To spare patrons the risk of being banished from the property for the most promising Masters Tournament weekend in years, allow me to silently utter the chant.

U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A.

American Ryder Cup players turned Augusta National Golf Club into Valhalla on Friday. Half of the 12-member team that ended a decade of European dominance in September at the Louisville, Ky., course sit on the leaderboard heading to the weekend.

Decorum prohibits patrons from celebrating that fact. Augusta National is possibly the most courteous spot on Earth. Zealous displays of patriotism would be met with the same scorn as vendors hawking malted beverages. So, no "Beer here!" and no "U-S-A, U-S-A," either, but that doesn't mean the chant isn't ringing in some ears.

The Ryder Cup "gave me the confidence to know I can play in front of as many people that will come to a golf tournament," said Anthony Kim, who is tied for sixth, five shots off the lead.

"It improved my confidence to play in that atmosphere," he said. "It reassured me I can play on any level."

America's Ryder Cup players have found their games uneven since their Valhalla triumph.

Only Phil Mickelson and Kenny Perry have won, and just three of the other 10 have posted multiple top 10 finishes this year.

Chad Campbell, the Masters co-leader, had to shoot a final-round 64 to post his lone top-10 finish of the year, a tie for ninth at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Perry, the other co-leader, won the FBR Open but hasn't challenged anywhere else.

Kim hasn't finished higher than 17th this season.

Jim Furyk, tied for sixth, missed the cut in his last start and finished tied for 52nd at the tournament before that.

Call it the Ryder Cup hangover, and the Masters appears to be the equivalent of two aspirin and a gallon of water.

This weekend "ought to be very similar to the Ryder Cup," Perry said. "I put it all on the line that week, put all the pressure I could put on myself. And it's very similar to the way I'm hitting right here."

Americans have slipped on four of the past five green jackets, yet few of the final-round duels were Yank-on-Yank beatings.

Zach Johnson defeated South Africans Rory Sabbatini and Retief Goosen, along with Tiger Woods, by two strokes in 2007.

Phil Mickelson outlasted Goosen and Goosen's countryman, Tim Clark, along with Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal and Americans Fred Couples and Campbell in 2006.

Woods went head-to-head with fellow American Chris DiMarco in 2005, but the rest of the top 10 finishers were all from overseas.

Mickelson bested South African Ernie Els in 2004, and seven of the next 11 top finishers were foreigners.

Sunday could feature an international leaderboard, too. Argentina's Angel Cabrera is in third, and South Africa's Clark is fifth. Among the quintet tied for sixth are Sabbatini, Spain's Sergio Garcia and Japan's Shingo Katayama.

One stroke back sit Australia's Geoff Ogilvy, Fiji's Vijay Singh, Canada's Stephen Ames and Sweden's Henrik Stenson.

The American frontrunners know success under major pressure now, though, and should give their fellow Americans plenty of reason to chant "U-S-A" on Sunday. Those watching from their living rooms, at least.