Woods and Stricker are perfect fit

SAN FRANCISCO – Going back to Tom Kite in the 1997 Ryder Cup, U.S. captains have tried to come up with the right partner for Tiger Woods in team competition.

Which is about as challenging as picking a dance partner for Fred Astaire. Anything less than Ginger Rogers, and the tango will be terrible. Might as well pair Woods with Elaine Benes.

One choice made a lot of sense, but even Jim Furyk and Woods came up short, losing two matches in the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club in Ireland.

One choice made no sense whatsoever: Remember the Woods-Mickelson duo during the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills? Hal Sutton does. Captain Sutton went with the twosome in the four-ball and foursomes matches on the first day and came up with zero points. Sutton was the only human on the planet who didn’t realize it would never work.

Now, finally, during this week’s Presidents Cup at Harding Park comes the best choice of all. Ladies and gentlemen, we present Steve Stricker, Ginger Rogers in spikes. There hasn’t been a combination this potent in the Bay Area since Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.

For the first time in a grand total of 11 Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups, Woods is 4-0 heading into Sunday’s singles. He and Stricker became the first players to post such a lofty record in team competition since Larry Nelson and Lanny Wadkins in the 1979 Ryder Cup.

Woods and Stricker won twice on Saturday – 1 up against Mike Weir and Tim Clark and 4 and 2 over the previously unbeaten Y.E. Yang and Ryo Ishikawa.

As with most successful dance partners, each person knows when to take the lead. In the morning, it was Woods. Trailing by one on the 17th green and with the International team looking at an excellent chance to finish the match, Woods did what Woods does. He rolled in a 22-foot birdie putt, the ball tumbling into the cup on its last revolution. Weir then missed his 4-footer to halve the hole. The match was suddenly all square.

On 18, Woods reached the green on the par 5 in two, his 232-yard approach with a full 3-iron stopping just 9 feet from the hole. When the Internationals failed to make a birdie, Woods’ eagle putt was conceded.

”He kept telling me we are going to win this match, turn this thing and get the crowd on our side,” Stricker said during the break. ”Believing is one thing, you know, and he pulled some great shots off at the end.”

In the afternoon, it was Stricker who took over. Starting at No. 5, Stricker, one of the premier putters on the tour, made four birdies in a row. The U.S. went from all square to four up. Game, set, match. Even Woods and Benes wouldn’t blow that lead.

After the birdie at 7, Stricker even did a mini-fist pump and glanced over at his partner. Woods nodded his head several times. He played with Stricker quite a bit during the FedEx Cup playoffs in August and September – nothing surprises him. Stricker made seven of the team’s eight afternoon birdies.

”Today was a pleasure to watch Steve play,” Woods said. ”I was a cheerleader most of the day.”

Of course, Stricker will never garner the attention Woods gets. President Barack Obama barely does.

Woods and Stricker went six up through 12, and despite a surprising lapse – Yang and Ishikawa took three holes in a row – they closed it out with a conceded birdie at 16.

The pair made it look effortless on Saturday. However, the magical pairing didn’t just surface in San Francisco.

”We have been talking about this for a long time,” Woods said. ”Stricks and I have been friends for a very long time. Our attitudes and how we play the game are very similar.”

There is only one downer about this seemingly invincible pair – Stricker is 42 years old, almost a decade older than Woods. They won’t be dance partners forever.

Making an appearance at Harding Park this week was Corey Pavin, the captain of the 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup squad. Think Pavin is taking notes? You might as well pencil Stricker in right now. If he doesn’t make the team on points, expect Pavin to pick him anyway … unless he’s pulled a Duval, which he won’t.

Woods will have to go it alone on Sunday afternoon against Yang in a rematch of this year’s PGA at Hazeltine.

No matter, Woods will be fine. Even Astaire didn’t have Rogers all the time.