all girlfriend duties relinquished for this weekend 
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Captains press conference live on SSN nowThanks very much for being ‘This Mornings’ Farmer’Comment
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The players seem to love having Olazabal as captain.
Similar to when Seve did it.Comment
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Ryder Cup 2012: Who will play together at Medinah?
When it comes to sporting leaders, surely it is a Ryder Cup captain whose reputation lies most in the hands of fortune.
With the wildcards picked, the course adjusted and the colour of his shirt chosen, all that is left for a captain is to select his partnerships and singles order, send his men out and wish them luck.
"All the captain can do is to make sure his players are ready and playing the best possible golf," said former Europe vice-captain Ken Brown. "The order and pairs are luck as much as judgement."
This may be the accepted wisdom, but it will not stop speculation surrounding who Jose Maria Olazabal and Davis Love will pair together when the Ryder Cup begins at Medinah near Chicago on Friday.
At 07:20 local time (13:20 BST), the first of four foursome contests will signal the start of the 39th Cup, with the same number of fourball battles following in the afternoon. Saturday will see the same again, before Sunday's conclusion which features 12 singles matches.
"Fourball is much the easier form of playing because you can be a bit more cavalier. In modern times, it's about who might make a lot of birdies," added Brown.
"Foursomes matches are often not won by brilliance but by consistency of playing well. You would try and get players that keep the ball in play and are reliable."
Knowing the nature of the golf that is required, captains will be formulating their plans long before team practice begins on Tuesday. Indeed, on announcing his four wildcards at the beginning of the month, Love said: "I made my picks based on pairings."
In making those decisions, Love and Olazabal will look to history. The United States captain's selection of Steve Stricker was a given, with Stricker having partnered Tiger Woods all through the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.
When Olazabal does his research, he will see that Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell were joined at the hip in south Wales, while Ian Poulter and Justin Rose were paired on three occasions four years ago at Valhalla.
The return of Sergio Garcia after missing Celtic Manor also gives Olazabal the option of resurrecting two of Europe's all-time most successful partnerships. Garcia and Luke Donald have won all four times they have played together, while the team of Garcia and Lee Westwood have taken 4½ points from a possible six.
"The partnerships that have been formed will probably stay formed," said Andrew Coltart, part of the Europe team that was beaten at Brookline in 1999. "The likes of McIlroy and McDowell, Rose and Poulter are likely to stay in shape.
"You might find Nicolas Colsaerts getting a gig with Westwood in fourballs, the old pro taking the rookie under his wing. Colsaerts makes a tremendous amount of birdies and so does Lee.
"Francesco Molinari and Donald would be a very good foursomes pairing, but they might sit out the fourballs.
"For the Americans, Stricker is in there to play with Woods, while you could see Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson being an amazing fourball partnership.
"Keegan Bradley will play with Phil Mickelson because they get on well. Jim Furyk will blend with anybody and everybody, but he's more likely to play foursomes than fourballs."
Of course, while a captain will hope that his pairs are successful, success brings its problems.
Playing in all four sessions on the opening two days could lead to a player being fatigued for Sunday's final day, but a captain may be loathe to break up a partnership merely to ensure that all 12 of his team get time on the course before the vital singles.
In 1999, Coltart was one of three players who went unused as Europe built a 10-6 lead. All three men lost in the singles as the US pulled off the biggest comeback in Ryder Cup history, but the Scot does not believe it is crucial for all 12 players to feature before the finale.
"You get your best players out there and make sure you get as many points as you can before the singles," he said. "The idea of playing everyone is just for team harmony, just to try and keep some of the egos in check.
"My only concern is if guys are going to be fatigued on Sunday, you don't want to throw away a point because someone is tired for the singles. If partnerships are winning, to me you keep them intact."
After two days of juggling and matching his players, the captain will then order his players for Sunday's singles, knowing that this is where he has most influence and how he is most likely to be remembered.
Again this is not an exact science. America's Curtis Strange was pilloried in 2002 for leaving Mickelson and Woods until the final two matches, only for Europe to have already sealed victory by the time their matches drew to a close.
But Colin Montgomerie won praise two years ago for leaving McDowell for the finale and the US Open champion duly delivered, beating Hunter Mahan to regain the trophy for Europe.
"A captain also has to give himself enough time to weigh up his options, because there isn't much time after you finish on the Saturday night before the order for the singles has to be in," said Brown, a five-time Ryder Cup player.
"There is an element of thinking the tactics through. A captain should be doing that now, while he has got the opportunity, rather in that hour-and-a-bit on Saturday when the porridge is at its hottest.
"If you have a big lead you might play a bit more defensively, but perhaps it's a matter of getting your best players in action early and getting points on the board.
"The singles is the area where the captain can have most influence on the order, but there is still that element of chance."
There it is again - the element of chance.
A captain can select the right wildcards, create the correct partnerships, have the shiniest shoes and the best pressed shirt, but the man holding the Ryder Cup on Sunday will certainly have enjoyed a slice of luck along the way.
Ken on the course
"These are international players who have faced a range of challenges on all different courses. The course set-up has little to no effect now because everyone has played in all different conditions.
"I think the courses are set up now by the captains to put on a really good golf show. It's about allowing the players to show off their skills and entertain the crowds. Since US captain Ben Crenshaw at Brookline in 1999, the set-ups have been generous; ie 30-yard wide fairways, rough not too deep, greens not electrifyingly fast or firm."
Coltart on the teams
"They are very close. Home advantage is going to play into the Americans' hands, even though we've got a lot of European players playing in the States. I quite like how the Americans got to pick four wildcard players because they have gone for players who are in form. I'm a little concerned about that. It pains me to say it, but I'm going to go for America to win by a point."Comment
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I absolutely cannot ****ing wait.
Thanks very much for being ‘This Mornings’ Farmer’Comment
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(Just hope I manage to stay awake long enough to actually see any of it 
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its going to be 1-10 ish?Originally posted by Pablo1981 View Post (Just hope I manage to stay awake long enough to actually see any of it )
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Ah quality Thought it was on till later than that. I can just about manage that then, just about. Going to bed by 10pm these days, as soon as the baby sleeps that's us gone for the night too
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The first significant clues to Europe's opening Ryder Cup pairings emerged amid Tuesday's first practice round at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago.
Captain Jose-Maria Olazabal teamed Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose in the first group.
Northern Irish pair Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell played alongside Paul Lawrie and Sergio Garcia in the second.
"You can pretty much predict our first eight players on Friday morning," said McDowell in his news conference.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how the next three days pan out in practice, but I can tell you that the first four guys are Poulter, Rose, Westwood and Donald, and myself and Rory are in the second group with Lawrie and Garcia.
So there's your eight, the first two groups, fairly predictable."
The third European group to go out on Tuesday morning featured Germany's former world number one Martin Kaymer, Italian Francesco Molinari, Belgian rookie Nicolas Colsaerts with Swede Peter Hanson, with the bags of all 12 of Europe's players emblazoned with an image of the late Seve Ballesteros.
The US team also practised in three groups of four with Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley and Webb Simpson going off first.
They were followed by Jason Dufner, Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson and Zach Johnson with the fourball of Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker bringing up the rear.
The 39th Ryder Cup opens with four alternate-shot foursomes matches on Friday morning, followed by four fourballs in the afternoon.
Donald and Garcia have won all four foursomes they have played together in previous Ryder Cups, but two years ago at Celtic Manor the Donald-Westwood partnership thrashed Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker 6&5 in foursomes to set the tone for the European victory that followed.
McDowell, the man who scored the winning point last time out, clinched one-and-a-half points from a possible three with current world number one McIlroy in Wales, while Poulter and Rose won two-and-a-half points from their three matches at Valhalla four years ago.
McDowell admitted afterwards that the unique pressures of the competition were already being felt in the visitors' camp.
"I went to bed last night and I could barely sleep," he said.
"These are perhaps the best two teams that have ever been assembled at the Ryder Cup - it's going to be a big week and a titanic struggle.
"The big thing I've learned from the last couple of Ryder Cups is that being nervous and anxious is not really worth it.
"When the gun goes off on Friday you've just got to go out there and play aggressively, because if you don't shoot seven under or eight under you're going to lose.
"There's no room for anxiety about bad shots because bogeys and doubles are not going to matter this week - it's going to be the quality of your good shots that matters, holed putts and chip ins.
"Leave the nerves on the first tee. Get charged up - enjoy the atmosphere and enjoy the adrenaline that's going to course through your veins."
McDowell dismissed suggestions that the European players would struggle with the partisan, passionate galleries expected around the course this week.
"I think the crowds like the European golfers. They have embraced them as PGA players, and I think the days of hostility are gone," he said.
Seven of Europe's team have the experience of playing in a Ryder Cup match away from home, and with only one debutant in the ranks - Colsaerts - that familiarity could prove critical in the days to follow.
"Putts that drop in front of your home fans are like a bomb going off, and putts that go in this weekend will be like someone's got the silencer on," said McDowell.
"I remember Valhalla. The 14th was a very big natural amphitheatre and one of the most intimidating holes as a European. You knew when somebody birdied - you could hear it reverberating around the course.
"It's going to come down to the putting. You've got 24 great players, and I don't see any real stand-out advantage for either team, so it's going to boil down to who holes the most putts."Comment
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anywhere where you can bet on sessions? got to fancy europe in the first morning, I think once we're behind it will be a long road backComment
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Paddy Power have got Day 1 session markets.
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13/8 opening session and 14/8 to win the day
I fancy our opening order over theirs, but home advantage and form is in their favour
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Ryder Cup preview show on SS2 at 10pmThanks very much for being ‘This Mornings’ Farmer’Comment
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Will it be an hour of Monty though?
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