Friday
Jun202008
Casey To Vijay: You Can't Keep Up WIth Me In The Gym Old Geezer
Who said it would get dull with Tiger out of the picture fo ra while? Thanks to reader Chris for Craig Tregurtha's report on the lastest chapter in the Vijay v. Britain's-soft-golfers-spat, with Paul Casey tells us far more than we ever wanted to know about his home routine:
“I am angry, he has no clue what I do, so how can he comment?” Casey, who had a second-round 68 to move into contention at the BMW International Open in Munich yesterday, said. “I can only speak for the guys I know well, like Justin Rose, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter, but we are all working incredibly hard and I think it is an unfair shot from Vijay. I would like to see him try to live with me in the gym for a couple of hours.
“He does not know us and he has no evidence to back up what he says. We are all very frustrated that we have not won majors and that our results have not been as good as we would have liked. But it is not down to lack of effort and perhaps when we do make a breakthrough then it will open the door to a lot more wins.
Friday, June 20, 2008 at 07:55 PM
Reader Comments (14)
Challenging Vijay to a work ethic contest is like challenging a member of Motley Crue to a drinking contest.
Only Vijay doesn't gutlessly claim he was misquoted.
But clearly, as individual golfers (and isn't that really what counts?) the English boys that Veeg called out are underachievers.
Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Lee Westwood (others?) are all nice players who get on a few leaderboards at the majors and almost never win in the US. They win a ton of cash and lead wonderful lives. Good for them.
Veeg is not wrong.
Love the Crue comment!
06.23.2008 | Scottt
==============
Scott,
would it be a fair statement to say "the Open Championship is the ultimate test" on the European tour?
here's what has happened in the last 20 Open championships:
11 times won by an American, 9 different players.
(Woods, Hamilton, Curtis, Duval, O'Meara, Leonard, Lehman, Daly, Calcavecchia)
2 times won by a South African, 2 different players.
(Els, Price)
2 times won by an Aussie, 2 different players.
(Norman, Baker-Flinch)
2 times won by a Brit, 1 player.
(Faldo)
1 time won by Irish player.
(Paddy)
1 time won by Scottish player.
(Lawrie)
1 time won by Spanish player.
(Seve)
based on those facts I'd conclude that the US players are hands down dominating the vs. the "English".
the USA futility in the Ryder Cup has nothing to do with "links" and everything to do with being really lousy match-play players.
ES
PS...this analysis ignores great players like Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, etc... who between them won a TON of Open championships.
...enlighten those of us that you deem to be in the dark - if you have it in you.
ES
Americans not named Tiger or Phil winning on the Euro Tour is much more rare than a British golfer holding a US PGA Tour trophy aloft.
Internationals like Vijay, the Jarpies or the Aussies don't have a main tour close to home and are pretty much nomads, playing here, there and everywhere.
Vijay doesn't play much in Europe, where the Brits play most of their golf, so he isn't that well placed to pass comment on their commitment or work ethic.
Listing the winners of one tournament over the course of 20 years hardly proves a point either way.
Only one American has won the US Open in the past five years, but that hardly amounts to an argument about their competitiveness in general.
but ALL of the best Americans play the PGA Tour and few ever play on the Euro tour except for the Open Championship, and maybe one or two other tourneys around it.
on the flipside, MANY of the best Euro players play the PGA Tour full-time...but I concede that they are still a minority of the overall.
but the one event that attracts ALL the best players from BOTH sides is the Open Championship and over the years the Americans have dominated it - pick your timeframe.
ES
Your point is a valid one, but reading a lot of British golf mags, and the interview with Poulter, Casey, Westwood et al, I think the one thing I would never question is their desire.
And sometimes things just happen and a country is not represented on the list of major winners for a while.
Australia, my own country and a rich source of top golfers since the 50s or 60s, has had just two major winners in almost 20 years, despite producing a long line of world class golfers.
;-0
I actually have a picture of myself and the British Open trophy when it was in Ian's possession...
...I sure wish he hadn't lost his game - then I wouldn't be subjected to his saccharin coating of every single shot, good or bad, that the pro's hit on tv.
but off tv he's a class guy.
ES