DUBAI // Claude Harmon, the respected American golfing guru, has a foot in both camps as he eagerly awaits this weekend's 37th Ryder Cup match in Valhalla.
Harmon, 39, son of Butch Harmon, the master teacher who pointed Tiger Woods on the way to dominance of the world game, worked closely with his fellow American Justin Leonard several years ago and more recently with Graeme McDowell, the emerging Northern Irishman who is one of the European rookies.
He thought he would have a second former client in the European line-up in Darren Clarke, but the Ulsterman failed to earn one of the captain Nick Faldo's two wild-card selections.
Harmon, who knows most of the US tour players, feels that the home team may benefit paradoxically from the absence of the injured Woods, the world No 1, from their ranks.
"In a curious way this is probably our best chance to win in recent years because Tiger isn't there," said Harmon.
"He is such a big figure, you wonder who you are going to pair him with and you wonder if his partner is going to like him and be comfortable playing with him.
"It is the opposite playing against him because whoever is drawn alongside him gains so much incentive from the possibility of beating him.
"At any time in a player's career it is a feather in his cap to say that he has beaten Tiger heads up, one against one or two against two. Those opportunities don't come along as much in stroke play."
Harmon, who runs a golf academy in Dubai, also believes that Woods, through no fault of his own, tends to be detached from the rest of the team because of the circus life he leads which puts a greater emphasis on personal security.
Removing him from the set-up will, he feels, give the Americans the chance to bond in the manner that has made the Europeans so successful in recent events.
"The European players hang out more and go to dinner more than we Americans tend to do," he remarked.
"All the Europeans will be happy to fly out to Kentucky together while in the US, the big joke is if eight top players are leaving the course, they all go in separate cars to their own private jets.
"I also think the Europeans get the idea of what the Ryder Cup is about more than the Americans. In Europe, international team sport is a big deal. In the States it is not, apart from in events like the Olympics. We tend to be more concerned with our college sport."
All of which points to another European win - the fourth in a row - in Harmon's eyes, although he hopes to be proved wrong, especially by Paul Azinger's rookies.
He especially likes the look of the Californian Anthony Kim, who has risen from outside the top 500 to the top 10 in the space of two years. "I would be surprised if Anthony Kim does not play well," added Harmon.
"He is the real deal. Out of all the young guns, he is the most exciting He is cocky brash, he is arrogant, but the main thing is that he can back it up.
"My dad has seen a lot of these kids and he really likes Kim. This kid can play and he is not afraid.
"Kim has the look of Ian Poulter [Europe's wild-card selection who is noted for his flamboyance and fancy clothes]. He is also like a modern day Lanny Wadkins. Lanny used to say that it was not bragging if you could back it up.
"If we are going to break the stronghold the Europeans have established on the Ryder Cup, somebody has to step up to the plate, big style. That somebody could be Anthony Kim."
wjohnson@thenational.ae
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MATCH INFO:
Second Test
Pakistan v Australia, Tuesday-Saturday, 10am daily at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Entrance is free
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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SCORES IN BRIEF
New Zealand 153 and 56 for 1 in 22.4 overs at close
Pakistan 227
(Babar 62, Asad 43, Boult 4-54, De Grandhomme 2-30, Patel 2-64)
