National Unity the theme for Wednesday's practice

By Scott Crockett- Europeantour.com

National unity proved the theme for Captain Nick Faldo's second official practice selection at Valhalla Golf Club on Wednesday morning as the European Team moved a day closer to the beginning of their defence of The Ryder Cup.

While Tuesday's first practice session saw the Team go out in three balls to help familiarise themselves with the Jack Nicklaus-designed layout, the Wednesday morning session saw the 12 players line up with partners for the first time and they were more than familiar with the men alongside them on the tee.

First up were the Spanish duo of Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jiménez who set off in the company of the Irish pairing of Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell; while the second grouping saw Englishmen Paul Casey and Oliver Wilson line up alongside the only twosome of the day not to be matched nationalistically; Denmark's Søren Hansen and England's Lee Westwood.

Completing the morning session were the Swedes Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson in the company of the last of the five Englishmen in Nick Faldo's 12 strong line-up, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose, who played together for England in the 2007 World Cup.