Kite Checks His Team’s Teams

As far as Ryder Cups go, the big question that’s going to be answered for the European team later this week is whether its reign in Spain is coming to an end.

The answer is: Possibly.

For the record, European captain Seve Ballesteros is really happy about the way his team is shaping up.

“I’m very confident we are going to win,” said Ballesteros, whose smile stretched from here to Seville right up to the moment a reporter took a microphone and asked about booting Miguel Angel Martin off the team.

“I don’t hear the question,” Ballesteros sniffed.

That about covered it on the controversy front as players from the U.S. and European teams played practice rounds on a breezy Tuesday at Valderrama.

There still are two days to get ready for the three-day event, which begins Friday on the layout lined by more than enough cork trees to supply a year’s worth for Wilton Guerrero’s bats.

Tom Kite, the U.S. captain, sent out three foursomes to test the finely manicured course and managed to spend time studying each group. He emphasized the pairings were experimental and subject to change, although some duos, such as Mark O’Meara-Tiger Woods and Fred Couples-Davis Love III, seem fairly likely.

“I have a good idea, but nothing is locked in stone,” Kite said. “There are quite a few possibilities.”

Besides O’Meara-Woods and Couples-Love, Kite paired Scott Hoch-Lee Janzen, Brad Faxon-Justin Leonard, Tom Lehman-Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk-Jeff Maggert.

The format for the order of play has been changed this year with the four-ball (better ball) competition first, followed by the foursomes (alternate shot). The change was inspired by Ballesteros, who wanted each player to hit on the first tee and get into the match quickly, which also would enable him to get a better handle on how his players are doing.

Kite said the change in format doesn’t make any difference. But then, neither does the experience factor, said Kite, who has four first-timers and five more with only one previous appearance in a Ryder Cup.

“Experience really helps if you’re playing very well,” he said. “Experience does you absolutely no good if you’re hitting duck hooks and slices.”

For anyone hitting those kinds of shots at Valderrama, the news will not be good. The course measures 6,734 yards, so it isn’t that long, but with tight fairways, gnarly Bermuda rough, small greens, ocean breezes and enough trees to be a forest in training, Valderrama isn’t exactly snack food for the world’s best golfers.

The U.S. team arrived Monday night at Malaga airport, about an hour and a half away, after taking the Concorde from New York. On Sunday night, Kite and the team had a private reception with President Clinton at the White House.

Couples came on his own Friday night to give his chronic bad back a chance to rest. The most experienced Ryder Cup player for the U.S. with five appearances, Couples said he has assumed a role of advisor for the younger players.

“You get so nervous, you don’t play as well as you want to,” he said. “As long as you play as hard as you can, you’ll be close in your match. The only thing I can tell the guys is, don’t go out there and [try to] shoot 66-67. It ain’t going to happen. If you can go out there and shoot par, good things can happen.”

Of course, most everyone on the visiting team expects good things from Woods. The Masters champion played Valderrama before the British Open, so Tuesday was his second look at the place and he said he felt comfortable.

It was interesting that only a little earlier, Ballesteros tried to make Woods uncomfortable. Ballesteros said he had 12 players who could beat Woods. When Woods was told, he didn’t blink.

“That’s true,” Woods said. “They can all beat me. But we’ve got 12 players on our side that can all beat them too.”

Lehman’s day went well, and not only because he liked the way he was hitting the ball.

“I got paid today,” he said. “I took $120 off Furyk and Maggert.”

For one day, the U.S. team seemed to be playing it loose. Couples swapped jokes with his caddie. Hoch talked to the fans around the tees. Leonard signed autographs at the ropes and Lehman took some money off his playing partners.

Mickelson practiced a shot on an incline and knocked the ball backward over his head. Beginning Friday, this is not a recommended shot.

Ryder Cup Notes

Miguel Angel Martin still is not ready to play competitive golf, but apparently his hurt feelings have healed enough to allow him to rejoin the European Ryder Cup team. Martin, who was removed from the team three weeks ago when he was unable to play because of an injured wrist, said he was returning to the team as a non-playing member. “It’s over and I’m happy,” Martin said. “I’m here for the week and I’m even staying in the room next to Seve [Ballesteros].”

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Ryder Cup at a Glance

* WHEN: Friday-Sunday

* WHERE: Sotogrande, Spain

* TV: Friday--8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (delayed), USA; Saturday--11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (delayed), Channel 4; Sunday--5 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (live), Channel 4.