  We analyze PHENIX near-side ridge data for central Au+Au collisions at
\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200 GeV with the momentum kick model, in which a near-side jet
emerges near the surface, kicks medium partons, loses energy, and fragments
into the trigger particle and fragmentation products. The kicked medium partons
subsequently materialize as the observed ridge particles, which carry direct
information on the early parton momentum distribution and the magnitude of the
momentum kick. We find that the PHENIX ridge data can be described well by the
momentum kick model and the extracted early partons momentum distribution has a
thermal-like transverse distribution and a rapidity plateau structure. We also
find that the parton-parton scattering between the jet parton and the medium
parton involves the exchange of a non-perturbative pomeron, for jet partons in
momentum range considered in the near-side ridge measurements.
