Tiger Woods won’t be at Whistling Straits this week, for obvious reasons. Phil Mickelson will, but for the first time since 1995 won’t hit a shot in the Ryder Cup.
The storyline in the Ryder Cup hasn’t changed, but the marquee players have — at least when it comes to the beleaguered U.S. team. Woods is still mending from a car accident, while Mickelson will end a streak of 12 straight Ryder Cups as a player to be a non-playing assistant captain for a team tasked with wrestling the cup back from Europe.
That may prove a bit of a disappointment for the tens of thousands who will swarm the rugged course on the edge of Lake Michigan to scream for the home team.