RYDER CUP 12-man European team arrives with trophy to challenge Americans

The Europeans will try to retain the Ryder Cup against a strong U.S. team.
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Bernhard Langer walked off the plane and cleared customs with his right fist wrapped tightly around the Ryder Cup trophy.
The key is to get back on the plane at the end of the week with the 19-inch gold chalice.
The 12-man European team was together for the first time Monday afternoon, captain Langer and 11 players arriving on an Airbus 300 from London, with Luke Donald having driven up from the Chicago area where he makes his home.
U.S. captain Hal Sutton and his wife formed a receiving line, and Sutton couldn't keep his eyes off the trophy.
Langer is optimistic
Langer has reason to believe his team can capture the Ryder Cup for the seventh time in the last 10 matches, even though the Americans again look stronger on paper.
One of his captain's picks, Donald, won the European Masters two weeks ago for his second victory in two months. Padraig Harrington, the highest-ranked player in Europe, picked up his first victory of the year Sunday in the German Masters.
"For the first time, I think we are going over there not so much as underdogs," Colin Montgomerie said as the team left London. "Of course, it will be difficult -- don't get me wrong. Playing away from home is always harder. At the same time, I'll be very, very disappointed if we don't bring back what we're taking with us."
Tiger Woods, who lost his No. 1 ranking two weeks ago for the first time in five years, held a corporate clinic about 20 miles from Oakland Hills on Monday.
The U.S. team met for the first time together for dinner Monday night, although a few of them played casual practice rounds Monday -- Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Fred Funk, Chad Campbell and David Toms.
Mickelson was particularly dialed in. He took nearly six hours to play a practice round by himself, preparing for these matches like he does a major. A caddie placed six tiny flags at various spots on the green, and Mickelson chipped to all of them, pausing to fill his yardage book with notes.
The Americans have five Ryder Cup rookies, and not all of them can be called fresh-faced kids. The newcomers include the 47-year-old Funk and 44-year-old Kenny Perry, both of whom played in the Presidents Cup in South Africa last year against an International team comprised of players from everywhere in the world except Europe.
The International team was stronger than anything Europe can muster, with players such as Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen. The golf was at a higher level than usually seen in the Ryder Cup, which gets under way Friday in a biennial match that transforms the sport from genteel appreciation of good golf to a football mentality of "Us versus Them."