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.Itwas not until 1977 when the British team was expanded to include Eu-ropean players in an effort to upgrade the Ryder Cup competitive levelthat the event started to attract an audience.The United States hadwon all but one match from 1959 to 1977, that one being tied, 16 to 16,in a memorable duel in 1969 at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.Since the British team was expanded to include all European players,the matches have become much more competitive and have taken onimportance both in Europe and in America.Of the last nine matches,the American team has won only three.In addition to the inclusionof new players from all European countries, several factors have con-tributed to this reversal.The European tour is less affl uent than theAmerican tour, and American pros tend to travel alone and stay aloneon the road.The European tour is also smaller, and the players tendto socialize together more than in American professional golf.Sincemembers of the European team tend to be less-recognized players, theyhave more to prove than the star-filled American team.In part becauseof Tiger s outstanding amateur record in match play tournaments, andthe tremendous amount of publicity his debut on the PGA Tour hadgenerated, expectations were high that Tiger s presence would signifi -cantly enhance the Americans chances of winning.The Ryder Cup competition consists of a three-day event alternat-ing every two years between the United States and Europe.It starts onFriday, when there are fi ve matches in the morning.Two players oneach team do not compete, so the captains must determine who willplay and the order of the matches.The format is called foursomes, inwhich the players alternate shots, using one ball.The team with thelowest score on a hole wins that hole.The team that wins the mostholes wins the match.When one team has won more holes than thereare remaining, that team wins the match and gets a point.If the teamstie, a half-point is awarded.118 TIGER WOODSThe afternoon matches play a four ball format.This is the mostcommon form of competition among recreational golfers.In it, eachplayer plays his own ball.The lowest score of one team is comparedto the lowest score of the other team, to determine the winner of thathole.The team that wins the most holes wins the match.On Sundaythere are 12 individual matches, involving the entire team.There arepotentially 32 points to be won.So to win the Ryder Cup a team mustwin at least 16½ points.If a tie occurs, the team currently holding thecup retains it.Tiger Woods has competed in four Ryder Cup matches since join-ing the professional tour.His overall record in those matches is 7 wins,11 losses, and 2 ties.It should be noted that he has fared better in thesingles matches than in the team play, but overall the American teamhas only won once with him on the team.There has been consider-able speculation as to why he has not dominated the Ryder Cup as hehas all other competitions he has attempted.While it is impossible topinpoint the reason for his less-than-outstanding performance in theRyder Cup, there have been several incidents relating to the RyderCup that highlight an aspect of Tiger s career that has evolved as hisgolfing reputation has grown: the higher his celebrity profile, the morethe press and the public have expected him to speak out on issues.In 1997 the PGA, which conducted the Ryder Cup matches, wouldnot pay for Earl Woods to accompany Tiger to the matches in Vall-derama, Spain, a perk afforded the wives of married players on theteam.At the time, Tiger questioned the logic of this policy.Then,several months before the matches in 1999, to be held at the CountryClub in Brookline, Massachusetts, David Duval was quoted in a GolfDigest article complaining about what he called the hypocrisy of theRyder Cup.Players were not paid to compete on the team; only theirexpenses were paid.Duval complained that since the PGA made aconsiderable overall profit on the matches ($23.5 million according tothe article),70 and the players put their reputations on the line at thesematches, he thought that there should be some compensation for theplayers, even if it was in the form of a contribution to the charity ofthe player s choice.Even though many players had privately voiced similar concerns,Tiger was the only member of the team who spoke up publicly inTHE RECORD 119support of Duval.At a press conference at the PGA Championship atMedinah, outside of Chicago, Tiger agreed with Duval that the playersshould derive more benefits from playing in these matches.There wassubsequent furor over his remarks, as the media generally sided withgolf s establishment, in this case the PGA of America and the PGATour.Eventually the PGA acquiesced and devised a plan whereby theplayers would have the right to donate a certain amount of money to acharity.However, this incident is the first of many that would representthe pressures confronting Tiger Woods once he established his positionas the number-one golfer in the world
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