Last time the Americans won the Ryder Cup, I had a welt on my head for a week. I was a month into college. I had built a loft in my dorm room (Dabney…what what?) to create a couch space below my bed. Sitting beside my buddy Boland, I watched as Justin Leonard’s unbelievable putt rolled in to clinch the Cup for the U.S., and simultaneously, Boland and I leapt up and smashed our heads into the woodwork directly above.

The pain subsided quickly, and we celebrated the completion of the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history by running up and down the halls of Old Dorms.

For me, this puts into perspective just how long the U.S. drought has been. And if the pre-match hype is to be believed, this year does not bode well for ending the streak.

Tiger is sidelined as his bionic knee continues to heal in preparation for winning every major between 2009 and 2020. Captain Paul Azinger has six Ryder Cup rookies on the squad. And Phil “I’m still coping with the 2007 Open loss” Mickelson is the team’s star player.

But I say the hell with all that. The Americans are taking back the Cup, and here’s why.

First of all, a Tigerless team is the best thing that could have happened to Azinger. For starters, Tiger sucks in the Ryder Cup. He is terrible at team golf. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t kick him off my scramble team, but he seems to do more harm than good in this format. Every time the Euros beat him, it seems to energize their squad and crush ours, and momentum is everything the Cup.

Secondly, those six rookies are going to be the difference in this match. They are making their debut on home soil, and the Valhalla crowd is going to be electric. Plus, Azinger’s changes to the selection criteria make it so that the team is now comprised of the players playing the best right now. Anthony Kim, Ben Curtis, and Boo Weekley have been lights out of late. Steve Stricker is one of the most underrated players on tour. J.B. Holmes is going to be a hometown favorite. And Hunter Mahan played well in a similar format at the President’s Cup.

And finally, Mickelson is going to take a back seat the Kenny Perry this weekend. The Kentucky native is going to be fired up, and he will have the team ready to play (and very well may set the pace, if the projected pairings are accurate).

As for the Euros, Captain Nick Faldo decided to cut the U.S. some slack by passing over Colin Montgomerie and Darren Clarke with his captain picks. Both those guys have torched us in recent years, and it will be nice to have them sidelined. It also may have ticked off a few of Euro side’s key players (see: Paddy & Lee Westwood).

Overall, the biggest difference between this and the Ryder Cups of the last few years is that the U.S. is finally acknowledged as the underdogs. I have never understood how we continued to be the media favorites as we continued to lose. Clearly, Tiger, despite his awful record, prevented his team from achieving the underdog role, but with him at home with his hot, pregnant wife, the Euros are being conceded favored status.

As a result, the Americans will be loose but determined. The Euros will take their customary two day lead into Sunday, but the difference will be slim (Europe 8 ½ U.S. 7 1/2). Then the home side boys will clinch the singles and bring the Cup back to the States. Final score: U.S. 14 ½ Europe 13 ½