The American team's stylish, modern uniforms for Day 1 of the Ryder Cup involve a nice twist on tradition -- golf shirts in an aysmmetric argyle pattern (click the photo to enlarge). The right side of the shirts feature a row of oversized black blow-ups of the classic argyle, a traditional pattern in golf dating from its early days in Scotland. The other side retains the argyle, smaller, in outline down the front. Trousers are solid black, with either black or white belts, player's choice.

The European team also went with an asymmetric design: zippered golf shirts with a single royal-blue sporting stripe across the chest (like a ski sweater) and rows of contrasting horizontal stripes down the back. It is the third European uniform so far featuring a light-blue theme, this time over dove-gray trousers, matching the gray collars of their shirts.

The U.S. uniforms were snappy, graphic, and modern-looking -- op-art without being distracting.

(Photos: Mickelson and Kim, Westwood and Garcia by Robert Beck/SI)