Comments on: Major Problem for the Europeans

By: Erik J. Barzeski

Erik J. Barzeski — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 20:05:59 +0000

Sergio's problem is not a putting problem. It's a mental problem.

Match play (Ryder Cup) is a different mentality than stroke play (majors). He always, always, always leaves putts short in the majors, but always gets them to the hole in the Ryder Cup.

It's a mental issue, not a putting issue.

By: Craig Harnett

Craig Harnett — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 12:24:43 +0000

Enjoyed the article. But when you say the number of Americans it is only really Tiger and Phil. The Micheal's, Curtis' were really, with no disrespect as they were the best golfers that week, abberations. Els, Singh, Goosen are really the only other multiple major winners with potentially more on the way. Daly and O'Meara are past it. There are really no American players under 30 coming through.

An related issue of sorts, ie the strength of Golf outside Ryder Cup countries. The top 12 ranked players on either the US, European and International Presidents Cup team is actually the later. With 5 of the top 8 in the world also being on that theoretical team.

Enjoy all the articles, greeting from down under

By: oz

oz — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 10:06:04 +0000

3 out of every 4 majors are played in the USA.

The surprise is that Americans don't win more of the majors. The home ground advantage is a huge factor.

I'll admit, my logic falters with the British Open - dominated in recent years by Americans!

By: rockramon

rockramon — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 06:29:01 +0000

Wasn't it amazing to see Sergio look so much more comfortable with 3 holes to go on Sunday when he knew there was no way he was going to win, it looks like he needs the help of a psychologist, BIG TIME.

By: Andy Greenwald

Andy Greenwald — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 23:47:17 +0000

Cody,

As always, you raise a good point with your article.

I would argue that the European golfers today are better players (or at least have more depth) than they have been since Faldo was number 1. Donald, Casey, Garcia, Jimenez, Howell, etc.

Look at the Ryder Cup team for this year's team and you can see that they at least match up on paper with the American team. That was not true for the last few years (a lot of good that did us in the past).

My question is how does Garcia putt so well in the Ryder Cup, but cannot do so well in final rounds in majors. He has handled the pressure then. If Garcia overcomes his putting issues (there are a group of others that fall into this category), he can compete with Phil and Tiger on almost any course.

Who knows what the next few years holds for future Euro talent. I can recall everyone was touting young guns (Howell III and Ryan Moore come to mind) playing against Tiger, but they have fallen off the planet.

By: rafcin

rafcin — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 16:51:33 +0000

Nice job Cody, very enjoyable read. One thing I'd add to it is mention the "others" - there were few non-european and non-american players that raked some of the hardware at the recent majors. Weir, Singh, Campbell come to mind right away, leaving only 4 out of last 8 to americans (I'm not good at golf trivia, there could've been more...). With the number of people playing golf in US - I think 50% of wins is not that unusual...

By: Mohun

Mohun — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 16:49:30 +0000

Cody: You are seriously misplaced by saying Sergio will win a major in 2007. If his precious little psyche wasn't already a little weakened, Sunday's final round with Tiger will leave a permanent scar. After Sunday I don't think he has it in him to ever win a major.

Unless golf allows "pinch-putters", Sergio is screwed.