Where Was Dr. Watson?

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_42100326_usteam_getty.jpgThe team's arrived today for the first photo op and it seems Arthur Conan Doyle dressed the U.S. team.

Or so says the mysterious blogger known as Principal's Nose.

Looking like a team of Sherlock Holmes, the brown tweedy ensemble adorned by the team was cringe worthy predictable of a country not known for its appreciation of other cultures. "Where was Dr. Watson?" the Principal asked Captain Baptist.
Meanwhile, I can't quite make the Euro outfits. Bond, circa Thunderball?_42101182_europe_getty.jpg

 
Where's Marty Hackel when you need him for a "FAN-TASTIC"? 

You can check out all of the arrival photos here, including a shot of some hot Euro girlfriends and Monty in the airport, looking chipper and grey and having already shed the brown jacket. But not pictures of the U.S. wives, and more importantly, whether they wore team uniforms as well.

Ryder Cup Clippings, Monday Edition

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2006rydercup.jpgNick Faldo tells The Scotsman it's going to be a tight match and a long slog: "There will be a lot of pressure around and there has been a lot of build-up again. If the weather is tough it will be a long slog for the guys. It's a long course and if it's windy and damp it will be a long battle of wills."

Golfweek's Rex Hoggard offers Tom Lehman some pairings suggestions.

John Hawkins only refers to himself 9 times in blogging that little should be read into the World Match Play first round exits of Woods and Furyk.

James Corrigan obviously appreciated Furyk's loss, because he was able to conduct an email conversation with Furyk. The e-chat also gave him the chance to ask questions he'd hopefully wouldn't ask in person:

Is Tiger difficult to play with?

Is there any chance of such animosity surfacing this week or will the presence of Europe's Darren Clarke, so soon after his wife's death, put everything into proper perspective for the two teams?

Your father is a greatly respected coach. Why on earth then, does your swing look so weird?

Actually, I take that back, those questions look worse in print.

Scott Michaux offers an in-depth profile of Augusta native and Ryder Cup rookie Vaughn Taylor.

Sitting in his living room watching the Ryder Cup hype build on television, Vaughn Taylor was naturally curious when The Golf Channel unveiled its team pairing predictions.

Friday's fictitious four-balls and foursomes flashed on his widescreen television. Then came the same for Saturday's matchups. Each day had one thing in common - Taylor's name never showed up.

"That was a bit upsetting," said Taylor, a 30-year-old Ryder Cup rookie from Augusta. "But there's no telling. I don't know what to expect. I don't know if I'll play at all until Sunday. If I don't play until (Sunday's singles matches) that's fine and I'll understand why. It's about the team "

Douglas Lowe writes about Arnold Palmer's pride in the K Club, but really quotes the King mostly about his winning captaincy in 1975.

Hugh Macdonald tries to figure out why it's been 41 years since Scotland has hosted the Ryder Cup and writes, "No one is suggesting that there is any hint of corruption in the choice of venues. But no-one can deny there is the opportunity for malfeasance to flourish."

Actually David Davies explained how the corruption works yesterday (sorry, forgot to post the link), while Golfweek's Brad Klein pretty much did hint at corruption of some kind in the venue selection:

Apparently, all of the classic Irish courses were booked up the week of the Ryder Cup. Or perhaps they just didn't ante up enough money and promote themselves as brazenly as The K Club-Palmer Course, nor have as much parking and spectator areas.

And....

At par-72, 7,337 yards long, the course seemingly has it all: tree-lined fairways; beach bunkers; water hazards, most of them man-made ponds, in play on a dozen holes; an artificial waterfall; an island green. It even has real estate 70 feet (as I recall) from a tee. Perhaps they ought to rename it the TPC of County Kildare. The only thing the K Club doesn't have is any sense of identity or place. At 350 Euros ($512) per round for walk-on play, it is, if not the most expensive public access golf in GB & I, probably the most over-priced (though I must admit, I was comped -- and probably for the last time).

While we're piling on, Bruce Selcraig penned this critique of The K Club in The Scotsman a few months back that I recommend reading if you want to get your Monday off to a cranky start (with visions of these matches at Portmarnock playing in your head).

Ryder Cup Clippings, Sunday Preview Edition

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2006rydercup.jpgJohn Huggan talks to Sam Torrance and Bernard Gallacher about their memories and the horror of having to make captain's picks.

Huggan also speaks to Peter Oosterhuis about some of his memories:
"I was disappointed at the so-called 'War on the Shore' in 1991," he says with a shake of the head. "Things got out of hand there. I didn't like the khaki hats and all that went with them. I was proud of the way Tom Watson and Bernard Gallacher turned that around in 1993. They put the matches in perspective.

"And, like everyone else, I didn't like what happened at Brookline in '99. Of course, there are two sides to every story. The Americans were annoyed by Sergio's leaping all over the place during the first two days. But on the last day I think the PGA of America lost control of the crowd. Boston's golf community was embarrassed by what went on at the Country Club. It wasn't them who were causing problems; it was the non-golfers in the gallery. There are so many more of them now than in my day."
Tom English shares a fun story about the US team's recent bonding session.

David Davies explain$ why we have to watch the European hosted Ryder Cup$ on such lou$y venue$:
It is estimated that in the period including the run-up to the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama, to the hosting of the matches at Gleneagles, in Scotland in 2014, around £350 million will have poured into the coffers of the European Tour. Schofield has now retired from running the tour but his personal view is that the selling of the Ryder Cup brought huge benefits to all concerned. As an indication of how things operated in his time, he says: "The Ryder Cup was the ultimate prize and the choice of venues — and now, increasingly, host countries — is determined by a consistency of support over a period of time. Take Valderrama and the '97 Ryder Cup. Spain, in the shape of Turespana and the autonomous regions of the Canaries, Balearics, Andalucia, Valencia, Catalunya and Madrid itself, supported almost 40 regular tour events as part of the 'bidding' for that Ryder Cup.

"As for the Belfry, that course was custom-built for the guarantee of several matches. What would the total benefit to the PGA, in terms of offices and a new national training academy, and also the tour, with 16 regular tour events plus a Hennessy Cup, be counted at? Well, other than many, many millions, I don't know.

"What I do know is that that almost certainly inspired a number of major multi-nationals who own facilities, like Johnnie Walker and Gleneagles, to believe if they demonstrated consistent and substantial commitment to the game, they would have a chance of that ultimate prize, the Ryder Cup.

"That also applied to the big owner-occupiers like Jimmy Patino at Valderrama, Michael Smurfit at The K Club and Terry Matthews at Celtic Manor — support the overall concept and be in with a chance of the ultimate prize."

Love and Pavin On Call, No Micheel?

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Golfweek's Jeff Rude reports on the slim possibility of Davis Love or Corey Pavin being called upon should Scott Verplank's chiropracter-induced rib injury force him out of the Ryder Cup.

Why is Love the first captain's choice when Shaun Micheel just finished second in the PGA and defeated Tiger Woods and Luke Donald in the World Match Play?

K Club Quotes

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Reuters offers these player and Captain insights into the K Club's design.  

U.S. team captain Tom Lehman, a veteran of three Ryder Cups as a player: "It is a good driving course. With the rough up the way that it is, you need to put the ball in the fairway. The greens are somewhat unique, there is a lot of personality to them. The challenge is there and the firmer it gets the harder it is going to become."

Ireland's Paul McGinley, who holed the winning putt for Europe in the 2002 Ryder Cup at the Belfry in central England: "It will be great. The course has matured with age, much like a fine wine, and is getting in better and better condition every year. It will be something everyone in Ireland is going to be proud of. Those three final holes now having water in play will be fantastic for match play. The finishing stretch down the (River) Liffey will be nerve tingling."

The 7,335-yard Palmer Course has water in play on 13 of its 18 holes.

European team captain Ian Woosnam, who tasted victory at four of his eight Ryder Cups as a player: "This is just about as good as it gets for match play golf and it is going to be a brilliant setting for the Ryder Cup. Subtle changes have been made to the course especially around the greens, where mown humps and hollows will allow for more creative chipping and putting as (designer) Arnold (Palmer) originally intended. It will be a supreme test."

Excited? 

DMD's In Ireland

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Thanks to Smolmania for noticing this from SI.com rangefinder aficionado Gary Van Sickle's column:

If you don't think laser range-finders are going to be commonplace and widely accepted within a few years, think again. They're apparently going to be used during the Ryder Cup matches -- just not by competitors during the competition. Many Tour pros and caddies already use laser range-finders during practice rounds to check yardages.

At the Ryder Cup, range-finders may be used by SkySports and NBC so their television spotters can relay accurate yardages to the broadcast teams. The K Club, the host site, was an early customer of Laser Link, the range-finder firm based in Madison, Wis. Reflectors are installed in the flagsticks so the lasers can more easily pick up the target, and the K Club plans to leave the reflectors in during the matches.

Laser Link founder Rob O'Loughlin was surprised when John McHenry, the K Club's golf director, told him the plan. "I don't see how the PGA of America would sit still for that. It'll never happen," O'Loughlin said. "John said, the Ryder Cup host makes the decision and I'm the host. I've already talked to the European PGA Tour. The decision is made. It's wild."

Then a PGA of America rules official heard about the idea and thought the Laser Link guns would help the officials who officiate the Ryder Cup matches. Their purpose? To determine who's away from out in the fairway, a common match-play question.

There's a moment to look forward to. Some bloated rules official sauntering between balls, pulling out his distance measuring device, and declaring who is away. What progress.

"Probably on paper the worst Ryder Cup team we've ever fielded"

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Nobody can claim that Johnny Miller hasn't done his part to motivate the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Chadd Cripe writes in the Idaho Statesman:

NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller was in Boise on Monday and he ripped the U.S. team that will try to win back the Ryder Cup from Europe next week in Ireland.

"This is probably on paper the worst Ryder Cup team we've ever fielded," Miller said during the press conference for the Kraft/Nabisco Shoot-Out at Hillcrest Country Club.

Miller also expressed reservations about captain Tom Lehman, who will decide how to use his 12 players. He will create four two-man teams for each of the first four rounds.

Miller says it's imperative that Lehman pair Tiger Woods with Jim Furyk, and Phil Mickelson with Chris DiMarco, because those pairings have worked in the past.

That could leave the team's inexperienced players, including four Ryder Cup rookies, paired together.

"I believe if he divides those up we're going to get creamed," Miller said of the Woods-Furyk and Mickelson-DiMarco teams. "I'm really concerned that Lehman uses the theory that we've got to use a good player with a not-so-experienced player."

 

Huggan On Woosie/Bjorn Spat

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John Huggan digs a little deeper and exposes the European Tour's hypocrisy in fining Thomas Bjorn:
Things are never that straightforward, however. Not when European Tour officials are guilty of blatant hypocrisy in their dealings with a man who deserved better treatment than he got from a captain who already looks to be out of his diminutive depth.

Ferguson On Sutton

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sutton.jpgAP's Doug Ferguson catches up with Hal Sutton, who has pretty much disappeared since Captaining the Ryder Cup team in 2002 2004.

Noting that "for all he has done in golf - a career that began by beating Jack Nicklaus at the PGA in 1983 and culminated with a victory over Woods at The Players Championship in 2000," it seems Sutton is sadly going to be remembered for the Ryder Cup loss. Sutton, thankfully has moved on with a children's hospital project and new golf course project.

When he isn't at the hospital, Sutton can be found at Boot Ranch, the opulent golf club he is building in the Hill Country of Texas, a rugged piece of nature about 60 miles north of San Antonio and 60 miles west of Austin.

Sutton has spared no expense. The name plates on the lockers are made of sterling silver. The benches are covered with hides of ostrich, alligator and longhorn. Each member - former President Bush among them - gets customized boots to be worn on property, much like members in their green jackets at Augusta National.

Gulp. Anyway...on the Ryder Cup:

"I'll look back on it as a positive experience," he said. "I think it's the greatest marketing event in the world. It's a big to-do. And if somebody thinks you did something wrong, well, that's why it's a big to-do. If somebody badmouths something I did, if in some people's minute opinion they think putting Tiger and Phil together was a mistake ..."

His voice grew loud, thick, determined, just as it was that Thursday before the matches when he announced Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson would be partners for the first time.

They lost both matches, setting the tone for a European rout.

"Here's the truth," Sutton continued. "Do you think they were going to get through their whole career on the same team and somebody wasn't going to put them together? You think the world wanted to see it? Absolutely! I wanted to see it. You wanted to see it. You had your opinion whether it would work, whether I was right or I was not. And it's easy to talk about now."

"There's a feeling I disappeared because I was embarrassed by what happened?" Sutton asked.

"Embarrassment has never driven me off. You're not trying if you haven't failed. I'm not afraid to fail, and I don't consider that a failure. I didn't hit a single drive or a hit a single putt all week. At the end of the day, failure is about whether the ball goes in the hole when it comes to golf."