First Ryder Cup Question: Did Captain Ollie Miss Opportunity For An Act Comparable To Nicklaus' Concession?
Not much came out of the "boys-will-be-boys" European team press conference, but Francesco Molinari did establish himself as one of the classiest golfers on the planet by revealing that he wanted to concede the 18th hole to Tiger Woods. With the matches decided, the celebration ensuing and chaos having overtaken Medinah's home hole, this was no longer a competitive landscape.
Bob Harig on that scene and understandable celebration after Martin Kaymer's putt:
The chaos on the 18th green carried on for several minutes. Dozens of people from the European entourage were there, as well as media conducting interviews. If it didn't matter, perhaps Woods and Molinari should have walked off, Woods getting the point and the match ending in a tie.
With over 1600 votes in our instant poll, it's a virtual 50-50 dead heat between those saying the ending was just fine and those wishing Europe had conceded the match to Woods to finish an amazing cup off in a 14-14 tie.
Harig noted the significance of this:
Only twice in Ryder Cup history has the event ended in a tie, and, although the circumstances were far different, you can bet that the Great Britain & Ireland team was thrilled with the 16-16 score in 1969 even though the Americans retained the Cup.
That was the famous "Concession" when Jack Nicklaus conceded a putt to England's Tony Jacklin on the final green. Had Jacklin missed the short putt, he would have lost his match to Nicklaus and the U.S. would have won. Instead, they halved the match and the overall Ryder Cup ended in a tie -- with the U.S. retaining the Cup.
I've tried to consider Captain Olazabal's thinking, and the only reason I can come up with for continuing to play the last half of the 18th hole was due to something in the Captain's agreement about finishing all matches.
But according to Molinari, that was not what his Captain suggested:
You know, I thought about giving him the halve on the fairway, but then the Captain was there, the Chairman was the there, they told me, it's not the same, winning or halving, so get focused and do your best, and that's what I did. So I just tried to win the hole, to win the tournament, basically.
He's right, winning and halving are not the same. Winning is winning and the Europeans are to be commended for clutch play.
However, halving in this instance as the result of a goodwill concession probably goes down as one of the great acts of sportsmanship in golf history.
Monday, October 1, 2012 at 10:49 AM
Reader Comments (74)
A different question - should halving and winning have the same result? Should there even be a half?
I very much doubt the outcome would be in any way dimished for anyone in Eurpoe if Tiger halves that hole, wins his match, and Europe merely "retained" the Cup. I believe the same would hold true absent an epic comeback/collapse.
So my question is, why bother anymore? Incumbent team needs 14 points to win, the other team needs 14.5. No need to put these guys in akward situations like this.
It was post match and would have been a nice gesture...as Tiger did for Molinari.
It's just something one should do.
And let's be honest about personal records in the RC. Does anyone really believe those don't matter? I'm pretty sure I saw (during the 22 minutes of the broadcast that wasn't a commercial) several dozen graphics about who had good/bad RC records. And isn't that the way we judge whether a player is actually good at match play?
If Molinari was going to concede the second putt regardless why not concede the first putt.
It was chaotic after Kaymer won his point. I think we should cut JMO some slack, and let the history books forever show that the Ryder Cup was WON by Europe.
Needing help to turn around a 6-10 deficit on the final day of the Ryder Cup, European Captain Jose Maria Olazabel turned to Jesus and asked if he could borrow a squad of angels to act as assistant captains. The squad was led by Seve Ballesteros, who was heard clearing his throat in Heaven several times during the day, usually while a US team member was in mid-backswing. The tactic worked, as the Euros retained the cup with a final score of 14.5 to 13.5.
“I took a risk,” said Olazabel. “Jesus is often reluctant to take sides in these matches, though of course he is undefeated in all sporting events. Nobody has ever blamed him for a loss.” In the end, Seve and the rest of the angels were given the afternoon off from their usual work of preventing suicides and making butterflies land on the heads of retarded kids, in order to help Team Euro. “I can’t take all the credit for the decision,” said Olazabel. “It would never have worked without the entire team believing in invisible friends.”
Losing captain, Davis Love III, was criticised for his strategy of attempting to counter the angels with goblins and zombies. “I maintain that it would have worked,” he said. “It was just unfortunate that the zombies didn’t realise the tee times were listed in Eastern time, rather than Central. They emerged from their graves an hour late and so had to share the bus with the goblins, whom they ate on the way, having had no time for breakfast.” By the time the zombies arrived at the course they were full. Some staggered into the media tent to do their day jobs, while the rest wandered around the course chanting “USA, USA,” and shouting “You da man! Get in the hole.”
Prominent loser Tiger Woods had earlier argued with Love about the decision but was told to shut up until he won a match. “You just can’t trust zombies,” he said. “If I believed that vicious braindead subhumans were helpful, I would never have sacked Steve Williams.”
http://theconcession.com/
Tiger refused to comment on the rumors that he was forcing the Jack/Tony tandem to carry their own bags and play from the tips. While Molinari referred all questions to Ollie.
(all in good fun)
and his reaction after, is enough for me to not think twice about it.
Molinari looked shell shocked too.
Tiger looked disappointed. Interesting that he kind of slapped it around.
Winning the cup is what matters. The tie/win/loss of 14 or 13.5 really does not
His concession got more publicity for the Ryder cup than Jacklun putting would have got whether he holed it or not. I am not suggesting Nicklaus thought that through. Olazabal wanted to WIN the Ryder cup. He did so, and in incredible circumstances. Nicklaus did not care about winning the Ryder cup, his captain, Snead was reportedly furious. Nicklaus could take such a decision. Could Molinari?
I thought there was some discussion of all this in 2002, but I do not remember what one of the rules experts around at the time had to say about it -- whether finishing is discretionary or prescribed. TV does come into play -- the US could have won it, theoretically, in a couple of hours. But it would be good to have a clear and stated policy before the next one. I would recommend discretionary decisions, led by the player of the winning team -- give him the right to lead -- and subject to the agreement of the other player. The Captains are too wired at this stage to take a position.
As it turned out what happened Sunday was a win-win. Tiger got half a point, Europe got to win, not retain, the Cup. Molinari got his half, too, and the knowledge his contribution had helped his team to a win.
Stewart's concession to Montgomery resulted in a loss for Payne, but the Cup had already been won by the Americans.
It is nice that Molinari was willing to take a loss, but Ghillie is right in his summary.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lZRAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CqUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1792,4042414&dq=ryder+cup+jacklin+conceded&hl=en
And I think that would hold true if the score was 8-8 after Saturday, or even if Europe had a lead.
There was no handshake here - guess it shows what Ollie and Molinari think about Tiger.
The best of it though - Tiger tried slamming that putt in the hole as an f-you to Molinari - but, oops, he missed.
If Kaymer had missed that putt, what does anyone think the odds are that Molinari wins 18? 1% chance? 2%?
It is Tiger who should have conceded the hole to Molinari, and then it would've finished all square.