Nick Faldo might beg to differ but the last thing the Ryder Cup needs is another European walkover. It needs a real contest. A sporting battle full of talent and courage and fervent will to win.

A contest true to the legacy of the world's most famous sportsman, Muhammad Ali, who was born not far in miles but a world apart in privilege from the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.

Europe have won five out of the last six Ryder Cup matches. They won the last two, at the K Club, Dublin, and at Oakland Hills, Detroit, by 18.5 points to 9.5 points.

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Those were not contests. Not in the true sense. They were sporting massacres. There is a question mark over how much longer the American public have the stomach to take such beatings.

Which is why the 2008 Ryder Cup, which starts on Friday, September 19, requires golf's version of Ali v Frazier and the famous `Thrilla in Manilla', a toe-to-toe heavyweight slug-fest with the winner in doubt until the final punch.

There is every chance it will be much more competitive despite the USA being deprived of Tiger Woods who is not likely to play competitively again until next year due to his knee injury.

Actually, the American team, under captain Paul Azinger, might just be improved by the absence of the world's best golfer, who turned down Azinger's invite to act as vice-captain.

Some critics used that as evidence of Woods' ambivalence towards the event. In truth, much more likely is that it was respect for the 12 team members, who would have been competing in the shadow of a non-playing assistant who would have dominated the attention of the world's media.

Distractions

Can you imagine Woods offering advice or encouragement to Phil Mickelson? Can you imagine Mickelson taking it? No, Woods' presence would have been disruptive rather than helpful.

The plain fact is that Woods has never been the inspiration at the Ryder Cup that he has been in the 14 major championships he has won.

He is a player who prepares and practises in his own way, with team-mates appearing to be unnecessary distractions. His record supports that. Woods has won 10, lost 13 and halved two of his 25 Ryder Cup matches. A mediocre record for a man who arguably is the greatest player ever to wield a golf club.

The USA will not miss Woods. Much more important for Azinger is whether he can extract the best from Mickelson, who is so consistent on the US tour but who has been such a disappointment in the Ryder Cup.

Again, accusations have been thrown at Mickelson that he is not a `team man', and Azinger must not allow him to practise alone as Hal Sutton did in Detroit four years ago.

Team bonding and the right pairings are all-important in an event which throws together players who compete against each other every other week of the year. It is the most obvious reason for Europe's domination during the past decade. So many of Europe's golfers travel together and share the same accommodation. They know each other well and share a natural rapport, in stark contrast to the top Americans who tend to travel by executive jet and meet up only on the practice range.

That familiarity and understanding is so important, especially when it comes to foursomes when your partner might have deposited your ball in the darkest of places with the toughest of lies.

It is why I take Europe to bring home the trophy once more. They are a team with hunger and ambition, with a balance of youth and experience.

And no-one knows better than captain Faldo, a veteran of 11 campaigns as a player in which he won a record 25 points, what it takes to win the Ryder Cup.

So Europe are favourites, but for golf's sake let us hope the Americans take it down to the very last putt on the final green in the Sunday singles.

The contest must ensure it never repeats the gung-ho patriotism of the so-called `War on the Shore' at Kiawah Island in 1991, and it must guard against the over-zealous celebrations which saw the US entourage tramp across Jose Maria Olazabal's line at Brookline in 1999, the last time America were victorious.

But the Ryder Cup needs its edge to return. It needs to regain its unpredictability.

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