By Martin Dempster

Copyright scotsman

Nick Faldo, a two-time Ryder Cup winner on US soil, has urged the European players to believe they can “outplay” the Americans in the 45th edition at Bethpage Black. The Englishman also urged Luke Donald’s dozen to “save some energy” for Sunday’s singles as Europe bid to land a first win on US soil since the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ in 2012. Faldo played in 11 Ryder Cups, including victories in 1987 at Muirfield Village, where Tony Jacklin was the captain, then again under Bernard Gallacher’s leadership at Oak Hill in 1995. “What does it take?” he said of a European team triumphing on the other side of the Atlantic, where the visitors have suffered heavy losses in the last two contests. “I think it obviously starts with the belief that it’s doable. In ‘85 (when Europe won at The Belfry), we were down in the bar afterwards and we were singing to West Side Story ‘we’re going to win in America, we’re going to win in America’. So that’s two years before.” The Europeans duly delivered with a 15-13 win at Muirfield Village, founded by Jack Nicklaus and the US captain on that occasion, while Faldo was equally pleased to be part of a team that triumphed 14.5-13.5 at Oak Hill eight years later. “You’ve got to go in with the right attitude,” he added, speaking to The Scotsman at The Belfry as he hosted the Betfred British Masters. “That you’ve got the team and the possibilities. And you’ve just got to believe you’re going to outplay them. You know it’s going to be tough and we have to adapt to Jack’s greens, which were like 15 on the stimp.” At Oak Hill, Europe trailed by two points heading into the singles and fell further behind when a struggling Seve Ballesteros lost the top match to Tom Lehman before pulling off a memorable win. “It was almost a lock that America were going to win the singles, wasn’t it?” observed six-time major winner Faldo. “And I think that slowly changed in our era. And that gives you the belief that, wow, if you can just get a couple of points lead, and then you got a shorter distance to get to 14 points, you’ve got a chance to do it. You’ve got to save some energy for Sunday, that’s very important as well. “Sunday is a different animal when you’re all on your own and I was talking to Luke about that. All week you’re in a team, you arrive for breakfast, and there’s partners with you, and you chat, chat, chat and you go to the range. Then you come down in the singles on Sunday, and you’re like, ‘hmm, I’m the only one here’ and it’s a weird feeling. “So they’ve learned in that respect and the assistant captains play a big part in that. But, at the end of the day, you’re 12, but then on Sunday you are 12 individuals. You’re a team, and then you go to ten. I’ve always said the Ryder Cup is getting carried away as a team of 12. It’s not, it’s a team of two, and then you’re on your own. “It’s really two, and you’ve got to look after your partner, and that’s all you can control. What the other guys do, you just hope they’re doing a great job, because it does filter and you feel like you’re on a roll. But, bottom line, you’re two guys trying to beat them two, and you just have to get in there and do it.”