Monty in rare favorite's role

STRAFFAN, Ireland — There are a lot of golf shoes on other feet at this Ryder Cup and two of those are Colin Montgomerie's.

The acerbic Scot, unlike many of his European teammates, seems to be embracing the favorite's role as the week unfolds. Monty was chirping on Tuesday with a smirk that returns every two years about this time.

He is Europe's Tiger Woods of the Ryder Cup, the main reason why Europe has won three out of four. So there he was on the first day of practice, as fearless with his words as his clubs.

"On this occasion, I must admit, I'm one of a very good 12 here, a very good 12," he said. "I hate to say it before the event, but this is our strongest team we've ever put together.

"That's not feeding us in any way; we're not complacent in any way," he said of Europe's rare standing as pre-tournament favorite. "No, we look forward to the position we're in. We look forward to trying to make history, the first (European team) to win this Ryder Cup three times in a row."

Brave Monty also didn't hesitate to spell out a few reasons for his optimism.

"We're very used to this golf course. It's a home-course advantage and it plays to us," he said. "We know the scoring, we know what's going on around here. We're very comfortable around here."

Montgomerie's teammates might agree while secure in the team room, but no one else was willing to stir up the Americans, who seem a little less uptight than normal.

"Obviously, we have some advantages. We're playing at home and we have done well in the last few Ryder Cups," Luke Donald said. "But as soon as you start to underestimate the U.S. side, you get in trouble. Any team that has the one, two and three best players in the world on their team is going to be strong, no matter what."

"I don't want them to feel that we're favorites at all," captain Ian Woosnam said. "I want to feel like we're going to get back in that team room and feel like we're still the underdogs. A lot of people said their team is one of the weakest they have ever had and I just don't agree with that."

Meanwhile, the American team said it doesn't need much inspiration, even if it seems more dedicated to winning this year than any year since 1999 at Brookline.

Chris DiMarco, for instance, talked about forcing himself to watch the European celebration at Oakland Hills "on our turf, on our green," and how he said it would be the USA's turn in two years.