It’s a Cruel World for Europe’s Ryder Cup Stalwarts

Is it too late to ask for the Ryder Cup back?

Well, no, you just can’t do that, because Europe has the best match-play golfers in the world, even if these guys didn’t act like it in the first round of the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship at La Costa.

Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, Lee Westwood of England and Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland got handed their boarding passes quicker than you can say Valderrama (or Oak Hill, for that matter).

Craig Stadler, as sensitive as a bogey, torched Montgomerie, 5 and 3, and then turned up the charm meter, big time. Stadler said it was a real shame for Europe. Sure, he did.

“They got beat,” Stadler said. “It’s a long flight home. That’s the way it is.”

If it’s any consolation to players from the United States, after enduring defeats in the last two Ryder Cups and the last Presidents Cup, they can take what happened Wednesday, put it under their pillows and sleep better.

Westwood was ousted by Eduardo Romero of Argentina, 3 and 2, and Clarke lost to Andrew Magee, 1-up. Add Tiger Woods’ 4 and 3 rout of Nick Faldo and it was a really poor day for Europe. But that’s match play, which is what everyone says around here, usually after losing. Actually, it wasn’t a particularly joyful day for many of the top players in the Official World Ranking. Woods, ranked No. 1, and David Duval, No. 2, advanced, but the rest of the top seven got bumped off: Mark O’Meara, Davis Love III, Westwood, Montgomerie and Ernie Els.

In all, five of the top 10 players and 12 of the top 20 lost their matches.

This is what many were worried about, especially the people at ABC. It has potential disaster written all over it (how about a Patrik Sjoland-Romero final?).

With Woods and Duval and others like Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Bernhard Langer, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard, Vijay Singh and Jose Maria Olazabal still standing after the first round, it’s not time to start dressing the place in black bunting, but the prospect of ugly is still very real.

As the top-seeded player, by virtue of his No. 1 ranking, there is a certain amount of pressure on Woods to conform to his stature. Woods certainly was up to the task against Faldo, a match that probably didn’t tax Woods all that much.

Woods birdied the first two holes, watched Faldo flub his tee shot on the par-three 14th when a cellular phone went off during his downswing, pulled away on the back and moved on to a second-round encounter today with Bob Tway.

Duval’s margin was slight, a 2 and 1 decision over Stephen Leaney of Australia, and earned as his reward a second-round match with Bill Glasson.

Duval, who birdied four consecutive holes on the front, said it’s a relief to be past the first round.

“It helps,” he said. “I’m not going to lie to you.”

Montgomerie said it was no lie that Stadler played well and deserved to win.

“And good luck to him,” Montgomerie said.

Stadler said it was slightly more contentious on the course. When Montgomerie missed a short putt on No. 13, a fan clapped. Someone else yelled at Montgomerie before his second shot on No. 15. Then there was the Montgomerie-Stadler standoff that occurred when Stadler twice failed to concede putts to Montgomerie.

The biggest incident was at No. 13 when Stadler was five up with six holes to play. Montgomerie rolled his six-footer about four feet past the hole and Stadler made him putt it from there.

Stadler said Montgomerie glared at him, not that he cared.

“If it’s to stay in the match and he has got four feet, I am not going to give it to him,” Stadler said. “He can glare all the wants. It wasn’t because it was him. I wouldn’t give it to anybody else. Doesn’t bother me.

“There is no love lost in match play.”