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dornoch

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  • Birthday 11/30/1979

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  1. In baseball having a 2 run lead going into the 9th is a very good but not impossible for the opponent to come back. Even though the Euros were going uphill into the singles, it wasn't a lights out situation for the US. Plus with no Woods and to a lesser extent no Verplank--the US had two of its better singles players not at the matches. However if those 2 had been on the team, my theory is the US wouldn't have done as well in the team matches. Day 1 4-Ball match capsules: Harrington/McDowell vs. Mickelson/Kim (US 2-up) Key Holes/Shots: * Mickleson's 30-ft birdie put at 17th. * Mickleson's GIR 3rd shot at 18th, Euros 2 birdies to halve hole, both miss. Stats: Harrington 4 birdies, par for halved hole; McDowell 4 birdies, par for halved hole. Mickleson 6 birdies; Kim 3 birdies, par for halved hole. Total Birdies: 17 Poulter/Rose vs. Stricker/Curtis (EUROS 4 & 2) Key Holes/Shots: 7th Hole--US players make a mess of this hole. Poulter's 6-ft birdie putt puts the EUROS 2 UP and is in control for the rest of the match. Stats: Poulter 4 birdies, 3 pars for halved holes; Rose 2 birdies, 1 par for halved hole. Stricker 4 birdies, 1 par for halved hole; Curtis 0 birdies, 1 par for halved hole. Total Birdies: 10 Garcia/Jimenez vs. Leonard/Mahan (US 4 & 3) Key Holes/Shot: Leonard's 15-ft birdie putt at 12th hole. US go 2-up. Stats: Garcia 1 birdie, 1 lag putt par for halved hole; Jimenez 3 birdies, 1 par for halved hole. Leonard 5 birdies including a hole out from rough, 1 par for halved hole, Mahan 4 birdies. Totals Birdies: 13 Westwood/Hansen vs. Weekley/Holmes (Halved match) Key Holes/Shots: * Weekley's 12-ft birdie putt at 10th, squaring the match. * Weekley's 40-ft birdie chip at 12th, gives US 1-UP lead. * Hansen's birdie chip at 16th to halve hole, with Weekley at tap in range for birdie to keep the US lead at 1-UP. * 18th: Weekley and Holmes finding the water off the tee, Euros putting ball into the fairway, leading to the EUROS winning the 18th and halving the match. Stats: Westwood 4 birdies, 1 par for halved hole; Hansen 4 birdies, including birdie chip, 1 par for halved hole. Weekley 2 birdies, including a birdie chip; Holmes 5 birdies. Total Birdies: 15 Day 2 4-Ball Match Capsules Westwood/Hansen vs. Weekley/Holmes (US 2 & 1) Key Holes/Shots: At the 7th, Weekley's birdie putt from fringe drops giving US 2 UP lead. Stats: Westwood 2 birdies; Hansen 2 birdies, 1 par putt for halve. Weekley 3 birdies; Holmes 1 birdie and approach shot at 10th set-up 8ft eagle putt, EUROS end up conceding the hole. Total birdies: 8 Garcia/Casey vs. Stricker/Curtis (halved match) Key Holes/Shots: * Now famous primal scream exchange of birdies at 8th between Garcia and Stricker. * Stricker's hole out from just off green at 13th. Garcia's approach close to hole and sinks the put to halve the hole. * 18th: With Casey 10-ft away and Garcia 7-ft away with their birdie opportunities to win the hole, Stricker sinks 15-ft birdie putt to in effect "steal" the hole and with it a half point from the EUROS. This putt was preceded by Stricker's recovery shot from the rough into a collection area and onto the green. Stats: Garcia 3 birdies, 1 par putt for halve; Casey 2 birdies Stricker 5 birdies including hole out from just off green; Curtis 1 birdie, 2 par putts to halve holes. Total Birdies: 11 Poulter/McDowell vs. Furyk/Perry (EUROS 1 UP) Key Holes/Shots: Poulter is all over this match from the get go, with Furyk trying to rally late. But McDowell is key in keep the EUROS ahead at critical times with par putts. * McDowell makes a 45-ft par to halve the 6th. * McDowell's reply to a conceded birdie to Furyk is to sink a 5-ft birdie putt that keep the Euros ahead. * McDowell's 15-foot par halves the 16th to keep EUROS ahead. Stats: Poulter 6 birdies, 1 par for halved hole; McDowell 3 birdies, 2 pars for halve holes, scramble for par. Furyk 5 birdies, 1 par for halved hole, Perry 2 birdies, 1 par for halved hole. Total Birdies: 16 Karlsson/Stenson vs. Mickleson/Mahan (halved match) Key Shots/Holes: Karlsson's in the zone and the US pair works together to hold Karlsson off. But-- * Karlsson makes another birdie at 13th. Mahan misses his 5-ft birdie putt that spins out. EUROS square the match. * Mickleson hits very good approach to 17th. Mickelson misses his 5-ft birdie putt that would've put the US 1-up with the 18th to play. Stats: Karlsson 7 birdies, 1 scramble for par; Stenson 1 birdie Mickelson 4 birdies, 1 eagle; Mahan 3 birdies Total birdies: 15 and 1 eagle Coming soon a look at the alternate shot matches.
  2. Starting the competitive era of the Ryder Cup (read Ballestetos 83-91) here is a look at the majors + TPC winners/contenders and their Ryder Cup results. 1983: Ballesteros (W-Masters) 2-1-1; 1/2 singles Watson (2nd US Open) 3-1; W singles Summary: Successful in team matches, solid in singles 1985: Langer (W-Masters) 1-1-2; W singles Ballesteros (2nd Masters) 3-1; 1/2 singles North (W-US) 0-2; L Singles Wadkins (T-3 US) 3-1; W Singles Lyle (W-British) 0-1; L Singles Green (W-PGA) 0-2; L Singles Peete (W-TPC) 1-1; W Singles Summary: Not a great record in team matches, 3-3-1 singles 1987: Ballesteros (W-Masters) 3-1; W Singles Simpson (W-US Open) 0-1; W Singles Faldo (W-British) 3-0-1; L Singles Nelson (W-PGA) 0-3; 1/2 Singles Wadkins (2nd PGA) 0-3; W Singles Lyle (W-TPC) 3-0; L Singles Summary: Europeans successful in team matches, US not, 3-2-1 singles 1989: Faldo (W-Masters) 2-0-1; L Singles Strange (W-US) 0-2-1; W Singles Beck (T2nd US) 2-0-1; W Singles Woosnam (T2nd US) 2-0-1; L Singles Summary: Europeans successful in team matches, US mixed, 2-2 singles 1991: Woosnam (W-Masters) 1-2; L Singles Olazabal (2nd Masters) 3-0-1; L Singles Stewart (W-US) 2-0-1; L Singles Azinger (T3 TPC) 1-3; L Singles Summary: Mixed record by members of both teams, 0-4 singles Conclusion: Team success is finding partnerships that execute and have chemistry. Winning a major the year of the cup is no indicator of how a singles match will turn out. The record of major winners is about .500. 1991 was a really bad year for major winners/contenders.
  3. To: Chili Dipper I look forward to have a friendly debate about which great courses would make for a good Ryder Cup venue. Totally agree with you about the European courses. Another US course: Pacific/Bandon Dunes. Pine Valley guards it's privacy and exclusiveness so much it would never hold a Ryder Cup. Another example is Cypress Point with its membership policy--why it's no longer part of the AT&T; nee Crosby tournamnet all those years ago. I will also be combing through the team matches from the Ryder Cup, looking at key moments and stats.
  4. dornoch

    Ian Poulter

    On the PGA tour most of the players are so serious. On the European tour, there is an air of gentility. It's ok for players to display their personality, especially at a Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup is a different atmosphere. Remember Ballesteros or Wadkins from the 80s.
  5. My fantasy Ryder Cup courses: US: Merion, Riviera, Bethpage Black EU: County Down, Turnberry, Dornoch Would never happen for the usual reasons, money and TV, especially the courses in Europe.
  6. http://sports.espn.go.com/espntv/esp...k?networkID=18 Just to second what's already been said with the link
  7. Check back in a week or 2 at the Ryder Cup site and scroll to store. The have the DVD for the 2006 Cup at the K Club.
  8. Touché. However, Ben Curtis get in trouble on 18, then compounds it by whaling a hybrid that lands in the hay instead of laying up to set-up a chance for birdie in the "Stricker/Garcia" 4-ball match. Mahan is trying to hold onto a full-point after his miraculous putt at 17 and doesn't pull the 3-metal or even a hybrid to get the ball in the fairway and force Casey to make eagle to win. Granted, execution always comes first. The EUROS generally executed on the par 5s. Maybe I should simply say some US players had a vapor lock on 18.
  9. Of the big 3--Woods, Mickleson, Furyk, none of them have a good record at the Ryder Cup. If I had to guess Woods has the best record of the 3, but still for one of the best 3 players ever, it's not even a .500 record. Mickleson's streakiness makes him an alternate shot liability. He should excel in 4-ball but doesn't. But other than Woods or Montgomerie, top players can lose singles matches badly. Heck, even Woods lost to Constantino Rocca in 1997 and by more than 1-up. It's getting clichéd to say this Ryder Cup was a team effort. Phil got slapped around in singles. But he lifted Kim and the US cause in the Day 1 alternate shot, and he worked together with Mahan to hold of Karlsson in the Day 2 fourball. Instead of relying on a big 3 or 4, each member of the US contributed to the cause at some point in a positive way. Flowing from that, that's why they won the team sessions for the first time since Oak Hill in 1995.
  10. Based on something Johnny Miller said during the NBC broadcast, I decided to comb through the Par 3 & Par 5 performance in the team sessions. This is what I sorted out: 64 Par 3s played: US won 20 holes; EU won 10 holes, 34 halves. 41 Par 5s played: US won 9; EU won 14 holes, 18 halves. Usually the talk before the cup is the US having the advantage of power on the Par 5s. Well with the technology boom and increased depth of the US tour, that perceived power advantage has decreased over time. Plus it looked like the EUROS had a plan on how to deal with the tricky #18, while the US often made a mess of the hole all the way up to the Mahan/Casey singles match. In really digging into the numbers there was something eye-popping to me. Of the total of 16 Par 3 holes played during Day 1 Alternate Shot: The US won 10 holes; EUROS 3 holes; 3 halved. The US went 3-0-1 at 14 on Day 1. The US made 6 birdies, EUROS 1 birdie. The US made 1 bogie, EUROS 7 bogies. This triggered me to remember something Azinger said when Woods won the British @ Hoylake. To paraphrase Azinger, he said the set of Par 3s at Hoylake were the weakest he'd seen in a major championship in a long time. While the pros plan how to attack Par 5s and shorts 4s to score, I'm going to propose a theory. Maybe Azinger with his 4 alternate shot pairings really planned how they were going to attack the Par 3s early on . That morning session on the first day, everybody is nervous. Of course, the EUROs had practice rounds and a run through of the course. Still the mindset with Par 3s even with the pros is usually par is a good score. With the wind only at about 5 mph, maybe Azinger and those initial pairings said let's take advantage of our local knowledge of the Par 3s to try to make birdies. Perhaps the US simply had better iron-players in these match-ups. Perhaps it was just a good run that they were so much better on the Par 3s. After the Morning Day 1 session, the US still had a slight edge on the Par 3s, but not nearly as pronounced. That's my crackpot theory about a possible detail that helped allow the US to get that critical jump on the EUROS on day 1. Source: RyderCup.com
  11. Well Nicklaus geared himself for the majors. As a little boy Woods had Nicklaus' picture on his wall, he gears himself for the majors the same way. Nicklaus even though he said the U.S. would win big, also basically said it should be a friendly competition. According to some who cover the tour, Woods feels that all the ceremonial stuff leading up to the matches, while not quite what Mahan said, is still advertising for the PGA tour. O'Meara and Duval voiced some of the same sentiments before the 99 Ryder Cup. Nicklaus has said that a player is remember by his major wins, not his Ryder Cup record. It wouldn't be too ridiculous a suppostion that Woods feels and treats the Cup the same way.
  12. For the most part the US struggled with 18 going all the way back to day 1 whenever the matches made it to 18. I thought Azinger would've addressed that either in the team room or on the course. In a later post, I'll take a look at Par 5 and Par 3 performance during the team matches.
  13. It was a total team effort. Anybody would want to have Woods, 1 of the best 3 players in the history of the game on their team. But his record in the team matches isn’t good. Part of that is, I think that his playing partners and the team just figure oh Tiger will get 3.5 virtually all by himself. The other part is, fairly or not, he seems to have the same attitude about the cup that Nicklaus had/has. In beginning to dissect why the US won, I can think of 2 swing matches: Day 1 Alternate Shot: Harrington/Karlsson vs. Mickleson/Kim. Europe has just won 10, 11 & 12 to go 3-up. The other matches on the course are pretty close. Another US marquis pairing is about to get taken out again on a Friday morning session at the Ryder Cup. Then: At 13, Kim makes par while Karlsson makes bogie. At 14, both teams make a mess of the hole. Mickleson salvages the situation by making one of his signature recovery shots. Karlsson makes a bogie and Kim makes a par. At 15, Mickleson makes a 12-ft birdie putt. Not only is it an unlikely comeback, but it cancels out Kenny Perry's woes later in the day on 17 & 18 that gave the EUROS a half point in that match. Day 2 Four-ball: Garcia/Casey vs. Stricker/Curtis At 8, Garcia make a long putt and lets out the now famous primal scream to get himself going. Stricker responds with an 18-ft birdie and scream of his own to halve the hole. At 18 the EUROs basically outplay the EUROS on the hole. In a little twist of irony, it's a US player who has to make a recovery from the "Azinger rough” around the greens. Stricker is a good scrambler, but his pitch still leaves him with a 15-foot birdie putt. Both EUROS in good position to birdie and win the hole. Based on the way the 18th hole had been played, Stricker "steals" a 1/2 point by draining his birdie putt. The best match in terms of overall quality by both teams was also on Day 2 Four-ball: Karlsson/Stenson vs. Mickleson/Mahan Karlsson was a 1-man wrecking crew on the back 9, with birdies at 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 18. But the team of Mickelson/Mahan matched him at 10, 14, 15 and 18 to hold the Euros off. Actually Mickleson had a 5-footer on 17 to go 1-up, but left the putt short. So while Mickleson didn't have a good season (especially with Woods away), and he got crushed in singles--Mickleson did his job in 2 of the team matches, earning important halves. Source: Ryder Cup.com
  14. Look, Weekley made the adjustment to egging on the crowd after everybody putted out today. Everybody has to make an adjustment to a team match play. This isn't the British Open, where a good shot is made and everybody politely claps. I personally never had a problem with Garcia's behavior at the Cup before, because the match should be about passion and excitement. I feel the same way about Weekley this time. As an opponent, if you don't want to see that kind of thing, silence your competitor with your clubs. I also wouldn't want every player doing that like at Brookline in 99. But having 1 or 2 sparkplugs/grating type players add something to the team format. Just like a good pest/agitator who can play in hockey. There's only 1 greater sound than the roars when you win at home. That is the golden sound of silence when you win on the road
  15. Whew! A total team effort by Team USA. Inpired shot making for stretches by both teams. Obvious to say, but it's going to be a lot more fun dissecting a win then a blowout loss. Just savor this moment, cause for the US it has been a long time between drinks.
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