Captains' Tactics Differ for Crucial Singles Line-ups

Rival captains Nick Faldo and Paul Azinger have taken very different approaches in selecting their line-ups for the singles today. Whereas theUnited States captain, whose team lead 9-7 after the first two days, has loaded the top of his order in a bid to end the match in his favor asearly as possible, his European counterpart has taken an enormous gamble by selecting some of his best players for the final ties, by which time it is possible the match could already be over.

Faldo has chosen to save his most decorated player, Padraig Harrington, until last, presumably in the belief that the match will go to the final game, a pressurized situation which would require an experienced hand. Another Ryder Cup veteran, Lee Westwood, and two of Faldo's most impressive performers this week, Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell, join the Irishman in the bottom third of the draw.

Faldo claimed he had consulted all 12 players before making his decision. "It was a group effort, it's all about being comfortable," he said. "We want guys to play where they want to play and they can set their mind on it. I don't know if this has a theme to it. We've been in there for half an hour doing this, everyone was involved, we thought long and hard. It's been an extremely tight match so far. Padraig wanted to go last."

Azinger, by contrast, has chosen to open with his strongest quartet - Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan, Justin Leonard and Phil Mickelson. "There was a little bit of discussion about it, I had in my mind how I wanted to do it and got a little bit of confirmation," he said. "I think it's three guys who are very aggressive, the kind I want to go first. Everything is so far so good, but there's a lot up for grabs. We are not there yet. I'm just really happy we are in this position but if you look at their team they are probably favorites."

The singles will begin shortly after midday local time with the match of the day – Kim against Sergio García, who like Westwood and Harrington is yet to record a victory this week. Mickelson is fourth out and will participate in another of the marquee match-ups, against Justin Rose. The American will be followed by the three crowd favorites – Kenny Perry, Boo Weekley and JB Holmes.

Should the match come down to the final two pairings, Europe will fancy their chances with Azinger leaving until last his most out-of-form players, Ben Curtis and Chad Campbell. Whatever the outcome, it is sure to be another thrilling afternoon after what many considered to be one of the greatest fourball series in the history of the Ryder Cup on Saturday, with three of the four matches reaching the final hole. "It was an incredible day," said Faldo. "It was classic Ryder Cup stuff, the Americans had their day on Friday and we had ours today."

Today is the first time that the US has led going into the singles since 1995, when Faldo played a crucial role in helping Europe overcome their 9-7 deficit. Azinger preferred not to consider the possibility of a repeat. "We took some blows today, they played great and we only lost one point," he said. "We're happy about that. The golf has been incredible, my stomach is just churning."

Sunday's singles pairings

12.03pm Anthony Kim v Sergio García12.14pm Hunter Mahan v Paul Casey12.25pm Justin Leonard v Robert Karlsson12.36pm Phil Mickelson v Justin Rose12.47pm Kenny Perry v Henrik Stenson12.58pm Boo Weekley v Oliver Wilson1.09pm JB Holmes v Soren Hansen1.20pm Jim Furyk v Miguel Angel Jimenez1.31pm Stewart Cink v Graeme McDowell1.42pm Steve Stricker v Ian Poulter1.53pm Ben Curtis v Lee Westwood2.04pm Chad Campbell v Padraig Harrington