No surprises in practice pairs
American captain Tom Lehman sprung no surprises when he unveiled his first pairings for Ryder Cup practice at the K Club near Dublin on Tuesday morning.
Perhaps as a result of the jet lag some of them were suffering, the United States were the first on parade before 7.30am and after a gentle warm-up Lehman called the players and caddies together on the driving range for what came close to a team huddle.
He then read out the groups to practise fourballs - and, as expected, Tiger Woods was with Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson with Chris DiMarco and David Toms was partnering Chad Campbell.
As for how he uses the other members of his side, Lehman gave the first indications. Wild cards Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank were each handed an uncapped player in JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich respectively, while rookies Zach Johnson and Vaughn Taylor were together.
Furyk was always likely to become Woods' 11th Ryder Cup partner after they were unbeaten in last year's Presidents Cup, and Mickelson and DiMarco did not lose together either against the Rest of the World.
