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If you look at the top of the current World Golf Rankings, you will find the American trio of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson, and Jim Furyk ranked one-two-three. You have to go to number eight to find your first European, Sergio Garcia.

So when the Ryder Cup event took center stage in the professional golf world this weekend, any betting man would have had to put thei hard cash on the Yanks. I mean they have the top three players in the world and the coach can pair them in any manner he chooses. Heck, these three guys could be paired with Fox Sports.com writer Ian O'Connor and that should still be quite a tandem.

As further noted by O'Connor, Colin Montgomerie and Sergio Garcia do not own any more major championship trophies than the golf writer. But when it comes to this Ryder Cup thing, well you can just throw these rankings out the proverbial window.

Europe absolutely hammered the Americans, 18.5 to 9.5, for its third straight Ryder Cup title and fifth in the last six matches. The victory margin matched that of the last event, two years ago, on American soil, and tied the record victory margin. And oh yea, Europe, in a gentlemanly manner, conceded a 25-foot putt to one American, to allow a match to be halved. Force the putt, and well Europe would have the largest victory margin in Cup history.

Tiger Woods represented the top dog as expected, winning one third of the American points. Top dog in America maybe, but not in the Cup action. While Woods went 3-2 in the action, Sergio Garcia won his first four matches before losing on Sunday. Still, four points out of a possible five was quite significant. Lee Westwood also won four matches in five tries, Paul McGinley all four of his matches while Darren Clarke went unbeaten in all three of his matches.

Number two American golfer Lefty Mickleson was simply awful. He managed to halve just one match, giving him just a half of a point for the tournament. Furyk would actually carry Woods in the pairings to at least earn a couple of points for the American side.

In addition to the poor play of the golfers, criticism immediately was placed upon American coach Tom Lehman. The American captain was criticized for his failure to use J.J. Henry and Scott Verplank more in the action. But can you blame Lehman, when the American coaching strategy, in every sport at every level is to go with the horse that brung ya'.

Perhaps the Europeans just want to win this tournament more than their American counterparts. Perhaps, the Europeans got more bounces, something that did seem to happen in droves this weekend. Perhaps it is as simple as the Americans played poorly at the time their counterparts played good solid golf.

That said, why is that Europe has managed to dominate this event in recent years. If it was just a matter of who was hot at the moment, the law of averages would prevail. But five wins in the last six matches represents anything but the law of averages.

In fact, much was written about the camaraderie of the Europeans and their sincere desire to excel as a team. The word was that Darren Clarke provided the extra emotion for the team, he having recently lost his wife to cancer. However, earning three points in three tries constitutes more than just adding emotion.

It was said that the PGA Tour gallery punching bag Colin Montgomerie provided the leadership for the boys from across the pond. Leadership appears in many forms and the man known for never having won a major showed why he is such a valued member of the European team, winning his sixth straight singles match in Ryder Cup play on Sunday. In fact, Montgomerie has never lost in Ryder Cup singles play

And much was made of the spirited Sergio Garcia as being the golfing inspiration for the Europeans. That proved true, as Garcia followed up his near perfect Ryder Cup in 2004 action where he won four matches and halved his other by winning four more times in 2006.

So confident have the Europeans become that Montgomerie offered the following little tid bit. "If it wasn't for a very difficult Sunday at Brookline, we'd have been six out of six."

He's right of course, and the Americans know it. Perhaps that is what this is really about, confidence. The Ryder Cup action has been absolutely dominated by the Europeans, so much so that they expect to win.

And the Americans, well on Sunday it looked as if they were a beaten bunch. That's what happens when you get beat 18.5 to 9.5 in consecutive Ryder Cups.

Michelle Wie's desire to make her mark by surviving the cut at a men's golf tournament has begun to look like the woeful, overly-ambitious tomfoolery of youth without a matching semblance of realism, better known as the trait we adults equate with wisdom.

A year ago, the fifteen year old female flirted with doing just that, making the cut at a men's event. In the first round of the John Deere Classic, the youngster shot a one under par 70, a score that left her one just one stroke off the cut line. Her score topped that of more than 50 men, all 50 being members of the Professional Golf Association tour, the world's best male golfers. But she could not hold her game together for yet another round and the cut passed her by.

Now a year later, a similar attempt has come up deplorably short. Barely one week after she was dead last after two rounds at the European Masters, a non-tour event, Wie was again dead last after two rounds at the 84 Lumber Classic. She began with a disappointing round of 5-over par, a 77 on Thursday, only to fall further backwards, shooting a 9-over 81 on Friday. At the ripe old age of 16, that score would be her worst round in the 11 tournaments that she had entered in direct competition with men.

Her 14-over par score was exactly 14 shots over the cut line. Perhaps even more to the point, her score left her 23 shots off the pace after just two rounds. On the men's tour, where a matter of just four or five shots can often separate the top twenty in any event, 23 behind is not a number of pride.

Two aspects of Wie's game made her easy fodder for the golf course. An extremely long hitter for a young lady, she averaged only 260 yards off the tee in round one. I say only because that type of length topped only two males in round one. More importantly, Wie averaged 2.091 putts during that first round. That number put her in the bottom ten of the first day field average. Her length and her lack of putting skills made it easy to understand why she fell so far back.

Now, those two scores from the men's tees at a PGA event are far better than this writer could ever manage. Those scores also show that Wie is indeed an immense young talent. But those scores are not going to make positive waves on the men's tour, only bring on the cries that it is time for the youngster to prove she can compete against the best women before she tries again to become the first woman to make the cut on the PGA Tour since Babe Didrikson Zaharias did so 61 years ago.

Perhaps nothing is more telling than Wie's own assessment of her play on Thursday. Said Wie, "I felt I played really good." If she considers that level of play good, then it is clear from all standpoints that playing on the men's tour is indeed nothing but tomfoolery.

Other than making the cut against a field of unknowns on the Asian Tour, Wie has proven that the men's layouts and competitive challenges are simply beyond the scope of her game right now. In fact over last seven rounds in such a setting, she has six rounds of 77 or more including three of 79 or higher.

Besides possibly wrongfully taking the place of some male that is trying to make a living on the PGA men's tour, Wie has further aggravated the men because of her slow play. But then again, when you hit that many shots, it does take a bit longer to play your round of golf.

With sports hinging so much on confidence, you have to wonder what will become of the youngster's game against a backdrop of failure. Perhaps if she had proven herself on the LPGA Tour, such a question would be moot. But Wie has yet to win so much as a single women's golf event to date - therefore she is not even the best player on the female tour.

The idea that because she has shown she can compete on the ladies' tour somehow translates to her thinking that she can also compete on the men's is indeed a sign of the foolishness of youth. It is time for Wie to refocus her energy on her career, of developing her game so that she proves she is one of the better women's golfers before she enters yet another men's event.

Sports is about accomplishment, and right now the young lady simply isn't getting it done.

To be blunt, the shot that most weekend golfers fear the most is the one from the sand. Whether it be a green side bunker or one well back in the fairway, the mere contemplation of hitting a shot from any type of sandy lie leads many to get a bad case of the yips. The shot from the sand often leads to a rather low scale objective, the player is satisfied if he can get out of the bunker in just one shot

It need not be that way - a shot from the sand really isn't all that challenging, especially one from a green side bunker. Once again, the key is a basic understanding of what must be done to hit the shot, applying the proper strategy and then making commitment to the shot you are trying to hit.

When hitting a ball from the sand, the basic theory is to hit the sand behind the ball, letting the sand force the ball up into the air and out of the bunker. The key, of course, is how much sand you get with the swing. Too much sand and the ball carries very little, hit the ball simultaneously as you hit the sand and you will likely skull the shot well over the green.

When in a green side bunker, the key thought is to splash the sand with a very open faced wedge. Begin by laying the club face open, turning it clockwise if you are right-handed. The more open the face the less likely you will skull the ball - in other words, the more open the face the more likely you will get only a little distance with a full swing.

Second, dig in with your feet, using your stance to try to get a feel for the sand. Is it very soft? If so you will likely dig into the sand very easily when you swing. On the other hand, if it is very firm you will likely hit the ball more cleanly, taking less sand when you swing.

Next line up left of your target with an open stance as you will see that you tend to push the ball right of the target line. When you begin your swing, be sure to take the club up vertically - do not reach backwards, instead lift it quickly in an upright manner. The final key is to complete a full swing with a follow through, always with the intent of taking a divot of sand from under the ball. Depending on the distance you are looking for, the contact point can be a half inch to an inch and a half behind the ball. If you properly splash the sand and ball you will get a shot that has a great deal of spin that is likely not to roll at all once it lands on the green.

A critical aspect of being in a green side bunker is where the ball sits in the trap. If the ball is sitting up on top of the sand, the shot is relatively easy. If you are on an up hill lie, be sure not to take too much sand as your follow through will be restricted. If you have down hill lie you also will want to try to strike a little closer to the ball to ensure you don't dig too deep before getting to the ball, but plan for a down hill lie to reduce the spin and allow the ball to roll further.

If you have a buried lie, your goal should be more in line with simply getting out of the bunker. Whereas in the above situation you should be thinking to get the ball in the vicinity of the hole, with a buried lie your goal should be to simply get the ball out of the trap and in play. Take the same vertical swing with an open face, but be sure to swing firmly and forcefully, you will need to carve out some serious sand to get the ball out.

In all cases, be sure to keep your head down and still. The slightest movement of your head will cause swing variations and a tendency to be out of balance. To hit the spot you want you must be focused directly on the point of impact.

In contrast, when you are in a fairway bunker, the key is to strike the ball with as little sand as you can. It is important that you hit the ball as you would in the fairway, striking the ball first before you touch the sand at all.

To ensure a quality shot, reverse the swing take away. At first you may want to keep an open club face but take the club back low. As you take your swing, be sure to try to pick the ball as cleanly as you can. If you tend to stay too high you may hit a skulled shot but at least you should get some yardage and be out of the dreaded sand. If you take too much of a divot you will find you get almost nothing out of your shot distance wise. For this reason, you may want to use the more open club face - a poor swing with a closed face will dig deeply in the sand. Just remember to line up left of your target.

When you begin to get the feel of the sand shot, you will find that you have very little discomfort with the shot. In fact you will move very quickly from being satisfied with simply extricating yourself from the bunker to being more confident that you can advance the ball in the proper direction with at least a basic distance consistent with your goal.

I still recall the day the golf pro at the local club showed a group of ladies a Ping golf ball that was made of two colors. If I recall correctly, one side of the ball was orange, the other yellow.

When they asked him the rationale for such a ball, he gave them a line they bought, hook, line and sinker. When the wind is blowing at you noted the golf pro, the trick is to put the orange side facing into the wind. Then you tee the ball much lower than normal, and the combination of the orange surface and the lower teeing of the ball will help you hit the ball much lower so it will be less impacted by the wind. On the days when you are fortunate enough that the wind is behind you, he said, put the yellow side facing out, tee the ball higher and then launch the ball up into the air so that it rides the wind.

I was chuckling hard to myself with his audacity to include the ball color in the strategy only to hear one of the woman in the group pipe up, and if the wind is blowing from the side you put the orange side towards the wind origin, right. Absolutely, he said, and then rang up the sales as each member of the foursome bought a sleeve of the multicolored golf balls. When they had finished their purchase he of course reminded them of the real important advice, remember also how to tee the ball he stated.

That gimmick is precisely the type of thing many golfers jump at. Some how, some way, new equipment will eliminate the key problems a golfer faces. All too often the novice falls for such nonsense and never learns the proper techniques for specific forms of play.

On those days when the wind is blowing, a two sided golf ball will do little to help a player. But then again, because many players melt under such windy conditions the thought of some trick golf ball may be just the key to change the player's mindset. And a change in mindset is something that will help almost any player and therefore can serve a positive purpose. But putting a certain color outward? Nonsense.

The proper way to handle the wind is to make some simple swing adjustments. Those changes become more or less important depending on the severity of the wind and whether the breeze is detrimental to any ball flight or just detrimental to our ball flight.

If you tend to hit the ball from left-to-right or from right-to-left, crosswinds can be both very helpful or a major disaster. If you tend to put spin on the ball, then the wind can really push the ball in the direction of the spin, or it will simply negate the spin if the wind opposes. Therefore a player should think of a crosswind that enhances a player's natural spin as something that will likely take the ball deep off the fairway if the ball is hit high up into the air. Therefore, the player should think of that crosswind the same as a headwind, one that fights a high ball flight and takes distance from the shot.

For every detrimental wind, the very best shot to learn is the knockdown shot. When making such a shot, think of slowing your swing down and executing that swing with a pronounced advancing of the hands. In addition, think of taking both a shorter back swing and a restricted follow through, and place the ball further back in your stance. In completing the follow through, be sure to swing low to the ground and towards the target, rather than lifting up and do not let the club go up over your shoulders and behind you.

Second, if you are at a yardage where you would be normally hitting a seven or eight iron, take a five or even a four iron. Concentrate on keeping the face closed, the hands advanced, and be sure to take that abbreviated swing. Remember, do not take a full back swing and be certain to keep your follow through restricted and low to the ground. The result will be a shot that stays much lower, looks much less majestic, but rides under the impact of the wind, keeping your shot online.

That same technique is very helpful in a detrimental crosswind. A right-handed golfer who tends to hit a fade or a slight slice will find that a left-to-right wind will further the ball flight by enhancing the spin action. Unfortunately, the shot going from left-to-right gently instead goes hard left-to-right and off into the rough or woods. Sometimes with greater yardage but usually just creating trouble. Taking the same strategy to hit a knockdown, even with a three wood can come in very handy.

When on the tee, add the one final touch. If you have a headwind or detrimental crosswind, take the time to tee the ball much lower. Again, the objective is different, here you want to make good contact but your goal is not to hit a high launching ball that the wind will take all the steam out of.

When facing a crosswind that matches your ball flight, you can actually take your normal swing. Just be certain that you understand that the wind, though helping to keep your ball in the middle of the fairway will also be taking some of the normal flight distance away as it keeps the ball online. Just be sure to take more club than normal, with the severity of the wind determining whether you need one or two or even three additional clubs.

Finally, there are those days that the wind is directly behind you. The prevailing breeze feels so good you tend to immediately let up on the swing knowing full well the ball is going to travel further than normal any way. Such a situation generally leads to a more fluid and consistent swing path, ensuring better contact and excellent ball flight.

Of course, to further enhance a tailwind, move the ball forward in your stance to seek out greater loft. Also when on the tee, raise the ball higher as you move the ball forward in your stance. The only area to be careful of is if you do put some side spin, the ball may carry much further and ride that wind a little longer, taking the ball further from the middle of the fairway. Adjusting so that you are aiming more down one side of the fairway or the other is a simple move to ensure that the prevailing wind does indeed help you every step of the way.

Instead of making these very simple game adjustments, many players often let the wind intimidate them. If it is blowing a gale, a player will often begin to over swing to try an compensate for the detrimental effects of the wind. Such a situation then causes him to struggle with both his swing and the wind, a disastrous combination.

Don't fall for the gimmick ball that supposedly has the built in capability to handle the wind. Instead, focus on your swing and the appropriate strategy that makes the wind a minimal factor. Playing on a windy day should be just as much fun as playing on any other day.