AFTER all the controversy and contrition, rancour and reconciliation, Europe's three days of destiny have arrived.

Sam Torrance may talk of fresh starts, of putting the disgraceful events at Brookline in 1999 to one side. But there is a burning desire in the European camp to recapture the Ryder Cup after it was snatched from their grasp in such unsavoury circumstances.

And against a United States team that has turned complaining into an art form in the past fortnight, Europe will never have a better chance of winning golf's greatest grudge match. All right, the 12 American players may hold sway in the world rankings; indeed, they could field two sides strong enough to give the Europeans a game.

In Tiger Woods, they possess the ultimate wild card; a golfing Sachin Tendulkar or Ronaldo who could ensure the retention of the trophy almost single-handedly.

But it's never quite that easy for America, is it? Not in a Ryder Cup that Europe have won four of the last seven times the sides have met.

Already, several United States players have vowed to head for the hills the moment their trigger-happy president authorises the dropping of the first bomb on Iraq.

In other words, they are worried that events 2,500 miles away that are of absolutely no relevance to the American Ryder Cup team could make them targets for retribution.

It's not the best frame of mind to have on the eve of one of the world's biggest sporting events, is it?

The Americans' repeated failure to play together for the good of their country - they see "teamwork" as two separate words - have cost them dear in recent years.

It took a staggering golfing effort, plus a huge amount of gamesmanship by boorish home fans in particular, to overhaul Europe's commanding 10-6 lead three years ago. Torrance's men won't be so profligate if they find themselves in the same position this Sunday, that's for sure.

It remains to be seen, too, whether the Americans' emotion-fuelled build-up to the event following the September 11 atrocities that forced the 12-month delay in the resumption of Ryder Cup hostilities will help or hinder them. One suspects that the occasion may prove too big for one or two of their visiting players.

And then we come to Woods. Clearly the best golfer in the world by the distance of one of his mammoth drives, he has an abject Ryder Cup record for one so talented. Perhaps his game will come together at The Belfry, and if he wins five points for his country Europe can forget about retaining the trophy.

But how important is this event to Woods? Not as important as winning £650,000 at last week's American Express World Championship, he admitted.

Which brings us back to the team ethic that is so crucial in the Ryder Cup, and which gives Europe a massive edge.

Most American fans, so caught up with their own importance, won't have even heard of European rookies Niclas Fasth, Pierre Fulke, Phillip Price or Paul McGinley.

They'll know all about at least a couple of them by Sunday evening.

Allied to their promise is the experience of Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie - thankfully free from the mindless abuse that scars his trips across the Atlantic - and the brilliance of Sergio Garcia.

Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn, unlike almost every player on the US Tour, do not have an inferiority complex about taking on Woods. Lee Westwood is coming back to something approaching his best form after almost two years in the doldrums.

And even the Americans, normally reluctant to give praise to rivals, accept Padraig Harrington will be a pivotal figure over the next three days.

So, the United States are ultra-confident of victory. So what?

Europe, helped by indefatigable team spirit and partisan support on both sides of the Atlantic, have caused the odd upset or two in the past.

And if ever the Americans' soft underbelly has been exposed, it is now.