I agree with you on most points, especially about Lefty... Tiger did have a winning record, but I think that was only because Furyk did most of the heavy lifting - I don't think I mentioned him but I was impressed by him.
As far as the Brookline incident goes, I seem to recall that Olazabal had a long putt on the 17th to prevent Leonard from going 1up with 1 to play? So if Ollie holed his putt, it would still be everything to play for on the 18th as the US needed 14.5 points to get the cup back? Or am I just confused...? It's probably the latter!
GOLFPRO 9/26/06 7:38 P
lol...funny conversation....my two cents....
Phil should stay at home, he's not a team player. An no one outside of Arizona really likes him anyway. hehehe
Tiger actually had a winning record this year, give him SOME respect, even though he is much better at singles.
The U.S. running onto the green a few years back had ZERO impact on the outcome of the event. Might not have been very tactful, but had nothing to do with the outcome.
Agree 100% on Sergio. Can't play in singles competition worth a squat. Notice he's never called out Tiger until it was time for a team event. I think he's a brat.
U.S. golfers are raised to play for themselves (ie Tiger mentality). It's unfortuante they aren't taught more about the importance of team and unity.
Ultimately........Europe kicked our butts...probably will continue to do so until the U.S. learns to play as a team. We are too conservative and aren't willing to take chances even though we have a team mate to help us out if we're in trouble. We need to be willing to take a few more chances and go for birdies. In team match play a birdie and a bogey is far better than two pars.
matt
WONGERCHI 9/26/06 2:26 P
LOL, I'm in total agreement, especially about Paris Hilton! I think Sergio is the anti-Tiger - plays well when he has his mates around him to mop up any mistakes but when he's by himself he chokes. Tiger doesn't trust anyone else but himself to play well - when he's alone, he's free to play his game without worrying about anybody else. I expect him to have a good World Matchplay tournament this weekend as it's all singles.
I agree Woosie could have used his sleeve to mop up the snot stream - it really wasn't one of the more savoury images of the Ryder cup!
2008 should be fun, especially on American soil. I definitely expect a stiffer challenge from the US team after the past couple of Ryder Cups. For some reason, US teams haven't been doing too well on the world stage recently (basketball, baseball, Track and Field to some extent etc) and while it's nice for the rest of the world, I do expect things to change in the future. And then the Rest of the World had better watch out.
RUSS1985 9/26/06 12:06 P
Sour grapes? Nah! The cup was won fair and square. No running on the green but that's how we do things over here. But truth be told, the American press wouldn't have co-ordinated an all out hit job on the European players' families. They save all their good venomous hit pieces for political leaders, Hollywood celebs and Paris Hilton, though I'm still not sure what she does of any real importence in proper lighting.
The matches were fun to watch, even if they were pretty one sided. The American were in it for about 1 day, after that it was not sinking their shots. And where did Sergio find his game? He flies over here and he's a in the pack player, but in Europe, he's a stud. Go figure.
As far as Woosie flying that snot streamer from his nose, the Champagne argument is pretty weak. Yeah it's more bubbly than Guinness or Bass, but do us all a favor man up, and wipe it on your sleeve.
Anyway, 2008 should be fun and you probably don't have to worry about if the Americans will take that one seriously. I mean very few people want to explain this debacle and no one would want this repeated on US soil.
WONGERCHI 9/26/06 11:43 A
Ooh, do I detect some sour grapes Russ? At least the Europeans didn't run screaming onto the 18th green just before a crucial putt like a certain US team I could mention... The press had nothing to do with it, these guys are professionals, this sort of thing is all part of the job. In fact, this sort of thing should have been just more motivational fodder for the US!
Look at the players instead: Mickelson didn't show up, Woods can't play as part of a team, DiMarco played horribly - I can go on and on. I was impressed with JJ Henry and Cink, especially his demolition job of Sergio in the singles. On the European side, Clarke, Garcia, Westwood, Donald and Monty all contributed, in fact, I think only Padraig Harrington had an off day. Basically, Europe wanted it more, and it wasn't even close.
As far as Woosie's snot line goes, spare a thought for the man. He's been brought up on beer, and champagne is a little bit more gassy! Especially when you forget what you're doing and try to drink an entire magnum in one... Again, if Tom Lehman (who I think did really well as US Captain, btw) did that you'd not be complaining.
RUSS1985 9/25/06 12:24 P
Well, Europe won. Had to get in the US heads by calling out their wives. Pretty low rent but they got the desired result. Hey, a win is a win right? Can't wait until 2008. Maybe the European press can do exposes on the golfers' kids.
BTW has kleenex made it's way to Ireland yet? And could someone get that guy a freakin tissue on the podium? That snot line hanging from his nose was just plain disgusting!
WONGERCHI 9/25/06 11:54 A
As a rabid anti-team USA fan, I just have to say....
EUROPE 18.5 - 9.5 USA
That's 3 in a row, no?
I was actually worried before the singles started that it was going to be Brookline all over again. Tiger looks totally different when he plays alone rather than with a partner, although the Tiger-Furyk team looked good.
Speaking of youngsters, we have Paul Casey, Luke Donald, David Howell and Lee Westwood in the frame for Valhalla in 2008, not to mention a certain Sergio Garcia, who will be only 28...
GOLFPRO 9/21/06 5:40 P
Russ....I agree....anything to try and get in our heads. I think Europe realizes they're in trouble this year. With Tiger stepping up and acting like a true leader he has them a little scared. Not too mentino we have some young rookies who are bound to great since the young guys don't have nerves these days.
Go USA!!!!
RUSS1985 9/21/06 3:34 P
According to the European press, the entire Ryder cup team is filled with ultra conservative, business loving, Bush supporters, Furyck's wife is a gold digger, Tiger's wife is a former porn star and the rest of the American's wives are big breasted bimbos. Is the Irish press printing all of this stuff to see if they can get in the Americans' heads?
