Thursday, July 6 2006 14:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Dublin: United States Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman has rounded on the critics who believe he will turn up at the K Club in Ireland in September with a team packed with little-known, unproven and pampered youngsters.

Lehman's European counterpart Ian Woosnam has said he believes half of the names currently occupying the top ten positions in the American Ryder Cup qualifying table don't have the experience to win back the trophy.

Although Zach Johnson has twiced crossed the Atlantic to play in the British Open, others like JJ Henry, Lucas Glover, Vaughn Taylor and Brett Wetterich have never played in a significant tournament outside of the US Tour.

Lehman, however, said Wednesday he was angered by the perception on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean that we are a bunch of spoiled Americans, who travel in private jets, don't have heart and who only play well in warm weather and no wind.

"I see a lot of very unspoiled golfers. A lot of guys grew up playing in harsh conditions, in Minnesota, or the north east in Seattle where it rains a lot. They are tough guys," he said.

"Vaughn Taylor gets brought up a lot since he's one of those guys you (Europeans) have never heard of in the top ten," he said.

"He grew up in Augusta on a municipal golf course, he's never been to a private club and he's had to earn anything. He's a tough competitor and a tough individual," he said.

Lehman was speaking at the K Club where on Thursday he will tee off in the first round of the European Open, combining his visit to County kildare with an opportunity to inspect the preparations for the Ryder Cup which takes place at the course from 22-24 September.

Lehman also made it clear he had concerns over US star Tiger Woods, as the world's number one golfer continues to mourn the death of his father Earl.

When asked how long it would take for Woods to get back to his normal self on the golf course, Lehman replied: "I wish I knew the answer to that.

"I think Tiger's father was always the guy he could go to, no matter what the situation or no matter what the circumstances," he said.

"He could give him the straight truth and the perfect advice he needed and I don't know how you replace someone like that," he said.

"You can have all kinds of great friends around you and a great wife and everything, but there's no way to replace what you lost so I guess I can't answer that question," he said.

Lehman also admitted that like previous American Ryder Cup captains he had yet to figure out who will play alongside Woods in September.

"Sometimes you put the wrong guy with Tiger and he is way more concerned and way more worried about Tiger than about Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood.

"How do you beat Clarke and Westwood if you are just trying to keep your partner from being mad at you or staying out of the way," he said.

None of Lehmans potential team members are joining him at the European Open this week, despite the opportunity to get to know the Irish venue, but there is still a strong field for the tournament.

Former US Open champions Retief Goosen and Michael Campbell are taking part along with top players such as Clarke and Colin Montgomerie.

The Ryder Cup, a team competition between the leading professional golfers of Europe and the United States, is normally played every two years.

Europe currently holds the trophy after a record 18.5-9.5 win over the US at Oakland Hills, Michigan in 2004.