Ryder

[Benny]

Go on the Euro bloke types...looks like we are romping so far............my missus is gonna love me this weekend...supposed to be decorating, instead am watching golf and football

Oh, and have a Link

[Peppster]

no swedes  :rant:

but I´m watching anyway

[Gh0st Face Killah]

Sorry but I'm with Churchill on the matter of golf.

[sheepy]

by with curchill what do u meen.

if you are talking about the statement of" golf is a good walk spoiled" then you would be wrong as it was originally mark twain that came out with that statement, but it is curchill that made it famous. the lesser known comment of curchills that is acually his own is that of "i cant see the damn point of trying to get a small ball in to an even smaller hole a damn long distance away!"

but i love golf i have money on a european victory
monty to be top euro points scorer and for love to be top us points scorer

[Gh0st Face Killah]

Both of the comments apply.

[Browne]

And so, the conclusion, an article from Drew Sharp, detroit Free Press:

BY DREW SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST



The reason for the Americans' Ryder Cup difficulties was evident Sunday amid the spray of champagne and modeling of national banners. So was the solution.


The victorious Europeans weren't cordial friends. They were best buds.


They were giddy little boys, momentarily distanced from the glitter and glamour of celebrity. They playfully rode piggyback on their teammates' shoulders, dueling each other with loaded bottles of Laurent-Perrier champagne.


They genuinely enjoy each other's company.


The Americans could have jotted mental notes for future reference, but this kind of charisma isn't a laboratory concoction. You can't create it by enlarging the sweet spot as you would an oversized driver.


It's just there.


And that's why the Ryder Cup remains over there.


Humiliation had its day at Oakland Hills Country Club, where the Americans were humbled as never before. Their 18 1/2 -9 1/2 loss goes down as the worst U.S. performance since the Ryder Cup doubled the total number of points available from 12 to 24 in 1961.


And until the American golf establishment proves it's really serious about winning this event instead of merely marketing it, we should just say good-bye to the Ryder Cup because we won't see it again for quite some time.


For the Europeans, it's golf.


But for the Americans, it's business.


"Second-guessing is a golfer's biggest problem," said U.S. captain Hal Sutton. "We cannot second-guess what we did. We've got to live in the present. I made mistakes. I take full responsibility for the mistakes that I made. I thought there was no bad way to pair the guys we had."


It was American selfishness, not European putting, that took down the United States for the seventh time in the last 10 Ryder Cup matches.


Tiger Woods couldn't bottle his animosity for Phil Mickelson for just one day when they were paired in Friday's four-ball and foursomes matches, creating a discomfort that jumped out from inside the ropes.


Mickelson couldn't wait another week before christening his new equipment because he just had to have those extra millions from his lucrative endorsement deal right now.


And Sutton couldn't leave well enough alone. He was stubbornly bent on playing the mad scientist, looking to secure a place in golf and sociological history as the man who finally brought Tiger and Phil together for a common cause.


But the experiment blew up in his face and established the tone for the entire weekend.


Who cares if the world wanted to see this uber-pairing of America's top two golfers?


The PGA of America simplified Sutton's mission when it made him captain.


The assignment: Just win!


Sutton failed miserably because he ignored the basic components of Ryder Cup team chemistry -- you find it, you don't force it. And when you find it, you ride it until it throws you.


He failed because the American sports culture is slanted toward pacifying the superstars. He failed because he saw 12 individuals instead of 12 pieces of a puzzle.


Sutton should have demanded that Mickelson practice Wednesday instead of taking the day off, then practice Thursday with his teammates instead of seeking the solitude of Oakland Hills' North Course. And if he were determined to put Woods and Mickelson together, he shouldn't have tolerated Woods' pettiness.


But nobody dares challenge Tiger.


"I thought we gelled," Woods said of the American team. "We just didn't make enough putts."


No, they didn't have enough fun. They went to Oakland Hills like a CEO goes to a corporate board meeting.


"There's just a looseness about the European team that really helps them," Mickelson said. "It helps them make every big putt when they need to make it. It's disappointing that we continue to have problems, but I honestly don't know what the answer is except that we have to try and not force things and just relax."


For awhile, slim hope cascaded through the thick galleries at Oakland Hills on this Insurmountable Sunday as, one by one, the American star power momentarily cheated the inevitable.


Woods drained an eagle putt at No. 12 from nearly 50 feet. He waved his cap and flailed his arms, encouraging all to pump up the volume. And a few seconds later, Davis Love III slammed home a clutch birdie at No. 11, staving off a European charge.


For the first time, a rippling roar awakened what had been a disappointingly sedate weekend.


It didn't last long.


"I know that I've opened myself up to criticism, and I accepted that when I took this captain's role," Sutton said. "It will be debated until I die. It's kind of a thankless task because you're only going to be remembered if you lose. But I just want everyone to know how proud I am of these guys. For an hour or so at the start, it looked like we might have something going."


But there would be no repeat of the Americans' final-day comeback at Brookline in 1999. Instead, everyone is left asking why the Europeans keep beating us.


"It chews my gourd when I read or hear this stuff about how our guys don't care about this event," said M.G. Orender, the PGA of America president.


But it isn't that the Americans don't want to win the Ryder Cup. They don't need to win the Ryder Cup.


Woods crystallized the attitude last week in a weak moment of candor when he challenged the media to quote Jack Nicklaus' Ryder Cup record.


Nobody could. But everybody can recite the Golden Bear's 18 professional major championships verbatim.


"I think the Ryder Cup is above the majors," Orender said.


If so, then this annihilation should serve as a clarion call to change the way the PGA of America approaches the competition.


"Perhaps a different approach should be taken from a preparation standpoint," Orender said, "but that's a decision that should come from the captain. Perhaps we should informally practice more four-ball and foursomes over the course of the year so it doesn't become a crash course the week of the competition."


Sutton said: "Change is part of life." The PGA of America, he said, "will analyze everything that they are doing and see if it needs any changes made."


The PGA of America isn't absolved of responsibility.


It's as much driven by the dollar as the players are, so it would seem somewhat disingenuous for the organizers to question the players' desire when they have turned the Ryder Cup into a more ceremonial than competitive spectacle that should net the organization more than $20 million.


If the top stars can't swallow their self-interests for this one week, then perhaps they should be kept home in favor of others who would better appreciate the experience and more easily bond with their compatriots.


But no Tiger and no Phil means no large crowds willing to spend hundreds of dollars for tickets -- and that all-important merchandise.


For the Europeans, it's golf.


But for the Americans, it's business.


And until that attitude changes, the final result of the Ryder Cup won't.

[Vincentvega]

i must say well done to europe well played

[sheepy]

im going to collect my winnings soon