AKRON, Ohio -- Once the U.S. team was set for the Ryder Cup, the running joke was that Brett Wetterich had never met Tiger Woods. By the end of last week, Woods got to know all four rookies quite well.

In another sign that Woods is taking on more of a leadership role, he took the quartet of Ryder Cup rookies to dinner Friday night at the Diamond Grill restaurant near Firestone.

"He called and said, 'Can you get me directions?"' said Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at IMG. "Before he hung up, I told him they don't take credit cards; it was all cash. He said, 'Oh."'

Woods presumably had enough bills floating around to cover the tab.

The world's No. 1 player has never been terribly vocal about the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup teams. But the oldest player on this team is Scott Verplank (42), who is playing in his second Ryder Cup. The only player with more experience than Woods is Phil Mickelson, who has played on one more team.

U.S. captain Tom Lehman said the fact Woods and Mickelson rearranged their schedules to join the charter to Ireland spoke volumes about their responsibility to help guide this team.

"It's huge," Lehman said before going to the airport Sunday night. "Both decided to do that on their own. I didn't say anything."

When asked if it sent a strong message to the other 10 Americans, Lehman replied, "It sends a strong message to the other team, too."

Woods said the charter trip -- or even the dinner with Wetterich, Zach Johnson, Vaughn Taylor and J.J. Henry -- had nothing to do with sending messages. He just wants to win.

"Our whole deal is to come together, gain experience, gain some knowledge on the golf course and be ready to play come time for the cup," Woods said. "It's not about sending messages. It's about making putts and executing, and making 2s, 3s and 4s, nothing higher."

ON THE ROOF: Gary Hallberg made one of the wackiest pars on the PGA TOUR, a story he relives a couple of times a year. It came up again last week when Tiger Woods hit a 9-iron that went onto and over the clubhouse roof at Firestone.

Hallberg once hit a shot that stayed on the roof -- and he played it from there in the 1982 Bob Hope Classic.

"I had an uphill lie on the 16th hole at Indian Wells," Hallberg said. "I had 150 yards to the hole, took a smooth 7-iron and got a flyer. I thought, 'Oh, geez, that's out of here."'

Hallberg still hasn't seen Woods' shot, but his reaction was similar. He thought it was out-of-bounds.

"The clubhouse wasn't out-of-bounds," he said in a telephone interview Sunday night. "My drop would have been in the rocks, or I could take an unplayable (lie) and go back to the fairway. The rules official said, 'Or you could play it.' And he was chuckling."

Hallberg decided to check out his lie on the roof, so he found the club manager, who was working at a barbecue for guests. They got a ladder, climbed onto the roof and saw the ball in a bed of gravel and tar.

"There were two palm trees between me and the green," Hallberg said. "I had 60 or 70 yards, and I hit it about 30 feet past the hole. I missed every putt that day. But I made that one."

Hallberg said the gallery went crazy when he climbed onto the roof. And when he made the putt?

"It was the biggest roar I had ever heard for me," he said.

DON'T MESS WITH MICKELSON: Pete Bender learned the hard way not to mess with Phil Mickelson. Three years ago, when Bender was the caddie for Rocco Mediate, he found slugs on the cart path during a practice round at Kapalua and put some on the seat of Mickelson's cart as a joke. Little did he know that Lefty would be so engaged in conservation that he would sit down without seeing them.

Squish.

Mickelson promised he would get even, and he delivered in a big way after the third round at Firestone.

Bender, now working for Aaron Baddeley, came off the course Saturday and was promptly greeted by a police officer who told him he was under arrest for an outstanding warrant. Bender's face turned white, and before he knew what was happening, he was in the back seat of a squad car.

After the players signed their cards, Mickelson and Baddeley went over to check on him. Now, Bender was in a position of trying to explain why he had been arrested. He pleaded with the officer to explain the charge.

Illegal transportation of snails on a golf course.

Bender knew he had been had.

Mickelson got his revenge.

MAKING ENDS MEET: What does the U.S. Amateur champion do for spending money? He caddies at Royal Aberdeen, for starters.

"I caddie quite a bit when I can," Richie Ramsay said. "Obviously, I'm playing a lot of tournaments in the summer. You know, when I can go out caddying, I do it. We've all got to make some money. ... Everybody's got to make a living and I'm still a student. Have to pay for nights out somehow." Ramsay said he normally charges about $50 for a loop at Royal Aberdeen. "I may negotiate a bit higher now," he said with a smile.

DIVOTS: Sergio Garcia was seen at Firestone last week with Morgan-Leigh Norman, a student at Boston College. If the last name looks familiar, it should -- she is Greg Norman's daughter. "She's a wonderful girl and we'll see how it goes," Garcia said. ... Michelle Wie has a new caddie, at least for the next month. Golfweek magazine reported that Wie has hired Andrew Lano for the Omega European Masters on Sept. 7-10 in Switzerland, followed by the 84 Lumber Classic on the PGA TOUR. Lano has spent most of his career working for Kenny Perry. ... Here's a startling checkup on the rest of the "Big Five" from the start of the year: Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els were a combined 25-over par at the Bridgestone Invitational. ... Jack Nicklaus opened his 300th golf course last week at Sebonack Golf Club in Long Island, N.Y., which he designed with Tom Doak.

STAT OF THE WEEK: Since the U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson has finished a combined 58 shots behind Tiger Woods in the four tournaments they have played.

FINAL WORD: "If they had won the last two, would they be making this trip?" -- Padraig Harrington on the U.S. Ryder Cup team going to Ireland for two days to practice. Europe has won the last two times in the Ryder Cup.