• Welcome To ShotTalk.com!

    We are one of the oldest and largest Golf forums on the internet with golfers from around the world sharing tips, photos and planning golf outings.

    Registering is free and easy! Hope to see you on the forums soon!

Ryder Cup is Great

IrishGolfer

Fac ut gaudeam
Supporting Member
Sep 1, 2004
6,542
4,976
I’ve seen a lot of things in golf but this surely is one of the most exciting things I have ever witnessed. OK, obviously I’m biased as a proud European, but this was breath-taking stuff. "The Miracle of Medinah" they are calling it.

It’s my anniversary today so the wife and I went to the movies last night. Normally I would have been glued to this, but some things are more important (so the wife said anyway). But I knew the highlights were on TV late so I managed to avoid all news and social media, turned my mobile off and managed to get home about 11pm without knowing the result.

I settled down with a beer to watch and see the final result, to see if Europe could avoid the inevitable whitewash that seemed to loom. I knew the only chance Europe had was to front load the singles matches with all their form players. So it was a great gamble that seemed to pay off. The first five matches all fell to Europe. Game on!

But then, the matches in the middle and end seemed to be going for the Americans. Furyk had a putt to close out the game on 16 which looked in. Lefty’s chip on 17 looked in, again to close out the match. Striker missed an easy up and down on 17 and then bombed his approach on 18. Kaymer tried to hole his birdie putt on 18 and left himself 5 ft. Agghhhhhh, it was all too much!!

It was riveting stuff right to the end, all coming down to the last few matches. My predictions for a draw almost came true. Not sure why Woods conceded to Molinari on 18. Glad I didn’t have any money on that one!!

I was so happy for Jose Maria Olazabal. He had the team decked out in the colours of the late Seve Ballesteros. Seve must have been looking down on Europe on Sunday as they pulled off one of his trademark great escapes. I saw Jose Maria cry several times yesterday, anytime Seve’s name was mentioned he broke down. Talk about an inspirational captain, I would love to have experienced his team talk on the Saturday night. Apparently he had them all in tears!

So here’s my run down of the European players.

Luke Donald (-6) – played flawless golf. Should have closed out Bubba much earlier, but Bubba kept the interest alive with outstanding birdies on 15 and 16. Donald breathes easier when Bubba airmailed the green on 17.

Ian Poulter (-4) – like him or loath him, you have to take your hat off to his tenacity. The way he closed out on Saturday with 5 birdies to keep Europe in with a modicum of hope and the way he scrapped to close out Webb Simpson. Have to call that shank of Simpsons!

Rory (-5) – this was the match everyone wanted to see. Some fantastic golf, but Keegan hit a few too many wild shots and Rory was just too consistent. Not sure the police car thing was more than just a publicity stunt. He would have had calls from all his team mates, manager, etc. Just as well he turned up. Imagine if Europe had lost and it came down to that!!

Justin Rose (-6) – only magnificent against Lefty. What a match! They were -11 better ball, trading birdies at will. This was probably the key turning point for the Euros. Holing three key putts on the last three greens, surely Rose must win a major one of these days.

Paul Lawrie (-6) – just goes to show what hard work can do. Here was a washed out European resigned to the annals of a one hope wonder in winning the Open at Carnoustie. His career was in it’s twilight years until he decided to breathe some fire into his game. What a turnaround. Winning twice this season he played outstanding golf on Sunday to close out Snedecker.

Nicolas Colssaerts (+2) – was only magnificent on the opening few days. The putter went cold on him on Sunday and he didn’t hole a thing but what a baptism of fire for him.

Graeme McDowell (+1) – by his standards this was a disaster of a Ryder Cup for him, but he managed to get Europe’s first points on the board on Friday with Rory, so played a role.

Sergio (-2) – Great gutsy performance by the Spaniard. He got a lot of heat from a raucous partisan crowd but seemed to lap it up. I can’t believe that Furyk let that match slip through his hands. He should have closed that one out but obviously the pressure got to him. I like Jim, but he choked on that one. I’m sure mentally he thought he had the game won on 16, that obviously threw him.

Peter (-2) Hanson – played well but was up against a machine in Duffner. He hit three of the best fairway woods I have ever seen under pressure. He closed Hanson out despite a few nevery missed short putts. Hanson had his chances but was always sucking the hind tit.

Lee Westwood (-3) – the worst putter on tour, but one of the best ball strikers. Glad to see him roll a few in when it mattered. Not sure why he was made to hole a 1 foot putt to win by Kuchar through. Thought that was a classless act by him, but each to his own.

Martin Kaymer (level) – had a disastrous few years, so happy that he was the man that holed the final winning putt. Mind you it was a silly decision to try and hole his birdie putt on 18, could have backfired!

Francesco (level) Molinari – left to take on the mighty Woods. Seemed a scrappy match, and I thought that the Italian had blown it on 17 with a nervy chip. However I was blown away to see Eldrick miss on 18 and then concede the hole even though Molinari had 4-5 feet. It didn’t really matter as a draw was enough, I don’t think Woods realised the significance of his actions.

So all in the European had a mighty team total of -31 aggregate for all their players. Not sure what happened to the Americans. Outside Michelson and Duffner no-one else seemed to really shine. Momentum is a funny thing in team sport. The first five matches going blue obviously sent vibes throughout the course. The same happened at Brookline when the Americans came from behind to win.

To sum up, I think golf won yesterday. Davis Love III is a class act as was Jose Maria. It was great to see such a sporting occasion live up to the hype.
 
OP
warbirdlover

warbirdlover

Ender of all threads
Supporting Member
Jul 9, 2005
19,151
5,601
central Wisconsin
Country
United States United States
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #19
They should have left Furyk, Woods and Stricker off the team. Amazing how the Euros came back on Sunday. Oh well.....
 

BigJim13

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Moderator
Aug 13, 2006
11,840
3,154
They should have left Furyk, Woods and Stricker off the team. Amazing how the Euros came back on Sunday. Oh well.....

Tiger qualified to play, see above post from AG. Oh well sums it up pretty well.
 

TheTrueReview

"Playing it straight"
Supporting Member
Jan 8, 2009
8,204
6,042
Country
Australia Australia
I always rankle when someone tries to sum up a failure to win with the "choke" slur. Kudos to the European team for their gutsy final day effort. Kudos to the US team for the golf they played to race to a day 2 lead. Kudos to both captains for the way they handled themselves. No kudos to sections of the crowd for their comments, especially the person heard to call out "get in the water" when a Euro player teed off on the par 3 on the final day.
 

xamilo

Right Curving Driver....
Supporting Member
Dec 22, 2007
2,924
301
Striker always seems to be the irrelevant guy when you need him the most
 

IrishGolfer

Fac ut gaudeam
Supporting Member
Sep 1, 2004
6,542
4,976
I always rankle when someone tries to sum up a failure to win with the "choke" slur.

We've had this discussion before a few times. Striker and Molinari both faced similar chip shots on 17, as did a lot of the other players that day. Some chipped it dead, both these guys made a meal of it. Pressure played its role, both were probably shaking like a shitting dog, and both played nervy chips and both failed to make threes.

Choke maybe seems harsh, but the heat of the battle caused them to tense up and play what should have been a relatively straight away kind of shot.

I'd be shaking so violently faced with a shot like that I would probably air-shot or shank. Yes, I would probably choke too.
 

limpalong

Mental Ward Escapee
Supporting Member
Oct 18, 2006
13,821
13,653
I forgot!
Country
United States United States
the US team choked.
Respectfully, I disagree. The U.S. team, for the most part, had a youthful fire in their eyes. The youngsters fist pumped and played their hearts out, win or lose. The team included three older millionaires who seemed like they were bored to even be there. Furyk, Stricker, and Woods seemed like they were merely going through the motions on a Sunday outing... offended because they wouldn't get a couple hundred thousand dollar check. Personally, I was embarrassed by the lack of leadership shown by the "veterans". I truly believe the U.S. team had the talent and the ability to win this by a large margin. As the youngsters played the first two days, that potential was easy to see. When those who should have been the motivational leaders of the team acted... and played... like prima donnas with corn cobs up their fannys, the momentum swung to the Euros.
 

BigJim13

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Moderator
Aug 13, 2006
11,840
3,154
Respectfully, I disagree. The U.S. team, for the most part, had a youthful fire in their eyes. The youngsters fist pumped and played their hearts out, win or lose. The team included three older millionaires who seemed like they were bored to even be there. Furyk, Stricker, and Woods seemed like they were merely going through the motions on a Sunday outing... offended because they wouldn't get a couple hundred thousand dollar check. Personally, I was embarrassed by the lack of leadership shown by the "veterans". I truly believe the U.S. team had the talent and the ability to win this by a large margin. As the youngsters played the first two days, that potential was easy to see. When those who should have been the motivational leaders of the team acted... and played... like prima donnas with corn cobs up their fannys, the momentum swung to the Euros.

I disagree. Until Sunday the US looked good, otherwise they wouldnt have had the big lead they had.

I didn't notice anybody on the US side acting like a prima donna as you put it. They just fell apart.
 

IrishGolfer

Fac ut gaudeam
Supporting Member
Sep 1, 2004
6,542
4,976
I saw the way Furyk reacted to his missed putt on 16 and his three putt on 18. That meant the world to him, he looked absolutely devastated. I wouldn't describe him as a prima donna at all. He tried his heart out and didn't get the breaks on the putts.

Jury is out on Striker, Woods didn't seem to really get into the emotional side of the game. He reacted the same way to missing or holing a putt. Maybe he needed a few fist pumps to gee him up or make him look more involved.

I would have always associated Lefty as a fat cat. My impression of him has changed considerably. He was the first to console Snedekker on Friday after he shoved his tee shot into the trees on 18. Phil understood the rookie being devasted and came over to reasure him. All week he got the crowd whooped up and the way he applauded Rose for his putts on 16, 17 & 18 on the final days turned him round in my eyes.

If the US had won, all would have been rosy. The fact that they lost people now need scape goats, I understand that. The bullets were being lined up for Jose Maria for not playing Poulter on Friday and instead playing out of form Kaymer. If Europe had lost you would have seen the same reactions on the Euro side.
 

SilverUberXeno

El Tigre Blanco
Jul 26, 2005
4,620
26
I think Stricker did indeed choke on 17. Other than that, Europe just played incredible golf. Luke had been a bystander for the most part, and lit it up on Sunday. Westwood, you can barely hit water from the boat with his putter, also played phenomenal golf. The US definitely didn't play well, but the only real CHOKE that I recall was Stricker on 17. You can't get a 4 there when you're on the fringe after 1, dude.
 

TheTrueReview

"Playing it straight"
Supporting Member
Jan 8, 2009
8,204
6,042
Country
Australia Australia
I don't think the US team 'fell apart'. If that reasoning is applied, the Euro team must've fallen apart on days 1 & 2. IMO the series ebbed & flowed. The US team had the honours for days 1 & 2. The Euro team had the honours on day 3. At the end of the competition there was only one point difference.

Btw, kudos to Lefty for his incredible sportsmanship to Justin Rose over the last couple of holes.
 

BigJim13

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Moderator
Aug 13, 2006
11,840
3,154
How can you not call it falling apart? They were playing well for 3 days, built a commanding lead, woke up on Sunday and couldn't win a member/guest. Thats falling apart in my book.

Either way its semantics. Now the US has a huge comeback and the Euros do too. How long until the Masters?
 

Augster

Rules Nerd
Supporting Member
Mar 9, 2005
1,473
23
Choke, among other things. They only needed 4.5 out of 12 points. They could LOSE 7 matches and still win the cup. Fail.

Love has to take some of the blame. First, two of his captains picks were atrocious. Stricker is in the worst year he's had since he started coming back. He won the first event of the year and has disappeared. Furyk was a terrible pick. He's thrown away 3 tournaments, including the US Open, with his putter this year. At the Ryder Cup, it's always all about putting. Put in two younger guys. Let Mahan chili-dip the Cup away again as he did two years ago. I want to see some more tears.

Secondly, about Love, is why on earth do you send Bubba out first on Sunday? He's terribly inconsistent and was going to lose Sunday no matter where he played. But Woods, Furyk, and Stricker were awful the entire cup. So Love puts them in the back, where if the Euros do mount a charge, they'll have the weight of the cup on them? Lead off with Furyk. He can't putt, but if he loses the first match, big deal. Follow that up with Stricker, Woods, Sneds, and Bubba. If all 5 of them lose, the US is down 1 point. ONE. With all of their best players playing matches 6-12.

Mickelson got beat on Sunday. He didn't choke. The rest of them?

While waiting for the green to clear on 18 after Kaymer's cup-winner, I'm surprised Woods and Molinari even bothered to finish. Tiger should have asked Molinari to just concede the hole to him and go celebrate.

I know the gals at the Solheim got roasted a few years back when they walked off after it was all over. But truly, what is there to play for after you've lost? The gamblers? The spread? Those aren't quality reasons. The fans onsite? Do fans really want to see the players playing with zero intensity, zero focus, after the cup is already decided? I suppose they do so they can keep yelling stupid shit.

Lastly, why didn't word get back to the other players that the approach on 18 was playing a club shorter. Every American that got to 18, except Tiger in the end, flew it middle and released it to the back or over. What good are all those walkie-talkies, and MJ driving you around, if you aren't going to use them to tell someone with the match on the line the shot is definitely a club less?

I say, for the US team, no more captains picks on guys that haven't won a major. The guys that haven't won a major have nothing to compare the pressure they are going to feel to.
 

🔥 Latest posts

Top