Payne Stewart's back on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, which means Bruce Springsteen is, too. The music will echo through the hall on the team's floor in the Four Seasons hotel. It will be loud. It will wake up the masses. It will be blared without warning.

	Rain or shine, Payne Stewart plans to be the U.S. team's biggest cheerleader when play begins Friday.

The perfect wake-up call for an American team that has been asleep during the past two Ryder Cups.

The top two players in the world are on the U.S. squad at The Country Club, but Tiger Woods and David Duval aren't the leaders of this team. Neither is Mark O'Meara, whose recent credentials and experience should provide more inspiration than they actually do.

The heart and soul of Team USA is Stewart, a player whose love of the Ryder Cup is legendary among those who have played with or against him. He is passionate in support of his teammates and his country, which U.S. captain Ben Crenshaw hopes rubs off the rest of the group. The Americans, while doing everything they could to win in 1995 at Oak Hill and 1997 at Valderrama, haven't had much emotional or vocal leadership.

They do now.

"He's one of the most vocal players on our side," Crenshaw said. "There's no questioning that. And you have to hand it to him. Here's a player in, I think, the prime of his career. He said very early on, way early in the season what he wanted to do. He wanted to win another major championship and he wanted to make the Ryder Cup team. To have done that in this stage of his career was very, very meaningful to him. He is a proven gamer.

"And for that reason, the players can look to him. He's won three majors and has had a marvelous career. This does mean quite a lot to him. And I think the respect level goes up, at least on our team, when you talk about Payne."

Davis Love III agreed.

"Payne always adds something. ... He's fired up about it. And I think whoever goes out with him to play had better be ready for that, that he's going to be fired up and excited. He's going to get us going in the mornings and keep us focused on what we're doing.

"I think Payne adds an awful lot o this team because he is what the Ryder Cup's all about."

Stewart, 42, has played on four Ryder Cup teams but watched the past two from his couch at home in Orlando. That obviously didn't sit too well, especially for someone who had played on the past two winning U.S. teams (1991-93).

"Sitting in your living room, you can't make any difference whatsoever," Stewart said Wednesday after a practice round. "So here I am. And if Captain Crenshaw chooses to play me, I feel I can make a difference playing. If he chooses not to play me, I'll make a difference by being out there supporting my team.

"There's one sure way to get on the team and that's playing your way on. I thought I was a reasonable selection as a captain's pick (in '95 and '97), but I didn't want to be a captain's pick. I think I'm better than a captain's pick and I didn't prove that the last two (Ryder Cups). ... So, yeah, I was frustrated that I wasn't there because I couldn't do anything about it."

That's changed this time around.

"I can do something about it this week by playing well or supporting my other teammates when I'm not out there," he said. "Sitting at home on my couch watching it, you can't do anything but get frustrated and that's what I was. I was frustrated."

Stewart figures to play in at least four of the five matches during the three-day competition, perhaps even all five. Although his Ryder Cup record isn't stunning (8-7-1), he's having a huge year with wins at Pebble Beach and at Pinehurst in the U.S. Open. His winnings of $2,077,950 would be even more magnified, if not for the spectacular seasons being put together by Woods and Duval.

All of that, however, is forgotten this week. No one cares about the money or the wins. All that matters is the trophy. Europe has it and the U.S. wants it back. Stewart is leading the charge, waving the flag and shaking his first.

"I haven't even been loud yet because it hasn't started," he said. "I'm enthusiastic. I will be enthusiastic. We've got the music all set up. I've got it on a certain time schedule, so it will be played a appropriate times and different things like that."

As Stewart spoke, O'Meara nodded his head.

"He's a beauty," O'Meara said. "Payne's Payne. You've got to know Payne. I know Payne pretty well, on and off the course, away from all of this. He's got a tremendous love for the game of golf and it shows. ... It's always good having Payne on a team. He's very emotional. He's very positive. And I think that helps our team."

Stewart's father was a PGA professional, so he is well-versed in the history of the Ryder Cup. He is also often mentioned as a future Ryder Cup captain. He is focusing this week on getting the Cup back, but he admits he has often thought about what he would do if he is ever leading the U.S. team as its captain.

"It's something that I would look forward to, if I have that opportunity," Stewart said. "Every time I look around what's going on this week, I'm trying to learn for future reference. And I'm drawing on past teams that I've been on, what I liked, what I didn't like.

"And I'm going to put when I'm captain, if that time comes, I'm going to put the things that I like on the team and do what I think my team would like, whether that be going to a baseball game together or whatever. That's what we're going to do."

At that point, O'Meara interrupted with a wisecrack: "We'd probably go see Bruce Springsteen in concert."

"You bet your ass we would," Stewart said.