Tiger a singing 'hacker'

2006-09-19 17:15

Straffan - Tiger Woods may be head and shoulders above his peers when it comes to golfing ability but he slips down the US Ryder Cup team's pecking order when it comes to singing, according to his captain Tom Lehman.

The world number one was persuaded to take the microphone during a night of Irish beef and Guinness and, the American skipper suggested, delivered a performance that was the musical equivalent of a shank off the first tee.

"I saw him sing and I can tell you right now, he can't sing," Lehman said, adding for good measure that he had not recognised the choice of song. "I never heard it before and I couldn't recognise it from his singing."

Woods may not be capable of singing in tune, but the fact that he is singing along with his teammates offers an obvious metaphor for the success Lehman has enjoyed in cultivating a relaxed spirit of togetherness and common purpose in this US team.

That first became evident last month when Lehman persuaded Woods and Phil Mickelson to shuffle their schedules to make sure they could be with the rest of the team on a reconnaissance mission to the K Club.

Close friends

For Chris DiMarco, one of the few US players to distinguish himself when Europe scored a crushing victory in Michigan two years ago, that experience was hugely significant.

"I knew everyone before but when I walked off that plane, I knew that I had 12 or 15 really close friends after that," DiMarco recalled.

DiMarco said that the success of Lehman's leadership style was partly based on taking responsibility away from the players.

"In the past it has been like you are grown men and you know what you need to do, it's been nice to have someone saying, this is what we are doing and I'll tell you who you're playing with. It gives you a sense that he is a leader."

Lehman does not dispute that account, describing his captaincy as akin to organising "12 big kids." He bristles however at the use of the term bonding to describe his team's activities.

"I think that is inaccurate, we are not a bunch of guys trying to bond, we are a team trying to have a good time," he said.

Relaxed

But it is evident that the softly-spoken 48-year-old has put a lot of thought into how to ensure that the class of 2006 are not handicapped by the kind of divisions that have hampered previous US teams.

It has been evident from Woods's body language this week that he is more comfortable in this team than he has been in any of his four previous Ryder Cups, during which he has managed to win only seven of the 20 matches he has been involved in.

A reduction in the average age of the team may have helped on that count, but Lehman has also reorganised the team schedule to ensure that, in the build-up to the match, practice is over by 13:00 and that his players are free for the afternoon to do their own thing.

"Tiger needs that time to exhale," Lehman said.

- AFP