Golf: First Tee - Nit picking

TEAMWORK is what Mark James, Europe's Ryder Cup captain, will be banking on to defeat the Americans at Brookline, near Boston, in a fortnight's time. Ben Crenshaw, the US captain, having criticised some of his players, including Mark O'Meara, for suggesting they should be paid to play, has been accused of indiscretion by O'Meara, but it has nothing to do with the row over money.

When Crenshaw named Steve Pate as one of his selections he mentioned that he had received a call from O'Meara who pointed out that Pate had finished third in the US Open at Brookline in 1988. "I was disappointed that got out in the Press," O'Meara said. "It doesn't make me look good with Lee Janzen or anyone else who wasn't selected. I apologised to Janzen and told him I wasn't specifically lobbying for Pate. Ben didn't need to use me to justify his pick. He asked me my opinion and I gave it but he didn't have to tell the Press." Nobody, it seems, can keep a secret. Prince Andrew is expected to attend the Ryder Cup and there is now speculation he will be joined by President Clinton. How do we know this? The course at Brookline has been visited by the Secret Service.