The
bulk of the European Ryder Cup team flew into Boston on Monday and several of
the players headed straight for The Country Club -- carrying their own bags.
Spaniards Jose Maria Olazabal
and Miguel Angel Jimenez and Jarmo Sandelin of Sweden arrived at the venue for
this week's 33rd edition of the biennial matches between teams from the United
States and Europe on Monday afternoon.
All three of the players were seen lugging their golf bags several hundred yards
to the clubhouse, where they were met by local caddies. Most of the 12-man European
team and Captain Mark James flew into nearby Boston earlier in the day aboard
the supersonic -- and super-expensive -- Concorde airliner. Their caddies had
to take regular commercial flights.
Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion and a stalwart of prior Ryder Cup teams,
Jimenez and Sandelin, both Cup rookies, went immediately to the practice ground.
While Jimenez
and Sandelin hit balls on their own, Olazabal took a lesson from his long-time
coach John Jacobs of Britain, a former Ryder Cup player and captain.
The Spaniard, who has not won a tournament since his second Masters triumph in
April, was working specifically on his driving, which has always been the weak
part of his game.
At one point, while Olazabal was working diligently with Jacobs, Jimenez allowed
his caddie to hit a few shots -- even giving the young man some instructions,
which he obviously needed.
Several Americans also turned up at the practice area. Justin Leonard, Davis Love,
Hal Sutton and Steve Pate were all casually hitting balls and chatting while the
Europeans worked with far more intensity just a few yards away.
Other Americans, notably Tiger Woods, opted to practice on The Country Club's
7,033-yard course. Woods was one of four Americans who was unable to participate
in a practice round on the course that Captain Ben Crenshaw had arranged for his
team late last month.
Tom Lehman, who also did not play the early practice round, was also seen playing
the course.
Crenshaw is on record as saying he thought knowledge of the demanding course would
be very important for players in the Ryder Cup.
On the other hand, James, his European counterpart, has said his players would
need only a few days to get a feel for the course, which has hosted numerous national
championships, including three U.S. Opens and five US Amateurs.
At least two Europeans, however, seemed to agree with Crenshaw.
Sergio Garcia, the 19-year-old Spanish sensation who almost outplayed Woods at
last month's US PGA Championship, and Jesper Parnevik of Sweden, who plays on
the US tour these days, played a practice round on the course on Sunday.
Formal practice for the Ryder Cup begins on Tuesday morning.
