When recently asked about the number of vice captains Pavin responded:

I’ll have four. I’ll have four people coming over with me. I don’t know who they are yet. I have a list of people that I’m considering. I’ll make that decision sometime next year. I have no timetable for an announcement or anything like that, but it will be next year at some time; I will make that announcement.

Montgomerie then responded to the same question…

I think Corey is right. I think more is the better, to see exactly what’s going on; to have somebody with every group, to have help, to have advice, to work as a group I think is very important.

So I think that it is important to have. I will be having four, as well, I believe, and it is very, very important to work together as a group to feed off information that’s coming from the course and from the locker room and from other sources.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 as the PGA are the only source of authorised tickets for PGA events and they protect against touts and scammers ruthlessly. They recently released the following ticket alert:

“Ticket Alert!
The PGA Ticketing Center is the exclusive agent for ticket sales to all PGA of America events. If you have purchased tickets from any other party, The PGA of America is not responsible and will not guarantee admittance to an event if you purchase tickets from unauthorized sources.
The purchaser acknowledges that tickets and badges will be for the exclusive use of the purchaser and guests. The purchaser acknowledges that any resale, redistribution or repackaging of tickets is expressly prohibited, inclusive of but not limited to including tickets in travel or hospitality packages. All sales are final.”

Naturally the other source of tickets are from the corporate sponsors and hospitality packages but you will pay over the odds for these. The upside is that they often include access to VIP areas and hospitality tents at the event where lots of wheeling and dealing is done.

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

Packages include:
* Daily course and hospitality admission passes per day for each guest
* Views overlooking the course
* Company signage outside your chalet
* Security controlled access for hospitality area
* Seating for guests
* Lined, furnished and carpeted chalet with air-conditioning and/ or heating
* 2 Television screens
* Telephone line
* Floral arrangements
* Breakfast Buffet
* Champagne reception on arrival
* 3 course lunch served with
fine wines
* Afternoon Tea
* Complimentary bar
excluding champagne
* Official Ryder Cup
programmes per day for each guest
* Complimentary FM Radio for
each guest per day
* Corporate Hospitality Gift per
guest per Match day
* Two tickets to an Official
Ryder Cup Celebration
* Two host passes
* Preferred VIP Parking and
Park and Ride service
* Ryder Cup refund policy - see
terms and conditions

The Conwy Club Restaurant Packages
Overlooking the 17th green with views of the fifth green, sixth tee, and out towards the third, seventh and eight holes provides alternative Hospitality Packages for 10 guests in a shared restaurant facility. With ample television screens featuring both live coverage and highlights packages of The Ryder Cup every day as well as a spectator balcony guests are sure not to miss out on the action on the course as it unfolds. The 17th is a challenging par three of more than 200 yards across a valley to a heavily defended narrow green.

4 Day 10 Guests £38,000 +VAT
6 Day 10 Guests £44,000 +VAT

* 10 daily course and hospitality admission passes per day
* Views overlooking the course
* Dedicated table of 10
* Comprehensive television viewing
* Floral arrangements
* Breakfast Buffet
* 3 course lunch served with fine wines
* Afternoon Tea
* Complimentary Bar excluding champagne
* Official Ryder Cup Programme for
each guest per Match day
* Celebrity Guest Speaker each day
* Optional corporate gift
* Preferred VIP Parking and
Park and Ride service
* Ryder Cup refund policy – see
terms and conditions

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.

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

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.

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?

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!

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!!

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

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

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

• 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.

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