Since there are already 22.7 billion golf websites and blogs regurgitating the Ryder Cup play-by-play and scores, I’ll refrain from doing the same and focus on my strengths: making snarky comments and taking potshots from the safe and comfortable surroundings of my couch thousands of miles away.
Isleworth vs Lake Nona
Champagne is flowing, the europeans are celebrating. Yes, once again the european Ryder Cup team is victorious. This is no surprise and long before the Ryder Cup I predicted a convincing victory for the european team.
I derive quite a bit of entertainment from watching the euros win and the USA team lose, though I’m “from” the USA. Listening to the pundits, golf scribes, and fans second-guess Tom Watson’s captain’s picks and pairings is almost as entertaining as watching the USA team players who seem to be completely lost as to what the winning “formula” for the Cup is.
Historically the Cup was dominated by the americans until it was opened up on the european side to include “europe” and not just the United Kingdom. Since then it has been a different story. But I contend the Ryder Cup and the Tavistock Cup should be combined into the same event. Lets be real. 75% of the “european” team LIVES IN AMERICA. McIlory, Westwood, Poulter, Rose, McDowell… In fact, many current and past RC european team members are in the same clubs in Florida! Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell, Nick Faldo, Justin Rose, and Ian Poulter are or have been members of Lake Nona, a high end private golf club in Orlando.
The european team can enjoy the win and we can sob here in the USA after another drubbing. Perhaps in the interest of “fairness” in the future, the Ryder Cup team members can only be selected from players who actually LIVE in their respective team’s country or region?
Tom Watson
Every Ryder Cup captain has to expect a heavy amount of criticism for his captain’s picks and the way he captains the team. Tom Watson is taking quite a bit of heat. Personally I do not blame Watson for the loss. He didn’t hit the bad shots or miss the putts. For those counting at home, here are the records of his captain’s picks.
Hunter Mahan: 1 win, 2 losses, 1 halve
Webb Simpson: 0 wins, 1 loss, 1 halve
Keegan Bradley: 1 win, 2 losses
The total record for the captain’s picks: 2 wins, 5 losses, 2 halves.
Orlando
Speaking of Orlando, why the hell do you host a competition in Scotland but play it on a course that has ZERO scottish style golf architecture and looks like it could be any of 100 courses in Orlando, Florida? Seriously!?!?! Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course might have well been Falcon’s Fire Golf Club. If they held the event at Falcon’s Fire, 95% of the competitors on BOTH sides could have driven to the competition from their homes.
Next time you play a Ryder Cup in Scotland or anywhere remotely close to the home of golf and especially LINKS golf, play it on a real links course.
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
They organisers of the Ryder Cup will, probably, never ever go to a LINKS course. The last LINKS to host the RC was at Muirfield GC in 1973. Money drives the event and we golf fans will have to accept it. The disappointment was that the USA Team were unable to produce the goods on an American Jack Nicklaus golf course. It was a great golf event as it always is…Fore!