Tiger Woods admits that he is partly to blame for the United States' poor recent record in the Ryder Cup.
Woods (L) and his captain Davis Love
Europe have won four out of the last five biennial contests and, perhaps ironically, their only victory came at Valhalla in 2008 when Woods was absent through injury.
Woods' overall Ryder Cup record doesn't make for good reading. He's won only once in six appearances (Brookline in 1999) and his match record reads: played 29, won 13, lost 14 and halved two.
Asked pointedly if he was responsible for the US' poor run during a time when he dominated the game, Woods said: "Well, certainly I am responsible for that, because I didn't earn the points that I was put out there for.
"I believe I was out there in five sessions each time and I didn't go 5-0 on our side. So I certainly am a part of that and that's part of being a team. I needed to go get my points for my team, and I didn't do that. Hopefully I can do that this week and hopefully the other guys can do the same and we can get this thing rolling."
Not that Woods shoulders all the blame. Successful individual performers like Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk have also struggled in the past. Mickelson has won only 14 points from 34 matches, and has only two victories in his last 14 fourball or foursome matches.
Furyk, meanwhile, has managed 10 points out of a possible 27 and has four victories from his last 18 fourball or foursome clashes.
"In order to win Cups, you have to earn points and we certainly have not earned points," Woods added. "And on top of that, I think that Phil, Jim and myself have been put out there a lot during those years. So if we are not
earning points, it's hard to win Ryder Cups that way."
Graeme McDowell believes Woods is often the victim of lesser players raising their game against him, because they play as if they have nothing to lose.
"I liken it to playing Premiership football," McDowell said. "Any lesser team that comes to play these guys, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal... they have a tendency to raise their game, because it's a huge game for an underdog to play a Tiger Woods.
"And they get up for it. They are not expected to win. When expectation levels drop, game tends to improve. A guy who plays Tiger Woods, or a player of that calibre, doesn't expect to win so he lets it all go and he plays out of his skin and gets the upset."
Woods also admitted that Rory McIlroy, Europe's star performer of late, is a definite target.
"It's part of being consistent," Woods said. "It's part of being ranked number one, it's part of winning major championships. You're always going to want to try and take out their best player, and that's just part of the deal.
That's a fun challenge.
"I certainly have relished it over the years and I'm sure he's going to relish it this week."
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