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
Matteo Manassero shares the lead heading into Sunday at Wentworth but as Lawrence Donegan notes, this one could be much bigger than his previous Euro Tour wins."It's not fun. I was here as a kid watching those great shots but you can't remember them now. We'll have to fill up the archive with some new ones."
Tony Jimenez tells us about Ernie Els' pre-BMW Championship self-congratulatory back-patting over this year's redo of last year's redo at Wentworth.
I know, I know, you'd think he might be a bit more humble since he's a year removed from unraveling over having to fix a renovation which in places was so horrendous that no one could stand to play another tournament over it. Instead, he came out swinging!
Poulter and Donald are in the finale in Spain, they've a nice final foursome at the Sybase and Colonial has gotten more interesting. And I'm sure the only thing anyone will want to talk about is Ian Poulter falling and losing his diamond encrusted ball marker.
Me, I'm just forwarding through the telecast to see...if we can figure out what happened to the marker. Ian declared himself "alright," but only after checking to see if his pants had been stained. We wouldn't have him any other way.
Okay, I tried to read the format description of this week's 24-player Volvo World Match Play Championship's eight groups of three, round robin format. After my third try, I've given up. Anyone care to help this blogger?
Round robin group matches will be played on Thursday and Friday with players grouped according to their Official World Golf Ranking as of the Monday of the Championship. The three players in each group will play each other once. Players will be awarded two points for a win and no points for a loss. If a match is tied after 18 holes each player shall receive one point.
The top two players in each group will progress to the knock-out stages. Should, after all matches have been played, two or more players are tied on points the following criteria will be used to determine the order:
i) Where two players are tied within a group (in any position within the group) then their specific head to head match result will be used to identify which player is placed higher
ii) If two or more players are still tied then those players will compete in a hole-by-hole play-off.
iii) If all three players win one match in their respective group then all three players shall play-off.
The knock out stage will consist of the last 16 and quarter-finals, played on Saturday, and semi-finals and final, played on Sunday. All matches will be over 18 holes. There will be no third and fourth place play-off on Sunday.
Here's the day one roundup, which I'd like to get excited about since golf needs fresh formats. Especially a creative use of match play. But so far this one is just not doing it for me.
There hasn't been this much swooning over a Von Hagge design since, well, never. Lawrence Donegan on the common $en$e choice for the '18 Ryder Cup and why Spain didn't get more consideration.
The truth is relations between Seve Ballesteros, and by extension his family, and the tour hierarchy had been poor for years. This isn't to say that those involved in taking today's decision were swayed by memory of that fractious history – the bidding process was overseen by independent observers, remember – although it is entirely possible it made them even less inclined than most to be swayed by the emotion of the Ballesteros-backed Spanish bid and even more inclined to go with their instincts.
The European Tour is a business. Golf in Europe is a business and awarding the 2018 Ryder Cup to France was a business decision. The good news is that it was also the right one.
Paul Mahoney says the mix of links golf and inland American golf is "proper," though I'm not sure what that means.
Sentimental voters were disappointed that Spain lost out, but the Ryder Cup is all about big business for the European Tour. "Follow the money" is always the best bet when trying to discover the truth hidden behind bidding wars. (See: the Olympics and soccer's World Cup.) Recent European Ryder Cup history has centered on the deep pockets of Sir Terry Matthews (Celtic Manor), Dr. Michael Smurfit (the K Club), and Jaime Patino (Valderrama). France 2018 had the full backing of the French government. It was a fait accompli. And the right decision.
Mitch Phillips reports that France and Le Golf National won the 2018 Ryder Cup bidding.
The 2018 Ryder Cup will be played on Le Golf National course in Versailles, near Paris after the French bid won a five-way contest on Tuesday to host the biennial match against the United States.
European Tour officials made the announcement at their base in Wentworth, saying one of the main draws had been the "outstanding spectator viewing." France will become only the second country in continental Europe to stage the Ryder Cup after Spain in 1997.
"We always believed. The world of French golf was united and that did not escape European Tour bosses," Pascal Grizot, chairman of the Ryder Cup Committee at the French Golf Federation, said in a statement.
"This great victory is for everyone involved in French golf."
This Euro Tour site story quotes the disappointed Spaniards, who had made a late surge and had the most impressive looking bid. But we know looks meant little in this contest!
Following the announcement, Gonzaga Escauriaza, President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation (RFEG), said: “Madrid would have been a fantastic venue for the Ryder Cup in 2018, but unfortunately our dream has not come true. I honestly believe we could not have produced a better bid, and I have been extremely proud to be a part of it. I hope that Spain will one day be given the opportunity to host the Ryder Cup again. Congratulations to France on their victory, I’m sure they will do a fantastic job”.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
