Mahan, Woods Team Up For U.S. Team Practice

Hunter Mahan has paired up with Tiger Woods in official team practice on Tuesday for the Ryder Cup, providing the initial clue about who will be the partner of the world's number one for opening fourball games against Europe on Friday.  The 14-time champion has had multiple US partners in last five Ryder Cup appearances and Steve Stricker or Jim Furyk were considered his likeliest partners in this year's competition.

Woods and Jim Furyk performed superbly at Ryder Cup 2006 in Ireland, whereas the world number one and Steve Stricker were undefeated in four games they played together at Presidents Cup 2010 at Harding Park.

Corey Pavin, the US captain, has kept everything secret up to now; however, he is sure to have made a final decision regarding the opening fourball pairings. Speaking to journalists at Celtic Manor, Pavin said, "We've talked about it quite a bit and the players have an idea of the direction that I'm going to go. But there's no reason for me, as far as I'm concerned, to discuss it too much until I actually write the pairings down on paper and turn them in (on Thursday)".

Woods, whom many consider a wild card selection after a rough year, is focusing more on his own preparation at Celtic Manor. Last week, he wrote on his blog post, "I'm not sure who I will play with; it keeps changing. I just have to take care of my own business and be ready to play".