bogie

Furyk is a battler, but it was a fairly rough cup for him. The last Sunday session drubbing the EUROS applied makes it all seem tough. The rain giveth to the Americans on Friday/Saturday and the EURO squad and change of format taketh away. For match-play the trailing player would rather have a tough par 4 that could be won with a par, because on a par 5 players at this level are probably both going to make birdie to halve the hole and eagles are so rare even if the par 5 were to be a short one.

At this point it would require a miracle to overcome session 3. Fowler is toast, and Watson would have to scratch out a half against the plucky hard nosed Jimenez or Mahan having to win the anchor match outright to make it 14 to 14 for the "infamous" retaining the cup.

It's been a nice charge, but seems to be running out of steam as Europe's vice on this cup tightens. Furyk would need to eke out a half by winning the 18th against Donald on a Par 5. Mahan would have to turn around his anchor match and beat McDowell. Valiant but it looks like it's on the Illinois in 2 years.

1 hour and that RyderCup.com projected score hasn't budged, still 16 to 12. That 3 point earned by the EUROS dominance in session 3 including that half point in that last alternate shot match is just so suffocating. Furyk somehow has got to find a way to scratch out a half against Donald. Overton got to win his match and Fowler or Mahan has to either get a come from behind win or both scratch out halves. The European four-ball dominance, oh what an advantage and the one thing U.S. captains haven't figured how to counter that yet.

With the current deficit, slots 5 to 8 as of 7:06 am is going to do the U.S. chances. Multiple 2 downs with the rookies struggling (like the EURO rookies did in 1997 Valderrama) and Woods in his singles match. In 2008 the U.S. Rookies carried the day with Kim, Mahan, Weekley, Holmes, Stricker and Curtis. Stricker made the Cup team as a captain and contributed in the team sessions but lost in singles. A relative "rookie" in his 40s. Weekley is a good iron player in his 30s with a relaxed attitude in the room playing well that year but it may have been his only Ryder Cup appearance. Curtis is also in his 30s and made the team late based on his PGA Championship performance and that may have been his only Cup appearance. Both won their singles matches, with Boo putting on a clinic in the heat of the victory and Curtis tacking on a the end after the clinching. After separating Stricker and perhaps 2 "one-off" members, 2.5 critical singles points were earned by: JB Holmes who did a great job in his singles match and took advantage of the home team course set-up. Almost made the team this time, may get 1 more cup cap in his career. Mahan whose not as flashy as Kim nor have the huge game as D. Johhnson, but will be a cup stalwart for years to come because at his best he a superb iron player, solid putter and aggressive by nature. (Lanny Wadkins possessed much of those qualities when he was clearly the best American matchplay man in the 80s) As for Kim it's too bad how his season went for him and this U.S. squad. Kim at his best makes birdies in buckets and has a swagger and enthusiasm that seems to fit matchplay. But the EUROS were missing key components in 2008 due to injury too. Just a little analysis/trip down memory lane about 2008 vs this year.

Europe leads 9.5 to 6.5 Europe needs 5 points to win cup U.S. needs 7.5 points to retain cup. Besides the unlikely comeback at Brookline 1999, the biggest deficit overcome is 2 points at Oak Hill 1995. Considering the way the American played the third session it seems unlikely they will run the table. However 7-4-1 has been done multiple times before by teams by both sides. Here is my hypothetical US singles order: 1. Z. Johnson, 2. Overton, 3. Mahan, 4. Mickleson | 5. Furyk, 6. Fowler, 7. Woods, 8. Cink | 9. D. Johnson, 10. Stricker, 11. Watson, 12. Kuchar. Here is my hypothetical EURO order 1. Westwood, 2. McIlroy, 3. P. Hanson, 4. Kaymer | 5. R. Fisher, 6. Donald, 7. McDowell, 8. Poulter, 9. Harrington, 10. E. Molinari, 11. F. Molinari, 12. Jimenez Off the tee and in the short game the EUROS outplayed the American in session 3. As for the slow greens that was to be expected, and mentioned in the very first post in this thread. Exactly how slow I don't know but it's anywhere from 7 to 9.5 on the stimpmeter. I hope for what Johnny Miller called a mini-miracle, but it looks like it's on to Illinois in 2 years. Who will be the U.S. captain then?

If the American can rally and make the final team session score 8 to 8 then here is my hypothetical singles order for Europe (based on past European captain practices.) 1. Westwood, 2. McIlroy, 3. E. Molinari. 4. Kaymer 5. R. Fisher, 6. Poulter, 7. McDowell, 8. Donald 9. Jimenez, 10. Harrington, 11. F. Molinari, 12. P. Hanson General Tendencies * European captains tend to front-load with their top ranked players. * Most matches are clinched in slots 7 - 10. It used to be unheralded players for the EUROS clinched cups when they won. Today you can see the depth of the EUROS in slots 6 - 8. * European captains tend to put their least experienced or lowest ranked players in the last two slots. * European captains tend to intersperse two more of the lower ranked players in the first two quartets. (In my hypothetical I used Kaymer in slot 4 to separate E. Molinari from Fisher.) * In my hypothetical that left Harrington and Jimenez. To paraphrase Captain Montgomerie he said if the cup were on the line he'd be confident with Harrington putting for it, so I have the Irishman potentially closing the deal before the 2 rookies. Hypothetical US singles order (based on POD system and "odd # pressure points" 1. Mickleson, 2. Overton, 3. Mahan, 4. Z. Johnson 5. Furyk, 6. Watson, 7. Woods, 8. Fowler 9. Cink, 10. D. Johnson, 11. Kuchar, 12. Stricker In the first quartet one hears either the words front-loading or aggressive. * Mickleson has struggled but hopefully the leadoff spot and anticipating taking on one of Europe's best would get him going. * Overton's aggression and good play in the matches so far has earned him a chance to go out early. * Mahan sits in the third spot. * Z. Johnson is out fourth as a steady, no-frills scrapper to anchor this aggressive pod. In the second quartet Azinger went with those who can influence or be influenced. Here's where I tweaked it as opposed to 2008. * Woods is in slot 7 because if singles turns out to be razor close, this match on an odd number is historically a swing match. It may take him some time to start winning majors again but I'd still take my chances on him in a singles match-play situation. * Furyk is in slot 5 to separate Z. Johnson from B. Watson. Just placing a grinder to hopefully set the tone for this quartet. * Fowler is in slot 8 because he showed bounce back ability from his error in the alternate shot match and his previous success at the Walker Cup. The last quartet Azinger went with the steady players. Basically the last 2 players though were the least effective for the Americans in 2008. But my hypothetical also slightly tweaks this. *Cink is in slot 9 the same as 2008. This is a spot that has clinched cups before, and his play thus far has earned him this responsibility. * Stricker is in the anchor spot because his strength is putting. The two rare times it has come done to the anchor match (1983 and 1991) came down to the flat stick. * Kuchar is in slot 11 where Ben Curtis was in 2008. * Finally I went with D. Johnson in slot 10. In my hypothetical the choice came down to him and Z. Johnson. Z. Johnson ended up in the first quartet because I just wanted more experience and a dash of grit up front. Comments: The head-to-head pitting at the President's Cup is fun because relative strength and pedigree are matched up against one another. However the blind draw at the Ryder Cup requires a different strategy based on momentum and "pressure points." It also results in some match-ups which in the past that has ended with surprising results.

First, the bad news for the US squad: European leads in all 6 matches with Stricker/Woods & Z. Johnson/Mahan getting their doors blown off. The good news for the US squad is: the sun wet down. Basically the American's chances rest with Furyk/D. Johnson (1 down thru 8) and Cink/Kuchar (1 down thru 5) to turn those blue EURO flags to RED. If that were to happen the score going into singles would then be: US 8, EURO 8. At that point: Europe would needs 6.5 points to win the cup. US would needs 6 points to retain the cup From an objective point of view that's why the Ryder Cup is so exciting with its swings of fortune. The EUROS threatened to blast through 4-balls on Friday morning when that rain delay seem to cool them off and allowed the American to get their equilibrium. The American continued their good play in the Alternate Shot session this morning. But the same rain that apparently gave to the Americans, along with the stellar play of the EUROS has taken it back. Remember originally it was 4-Ball, Alt. Shot; 4-Ball Alt. Shot. With the format change the EUROS got a chance to end on their 4-ball strength and their play is backing it up. So it's back to the American team room for a team meeting to clear the air about what's going on. Hopefully those two pairs I mentioned have a good meal and good night of sleep and tomorrow turn it around to ensure an exciting singles session. Because that projected score on Ryder Cup.com which now reads EURO 10, US 6 especially after how things started is a whopping downer.

For the insomniacs RyderCup.com says: Play will resume at 8:00 a.m. BST (3:00 a.m. ET) If you can’t get enough chatter, the hour or half-hour of coverage on ESPN will be more pre-game talk. NEWPORT, Wales -- In view of the adverse weather conditions today, and the 7 hours, 18 minutes of playing time lost, a new playing schedule has been agreed to for the second and third sessions: --The 2nd session will comprise six foursome matches. --The 3rd session will comprise 2 foursome and 4 fourball matches. --This will be followed by the 12 singles matches. Comment: As for strategy-- Everybody is playing all the time now. No more judgment calls about whom to sit & hide or give a break to. Not unlike the President’s Cup way of doing things. This means everybody whom played Friday morning will play all 4 team sessions. To quote Azinger again, players who play all 4 team sessions lose their singles match 75% of the time. This could lead to some scrambly matches on Sunday. The strategy of pairings and possibly changing the match-ups before the first tee ball is struck based upon the other team announced line-up still applies. Session 2: 6 alternate shot matches (after completion of “Friday Four-Ball”) This list of actual pairings is based on the line-ups used so far in game and practices. Who would get pitted against each other is my hypothetical. (Pairs listed in alphabetical order) Cink/Kuchar vs. E & F Molinari Fowler/Furyk vs. R. Fisher/Poulter D. Johnson/Mickleson vs. McDowell/McIlroy Stricker/Woods vs. Kaymer/Westwood Z. Johnson/Mahan vs. Harrington/Donald Overton/B. Watson vs. P. Hanson/Jimenez Session 3: 2 Alternate Shot + Four 4-Ball matches (begins Saturday afternoon and completes on Sunday morning.) Z. Johnson/Mahan vs. Hanson/Jimenez Cink/Furyk vs. E & F Molinari Fowler/Kuchar vs. Fisher/Harrington D. Johnson/Mickleson vs. McDowell/McIlroy Overton/B. Watson vs. Donald/Poulter Stricker/Woods vs. Kaymer/Westwood

Note: Ryder Cup officials issued this statement shortly before play was halted for the day on Friday: NEWPORT, Wales -- In view of the adverse weather conditions today, and the 7 hours, 18 minutes of playing time lost, a new playing schedule has been agreed to for the second and third sessions: --The 2nd session will comprise six foursome matches. --The 3rd session will comprise 2 foursome and 4 fourball matches. --This will be followed by the 12 singles matches. This means there will still be a total of 28 points available, of which 8 will be decided by foursomes and 8 by foursomes, and it is hoped that play will be completed by Sunday afternoon as scheduled. If necessary, play will continue into Monday. This new format will commence Saturday, likely after the first session is completed. More thoughts about these changes and the possible impact on this match to come later this evening.

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/shag-bag/ RANDALL MELL, Senior Writer, GolfChannel.com Posted 10/01/2010, 11:15 AM EST NEWPORT, Wales – Ryder Cup play is scheduled to resume at 5 p.m. local time (noon, ET) today at Celtic Manor. With the 7-hour and 15-minute suspension of play due to rain, the Ryder Cup almost certainly will be pushed into Monday, though Ryder Cup officials have yet to actually confirm that. No matter how much rain continues to fall, the Ryder Cup must end no later than sunset on Monday (6:43 p.m.) by captain’s agreement. Any matches that have not been completed at that time will be declared halved. The score at that time will be recorded as the final result. “There has to be a moment that you must end,” European Tour Director of Communications Gordon Simpson said. “We have another tournament next week, the Dunhill Links, and players have commitments. The decision was that the moment it must end is Monday at sunset.” This statement raises a lot of issues: (Given there is more rain in the forecast, and possibly more standing water on the way, which would really bring this lovely scenario into play) Saturday Morning With one hour and 15 minutes left of play left today the Friday opening match will restart at the 12th hole. Start at dawn (7:15) each day, which is 30 minutes earlier than today's tee time (7:45). Taking into account not all matches end at 18, the completion of today's matches optimistically will end at 9:30 am So the first tee shot in "Friday" alternate shot would be struck at 10:00 am. Alternate shot is only 1 ball per side and again not all matches end up at 18. So say optimistically 4-hour rounds. Therefore the respective tee times would be: 10, 10:15, 10:30, 11:45. Building in some leeway time the last match would end at approximately 4:15. The Saturday 4-ball matches would start at 4:30. That would give them 2 hours and 15 minutes worth of play, which is roughly 8 or 9 holes of play. Sunday morning Let's say the first "Saturday" first ball match restarts at the 10th hole, so again hopefully the completion of the 4-ball would be at 9:30 am Then the same tee times for the alternate shot would take place and end at 4:15 pm. (This whole happy scenario is contingent upon no more lengthy delays thereby making a Monday finish possible.) But: As it stands, assuming my math is correct: They only have 2 hours and 30 minutes left of rain delay to play with. With more heavy rain being forecast to quote baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, "It gets late early out here" Also, say they have good weather the next 2 days and get the team sessions completed. They start the singles matches on Monday, which goes 8 or 9 holes. Then it pours for hours. The tournament officials are telling the players, fans and networks that if the matches can't be done by sundown Monday all the singles matches will be declared halved? Under this hypothetical, the Dunhill Links and player commitments would be more important than the Ryder Cup? On the bright side this delay (barring anymore lengthy delays) means live coverage of team matches assuming NBC gets it right.

Two quotes: 1 by are recent U.S. Captain and 1 by a future EURO captain. "Anybody who doesn't feel his legs tremble must be a dead man."--Jose Maria Olazabal "...You should look at the opponent you're playing and say to yourself on that first tee, I just don't want him to celebrate at my expense."--Paul Azinger

Weather Forecast http://www.myweather2.com/Golf-Cours...or-Resort.aspx Media Links http://www.rydercup.com/2010/usa/mul...live_video.cfm http://www.rydercup.com/2010/usa/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/6103550.stm http://www.thegolfchannel.com/ 7:45 AM -- Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson (USA) vs. Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer (EUR) 8:00 AM -- Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell (EUR) 8:15 AM -- Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods (USA) vs. Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher (EUR) 8:30 AM -- Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton (USA) vs. Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington (EUR) “Each Team Captain independently submits the order of play for his Team to the appointed tournament official. The lists from each Captain are matched, resulting in the ‘Pairings’. Please note that the Team Captains can modify the players in pairings only if a player is ill or injured. Pairings are subject to change and should not be considered final until play begins for a particular match.” US 4-ball pairings: *1st three pairings exactly as practice rounds went. * Overton/Watson is an eye-raiser. Based on personality I wouldn’t have paired them together. On paper certainly Donald & Harrington have the pedigree, but Harrington has been up & down this season and Donald’s been scoring his ball well but spraying his tee shots. My guess this match is going to ebb back and forth and come down to the last 2 holes. * The press has criticized Pavin for opening with 4 rookies including pairing 2 together. The 4 rookies part is no problem as multiple rookies have played substantial roles for Europe in 1997 and the U.S. in 2006. * If I were Pavin: I’d change the order by moving D. Johnson/Mickleson down to the 2 spot and move Cink/Kuchar up to the 1 spot. * Reason: Kaymer/Westwood while long enough off the tee are at their best grinding you down with their iron game. In my scenario the U.S. could hope Westwood is off slightly and maybe the steadiness of Cink/Kuchar could eke out a tie late. * D. Johnson/Mickleson can be wild, but so can McIlroy. McDowell is obviously the reliable player of the 4. In general, my scenario would be pitting streaky with streaky, trading birdies and bogies equally. From a non-strategy standpoint, pure fan point of view D. Johnson and McIlroy trading shots could be very exciting. European 4-ball pairings * 2 pairings exactly as announced and practices went. * It’s a small surprise that Donald and Poulter aren’t together. Donald seems to fit in anywhere so maybe Fisher/Poulter have history together at some point? * If I were Montogmerie: I’d change the order and move Fisher/Poulter up to the 1 slot and have Kaymer/Westwood move down to the 3 slot. Reasons: Woods is struggling with his swing, Stricker's putter has gone cool that last few weeks. Kaymer and Westwood are in form, so go for the jugular. Every point is equal, but the psychological boost from beating a Woods pairing always infuses confidence in the EUROS and revs up Ole, Ole Oles from the crowd. Alternate Shot implications US: Z. Johnson/Mahan Fowler/Furyk EU: E & F Molinari Jimenez/Hanson Best played match (as set-up right now): #1. Swing match (as set up-right now): #4. Additional comments: No Mahan in the morning. *My belief its best to get everybody involved on Day 1. * From a personality standpoint, most players are amped up. But Mahan not having the possibility of playing all 4 times could be an unintentional burr in his saddle to propel him to success in these matches. * In “Cracking the Code” Azinger said that of all players who do all 4 team sessions lose their singles match 75% of the time. (I haven’t confirmed this.) A fresher Mahan & Furyk could be a big boost for the American cause on Sunday. *All these positive “ifs” are great only if a 2-2 tie happens in the morning. Unfortunately for Pavin, the EUROS have made it a habit of steamrolling the Americans in morning 4-balls. Conclusion Game on! All the pre-game chatter (including my blather is over) and the answers will be revealed on the course. To all those who have been reading my posts, enjoy the matches and hopefully the result will still be in the balance late on Sunday. What I hope will happen: US 14.5 to EU 13.5 Prediction: EU 15 to US 13

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/human-...?select2=14501 Source: The Golf Channel piece on pairings.

http://www.rydercup.com/2010/usa/sco...h_schedule.cfm 7:45 AM -- Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson (USA) vs. Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer (EUR) 8:00 AM -- Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar (USA) vs. Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell (EUR) 8:15 AM -- Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods (USA) vs. Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher (EUR) 8:30 AM -- Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton (USA) vs. Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington (EUR) "Each Team Captain independently submits the order of play for his Team to the appointed tournament official. The lists from each Captain are matched, resulting in the "Pairings". Please note that the players in pairings can be modified by the Team Captains only if a player is ill or injured. Pairings are subject to change and should not be considered final until play begins for a particular match." My comments on these pairings and match-ups will be posted later today.