By Bruce Berlet
PGATOUR.com contributor

NORTON, Mass. -- Life couldn't be too much sweeter for J.J. Henry these days -- on or off the golf course.

The weekend Henry qualified for his first Ryder Cup team at the PGA Championship, The Hartford Financial Services Group, which began sponsoring the Connecticut native in 2002, extended his contract two years through 2008.

Then after the second round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Tiger Woods asked Henry and fellow Ryder Cup rookies Vaughn Taylor, Zach Johnson and Brett Wetterich to dinner.

"It tells you how much Tiger really cares," said Henry, who rallied for a 3-under 68 on Sunday to move into a tie for fourth after three rounds of the Deutsche Bank Championship at the TPC Boston. "And I even made a point to say to him -- not to speak for all of us -- but it meant a lot to us that he took time to do that. He said he's an open book, that whatever he can do to help he wants to do.

"It means the world, and I think Tiger enjoys the role. He even mentioned that his first few Ryder Cups there were guys on the team who were twice his age and could be his father. He's 30, and we've got four or five guys who are kind of the similar age that we can relate to and our wives are friends.

"It was a neat way to kind of set the tone for our trip to Ireland. It was nice to finally make the team, not worry about trying to make points and just go out and play golf again. Then to go to dinner, it was like, 'This is fun, but it's time to get after it.' We didn't just talk Ryder Cup, but we did talk about what to expect from the crowd and how to get acclimated. It's obviously a different atmosphere, and everyone has to play in their first to experience it. You're going to be anxious and nervous, but that's what it's all about. It's what kind of excites me."

Henry said Woods also seemed to like the idea of having teammates similar in age.

"We kind of grew up playing amateur, junior and college golf together, and I think he probably enjoys the fact that we kind of relate to each other," Henry said. "Not that he can't relate to the older guys, but it's nice to hang out with players, caddies and wives kind of our age. He said hopefully we'll be doing this stuff together for a long time."

Maybe even having Woods pick up more tabs, as he did that night.

"It was an all-cash place, and he whipped out a couple of hundreds and off we went," Henry said with a smile. "I offered to pay, but he insisted."

Henry finished in a tie for 10th in the Bridgestone Invitational as Woods won his fourth straight title, then the two hopped on a charter with their other 10 Ryder Cup teammates and flew to The K Club in Ireland, where the Americans will try to regain golf's most prized team trophy Sept. 22-24 after their worst defeat in 2004.

Henry said the team was "like a bunch of fraternity brothers" during 60 hours together. During and between flights and practice sessions, they played cards, fished and visited an Irish pub for a few Guinness. Captain Tom Lehman might frown a bit on any link to "Animal House," but Henry's assessment of the U.S. side's first such get-together was well meaning and to the point.

"It was a great bonding time," Henry said. "It was very relaxed and open, and Tom really instilled some team unity trying to get some young and veteran players together. As important as it was to see the golf course, it was almost more important to spend some time with the other guys and caddies and kind of really bond as a unit and have a good time.

"Tom has made a point to mention that, and I would firmly agree that if we go there and have fun, we're probably going to play a lot better golf. We're going to do EVERYTHING as a team. We're going to go over there to bond, to be one and hopefully win as a team. As a person growing up who always liked playing team sports and being a captain in high school, it's nice to be part of that team atmosphere as opposed to you against the world like it is every other week."

Woods insisted rearranging his schedule to travel with the team and buying dinner for the rookies wasn't an attempt to send a message. But it showed a changed modus operandi toward the biennial matches against Europe and his overriding desire to win.

"The trip was important for all of us," Woods said. "I've played at The K Club about 20 times while doing some fishing before the British Open, but a lot of the guys hadn't been there before. It was nice for all of us to get over there and play, even though the rain was coming down sideways the first day. That wasn't a whole lot of fun, but hanging out at night, most of the guys played poker and we tipped back a couple, so that was nice.

"And I just wanted to take (the rookies) out and explain some of the things that I went through my first year, some of the things they can expect, some of the obligations we have to do before the Ryder Cup that they weren't aware of. It's a very, very busy week, and there's a lot of things going on and a lot of distractions and a lot of things tugging at you, and I just wanted to make them fully aware of it."

Woods said he felt had "earned my right" to be more vocal and try to help galvanize the team.

"I'm one of the vets now," said Woods, who was 7-11-2 as the U.S. went 1-3 in the last four Ryder Cups. "When I first played on these teams, I was still wet behind the ears and hadn't earned my stripes. Davis (Love III), Freddie (Couples), Jay Haas, (Mark) O'Meara, Payne Stewart and Hal Sutton were the leaders. They'd been around the block for 15, 20 years out here. I think after 10 years on tour and having played on enough Ryder Cups that I can help some of these guys out, and hopefully I can do that this year."

Henry wouldn't divulge pairings during the practice sessions in Ireland, but he did admit playing with Woods and Jim Furyk, who likely will be paired as they were in the Presidents Cup last year.

"Who wouldn't want to play with Tiger, but I'll go with whatever works or wherever I can help in whatever capacity captain Lehman thinks I can," Henry said. "I think we have a great mix of young guys and veterans. You've got Tiger and Phil (Mickelson) and Jim Furyk, who's playing great, along with some of the veteran guys who have been there before.

"And then you've got four guys who are hungry to go out and help team chemistry with some fire and competitiveness and some steady Eddies like David Toms, Chad Campbell, Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank. Unfortunately we haven't got it done four of the last five times, but maybe this is the ticket to kind of get everybody playing together as a team and play good golf."

Henry said he and rest of the team aren't paying attention to all the negative talk about four first-timers being a detriment. Henry finished eighth in the Ryder Cup standings thanks largely to his first PGA TOUR victory in the Buick Championship at the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., about 45 minutes from where he grew up in Fairfield.

"You can say we have four rookies, but everybody has to play in their first, and we're all about 31, not 19, 20, 21, so we've all been playing golf a long time," Henry said. "I think it was neat for Tiger to say that we earned our way on the team. We weren't a captain's pick. Everybody had the same opportunities to earn points, and we went out and did it.

"I'm a real competitor and hate to lose. I had a pretty good record when I played match play and enjoy that kind of competition, so I think I can bring a lot to the team. I think everyone is kind of excited to have some new blood on the team and mix things up a little."

And Henry said he feels comfortable with anyone.

"I feel with my outgoing demeanor and personality that I get along well with everybody on the team and can honestly complement anybody with the way I play," Henry said. "I'm fairly long and hit a lot of greens and possibly have a little understanding of what route Tom is going after what we did. But I made a point to tell him that I'm there to help the team any way I can and will give it my all.

"I haven't had a whole lot of experience playing alternate shot, but I had a lot of fun doing it the second day of practice. I'm just looking forward to representing the country and being on such a prestigious team with some of the best players in the world. For someone like me, who's 31, has been on tour for six years and won his first event, it's a great opportunity to grow as a player and learn from those guys.

"Obviously you play practice rounds and in tournaments with them, but to actually be on a team where you're one in the same could do wonders for my career. I like team sports. I'm athletic and grew up playing a lot of sports, and sometimes you miss that in golf. It's really you and your caddie against everybody else, and now I'll be able to hang out with the guys and root and learn from them."