Valid Complaint or Whining? Westwood on Weekley...

[sobecat]

He complained. Boo said yeah, he's right. I was over the line.

Fine, I'm just glad the Americans haven't wussed out and blamed Sergio and the crowd when they lose. If you watched the match, the crowd was quiet by the time Westwood got to his ball. Excuses are for losers. If Westwood feels so strongly he should skip the 3 majors playerd here. It's not like he can win one anyway.

[thumper07]

he never admitted he did anything wrong he said if lee feels i did something wrong then im sorry for that. that is not admitting guilt of any kind.

-matt

[sobecat]

he never admitted he did anything wrong he said if lee feels i did something wrong then im sorry for that. that is not admitting guilt of any kind.

I was just taking Geezer at his word, I guess I was mislead.

[MPS67]

Poor Baby. Does Little Lee want his Binky ????

[golfcat31]

Some of the comments on this thread are pretty strong one way or another, so as a Brit, I'll tactfully add my own thoughts as best I can, and as delicately as I can.

Quiet, hmmm, really? Was I dreaming or did I hear "olay, olay, olay" from the Euro contingent? I guess I imagined it last Ryder Cup too. I won't apologize for being from the US, born and raised and proud of it, and not shy about cheering for my country. What the hell is olay, olay, olay******something from a bullfight? If you don't like the Ryder Cup, don't waste your time watching it. Personally, I think the team concept is great and love it. I am proud of the Kentucky fans. Can't please everybody all the time. Westwood, go home and stay there.

When did Azinger say it was okay to cheer Euro's missed putts. I recorded and watched the entire Cup. Never heard that. Could you be taking something out of context or just improvising what you thought you heard. This time the US had the 13th man. It alternates every two years. These people were cheering their country's pride and those who represent their country, not typical prim and proper golf behavior. I think I saw some leprechauns in the crowd, problem with that too? Ryder Cup is not typical. It is what it is. It is a refreshing change from the individual competition which I love as well.

[Surefire]

Olé, olé, olé!!!



'Olé!', is a Spanish word used to express approval, for example at sporting events and especially bullfighting

[martin00015]

When did Azinger say it was okay to cheer Euro's missed putts. I recorded and watched the entire Cup. Never heard that. Could you be taking something out of context or just improvising what you thought you heard.

That was exactly what he said. It was at some kind of pre-event party the night before the start, I think. I saw it on TV.

[chizzler]

as far as euros having more class is bullshit also, seve ballestaros was the worst as far as gamesmanship,

Care to back that up? I will not have you sully a true sporting gentlemans name with flippant comments like that, he may not be a PR god for the game of golf but one thing he has and thats class and respect for the game and other golfers.

[ChrisMc]

It was all over the news here, altho hasnt been specifically shown, and I cant find it on YouTube as yet.

I think you'll find I didnt comment on the cheering in any way at all ? The 'Ole Ole Ole' chanting was just as bad in my opinion, and precisely why i stated that the whole Ryder Cup format brings out elements in the crowd I dont like.

Its just the 'Get in da hole' 'You're da man' "Finish him off' "miss da green' cries that I personally just find unnaceptable and ungentlemanly.

I'm not sure what was said to Lee Westwood at any point, but he specifically refrred to some comment about his mother being shouted, and as much as you'd like to think it didnt happen, I cant think of why anyone would make that up.

As far as Boo Weekley is concerned, I just think he was a little carried away by the event and didnt think about his actions. Like someone commented, he's perhaps a little agricultural in a lot of ways, and wasnt quite as up to speed on etiquette as he maybe should have been, but he seemed gracious enough in truth and he certainly can play some damn fine golf.

Which is true for the whole US team, they played absolutely fantastically, and fully deserved the win this time.
Simple as.

[Righty to Lefty]

Please don't forget that golf is only a gentleman's game on the surface and the Ryder Cup is one of the few times that the true spirit of the game is brought to the surface. Player's are representing their country and they want nothing more than to destroy their opponent at whatever costs and it is one of the rare times that the crowd has a true oppnent to root for or against because usually it is only the individual. So I can't believe that people are suggesting that you wait until after the hole has been completed by all players before you cheer. That is just absurd and ridiculous to ask of the fans and even the player's. If I make a clutch putt for my country I'm reactin right now and the other player can wait til the crowd calms down before he attempts his putt. Trust me, each side wants their opponent to miss every putt and they don't want their opponent to win even one match and that goes for both sides. Ryder Cup is played with a factor that even majors don't have and that is the representing your country aspect. That brings out emotion from especially golfers who are usually calm and collected because they feel they are playing for something that is bigger than them. I mean just watch highlights and look at some of the players reactions to making birdies which they make all the time, only this time it was for their team and there country and that birdie could mean all the difference. If it didn't mean that much and was a gentleman's game then Faldo wouldn't be getting some much flak back in Europe. It's not like we won by a half a point and he made a crucial coaching error. The U.S. won handily and the Europeans never had the lead so how can you complain when your coach is at fault when you were beaten by nearly the 18 1/2 and 9 1/2 score which was considered a drubbing two years before. Prize money doesn't get professional athletes playing at their highest level, it the times when they get into a competition and they are playing for something that is bigger than just the individual. That's why they play for free without hesitation.

[sobecat]

What people like WESTWOOD are misssing is that having an event at which people, other than a player's family, can get excited gives golf a huge boost which puts $$$$ in their pockets in the long run. I thinks it's incredibly arrorgant to act like the fans are an annoyance when without them they'd be working at the mall.

[kc8kir]

I used to think it was an act, and he might still play it up just a little bit, but I don't really think he's clever enough to put on a big old act like you seem to believe he's doing.

Agreed.

However can you imagine if Daly got his game back together and played a Ryder Cup? Imagine him teeing off Friday from a beer can with his putter. Now that would be entertainment.

[MSDOGS1976]

Looks like Westwood's management team has encouraged him to try and smooth things over a bit. Oh well, Lee probably won't be back before next years Master's anyway. It will probably die down by then.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080923/...der_westwood_1

[sobecat]

Looks like Westwood's management team has encouraged him to try and smooth things over a bit. Oh well, Lee probably won't be back before next years Master's anyway. It will probably die down by then.

Half hearted. I hope he gets abused by American fans the rest of his career.

[Guest]

Weekley was a breath of fresh air to an event that has been stale recently. His unintended or intended anti-establishment flare to the game hits home with a lot of working class and younger people. As golf has become more accesible to different classes of people more flavor and flare than just the country club types will be coming down the pipe and I think it's a good thing.

[TinCupTampa]

With the exicitement that this Ryder Cup brought... Could you imagine it on a much larger scale... such as the Olympics... That would be pretty cool to see.

[geezer]

Half hearted. I hope he gets abused by American fans the rest of his career.

Please tell me you're joking.

Otherwise I may just have lost a big chunk of faith in the integrity of golf fans.

[thumper07]

Care to back that up? I will not have you sully a true sporting gentlemans name with flippant comments like that, he may not be a PR god for the game of golf but one thing he has and thats class and respect for the game and other golfers.

i dont remember the match or the hole, but he walked from his tee shot that was 128yds from the green all the way to the green inspected the green and walked all the way back when it wasn't even his turn to hit. i think it was at the accenture match play in 05 or something. but they talked about it this year how bad some euros have been with slow play and other gamemanship issues. i know you are from ireland so you have a right to pissed but my opnion is hes an *******.

-matt