When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Doug Ferguson reports...
Chad Campbell made one last impression on U.S. captain Paul Azinger and was rewarded Tuesday with a spot on the Ryder Cup team, joining Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan and J.B. Holmes as captain's picks.
Thoughts?
Azinger's transcript is here. Not too many revelations, though the course setup stuff is all over the map and therefore entertaining to read.
The British press is having fun now. The early verdicts on the Poulter selection...
Lawrence Donegan offers probably the most sympathetic perspective:
The irony is that there really was a strong case for choosing Poulter over Clarke, or Casey for that matter. For one thing, he is a fabulous competitor. More crucially, he is a fabulous putter - the most important attribute any player can bring to a Ryder Cup. He finished 12th in the qualification rankings and, at No23 in the world, was the highest ranked player who had not played himself into an automatic spot.
Most people could marshal these facts, and a few others, to make an insurmountable case for Poulter, but not Faldo.
Remarkable for someone who makes his living as a TV commentator these days, the Englishman is uncomfortable under the glare of the cameras and, thus far into his captain's role, has made the famously tongue-tied Ian Woosnam sound like Winston Churchill. Yet on this occasion his hesitation might have had more to do with the fact that he was hiding a deeper truth - that his selections may have had little to do with form and a lot to do with personality.
And shares this about Monty:
Faldo was sympathetic to those left out, especially when it came to Clarke. "Darren made a massive, massive charge, a big effort the last few weeks. It's a tough call - some will agree, some will disagree. I briefly spoke to Darren and you could sense he was disappointed," he said.
"Monty, I only managed to leave a voice message - apparently he was watching football or shopping. My run came to an end and the first one you miss it stinks. Monty's had an historic career, but unfortunately his summer wasn't great and he's finished down the list."Derek Lawrenson reports that Bernard Gallacher suspects the pick was a mistake.
'I am shocked,' said Gallacher. 'A lot of people were very surprised that Ian didn't come back and fight for his place, and I think team morale will be a bit lower for picking him over Darren, who tried so hard to make it.James Corrigan in the Independent doesn't sound too high on the selection:
'I felt Darren and Paul Casey were certainties to be his picks. But Nick's always been a bit controversial and he's certainly lived up to that.'
In ignoring the seemingly irresistible claims of Darren Clarke and picking Ian Poulter alongside Paul Casey as his two wild cards, Faldo left himself exposed to criticism, from both inside and outside the team room.Lewine Mair in the Telegraph notes the cozy ties between Faldo and Poulter.
Poulter may have finished second in the Open at Birkdale in July but elsewhere he has recorded just one top 10 finish all season and that came in Abu Dhabi in January. He has not shot a single round under 68 since then. In fairness, the flamboyant Englishman has been consistent in racking up the top-30s and, as Faldo pointed out: "He was the highest ranked player who had not already made the team." Undeniably, Poulter is a brilliant putter and a confident competitor. He is also a friend of Faldo's, however, and that inevitably assisted in filling the whispers here.
It was back at the PGA championship that he spoke of being in constant contact with Faldo. "We've been friends for the last few years so I've just been keeping in touch and he's always been supportive of me over the last year," he said at the time.
"I'm in a situation where I'm close to making the side and where I think I should be in contact with him. I want to know what's going to happen and what the team could be doing."
The above, in itself, resulted in nothing more than a few raised eyebrows. But when, in withdrawing from the Johnnie Walker, he made another mention of having spoken to Faldo, it was hardly surprising that so many put two and two together.John Hopkins in the Times notes that the dreaded Clarke-Westwood pairing is not an option now:
Yet Faldo stands accused by some of having made an error already in selecting Ian Poulter ahead of Darren Clarke and Carl Pettersson. Clarke, 40, has won two tournaments since mid-April, the more recent eight days ago. His partnership with Lee Westwood has yielded an enormous dividend for Europe. Clarke and Westwood have beaten the world No 1 and No 2 in three of the recent Ryder Cups - Woods and Duval in the four-balls at Brookline in 1999, Woods and Mickelson in the foursomes at Oakland Hills in 2004 and Woods and Furyk in the four-balls in 2006. To discard such a potent partnership seems to be brave at the very least.
Upon hearing that Clarke had not been selected, Paul Azinger may have let out a sigh of relief. “I thought he was a lock,” the US captain said.Mark Lamport-Stokes reports that even Jim Furyk was shocked by the selection.
"I think everyone kind of felt like Darren was going to get the nod," Furyk told reporters after shooting a two-under-par 69 in the third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.As for the rest of the team, GolfBrief.com offers AP team capsules.
"All of his team mates and actually our guys respect him. He's a good friend of a bunch of guys over here and I know the guys on their team love him.
"He's great behind the scenes, a good team guy, so I think I'm a little surprised Darren wasn't a pick.
"From a personal perspective, Darren is a friend and I feel badly for him that he's not there," added Furyk, who like the Northern Irishman has played in the last five Ryder Cups.
Now the fun really begins as we await the European press reaction to Nick Faldo inexplicably picking Ian Poulter over Darren Clarke. Or is it inexplicable? As reader Chris noted, check out this buried in an unbylined golf365.com story:
Faldo's first words to Poulter, though, revealed how close a relationship they have developed.
They regularly speak to each other in the voice of a character from 'Only Fools and Horses' and on the phone Faldo said: "Raquel, go and put your overcoat on. It's time to go to the Ryder Cup."
Lordy. Let's get these two some tickets to see a Bette Midler concert.
An unbylined Scotland On Sunday story (Tom English?) takes Captain Faldo to task for not appearing at Gleneagles for Saturday's third round.
Yes, Faldo would have soaked it up. If he was here. Which, of course, he was not. A face in the crowd at the tennis at Flushing Meadows earlier in the week he was believed to be at a corporate day at Wentworth yesterday. No doubt he had his reasons and we'll be mightily interested to hear them when he announces his wild cards a little after 6pm this evening. Quite honestly, he's got a bit of talking to do today.Meanwhile Bill Elliott in The Guardian sums up the issues Faldo faces in selecting two players, one of which is not going to be Monty.
As bad as it looks for Paul Azinger, things may not be quite so peachy in the Euro team room after Nick Dougherty voiced what appears to be the prevailing mood on the European Tour: Ian Poulter is playing the Deutsche Bank this week because he knows he's getting one of Faldo's two Captain's picks. James Corrigan reports:
Nick Dougherty was brave enough to articulate what most were thinking here on the range yesterday as the news circulated of Ian Poulter's late withdrawal from this week's Johnnie Walker Championship. "All I can think of is that he's been given the nod," said Dougherty. And so the great Ryder Cup conspiracy theory gathered momentum. True or not true it has given the build-up to Nick Faldo's wildcards announcement on Sunday night a fascinating edge.
The golfing world has only come up with two answers: first, Poulter has raised the white flag; and second, Poulter knows something the rest don't. Many here have already widely agreed that the flamboyant Englishman, the golfing street-fighter, is as likely to raise a white flag as he is to start wearing beige and, to them, that leaves only one explanation. And it is one that could just land Faldo in the middle of a storm when he eventually turns up at Gleneagles on Sunday lunchtime.
Not that Dougherty is ready to lambast the six-time major champion. Indeed, Faldo is his mentor. The young Liverpudlian was merely saying what he, and others such as Oliver Wilson – the player currently in the last qualifying spot – take to be the logical justification for Poulter's baffling actions.
"When I saw Ian's name down, I was impressed he was coming back," said Dougherty, who is himself in with a squeak of taking Wilson's place should he finish in the top two this week. "I've always thought Ian made his plans depending on his conversations with Nick."Meanwhile it seems Azinger has settled on two of his picks, according to Tim Rosaforte at GolfDigest.com's Local Knowledge blog. And if you really want to know who might be picked, Steve Elling polls the writers and comes up with this tally.
Poor Captain Faldo, so many players, so few picks. John Huggan weighs Faldo's options and sees Casey-Poulter with Darren Clarke stepping into a spot if either qualifies on points.
Steve Elling talks to Faldo about where things stand:
Every panicky player with a shot at making the team, with one notable exception, is playing this week in either New Jersey or Holland.
"The guys are really twitched up about it right now," Faldo said after finishing his commentary work for the Golf Channel on Friday. "The amazing thing, now I've got Darren Clarke leading.
"Crumps, I've got probably six names, unless they can jump in -- which would obviously be the best way to make the team -- but I could have four or five players outside playing well and it looks like I have to make a blooming decision."Randell Mell sums up the most important point from a media perspective. The thought of Monty not making the team is "flat-out depressing."
Jack Nicklaus apparently thinks the U.S. can win the Ryder Cup, but Steve Elling isn't so sure after listening to Paul Azinger talk about how relieved he was not have to make his four Captain's picks Monday.
He's just postponing the pain, pushing back his root canal. The end of the American bench isn't any deeper than it was the last time around, when J.J. Henry and Vaughn Taylor were sent abroad to absorb a red, white and blue striping. In the two years since the 2006 matches, those two have six combined top 10 finishes.
The next wave of American possibles, 20-something players who entered the week in the top 16 in points, such as J.B. Holmes, Sean O'Hair, D.J. Trahan and Brandt Snedeker -- all in position to steal an automatic roster spot -- were summarily chewed up by the Oakland Hill Monster.
On the two weekend rounds, when the course softened and Harrington and Garcia were a combined 11 under, none of the four broke par. In fact, of the players in the mix for a spot on the U.S. roster, only Curtis broke par on the weekend. He was 1 under.
As for the old blood, the five players with Ryder experience who earned spots on Sunday night have a dubious record. Justin Leonard and Kenny Perry have never won a Ryder match and Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink are a combined 18-29-10.Bob Harig also considered Azinger's plight, and offers this ounce of optimism from the American captain:
"For the first time in a long time, Europe is going to have everything to lose in these matches," Azinger said. "It's usually the other way around. Even though they've won five of the last six, they just seem to come in as the underdog. I don't know how that works. This time I think it's clear that we are the underdogs going into these matches."
I prefer Michael Bamberger's reasons for Tiger's Ryder Cup assistant captain invite rejection over the rationale Tiger offered. Especially the last two:
6) In the team room, I'd have to act like I feel we have a better team than the Euros. My acting's pretty good, but there are limits.
7) I have more good friends on the Euro team than the American team -- where does the "w" go in awkward?
Jack Nicklaus weighed in on several topics during his Memorial Tuesday chat with the media, ranging from Boo Weekley to furrowed bunkers to the golf ball. For a summary of his lengthy Ryder Cup dialogue, check out Steve Elling's blog summation. Elling also offered this overview of the press conference if you don't want to read the entire transcript. Mark Soltau summarizes a Jack anecdote related to Tiger's decision not to play (it doesn't sound great with his knee) and also on the topic of thank-you cards from players.
And separate of his press conference, Nicklaus offered this to Doug Ferguson in response to a question about his support of the USGA's new deal with RBS.
Jack Nicklaus has been barking about technology for at least a decade, with seemingly no help from the USGA. But he took part in an announcement earlier this month when golf’s governing body in the United States and Mexico announced it had signed its fourth corporate partner in the last 18 months.
He was asked about any perception that the USGA is more interested in getting corporate support than governing the game.
“I wish I had a good answer to that,” Nicklaus replied. “I haven’t had a good answer from the USGA on it. I think their heart is in the right place. I don’t think they’re trying to avoid being a good steward to the game. They’re probably between a rock and a hard place.
“Their efforts in the grassroots of the game, being involved in youth, certainly has been good,” he said. “They do so many good things. It’s just the one thing they aren’t having success at is controlling the length of the golf ball.”
Okay, now the highlights from the press conference.
Q. Furrowed bunkers again this year?
JACK NICKLAUS: We went to about halfway between what we were. I think that the first year we probably were a little severe. Probably the second year we were probably too light and this year we're somewhere in the middle. It's about the same exact same thing that basically I was at Birkdale last week and the rakes are almost identical to Birkdale. So I think it's pretty much the standard rake. It's just not a smooth surface.
And the intention is, as I've said in here many times, the intention is not to make it a penalty, but to have it in a player's mind that it could be a penalty. And so if you're going to hit the ball, you got to challenge a bunker and you're going to say, you know, well, if I hit in there what difference does it make, I'm just going to take my whatever club it is and knock it out and knock it on the green. The players don't worry about it.
But if you got it where you might not get a perfect lie -- and you can get a good lie in the bunkers the way we got them, but you can get a bad lie. And if that's the case, then you're going to think about whether you want to really challenge that bunker in a way that you wouldn't even consider. So it's just forcing the players to strategize, to play the strategy of the golf course.
I came up with it, the reason I did it was we just kept changing bunkers and lowering them and it didn't make that much difference. I always go through what they did at the Masters and there's two bunkers at the fifth hole at the Masters and, you know, you can't hardly shoot a gun out of them over the top, but -- they're so deep. And but Hootie saw that and didn't know if they could get out. And I said, Hootie, I promise you they're going to get out. There will be no problems. The first round Mickelson knocked it in the bunkers, knocked a 9-iron out of the bunker onto the green and made birdie. End of question there, end of subject.
So if you keep taking the bunkers and keep doing things to them, you just are destroying your membership. The membership can't play out of those bunkers. The membership is having a hard time playing, a hard time playing out of a lot of them over here. So I said basically let's not make the bunkers any tougher. Just one week a year rough it up a little bit. They call it rough raking it. And that's what we have done and that's -- I don't think they will find it to be much of a deal.
It certainly will not be a big deal around the greens. That's not where they have to worry. It's more in the fairways, because the fairway bunkers here have always been fairly easy to play out of because the guys will take whatever club they need and just pop it out of them because we just have them so perfect. And we'll just sort of rough rake them a little bit.
I loved this question. Now if we could just get Jack and the field staff on the same page!
Q. You talked about 14, a couple weeks ago about practicing, preparing your driving for the U.S. Open there. Have you ever thought about maybe one day during the tournament moving it up, moving the tee up just a little bit to put the thought in their head to give it a crack?
JACK NICKLAUS: I don't control the tees. The tees are controlled by the TOUR. Would I object to it if they put it up? Probably wouldn't if we would talk about it ahead of time so I could prepare the hole so it would play for that, as far as the occasional guy who stands back and whacks it today, but I haven't really -- I really haven't prepared and thought a whole lot about the second shot, that landing area up there as relates to receiving a tee shot. And I would bet there are going to be 10 players this week who will take a run at that. If they do, then I probably will prepare the fairway a little differently and probably -- meaning would I probably eliminate any rough that comes along the edge of it. So if you're going to take a run at it and you don't hit it where you're supposed to, you're probably going to get a little bit more -- the water will come into play a little bit more. But it's never been a big issue yet. But that would be what we would probably do.
I went out there, I used to practice from the ladies' tee and it was a perfect tee shot practice for me because it was left-to-right slope hitting up the left edge, and sort of working the ball I could run it up into the green there. And I thought that was good practice. And the guys today, I mean, you know, they could go back on 13 fairway and drive it up there they hit the ball so far today.
And the proverbial technology talk turned interesting when it came to Augusta National.
Q. You were talking about equipment.
(Laughter.)
JACK NICKLAUS: Well surprise there.
(Laughter.)
We talk about the game has changed tremendously because of equipment and I think largely the golf ball. And yet we're asked to play the same golf courses.
So I mean obviously if the golf ball goes further and equipment hits the ball straighter, and the guys are bigger, all those combinations would only, common sense would say, duh, scores are going to be lower.
Well, okay. But then you take the golf courses and we keep changing them and changing them and changing them and spend millions of dollars to protect almighty par. Is that really the right thing to do? I think that we're trying to, we try to take today's golf courses and make them -- we take equipment, which has no relevance whatsoever to the equipment that I played or we played versus what Jones played. Yet we want to make the golf course play, to be relevant. Does that make sense?
I mean why would you want to take -- I mean it's a different game, it's different equipment. Why would you worry about that it's relevant? Though we spend millions of dollars trying to make it so. And so that doesn't make a lot of sense.
Augusta is the perfect example. I think Augusta is a, to what it is right now, frankly, I think it's a great golf course. And I think what they have done to it is what they had to do to it if they wanted to protect par. Would Bobby Jones have liked that? Probably not. His philosophy was very much the St. Andrews philosophy. And that's wide fairways, second shot golf, put the ball in the right position, you got the right angle to the hole. You do that, you take advantage of the golf course and you can score it. Okay. Well obviously with today's equipment you just take a golf course apart.
But they have changed the golf course and probably rightly so. I have two thoughts on it. Rightly so. They changed the golf course to fit today's game. But they have taken the golf course away from Jones' philosophy of what the game was to him.
So you got two things happening there. Which do you protect? And they could have had the -- they're the only place that had the option probably to say, okay, we can do, take the golf ball and make them play a certain golf ball there. And they could have gotten away with that.
But I think they did the right thing there again, as I said to you before, in not putting themselves above the game. So I don't know what the answer really is. What was your question? Was that your question?
Nicklaus made similar complimentary comments regarding ANGC to ESPN.com's Jason Sobel in this interview. Well, complimentary if you read it a certain way!
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
