Spain’s Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal, the ruthless calm of Germany’s Bernhard Langer, the single-mindedness of England’s Nick Faldo and the Celtic grit of such as Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam.

It is their successors - Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Harrington that form the backbone of the team that will defend the cup in Valhalla.

But it’s possible that the boot could be on the other foot in Kentucky where it is the US team that could draw benefit from having something to prove.

“Patriotism is a real element of the matches and it should be - wear it on your sleeve and sometimes the emotion reaches a level when it can look ugly,”said US captain Paul Azinger.

“There was a natural animosity when Europe was winning (prior to Kiawah in 1991). Some of the things that were said about the Americans at the time created it.

“There’s probably a bit of that coming into this one - but not from the captain.

“There are players on the team that have watched us getting crushed and they might come in with a little animosity.”Cause for optimism perhaps from the beleagured Americans or will the magic of multi-nationalism work once again for the European champions?—AFP