Internationals aren't used to playing match favorites

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They have won once just once in the 17-year history of the competition, and that victory came almost a generation ago.

They didn't come close in the last two matches, losing by identical five-point spreads (19.5-14.5), which seems like three touchdowns in team golf.

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But when the ninth Presidents Cup starts Wednesday night (9 p.m. ET, U.S. time) in Australia, the International team is unquestionably the favorites to win for the first time since they trounced the Americans, 20.5-11.5 in 1998.

What's not to like about the International team?

They have the only player in the field who won a major this year, Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa. They are in better form, having four of its team members finish in the top 10 Sunday at the Emirates Australian Open in Sidney (Jason Day, Geoff Ogilvy and Adam Scott were each T4, and Aaron Baddeley was T9). The Americans, by comparison, had just two top-10 finishers -- Tiger Woods (third) and Nick Watney (T4) -- while five other U.S. players finished outside of the top 25.

It doesn't help the American team that two of its players, Steve Stricker and Hunter Mahan, are nursing injuries. Stricker (bulging disc) hasn't played in a tournament in seven weeks and Mahan withdrew from the Australian Open with pain in his right shoulder. Both are expected to play, but what happens if they aggravate the injuries?

But most importantly, the International team has two of the biggest advantages in golf on its side -- a familiar course in Royal Melbourne, site of its only Presidents Cup win, and very exuberant fans. It was no mystery why International captain Greg Norman, himself an Aussie, loaded his team with five Australians that seem to know every blade of grass on Royal Melbourne and will be cheered for their every move.

"I think the environment is going to be exactly what it was like in 1998. It's going to be very, very enthusiastic," Norman said. "Obviously, the balance of my team is predominately southern hemisphere guys, South Africa and Australia. The guys are extremely excited. They know they have lost the Presidents Cup every year except one, and they want to try to win the Presidents Cup, no question, and the Aussies want to do it in their backyard."

Norman carries flag

Although he has lived in the United States since the early 1980s, make no mistake -- Greg Norman remains a proud Aussie -- proud of his country, proud of the people who live there, proud of the various cultures, the uniqueness, the friendliness that comes with being Australian. Column

No, there won't be the sort of acrimony that always seems to pop up at the Ryder Cup. The Presidents Cup has always been able to avoid scenes like fans cheering for opposing team's three-putts and such. But this won't be a stroll in the park for a young American team that includes five rookies and a former world No. 1 (Woods) who is still trying to find his old, brilliant form.

"I think there's no question as a player, you like to have that friendly crowd," Norman said. "I don't care what sport you play. When you walk into that arena and you hear everybody pulling for you and yelling your name and cheering for and you hearing positive cheers, it really makes you relax. When you go into an arena where somebody is yelling negative comments to you, and really getting at you in a bad fashion, it puts a lot more weight. It's going to be a very strong individual to turn your mind off to that, especially in the game of golf, where you've got a lot of downtime between shots."

Make no mistake, even though Norman won't hit a shot, his fingerprints will be all over the International team. Norman was the captain when the Internationals lost its third consecutive match two years ago at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. With the matches in his homeland, the last thing Norman wants is to have perhaps his last big moment in golf end in a loss.

"Greg is busting to win one," Australian Geoff Ogilvy told Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson. "He's just hyper-competitive. He didn't win the last time. It's in Australia, and it's his favorite course. It's all lined up to be a great moment at the end of Greg's career."

Maybe that's why Norman hasn't been bashful about saying -- repeatedly -- that U.S. Captain Fred Couples shouldn't have selected Woods after he played in just nine PGA TOUR events this year with two top-10s. Norman already is trying to get into the head of a player who went 5-0-0 in the 2009 Presidents Cup.

Couples knows his players face a formidable task. "They have a great team," Couples said of the Internationals. "They have a power-packed team."

Yet, the Americans aren't going halfway around the world to play the role of the Washington Generals to the Harlem Globetrotters. One thing the Americans have usually been able to rely on in team matches is their depth of talent.

"Not all of the players are going to be playing their best," Couples said. "But what you need is consistency and you need to get points, and we have been very good at that over the years."

Good enough to keep the Americans' win streak going? On paper, it doesn't look that way, does it?

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.