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If Nick Faldo has been trying to determine the way that Paul Azinger’s mind is working in the build-up to the opening skirmishes in the Ryder Cup, he was given plenty to go on after the American let slip yesterday that he is tempted to play J. B. Holmes and Kenny Perry as his first pairing in Friday morning’s foursomes. Step forward, then, Lee Westwood and Sergio GarcÍa, two of Europe’s finest.

When play gets under way at 8.05am local time, the atmosphere around the 1st tee at Valhalla Golf Club will be nothing short of electric. If Azinger is to be believed, it will climb several notches once Holmes and Perry, Kentucky boys through and through, step forward to take the applause of the crowd. The United States captain, it is becoming increasingly obvious, is already whipping up the support.

“I’ve thought about what I am going to do with those two guys,” Azinger, who plans to use all 12 of his team on the first day, said. “Should I put them together, should I keep them apart? You know, I’d like to put them off first match out, to be honest with you, and get this crowd rocking.”

Azinger’s words have an uncanny echo of Hal Sutton’s, at Oakland Hills in 2004, when he put Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson out first in the belief that his big guns would establish a foothold that the US team would not relinquish. The pair lost twice that first day and the American cause crumbled around them. To say the galleries were silenced is an understatement.

Which is why Westwood and GarcÍa would be the perfect foil to Azinger’s plans. A superb pairing in previous Ryder Cups, they would relish the challenge and could give Europe the ideal start. GarcÍa has won all eight of his previous foursomes matches and Westwood has won six out of ten and lost only two. Now that is what you would call intimidating.

Azinger is hoping to inspire his team by introducing them to a local hero, Muhammad Ali. A more modern icon, however, will be conspicuous by his absence. Tiger Woods is not planning to visit. Injured and unavailable, he says that he cannot see the point in attending the event. “I doubt I can do much [to help], since I can’t play practice rounds and am not privy to their team chemistry,” Woods said. “I also don’t know who is playing well, who is injured and have no feel for how the course is playing.”

Woods, who underwent season-ending knee surgery two weeks after winning the US Open for his fourteenth major victory, is willing to give advice from afar. “I’ll be happy to offer my opinion,” he said. “I wish the American team well and hope they can bring back the cup. Paul Azinger has my number and he or any US player can call me any time. If I can offer any assistance, I’m happy to help.”