Oh Dear: Davis Love Declares His 2016 Ryder Cup Team Maybe The Best Ever Assembled

Well there is good news in the bombast from captain Davis Love: for day or two we forget the bizarre situation with Bubba Watson, who is stinking it up at East Lake and less likely to make a team that has never sounded interested in his presence.

Bubba has volunteered himself to be a vice captain should he not be picked, and oh won't that be an awkward phone call when Captain Love has to pass up Bubba as a player and as a shuttle driver for players and wives.

(Maybe Love can say Bubba Hovers are banned at Hazeltine?)

Anyway, Captain Love moved the attention to himself with some shocking comments about the strength of his 11-man team. Talking to Matt Adams on Fairways of Life, Love suggests that the recent visit with Bill Belichick and Gillette Stadium may have fueled a warped sense of this year's team.

“We don’t have to do anything superhuman, we’re a great golf team,” Love said. “This is the best golf team, maybe, ever assembled.”

In case you don't believe me, the full embed here, including the Bellichick advice to the "team."

Coach Belichick's advice: ignore the noise. Only problem?

Davis Love just made the noise!

I'm sure Richard Gillis is licking his chops right now to add this example of Captaincy audacity to his already excellent book, discussed this week on State of the Game. It's hard to fathom how Captain Love can say something so silly. Has he not seen past Ryder Cups, when seemingly talented players turn to jelly and everything on paper gets thrown out the window?

We also discussed the best team ever assembled on that show (1981), which Brandel Chamblee noted in his comments. Chamblee and Paul McGinley both criticized the comments, with Chamblee citing "American arrogance" and McGinley calling it "strange positioning" and noting that statistically, Love's thinking "doesn't add up."

The clip:

The statement is being met with ridicule in Europe. James Corrigan for The Telegraph noting that the United States has beaten Europe once in the current 17-year span.

Europe should save their air fares. Davis Love has made the astonishing claim that his US Ryder Cup side “is the best golf team, maybe, ever assembled”.

Lee Westwood was one of the first to ridicule the statement made on PGA Tour radio, tweeting: “No pressure there then lads!”

I think if Love had said it's as good a team as the points list has ever assembled, he might ultimately take less grief.

But using the "assembled" word also suggests task force brilliance. Sigh.

Azinger On Announcing Last Pick During Sunday's NFL Game: "I just don't understand it."

The Independent's Liam Kelly catches up with Paul Azinger, the victorious 2008 lead cart driver who has a lot of interesting things to say on the eve of the Ryder Cup matches, especially after Lee Westwood wondered about Tiger's impact in the team room.

Azinger smells a rat!

"They showed slow motion of Westwood's glares at those two guys, and him being unhappy with the way they were behaving. That's a purposeful comment by Westwood, in all likelihood. He had intent there, and that intent could backfire."

More interesting was Azinger's criticism (backed up by 2014 European Captain Paul McGinley on Golf Central) of the task force decision to announce the last pick at halftime of NBC's Sunday Night Football game.

"I think it's a terrible idea," said Azinger.

"We're going to announce the final player, arguably the worst player on the team, on the biggest stage. I just don't understand it.

"I think they should do it five minutes, or ten minutes after the press conference with whoever wins the Tour Championship, and let's get ready to rock and roll.

"But they're not going to do that and I don't like it."

The video of McGinley questioning what the last minute structure will do to that 12th player:

Matters get worse when you read Rex Hoggard's take from East Lake after talking to some of those invited for Monday's team practice at Hazeltine (Ryan Moore declined) and their view that the decision has already been made.

If Sunday’s big reveal wasn’t contingent on what transpires this week in Atlanta, as so many now seem to think is the case, why did we wait? Why have a task force? Why claim this time will be different?

Riviera Becomes LA 2024's Olympic Golf Course

While it's a world class course unfortunately owned by not-very-world class people, Riviera gives the LA2024 bid committee a famous layout in the effort to bring the Olympics to southern California.

David Wharton reports for the LA Times.

Unfortunately, this means there will be no effort to resuscitate Griffith Park, the original bid committee plan. Given that the LA City courses are in such a terrible place--five of them have shuttered pro shops because no one wants to deal with the City of LA--the Olympics provided hope that 2024 might leave public golf here in a better place.

But the LA 2024 bid is emphasizing already-built facilities over legacy projects and Riviera fits that bill, even if it'll be surrounded by $20 million homes and down to a tiny membership with entry fees already approaching $300,000 (that's including required "donations" to the club's effort to fund the 2017 U.S. Amateur to procure better waiting list positioning).

None of this will fit the "grow the game" message we heard this year and which validated Rio's effort to build a public course.

es, it was a headache and tough, but wasn't it worth it to show the world that great golf can be played on a course anyone can play?  That won't be the case in 2020 or 2024, assuming LA gets the Games.

NY Times: "Nike Tosses Its Golf Clubs. (Shirts to Stay On.)"

Sam Borden of the New York Times went to East Lake trying to gauge the impact of Nike's equipment exodus and concludes a few things.

First though, there was this shrewd observation:

“The secret sauce in the equipment business that Nike didn’t have is that each of these companies that’s thriving comes from a core competency that they grew out of,” said Casey Alexander, a senior vice president at Compass Point Research & Trading, which has long tracked the golf industry. “Callaway still uses the Big Bertha name — that’s what people know them for. TaylorMade invented the metal-headed driver, and that’s still a huge part of what they do. Titleist has a core competency in golf balls. Ping has a history in cast-iron clubs. Nike just never broke through with something like that.”

Borden shared this compilation of observations that is of interest:

Several agents speculated that one (somewhat counterintuitive) ramification of Nike’s move out of the golf equipment business is that there will actually be more, not fewer, Nike swooshes on the golf course at top events.

In the past, the thinking goes, Nike could not attract some players it wanted to work with because many players believed Nike’s clubs were inferior. Now, Nike will be free to chase any player without demanding that the player use Nike’s clubs as well as wear its clothes.

We shall see!

Storylines Galore At Tour Championship! And FedExCup Too!

The points have been reset again, the algorithms are working on 10 days rest and the lamest competition in all of sport has just four, cut-free days to go. On the list of storylines this week, who wins the cup lands a solid fifth.

As I note in this week's Forward Press, the tenth anniversary of the ResetCup has brought many salutes to how far this grand competition has come and how far it still could go with more tweaks. Shoot, by year twenty we might even stop discussing the greatness of the playoff concept because will be so big, it won't play second fiddle to Notre Dame football. We can dream!

As great as the whole thing supposedly is, the playoff concept faces an uncertainty, writes Brian Wacker. With the change in Don's, new PGA Tour leader Jay Monahan is expected to rethink the timing of the playoffs.

It was nice reading a player quoted (William McGirt) who sees the big picture issues created by too many events in a short span, with the big conclusion coming when people want to be watching other sports...

“What do you think the ratings are going to be this fall?" McGirt continued. "Nobody is watching these events. Eventually you water down your product.”

But at least we have reversed nines at East Lake to possibly make for a better finish, a great field and the Ryder Cup pick to make this interesting!

Playing Through: NBC Sports Answering The DVR?

Long overdue in sports coverage too obsessed with cord cutters and not enough with the DVR have been counterpoints by networks to deal with digital video recorders. We've seen test runs at some changes in how golf tournaments are delivered and now NBC will be all-in on a NASCAR/Indy 500 style split screen approach to commercials at its big upcoming events.

For The Tour Championship, the final nine holes will be presented free of national ads, according to this press release.

Sponsors Coke and Southern Company can be thanked for going along with this, which will give us more time for the points race explanations too!

At the Ryder Cup, NBC will be going full split screen as an an ad with its audio runs on one side, while the golf coverage continues on the other side of the screen. This will spoil some "just a moment ago" drinking games and also make watching via DVR a bit tougher.

Here is the look:

Today In Unnecessary-But-Highly Entertaining Ryder Cup Drama: Westwood Questions Tiger Role, DJ Says Pair Me With Anyone But Phil

You know you're living in peculiar times when Bubba Watson is saying all the right things to Golf Channel's Todd Lewis as he hopes to play well enough to land a captain's pick.

Thankfully, otherwise sane individuals (who should know better) are offering up plenty of pre-match fodder, starting with Lee Westwood. Talking to ESPN radio, the veteran presence sought by Darren Clarke inexplicably questioned the influence of Tiger Woods as one of several Team USA cart drivers. The remarks had nothing to do with Tiger's driving ability, but instead, with is presence.

Leo Spall of ESPN.com transcribed the comments and put them end, which didn't stop multiple outlets from rightly picking them up.

"I don't know what impact there will be from having Tiger around," Westwood said. "They [the U.S. team] have always struggled to find a partner for Tiger that's been successful.

"He could have an adverse effect in the team room. People have always seemed to try to do too much when they have partnered him. It might be different if he's one of the vice-captains -- you don't know."

I could certainly see a young player finding themselves a bit star struck or even intimidated if Tiger comes driving up in his Club Car and asks if he wants his water flat or fizzy. But Westwood insinuated that the team room presence could be the issue. Wow.

Meanwhile Dustin Johnson surprised the gang at East Lake by saying he's ready go with whoever the analytics tell Davis Love is a good partner. Except Phil Mickelson, Johnson's buddy.

Jim McCabe reports for Golfweek.com that Johnson said, “I think I can partner well with pretty much anyone,” Johnson said. “Except for Phil.”

R&A Lowers The Open Prices For (Some) Millennials!

Last year they rolled out their festival housing concept to not much enthusiasm while still charging a lot for tickets. For the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale, the R&A is hopefully setting the stage for more organizations to target younger ticket purchasers. Now, if we could just get the R&A to also offer a nice weekday ticket for seniors...

For Immediate Release:

GOLF’S OLDEST CHAMPIONSHIP EVEN MORE OPEN FOR NEXT GENERATION OF FANS

21 September 2016, St Andrews, Scotland:  Tickets for The 146th Open at Royal Birkdale will go on general sale tomorrow, 22 September 2016, at 9:00 am with a variety of different ticketing options and early season prices available.  For under-25s, The Open is more accessible than ever with Youth Tickets extended from 16 – 21 years of age to 16 – 24 year olds and The R&A is once again providing free camping accommodation for Youth Ticket holders.

Sports fans should have 16-23 July 2017 firmly in their diaries as Champion Golfer of the Year, Henrik Stenson will look to defend the title he won in record-breaking fashion following a gripping duel with Phil Mickelson at Royal Troon in 2016. The world’s best golfers will join him next summer at Royal Birkdale as they compete for the most coveted prize in golf, the Claret Jug.

More than 200,000 spectators are expected to come together across the magnificent dunes of Royal Birkdale, arguably The Open’s best viewing course.

Spectators can secure their place at The Open from tomorrow at TheOpen.com and take advantage of early season pricing. Adult daily tickets will be available from £15 for Practice Days (16-19 July) and £60 for Championship Days (20-23 July).

Fans will enjoy £5 off the price of their ticket if they purchase with a MasterCard – the official card of The Open.

Weekly tickets, covering the whole Championship - Sunday 16 to Sunday 23 July - are available for £230 before 28 February, a saving of £105 on the daily ticket prices for the full week.

A limited number of Twilight Tickets will also be on offer providing access to the evening action from 4:00 pm onward on Thursday and Friday of the Championship for only £25.

The Open offers a number of incentives to welcome the next generation of golf fans to the Championship, including the Kids Go Free initiative, which provides free admission to children under the age of 16.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said: “We are very much looking forward to another exciting Championship next summer when The Open returns to Royal Birkdale for the tenth time. The course offers a tremendous viewing experience for spectators and it has produced many of The Open’s finest Champions including Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Peter Thomson and Padraig Harrington.

“Our aim is to deliver the best possible experience for golf fans and to ensure that the Championship remains affordable and accessible. There are few sports events in the world where fans can get so close to the star names. Innovations including the Sky Open Zone practice area and player Autograph Zone will return in 2017. Reduced early season pricing, our Kids Go Free policy and free camping accommodation for under-25s are also part of that commitment.”

A limited number of official hospitality packages are also available providing the very best on-course locations to experience The 146th Open, including the exclusive Claret Jug Pavilion at Royal Birkdale’s first tee and the stylish, relaxed atmosphere of the Champions Club.  For more information visit www.TheOpen.com/Hospitality.

Tickets will go on sale from 9:00 am BST tomorrow, Thursday 22 September. For more information, to purchase tickets and for full ticket terms and conditions please visit www.TheOpen.com/Tickets.