In this case, the short shot was much more impressive.

Love, who went 19 days without touching a club because of a pinched nerve in his neck, proclaimed himself fit for the Ryder Cup and said he might even be available for two matches a day if he's playing well.

"I feel fine now," Love said. "I'm actually shocked at how good I feel."

Love never doubted he could play in his fourth consecutive Ryder Cup, although some doubts were raised because of the pinched nerve, which caused pain in his shoulder and back and even some numbness in his fingers.

"I'd have to break my arm not to play," he said.

Love first felt the pain in the PGA Championship, but he played the next two weeks in the Sprint International and the NEC Invitational at Firestone. Doctors told him to do nothing the past three weeks, and that's what Love did -- no hunting, no picking up his two children. He didn't even hammer up plywood on his Sea Island, Ga., home when Hurricane Floyd threatened.

He started hitting balls on Friday, no more than a 9-iron and has slowly worked his way through the rest of the bag. He planned a practice round Tuesday, his first 18 holes of golf since the final round of Firestone.

"I'm sure my game is not 100 percent, but health-wise I'm 100 percent," he said. "I can still feel it every once in a while, if I hit a 5-iron and try to hold it. But I'll be fine."

Love is one of the most experienced Americans in the Ryder Cup -- no one has a longer streak than his four. He has felt both sides of the emotional fence, having won the decisive match in 1993 for the last U.S. victory, and then getting shut out two years ago at Valderrama.

Love has yet to win this year, but he has consistently given himself chances. That's one reason he expects to have his game in good shape when the matches start Friday.

He also got some reassurances from assistant captain Bruce Lietzke, renowned for taking weeks off at a time, never practicing and playing as though he never stopped.

"Three weeks off isn't such a bad way to go, is it?" Lietzke asked him.

He'll find out Friday.