Ryder Cup

[BarryRX]

What was expected to be a closely contested Ryder Cup is turning into a route for the U.S. Right now we are up 10-4. The best the Europeans can do is 10-6 today. Of course, that's not a lock because that's the same score we were losing by at Brookline when we made that great comeback.Great golf by our guys so far!!

[Schaumburger]

What was expected to be a closely contested Ryder Cup is turning into a route for the U.S. Right now we are up 10-4. The best the Europeans can do is 10-6 today. Of course, that's not a lock because that's the same score we were losing by at Brookline when we made that great comeback.Great golf by our guys so far!!

Medinah Country Club is about 10 miles from my house. The Ryder Cup has brought a lot of money to the Chicago area. Plus they got A+ weather this weekend. Go USA.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

The Ryder Cup is the most exciting sporting event on the planet. I was at Brookline in 1999 and was standing about 100 yards from the green when Justin Leonard made that putt.
Even with a lopsided contest like this, you tend to hang on every shot and every putt.
I love the way Bubba Watson and Ian Poulter got the crowd to cheer while they were hitting.
Great fun.

[ugotme]

Ended up 10 - 6. Stricker lipped out a putt on the 18th which would have halved the match.

Unfortunately Tiger/Stricker haven't won one point!

Singles tomorrow and hopefully a quick wrap (just to get it done).

[jebartle]

The intensity in his eyes looked similar to the OLD Tiger.....Fun to watch...

[BarryRX]

Ended up 10 - 6. Stricker lipped out a putt on the 18th which would have halved the match.

Unfortunately Tiger/Stricker haven't won one point!

Singles tomorrow and hopefully a quick wrap (just to get it done).

Even though they fell just short of halving the match, Tiger and Stricker staged an amazing comeback from 4 down at the turn. It sure was a lot of fun to watch. Tiger can still get in the "zone" every now and then. I am also hoping for a quick wrap just so I can get out of the house!

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Yes, Tiger can get in the zone every now and again which is pretty sad. A few years ago he was in the zone 24 hours a day. He really should stop messing with his swing and see someone like Bob Rotella to help him figure out how to think again. He seems to need nine holes to warm up and you just don't have that luxury in match play.
Woods and Stricker haven't won a point, but in all fairness to them, they ran into a buzzsaw in Nicolas Colsaerts Friday. The man made eight birdies and an eagle. How do you win against that? It is to their credit, especially Tiger's, that they were able to come back and almost get a half point on the final hole.
The other two matches, they just didn't play well enough, although as has been pointed out, they made a great comeback yesterday afternoon. But, again, in match play winning from behind is very difficult, especially when you are five down.
I was glad to see Capt. Love made the difficult choice to sit Tiger for the first time in his Ryder Cup career. I keep wondering why he kept the team of Woods and Stricker together seeing as how they have not done well historically. I know that they are good friends and are comfortable with one another, but they don't win. It's interesting that Olazabal changed some of his pairings around, but Love seemed to keep all of his teams together.
Then again, I don't know why I'm second guessing that in that the USA is up 10-6.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

The singles matches look to be a real snooze fest. Tiger vs Molinari in the final match. Not only is this a boring pairing, but the matches should be decided by that time.
I don't see any matches that look like their going to be exciting. Bubba going off first will get the crowd going but he's up against Luke Donald who is, to say the least, not a very exciting personality and has also not played very well.
The rest of the matches look about the same, Poulter vs Simpson. Too bad they could have lined up Poulter and Watson.
Garcia vs Furyk? Now I love both of these guys, but Jim Furyk has had a lot of trouble closing the door lately and he is not the most exciting player to watch.
Don't get me wrong, I love all of these players and they are certainly the best in the world. I also feel that the Ryder Cup is the most exciting sporting event on the planet. I just think that it's too bad that they could have gotten the guys with the big personalities and fire playing against one another. Everyone was looking for the Tiger / Rory matchup and that's not going to happen. Even though Tiger hasn't played all that well this week, that would have been something that everyone would have wanted to watch.
I'd like to see a slight change in the rules. Right now, both captains set up their lineups without knowing each other's lineup. I would like to see the visiting captain have to post his lineup and the home captain be able to decide who he wants to play against who. I think that being able to decide to match up Watson against Poulter and Tiger against Rory and Bradley against Sergio would have made for some much more entertaining television.

[ugotme]

I thought, for sure, we would be seeing a Tiger vs. Rory match.
I really think this is what most fans would have wanted.

Two views - put Tiger last because he is "the best," OR it will be over by then?

[jebartle]

followed by one of the pre-recorded ads for golf and he says "Get Golf Ready America"....giggle...

[BarryRX]

Oh No!! This is starting to look like Brookline in reverse. Europe has won the 1st four matches to tie the Ryder Cup at 10-10. Then Justin Rose sinks a 70 foot putt to pull all square with Phil. This is getting good!

[BarryRX]

It's now 11-11 with the US leading 3 matches and Europe leading 3 matches. If it stays this way it will end 14-14 and Europe will retain the cup. A disaster in the making.

[BarryRX]

Furyk chokes again

[jebartle]

I knew that it was going to get down to Tiger....He loves "The Spot Light"....Be a hero and sink that birdie putt Tiger!

[Golfingnut]

I knew that it was going to get down to Tiger....He loves "The Spot Light"....Be a hero and sink that birdie putt Tiger!

He is the best America has to offer and he will win this match, but the Europeans beat us like we stole something today.

[BarryRX]

Ah well.....congratulations Europe.....well played!!

[graciegirl]

Dang.

[l2ridehd]

Old saying replaced. It's no longer "folded like a cheap suit", now it's "folded like the 2012 Ryder Cup team"

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

What a shocker. At least in '99 you could say that the Americans are generally better at singles but this is inexplicable.

[Mikeod]

I'm surprised Dotty Pepper didn't reprise her "choking dogs" comment from the Solheim Cup a few years ago.

[Bosoxfan]

Phil Mickelson...CHOKE!!!!!!!

[mickey100]

I'm surprised Dotty Pepper didn't reprise her "choking dogs" comment from the Solheim Cup a few years ago.

That was my thought too. In this case, probably appropriate, unfortunately.

[carm310]

I must say this is the first time I watched and enjoyed golf as a spectator. Our son got us tickets to the practice/celebrity rounds on Tuesday. It was an amazing experience.

[nitehawk]

What was expected to be a closely contested Ryder Cup is turning into a route for the U.S. Right now we are up 10-4. The best the Europeans can do is 10-6 today. Of course, that's not a lock because that's the same score we were losing by at Brookline when we made that great comeback.Great golf by our guys so far!!

It aint over until the fat lady sings----thank you for the hourly updates ----poor - poor tiger - I just love him

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

It's funny everyone using the word choke to describe what happened on Sunday. It's hard for me to think that eight out of ten players "choked".

Friday afternoon Tiger and Steve Stricker had clawed their way back from four or five down to get their match to the 18 hole. Tiger missed a seven foot putt to win that hole and take a half a point. When he missed that putt, I thought to myself, "If they lose this by 1/2 point, that's the half point right there."

It's easy to see all those missed putts on the final day or the final few holes, but not many people think about all the missed shots over the previous four rounds.

Also, give the Europeans credit. They are all great players and played very well.

A side note; Tiger and Stricker did not win 1/2 point between them. Mickelson/Bradley won three points on Saturday and Sunday.

[PaPaLarry]

Phil Mickelson...CHOKE!!!!!!!
Phil Michelson did not choke!!???? That was just a great putt by Rose on 16, then maybe the most crucial putt on 17. The word "choke' was definetly not there, by Michelson. Now if you mention Tiger or Stricker, then yes they did choke.

[collie1228]

Calling Michelson's performance a choke is unfair and isn't justifiable. His opponent simply made some magnificent shots when it counted the most. Michelson played well enough to win but was beaten by a great performance by Justin Rose. Furyk, on the other hand, choked big time, just like he did in several other PGA tournaments in 2012. I couldn't believe how much time Furyk took on a couple of putts at the end, and after he relined one putt up FOR THE FIFTH TIME, I was pulling for him to miss it. Stricker was simply bad, and while he really didn't choke, he played horribly for all three days. It's hard to say what Tiger's performance was overall. He did have seven birdies in his match on the second day and still lost. And in singles his opponent came from nowhere and played great. All in all a very forgettable Ryder Cup for the U.S. squad. Sad. But it was great to see Rory play so well - he's fearless.

[BarryRX]

Calling Michelson's performance a choke is unfair and isn't justifiable. His opponent simply made some magnificent shots when it counted the most. Michelson played well enough to win but was beaten by a great performance by Justin Rose. Furyk, on the other hand, choked big time, just like he did in several other PGA tournaments in 2012. I couldn't believe how much time Furyk took on a couple of putts at the end, and after he relined one putt up FOR THE FIFTH TIME, I was pulling for him to miss it. Stricker was simply bad, and while he really didn't choke, he played horribly for all three days. It's hard to say what Tiger's performance was overall. He did have seven birdies in his match on the second day and still lost. And in singles his opponent came from nowhere and played great. All in all a very forgettable Ryder Cup for the U.S. squad. Sad. But it was great to see Rory play so well - he's fearless.
I agree. Phil almost made that great chip shot that just missed going in only to watch Rose drop in an unbelievable putt. Losing and choking are not the same thing. Although Phil did miss the 18th green from the middle of the fairway. But speaking of choking, I don't think Furyk will ever get over his recent failures. I predicted that he would not find the fairway on the last two holes. It was agonizing to watch him take so much time over those last two putts. In the best of circumstances his pre-putt routine is terrible to watch. It became even worse under pressure. As for Tiger, I never saw the spark in his eyes. His eyes looked dead throughout all of it. Even Jason Duffner showed more emotion than Tiger.

[justjim]

Best way to describe this Ryder Cup is----Europe wanted to win it more than team USA. Now, this was at the unconscious level of play and this happens when you can make those impossible putts (like Rose) and just miss them like the USA did time after time. I don't think team USA thought they could lose on Sunday----they found out they could! Michelson/Bradley should have played Saturday afternoon while they were "hot" instead of sitting around with their wives watching. Woods/Streaker should have stayed on the bench Saturday afternoon. Of course, this is Monday morning "quarterbacking"----but bad decisions are still bad decisions. Lastly, Hunter Mahon should have been one of the captain picks instead of Furyk or Streaker.

[gage405]

justjim,

I agree with you completely!

[Mikeod]

I agree that calling Phil a choker is unfair. Rose made incredible putts on 16 and 17. On another board we were discussing whether the US players had bad yardages in their books or too much adrenaline. It seems the Euros were able to put the ball on the right part of the green many times, but the US players were consistently very long. When they needed a birdie for a half or a win, they wound up 50+feet beyond the hole with no chance.

Did anyone else pick up on the irony when they showed the elaborate diagrams Stricker made for the team about the greens and then he misses his putt on 18 by about 15 feet and never had the right break?

[ugotme]

I may be wrong (I usually am) but it just seemed to me that the Euros wanted it more!
Seemed to be much more fire in their belly. Even seemed to me like there were almost more people cheering for the Euros than the Americans.

Give them credit - they played great !

[Bosoxfan]

O.K. so "Choke" is the wrong word but Mickelson sure wasn't clutch.He had that match in hand & never put it away!!

[PaPaLarry]

I may be wrong (I usually am) but it just seemed to me that the Euros wanted it more!
Seemed to be much more fire in their belly. Even seemed to me like there were almost more people cheering for the Euros than the Americans.

Give them credit - they played great !
It's called "DESIRE"!!! They definetly wanted it, just like Americans did too

[PaPaLarry]

O.K. so "Choke" is the wrong word but Mickelson sure wasn't clutch.He had that match in hand & never put it away!!
Sounds more like your just anti Michelson!!!! He sure was Mr Clutch in all his matches. Just got beat with two nice putts. And even Phil was a gentleman about it, by clapping and giving a thumbs up to Rose on the great putt. Maybe Phil should have been last to play instead of Tiger?? (But thats monday quarterbacking) But, still, Stricker and Woods did not win ONE match (4 pts??) And on 15 or 16 (The driveable par 4) after Mcelroy laid up, Captain Love should have told Bradley to do the same. But its over, and we got beat fair and square. Thats golf!! Still all gentlemen at the end!!