Overrated Players

[iacas]

Not the vast majority of golf fans? That's called doing people's thinking for them.

No it's not. It's called understanding the common, general opinion. I didn't tell you that YOU had to think a certain way, I simply stated what's commonly felt. It may very well be different in Europe, but as far as golf numbers go, Europe is a small portion of the overall "golf world."

Monty is a European golfer who hardly played on the PGA Tour - duh, no surprise he has no wins!

He played a few PGA Tour events per year. 74 (counting majors and WGCs of course) in the 2000s alone, and that includes his slumping last few years.

To say the Ryder Cup doesn't matter is laughable, and to back that up by asking about the Ryder Cup records of players who are amazing individuals is senseless.

Not really.

Golf is NOT just an individual sport. Mostly it is, but not always.

The question wasn't who is an over-rated teammate. The question is who is an over-rated golfer. Some guy that contributes to an event once every two years and wins several money titles without ever winning a single major is over-rated in my book. And he doesn't do it for most people, either. You obviously disagree. No need to resort to calling the opinions of others "laughable."

But if it is that hugely superior, why do the "unknown" Europeans stuff the Americans in the Ryder Cup? Do you think you might be guilty of underrating the European Tour?

No. You seem to forget that most of the European Team plays the PGA Tour primarily.

European dominance in the Ryder Cup (which is a fairly recent trend - Monty was playing back when the Euros were getting beaten, too) has little to nothing to do with the "stronger" Tour, but rather the "stronger" team and the better team players.

He came 2nd a ridiculous amount of times but never quite got it done.

Oh come on, he came second less times, I believe, than Tiger Woods has come in second in majors, and we all know how infrequently Tiger's done that.

The fact that US golf fans don't like him doesn't mean he is overrated. Don't confuse the two.

I'm not confusing the two. I think he's overrated

and unliked. Most European golfers don't like the guy either - his dislike doesn't end on this side of the pond. There's a reason he's got the nicknames on Tour that he's got. But no, I'm not confusing the two. I don't even think Monty belongs in the Hall of Fame. This isn't Ernie Banks playing on a team that never won the World Series - it's an individual sport, and Monty not once, not ever won a major. Even the snake-bitten Greg Norman won a few. Since neither of us have anything new to offer, I'm putting a cap on this portion of the conversation. You go on believing Monty is not over-rated, and I'll go on believing he is.

[RichF]

Anyone who disagrees with Iacas is clearly WRONG.

I don't always agree with

iacas , but in the viewpoint of Montgomerie being overrated, I have to agree - he's obviously a great talent when it comes to 'hitting-a-golf-ball-for-a-living' but as we all know, it's not just about that. Montgomerie's record in Majors is pretty poor, apart from the US Open where he's hit 2nd place three time, but he's also missed the cut a staggering 23 times. I can't think of any other high profile player of the last 15-20 years with that blemish against their record. European Order of Merits and Ryder Cup team wins are all well and good, but at the end of the day, they're mere sideshow events compared with PGA Tour wins / Majors. Ask any player what he'd rather have: say, 2 PGA Championships or 5 Ryder Cup wins and you'll get the Majors every time.

[iacas]

I don't always agree with

I don't care if people agree or not. Sometimes I want people to disagree. Here I thought Sergio77 and I were having a decent debate, then he launches into accusing me of "thinking for them" and the BS you quoted about "if you disagree you must be wrong." At what point did I say anything of the sort? I didn't.

Just because I didn't change my opinion and agree with you, Sergio, doesn't mean I think everyone else must be "wrong." It's a matter of opinion , and opinions are rarely right or wrong. Sergio77's comment was removed because it added no value, and I'm getting awfully tired of people flinging mud and making outlandish B.S. statements just because I disagree with them (and respectfully, at that). I wasn't the one using the words "laughable" or making silly claims about "thinking for them." Pardon the interruption, and let's get back on topic.

[mjtoal]

There may be some issues with semantics here. If few US golfers think he is a good golfer, how can he be over-rated? His "rating" appears to be as a perennial loser.

For my money, Monty was unlucky not to be at least a one-time major winner. He could easily have won one, but sometimes that is the way the breaks go.

His Ryder Cup career (as a player) is over, in my opinion.

[Cleveland Gunmetal]

I think Padraig Harrington is overrated. He wins a couple majors and now all of the sudden everything thinks he is the next big thing? Give me a break...

Actually he's won three majors in two years, which gets my attention. Tough crowd.

Jim Furyk. I respect him and all because he's true to the red white and blue. But I think all that hype at the Canadian got to him.

I agree he hasn't had the greatest year but I've always thought of Furyk as the guy who flies under the radar, you know, is a bit under-rated.

Best player of the last 20years not to win a major IMO.

I don't necessarily agree but that's perhaps one of the reasons he's considered so over-rated. Never won one.

While no-one would argue with the fact that the PGA Tour is the stronger, the European Tour was packed with stars of the Faldo, Woosnam, Lyle, Langer, Olazabal variety when Monty was dominating it

Yet

all of those other guys you mentioned are major champions...

Yeah -it's a joke. I mean, he wins 3 majors in 2 years and suddenly there's all this talk.

I saw your post after I quoted the guy. Agreed.

I don't care if people agree or not. Sometimes I want people to disagree. Here I thought Sergio77 and I were having a decent debate, then he launches into accusing me of "thinking for them" and the BS you quoted about "if you disagree you must be wrong." At what point did I say anything of the sort? I didn't.

This always happens. There's nothing better than a good ole clean debate but there's always someone who takes offense to it and turns it into a pissing match.

[Ogie]

I haven't had a chance to read through all of this but does winning a major make you exempt from being overrated? I find lefty incredibly overrated.

[Thrash13]

I haven't had a chance to read through all of this but does winning a major make you exempt from being overrated? I find lefty incredibly overrated.

34 PGA Tour victories including three of the major variety. You will have a tough time convincing people Lefty is overrated. I don't particularly care for the guy all that much, but he is one of the two or three best golfers of the past 15 years (Vijay and Tiger are the other two). Most of that has been accomplished during the Tiger Era as well.

[skinny1176]

I believe that Sergio is underrated, not overrated. He

Sergio will never become a true force until he learns to putt better when it matters!!!!

[wilbur.kay]

I find it really hard to rate Kenny Perry very highly as he admittedly doesn't want to step out of his own comfort zone. The way he avoided the Open Championship and the US Open because he thought it would be better to play against weaker fields and win seems completely against what I would look for as a Ryder Cup captain. I would want him to test himself against the best players in the world because when it comes to the Cup I am pretty sure the Europeans aren't going to let him hit from different tees. He has to compete against them regardless of conditions then so why not see how they play then? Congratulations to him for making the team but I think he would have been a more hardened competitor if he did it the 'hard' way.

[CG031]

I haven't had a chance to read through all of this but does winning a major make you exempt from being overrated? I find lefty incredibly overrated.

And Phil always seems to be near the top. You have guys who disappear forever, don't make cuts for a weeks straight, then you have Phil, who seems to always been hovering in the top 20 or so of each tournament even when he doesn't win.