2012 Ryder Cup Discussion Thread

[ThominOH]

What an amazing Ryder Cup.. I have to say, Jim F lost alot of brownie points this weekend.. His play was not stellar, but his attitude just rubbed me the wrong way..  Day 1, second hole and Jim challenges GMac in wanting relief from a sprinkler head.. I wonder if Jim ever heard of the word karma?  Then I was really shocked how Jim verbally insulted, almost attacked the reporter that asked a question Jim didn't like..  Sorry Jim, but it's his JOB to ask those questions, and you are a professional and should know it was going to be brought up.. Shame on you Jim for your conduct in the press room..

BTW.. Jim was the captain's pick that didn't pan out.. He's going to take heat on that.. I still think Van Pelt was the better options.. but oh well..  Congrats EU for a job well done

[Monte the Bear]

Wondering how this guy feels today.

http://m.espn.go.com/golf/story?storyId=8434982&wjb;

[Joakim]

Tiger lost with the worst player on the Ryder cup,  SS brought nothing TW los t as a one manned team. Tiger is the 2nd best player on the PGA this year. DL3 lost this on so many levels.

[Joakim]

Your right about one thing Striker didn't do anything...  Wasn't he Tigers partner? How can people blame him for his pairing. Keegan said he would play with Tiger. IMO Sat eve paired with TW USA wins 4 sure. DL3 made several major mistakes.

[Golf Man]

A ridiculuous last day - nobody could have seen that coming.

My thoughts

- DL3 had a plan which he stuck to on for the first two days - get your pairings together, keep them together, and nobody plays all 5 sessions. I find it difficult that he is taking flak for this approach - US were 10-6 up after teh first two days - I'd be pretty sure thats their best ever performance over the first 2 days (certainly since continental Europe joined). He could arguably have held Stricker and woods out on Saturday afternoon, but you cannot question a 10-6 lead

- USA putted incredibly well on Friday and Saturday => Europe did on Sunday

- Poulter was unbelieveable - Saturday afternon was as good as we have seen in the Ryder Cup, his 12:3 record must rank right up there now

- The first 5 players in the singles all played top notch golf (Donald was -5, Poulter -4, McIlroy -5, Rose -6, Lawrie - 7)

- Rose's win was the turning point - and you cannot blame Mickelson - Rose made a 12footer on teh 16th and birdied the last 2.Rose won it, Mickleson didn't choke

- The guys at the bottom really dogged it out for Europe - Molinari, Kaymer sticking in there (and even Hanson taking Dufner to the last) all made a huge difference

- The pressure just got to the US - while Furyk did mess up teh last hole, Stricker was a lot worse to my mind - he did well to hole out at the 18th but he played desperately all week

- I think the US (particularly guys like Watson, Bradley etc) were almost too hyped up over the first two days - they looked a little drained yesterday

- On the captains - I thought Love did ok - you could argue that the Furyk and Stricker picks were wrong, but again a 10-6 lead would suggest he was doing something right. He didn't look in control though - Bradley and Watson were setting a very high tempo the first two days and when they didn't rise to that on the third day it had a bit of a knock on affect. Olazabal made a couple of strange decisions himself (Poulter not playing in the Friday fourballs in particular seemd a strange call), but he definitely motivated the team well

- On Tiger - desrves a lot of credit for giving the putt at the end

[123Putt]

Greatest day of my life and I got an eagle once.

[longbow]

THE BIGGEST CHOKE JOB EVER SEEN IN GOLF.  THESE ARE PROFESSIONALS' RIGHT?  I WOULDN'T WATCH ANY OF THESE GUYS ANYMORE AT ANYTIME OR ANYWHERE.  I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT NERVES ETC.ETC.  OUT COACHED, OUT PLAYED, AND DOWN RIGHT SHAMEFUL TO EVEN CALL THESE GUYS PROFESSIONALS. Ok that's it done ranting but stand by what I said above.  Just about the worst performance of a team of pro's ever witnessed by the world of golf.  thanks for nothing U.S. team

[Lefty-Golfer]

Epic failure by the US...conrats to Euro's

I DVR'ed the entire event...i deleted it all last night - no need to ever revisit that mess

Furyk - Stricker never play in a ryder cup again...could make an arguement for Phil never playing again either. Bottom line is if the US is going to win they need new blood, the 40 somethings have had the chance and sadly it hasn't gone well and it is time to move on.

[Sticky]

Great comeback by the Euros.  I didn't watch much coverage, it was way too nice out but they really brought it to us on Sunday and that's when it counts.

[Golf Man]

Originally Posted by longbow

THE BIGGEST CHOKE JOB EVER SEEN IN GOLF.  THESE ARE PROFESSIONALS' RIGHT?  I WOULDN'T WATCH ANY OF THESE GUYS ANYMORE AT ANYTIME OR ANYWHERE.  I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT NERVES ETC.ETC.  OUT COACHED, OUT PLAYED, AND DOWN RIGHT SHAMEFUL TO EVEN CALL THESE GUYS PROFESSIONALS.  Ok that's it done ranting but stand by what I said above.  Just about the worst performance of a team of pro's ever witnessed by the world of golf.  thanks for nothing U.S. team

Probably the single most stupid post I've ever seen on a sports forum

First off The US were 10-6 up after the first two days

Since 1979, when it became Europe v USA there have been 17 Ryder Cups - this was only the 5th time that USA had been ahead after two days. The players and teh captain were obviously doing something right. In fact only in 1981 of those 17 did USA have a better record after two days (it was 10.5 - 5.5)

Love had a decision to make with regard to the singles order. Olazabal didn't - he had to put his strongest players at the top. Was Love's decision correct - I think so.You could argue one or two tweaks here and there but no more. In 1999 Mark James got it all wrong - 3 players hadn't played at all in the first 3 days and he put them out in the first 5 matches - they very predicatbly lost (along with Clarke and Westwood who were No1 and 2) and all of a sudden you had huge pressure on the guys at the bottom - Love was right in his general aproach although apart from Stricker and Woods it would be hard to say anyone was playing poorly (and putting them at the bottom of teh order meant that he knew they were going to be against the poorest performing Europeans). Europe also have a poor record in the singles winning only 5 of the previous 16 and only once scoring 8 points or more (8.5 in 2006)

So who did let USA down?

Watson, Simpson, Bradley, Mickleson and Snedeker all played their part over the first two days - the first 4 all went to the 17th at least. They just ran into guys in great form - I think the credit should go to the Europeans, you certainly can't say that any of the top 5 matches were thrown away. The two Johnsons and Dufner obviously won their matches., so you can't pin any blame on them (DJ was 3-3). It then comes down to Kuchar - he won 2 of his three games and was playing Westwood, who is a real stalwart of teh European team

That leaves Stricker, Woods and Furyk.

Furyk didn't cover himself in glory yesterday, Tiger and Stricker haven't been in form at all. Thats 3 out of 12 players - I would imagine taht if you look at every Ryder Cup you will find players on every team (both winning and losing) who didn't contriute as much as they wanted to - whether that was just poor form, bad luck or the pressure getting to them (for example Hanson didn't score, Molinari only got half a point)

What happened yesterday was that the US players ran into the Europeans playing their best golf of the week (particularly the first 5) and then Europe just about hung in there in a number of key matches. I do think that mentally the US looked a little spent yesterday. This was no choke though - the credit (just like in 1999) has to go to the winning team

[Mr. Desmond]

It's simple, Team USA couldn't finish the last 2 holes - all week.

They succumbed to the pressure; the Euros did not.

And there's Phil - practically high-fiving Justin Rose for a 35 foot bomb that turned that match. That says a lot about attitude. The Euros burn to win; the USA overall ... meh.

[MSchott]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

It's simple, Team USA couldn't finish the last 2 holes - all week.

They succumbed to the pressure; the Euros did not.

And there's Phil - practically high-fiving Justin Rose for a 35 foot bomb that turned that match. That says a lot about attitude. The Euros burn to win; the USA overall ... meh.

C'mon, what did you expect Phil to do? Rose made 2 absolutely great pressure putts to birdie two of the toughest holes on the course. Phil applauded this and showed class. Do you think he wanted to lose?

[Lefty-Golfer]

Originally Posted by MSchott

C'mon, what did you expect Phil to do? Rose made 2 absolutely great pressure putts to birdie two of the toughest holes on the course. Phil applauded this and showed class. Do you think he wanted to lose?

Phil is a classy guy and my favorite golfer.. that being said his history isn't good in the Cup and he is getting older...sadly a new broom sweeps clean - it is time for new blood

[ScouseJohnny]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

And there's Phil - practically high-fiving Justin Rose for a 35 foot bomb that turned that match. That says a lot about attitude. The Euros burn to win; the USA overall ... meh.

Just looked like good sportsmanship to me.

[Elvisliveson]

I blame 3)Furyk - has become an epic choker 2)Stricker - just out and out sucks when his putter can't bail him out and 1)Love-I blame him the most since he chose those two "veterans" over youngsters like Fowler (who has won 2 tournaments in the last year beating Rory Mac head to head each time) and Hunter Mahan (who would have relished a chance for redemption and made a good partner for Tiger).

Those people blaming Tiger or Phil are most likely those partisan to the other.

[Pablo68]

Originally Posted by ScouseJohnny

Just looked like good sportsmanship to me.

Go back and look at Rose's reaction when Phil applauded him. Rose's look said one thing; 'I own you'.

One of the dumbest things you can do IMO during any head to head sport. There's plenty of time to applaud the shots AFTER the match; not during it when you give the opponent motivation and possibly show admiration/fear of him.

Goofy Phil still being goofy.............'golly gee; I missed. Oh darn.....maybe next time.'

[newtogolf]

Not a big fan of Poulter, but he was the MVP of the tournament.  He was, as Breed said, playing angry and you could tell that he wanted to win.  I didn't see anyone on the US team Friday or Saturday with that kind of fire and determination to win.  Great captains pick by Team Europe, maybe the US can learn something from this.

[Wansteadimp]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Not a big fan of Poulter, but he was the MVP of the tournament.  He was, as Breed said, playing angry and you could tell that he wanted to win.  I didn't see anyone on the US team Friday or Saturday with that kind of fire and determination to win.  Great captains pick by Team Europe, maybe the US can learn something from this.

The only thing to learn is make an obvious pick if there is one. Otherwise good luck the whole world will second guess you.