Key pairings begin to emerge | Ryder Cup 2008

With the Ryder Cup starting line almost in sight now, both captains took the opportunity to fine-tune their pairings on Wednesday as each side played nine holes.

The Europeans took on the back nine at Valhalla, the Americans the front; Thursday will see the completion of the remaining 9 holes before the opening ceremony later in the day.

After sending his side out in groups of three on Tuesday, European captain Nick Faldo mixed things up a little, arranging his pairings according to nationality. That meant Spain (Garcia and Jimenez), Ireland (Harrington and McDowell), England (Casey and Wilson plus Poulter and Rose) and Sweden (Karlsson and Stenson). Lee Westwood and Soren Hansen completed the line-up.

He was later quizzed by the press after it emerged that a TV camera had picked up the contents of pairings notes (see article Faldo under pressure).

Paul Azinger, meanwhile, once again paired Kentucky duo Kenny Perry and JB Holmes, the latter delighting home fans with at least two drives in excess of 340 yards. Having already admitted he plans to send out his home boys first on Friday,

Azinger also gave another glimpse of his hand by giving the Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim pairing another run out on Wednesday. With just one day to go, and both captains’ having confessed, or let slip, their intentions, the final few hours of build-up should be fascinating.

Here are just a few of the best images of the day…

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