Vice Captains for 2010
Corey Pavin and Colin Montgomerie have both indicated that they would be nominating up to 4 vice captains for Ryder Cup 2010. They are keeping the identities close to their chests for now…
When recently asked about the number of vice captains Pavin responded: (Read on …)
Moet & Chandon Champagne of Ryder Cup
Moët & Chandon, have agreed a renewal of their agreement to be Preferred Supplier of Champagne to The 2010 Ryder Cup at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales.
The new arrangement with Ryder Cup Europe brings Moët & Chandon’s association with The Ryder Cup to 17 years, following their initial introduction to the biennial event between Europe and the United States at The Belfry in 1993.
Pack your snorkel
The downpour of rain at Celtic Manor causing the Wales Open to close for business for nearly six-and-a-half hours leads to concerns for the Ryder Cup in 2010. The huge puddles and washed out bunkers don’t bode well and Jim McKenzie, the Celtic Manor’s director of golf said that improvements to the drainage would continue up to the event.
In defence of the course it was freakish weather, however some commentators are harping back to Nick Faldo’s infamous “bring your waterproofs” comment at last year’s closing ceremony and saying frogman suits might be more appropriate!
New Wild Power for Monty!
Colin Montgomery has an extra wildcard up his sleeve when it comes to team selection. This will bring the total of captains wildcard selections for the European team to 3 (up from Nick Faldo’s 2). Not quite the 4 available to the US Captain Cory Pavin.
The fact that victorious US Captain Paul Azinger had 4 picks to Faldo’s 2 picks in 2008 proved to be a controversial issue. Monty has now prevailed upon the European Tour’s Tournament Committee to grant him an extra pick. Bernard Gallacher (Ryder Cup 1995) was the last European captain to have this power. The extra place will come off the World Ranking Points list bringing the number of player that can qualify through this route down to 4.
Register Now for 2010 Tickets
The registration for the Ryder Cup Ticket lottery for Ryder Cup 2010 at Celtic Manor in Wales is now open!
To Register visit the PGA’s Official Ticketing Site Here
The registration is open until July 31st and the lottery takes place in August.
The full details and terms and conditions are here - Basically you can apply for a maximum of 4 tickets per application and each person may only submit one application (or face disqualification from the draw).
The tickets will cost you £430 for the full series of matches (ground entry) or £950 for pavilion access for the series.
Ryder Cup Tickets
If you want to go to Celtic Manor for the 38th Ryder Cup matches in September 2010 you will need to get your hands on one of those elusive tickets!
The tickets are sold through a ticket lottery by the PGA - so you cannot just go and buy one. Registration for the lottery is now open and you will need to register your interest - here (applications accepted till July 31st). The lottery draw itself will then take place in August 2009.
Be careful where you buy your tickets
Ryder Cup 2009?
Just a short post for all those who are searching for Ryder Cup 2009 (we are getting a large number of visitors here who have searched for “ryder cup 2009″) - there is NO Ryder Cup 2009!
The Ryder Cup is held every two years (for a brief overview have a look at Ryder Cup History). The Ryder Cup used to be held on odd years until 2001 when it was postponed due to the September 11 tragedy. Since then it appears alternately in Europe and America every two years, on even numbered years. Ryder Cup 2010 is the next event scheduled to be held at Celtic Manor in Wales.
Ryder Cup Corporate Hospitality
The Ryder Cup Corporate Hospitality packages have been announced for Ryder Cup 2010 in Celtic Manor. There are a range of packages availaible:
Apply Here for packages
Kidwelly Suites Packages
Situated adjacent 16th Fairway the Kidwelly Suites will offer guests superb views of the approach shots and the action on the green, not to mention the views across the course to the sixth, seventh 12th, 13th holes. The 16th is an extremely long and demanding par four, with deep bunkers on either side of the tight fairway making driving accuracy paramount. The second shot will be played slightly downhill to an angled green protected by some of the deepest bunkers on the course.
50 guests - £260,000 plus VAT
30 guests - £132,000 plus VAT
(Read on …)
Team Europe Shenanigans
Sometimes I wonder if the Ryder Cup participants and the media have some kind of pact to generate news when there really isn’t any. The latest spats from the European camp are as follows:
Sandy Lyle has been complaining that he has been snubbed since Monty was confirmed as captain. In a recent interview Lyle said-
“I haven’t spoken to Colin or had any response at all from him since got he got the captaincy,” said the 51-year-old after his practice round yesterday. “Monty now doesn’t live too far from me in Scotland, and I’ve left messages on his phone and he just hasn’t returned any of my calls. That’s very disappointing.
“You know, it was pretty much a ‘below-the-belt’ type punch when I didn’t get the captaincy. It just seemed a little unusual Colin should be appointed captain as it seemed to me a forgone conclusion that I would win it. I just couldn’t think of any nasty reasons why that wouldn’t happen.”
Jose Maria Olazabal also threw the cat among the pigeons when he announced that he has NOT agreed to be a Ryder Cup 2010 Vice-Captain. This is a little embarrassing for Monty who had already publicized the “fact” that Olazabal would be vice-captain.
Ian Woosnam then decided to pitch in and criticize Monty for making the announcement…
All a bit of a storm in a tea cup really, but not very encouraging in terms of team spirit for Ryder Cup 2010.
Captain Montgomerie
Colin Montgomerie
Colin Montgomerie will lead the European Ryder Cup challenge for 2010 Ryder Cup
Montgomerie was unanimously chosen by the 15-man committee after an hour and 10 minutes meeting.
He immediately launched his captaincy by declaring that he expects to be granted an extra captains pick. Monty was clearly delighted with the honour - “This is obviously one of my proudest moments,
It is a huge responsibility having lost the last Ryder Cup. It is important we do everything we can to claim back the Ryder Cup in 2010. It just seems the time is right for me to take the helm here and be captain.”
Cory Pavin
Cory Pavin
Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959 in Oxnard, California) has played on three US Ryder Cup teams: 1991, 1993, and 1995.
Pavin turned professional in 1982 and has 27 professional wins under his belt and 15 PGA Tour wins. He ranks 49th in Career Earnings on the PGA TOUR.
Pavin will Captain the U.S. Team in Ryder Cup 2010
1959: Born in Oxnard, California on November 16
1982: Turns professional.
1984: Picks up first PGA Tour victory at Houston Coca-Cola Open.
1991: Tops PGA’S money list. Plays in first Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island, South California. Picked up a point in the singles as USA went on to win the ‘War on the Shore’.
1993: Part of American team which retained the Ryder Cup at The Belfry, picking up three points.
1995: Wins US Open by two strokes over Greg Norman for the only major victory of his career.
Tastes only career defeat in Ryder Cup, despite winning four out of five matches at Oak Hill. Ends his Ryder Cup career with eight wins and five defeats.
2004: Runner-up to Nick Price in USPGA Championship at Southern Hills.
2006: Wins 15th PGA Tour title at US Bank Championship in Milwaukee. Also breaks the record for the fewest number of strokes needed to complete nine holes at a PGA Tour event (26).
2008: Named as America’s Ryder Cup captain for their defence of the trophy at Celtic Manor in Wales in 2010.
Management Lessons from the Ryder Cup victory
We often fall into the trap of generating retrospective explanations for sporting events that, in reality, hinge on some apparently minor incidents. And so, now we are told that the US victory was the result of an elaborate strategy on the part of Paul Azinger. But this time, I actually think there’s something in it!
As described in this Wall Street Journal article, Zinger’s plan of segregating his team into three sub-groups or pods, based on their personalities and playing styles certainly did help the US team find a sense of unity that had been less obvious in previous tournaments.
The most radical element of the plan was dividing the 12-man squad into three, four-man subgroups, or pods. Mr. Azinger apparently got this idea several years ago from a documentary about the military’s Special Forces and their Ryder Cup-size platoons. The Navy Seals, for instance, typically operate in 13-man units led by two officers and a chief, and frequently break down into subgroups, depending on the mission.
“Each pod was a force unto itself,” Mr. Browne said of last week’s team. Pod members played all their practice rounds together and were paired only with other pod members in the competition. Even in the Sunday singles matches, the pods went off sequentially, four by four. Each pod was assigned an assistant captain to tend to players’ needs and to keep them relaxed and “on message” — a key concept in the strategy.
Makes sense, right? If you were challenged to identify a European team strategy to match this, you’ll probably come up a little short. Perhaps the presence of DJ Spoony was supposed to be the key?
Reaction to the US Ryder Cup victory
As players and traveling spectators leave the Louisville area, many commentators all over the world are weighing in with their views and perspectives on what has just unfolded at the 37th Ryder Cup Matches. Here’s a brief sample of what the press has to offer:
- Reuters suggest that the US victory breathes life back into the Ryder Cup, following a period of European dominance.
The Europeans had held the upper hand over their opponents with regard to team unity and a relaxed but committed approach, plus the ability to hole birdie putts when they matter most.
The above observation is valid but is also the perfect description of the US team over this weekend. As always, it really does come down to who holes the most key puts.
- The LA Times also develops this ‘resuscitation’ theme and highlights the key reason for Europe’s defeat:
The most important reason why Europe lost was because its best players were borderline miserable — exactly what has happened to the U.S. in recent years.
Padraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood are Europe’s Big Three, but they won no matches in three days, lost seven of them and halved five others.
- Sporting Life reports on a key Azinger insight and one of the suggested reasons why the Americans worked so well together:
“You know, we just decided to come together in small groups, that was it. Beyond that, I don’t know what else to tell you.
“We put four guys together in practice rounds and they played together every day, and they were the four guys who stayed together the whole week and they were never going to come out of their little group. That’s the way I did it.
“It was about how to take small groups and just to break them up.”
While Azinger takes a lot of credit for the famous victory, Nick Faldo has been getting a lot of stick from the European press. Some of the more painful criticisms are selected here:
- Faldo’s large ego has been highlighted by many. This RTE reporter doesn’t hold back:
If Faldo was an ice cream, he’d lick himself.
- The Times was quite clinical in its destruction of Faldo’s captaincy
Faldo’s thin skin, the need to have his sports shrink by his side even out on the course and his grating sense of humour had confirmed what we knew all along, which is that he is no natural leader. But what we had not expected was that a man who had dedicated himself so much to this job would make such a colossal strategic mistake –echoing Curtis Strange’s blunder in 2002 in sending Tiger Woods out last and leaving the world’s best player stranded.
- The Telegraph really gets the boot in and you do begin to wonder how fair is some of this criticism :
Witches were given a fairer hearing in medieval Europe than that coming Faldo’s way in the Valhalla postmortem. He is about to pay the price of a lifetime of self serving, of devotion to the cult of the individual.
- Former Ryder Cup player, Christy O’Connor Jnr was very critical of Faldo on Irish radio, suggesting that Faldo had erred by not having more vice-captains around the course providing support to his players. He described the presence of Faldo’s son as ‘ridiculous’ and compared the lack of togetherness of the European team to the unity of the US team
It certainly is interesting how we rush to create stories and explanations for the final score in a complicated golf competition, especially when a few putts holed or missed either way could have resulted in a different outcome!
The US wins the Ryder Cup!
A nine-year wait for US golf has come to an end. In an unforgettable final session, the US team has won the Ryder Cup for the first time in the 21st century!
The scene for this much-enjoyed victory was set impressively by young Anthony Kim who faced down the challenge of Sergio Garcia in the opening match. His success enlivened the crowd and sent a positive wave of energy down through the field, inspiring locals Kenny Perry & JB Holmes to win their games. Victories for the man-of-the-week Boo Weekley and finally, Jim Furyk, clinched the trophy.
Congratulations to the US team!!
Sunday Singles matches
The US team needs at least 5.5 points to win the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1999. They have twelve opportunities to win points today in the singles matches. The captains have selected their line-ups as follows (Valhalla tee-off time):
1203 Anthony Kim v Sergio Garcia
1214 Hunter Mahan v Paul Casey
1225 Justin Leonard v Robert Karlsson
1236 Phil Mickelson v Justin Rose
1247 Kenny Perry v Henrik Stenson
1258 Boo Weekley v Oliver Wilson
1309 JB Holmes v Soren Hansen
1320 Jim Furyk v Miguel Angel Jimenez
1331 Stewart Cink v Graeme McDowell
1342 Steve Stricker v Ian Poulter
1353 Ben Curtis v Lee Westwood
1404 Chad Campbell v Padraig Harrington
A two point US lead at the end of Day 2
The US team holds a 9-7 lead going into the Sunday Singles at the 2008 Ryder Cup. The Saturday fourball matches were a close affair with three of the four matches decided on the 18th green. Some difficult putts were made, others were missed and when the dust settled, the spoils were evenly shared - two points a piece.
Saturday Fourball Results:
Weekley/Holmes beat Westwood/Hansen by 2&1
Curtis/Stricker vs Garcia/Casey - match halved
Perry/Furyk lost to McDowell/Poulter by 1 hole
Mickelson/Mahan vs Stenson/Karlsson - match halved
The Europeans close the gap
Following Saturday’s foursome matches, the US team now holds a 7-5 lead. The morning session was remarkable for the manner in which three of the four matches were so one-sided on the front nine - the English pair of Rose & Poulter raced into a 5-hole lead while both the Mickelson/Kim and Furyk/Perry combinations were 4-up. However, all leads were to be challenged by their opponents, with Mickelson & Kim fading dramatically and eventually losing to Wilson & Stenson.
Saturday foursome results:
Cink/Campbell lost to Poulter/Rose by 4&3
Leonard/Mahan v Jimenez/McDowell - match halved
Mickelson/Kim lost to Stenson/Wilson by 2&1
Furyk/Perry beat Harrington/Karlsson by 3&1
Day 2 Foursome Matches
With the US team holding a significant three-point lead, Paul Azinger has confidently sent out the exact same line-up for Saturday’s foursomes. If his team returns three points, as they did on Friday, then Europe are staring defeat right in the face.
Nick Faldo has really shaken up his selection, bringing in the idle man of Day 1, Oliver Wilson, but most surprisingly has dropped Garcia & Westwood (for the first time in their respective careers).
Saturday’s Foursome Matches (Local Valhalla time):
8.05 Stewart Cink and Chad Campbell v Ian Poulter and Justin Rose
8.20 Justin Leonard and Hunter Mahan v Miguel Angel Jimenez and Graeme McDowell
8.35 Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim v Henrik Stenson and Oliver Wilson
8.50 Jim Furyk and Kenny Perry v Padraig Harrington and Robert Karlsson
What it says in the papers
With the sun yet to rise on Valhalla on Day 2 of the 2008 Ryder Cup, here is a selection of press analysis on the exciting happenings of Day 1 and some thoughts on what is to come on Day 2
- The Louisville Courier-Journal accurately captures the essence of Day 1 with their Pumped-up jump start headline.
Referring to the intensity of the crowd, Kim said: “It feels like I’m playing for the Lakers, and it’s the championship against the Celtics. It’s amazing. It’s a dream come true to be out here, and the fans in Kentucky are tremendous. This was a great day.”
- Despite sinking some heroic putts, Europe’s #1 player Padraig Harrington only managed to return a half-point from his two outings. The Irish Independent focuses on how things didn’t work out on the 18th green.
The script and recent history insisted Harrington’s putt must drop, giving European fans in the massive 40,000- strong gallery the opportunity to cheer one of the Ryder Cup’s greatest escapes … yet golf balls don’t follow any script. They merely go where they’re hit and Harrington’s Titleist rolled a good three feet past the hole on the high side.
- One of the heroes of Day 1 was Boooooo Weekley. As the afternoon progressed, every single movement that Boo made was greeted by huge roars of “Booooooooooo!!” from his adoring fans. At times, Boo resembled an orchestral conductor as he waved encouragement to the crowd. This apparently didn’t go down too well with some of the Europeans, as reported by the New York Post.
“You walk a fine line when you start doing that sort of thing - between using the crowd to your advantage when you’re at home, which you do by playing good golf, which they were doing - and going over the line where you take it too far,” Westwood said.
- The Telegraph ponders the surprise absence of Westwood and Garcia from the Saturday foursomes. Only time will tell if this gamble by Nick Faldo is inspired or merely an act of desperation. Azinger’s reaction reveals a lot.
Opposite number Paul Azinger was in the middle of a press conference when he was handed the pairings and could not hide a smile, although he was diplomatic when asked about the duo’s omission.
US lead after Day 1
The Ryder Cup rarely fails to provide drama. September 19th 2008 was no exception. Very few would have predicted a three point lead for the US team going into the second day but that’s where we stand. New American heroes have emerged: Anthony Kim, Boo Weekley and Hunter Mahan may not have been household names in the world of golf before today but few will forget the extraordinary scenes provided by them and players like Mickelson and Leonard.
Some of the European players have shone also, especially Westwood, Harrington and Rose but the scoreboard doesn’t lie. The Americans have hit more good shots and have made more putts.
The bookies are now rating the US team as 1/2 favourites. Nick Faldo knows his team must close that gap on Day 2. They have the players to do so. Bring it on!
Friday Fourball scores:
Mickelson/Kim bt Harrington/McDowell by 2 holes
Stricker/Curties lost to Poulter/Rose - 4&2
Leonard/Mahan bt Garcia/Jiminez - 4&3
Holmes/Weekley vs Westwood/Hansen - match halved
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