Ryder Cup 2012 Final Thoughts

  • It was as thrilling a Ryder Cup as anyone could hoped for. I don’t even care that Europe won.

  • It was compelling television, and I’m glad that NBC didn’t overburden us with commercials.

  • The excitement shows once again why match play should make its way into the regular Tour schedule more often. If television wants a guarantee of big names on the weekend, they could do a round-robin elimination, or give certain players bracket byes based on their rankings.

  • Was it an American collapse or brilliant European play? The golf pundits are going to argue this one for years.

  • If there’s any criticism that could be leveled at Davis Love, it is in not placing a bet on a winning horse (Phil and Keegan), and instead putting money on a losing one (Tiger and Steve). If Phil and Keegan play in place of Tiger and Steve Saturday afternoon, there would very likely have been a one point swing and the US wins. Love sat Phil and Keegan to have them rested for Sunday. The dynamic duo both lost anyway.

  • The player formerly known as Tiger Woods had absolutely no impact on the competition. No points. None. He and his partner Steve Stricker were 0-7 in points.

  • Jim Furyk got a point with Webb Simpson, but had a terrible Sunday. I felt sorry for him. He’s had a heartbreaking year.

  • This likely was Furyk and Stricker’s last Ryder Cup, except perhaps as Captains. Neither is going to get another Captain’s pick, and with all the new talent, it’ll be difficult for them to play their way on the team.

  • It also should be Tiger’s last Ryder Cup. It won’t be, but it should. I find it hard to fathom that a team with the the player thought to be the best of all time can’t ride him to consistent victories. But Tiger’s career record now is 13-17-3, and looks worse when you take out the singles matches, where he’s 4-2-1. That makes his team play record 9-15-2. Tiger had a telling comment earlier when someone asked him about his Ryder Cup record, and he countered by asking if any of the reporters present could name Nicklaus’ record (17-8-3). His intent was obviously to suggest that when a career is over, all anyone cares about is Majors.

  • Keegan Bradley is one of the most exciting players in the game. I love his unbridled enthusiasm.

  • I predicted a close European victory on another website and turned out to be right on the numbers Europe 14 1/2 US 13 1/2. Unfortunately, the numbers got transposed and it came out as “I bleed red, white and blue, but think the Euros win in a squeaker. A slight edge in talent, and a huge edge in enthusiasm carries the day. Euros 13 1/2 to US 14 1/2.” I should do a better job of proofreading these things.

  • Without trying to be disrespectful, I was more than a little tired of the whole “Seve” thing by the end of the event. I get that he was a great European player. But to keep crediting his ghost for European victories was ridiculous. Just another example of how lazy reporting works. One guy does a bit and everyone else jumps on the bandwagon because they’re too lazy or devoid of ideas to find something for themselves.

  • The PGA of America’s Ryder Cup website was nice. I followed some of the event with live streaming on my iPod Touch using mobile wifi.

  • I also followed the game on Sirius XM’s PGA Tour radio. Golf on the radio is really pretty good.

  • 6 thoughts on “Ryder Cup 2012 Final Thoughts”

    1. Actually Furyk and Tiger were 0-4-1 or .5 points for 5 possible.  Tiger halved his match after missing a 4 foot putt. 

      So appearantly Phil asked for the break on Saturday afternoon.  I wonder if Phil was taking heat for DL3.  Phil would say, I am playing as hard as I can for 12 holes and can’t rest for 2 hours and play again? 

      If Phil didn’t want to play, then maybe DL3 should have seen if Keegan wanted to play with Tiger.  Or perhaps Furyk.  Furyk only played 2 paired matches – and he was 1-1.  Stricker, was 0-2 on Friday, if you have to play Tiger, then put him with someone else.  Stricker – 0 for 4. 

      Stricker was the wrong pick, and that is all on DL3.  He was 1-3 last year in the presidents cup.  He had 1 win this year.  Mahan, who was passed over was 3-1 in the presidents cup last year, and had 2 wins this year.  I said it before, Furyk felt wrong, but by the numbers Stricker was undoubtedly wrong.  Mahan was the pick.  Fowler might bring some excitement, but Brandt, Keegan and Bubba bring excitement.  I still would have liked to see it be Mahan and Daly – Daly would just mess with people’s heads.  Daly couldn’t have done worse than Stricker.

      Reply
    2. Sorry you felt too much was being made of Seve Ballesteros and his contribution to European golf, especially the Ryder Cup.  He is the most instrumental player of all-time, on either side of the pond, in keeping this event the way it is today.  So, I quite disagree with you and most Americans about the Euro team and the media overdoing the Seve point.  I profoundly believe he looked down on that team to rally them to the greatest come from behind foreign soil victory ever.  Olazabal was his direct protege.  His link to this Ryder Cup is so indelible, I think MORE should have been said.

      Reply
    3. It was a great Ryder Cup, one of the best ever. Credit must be given to the European team for their never side die attitude.

      Tiger is a much better stroke play, tournament player. In tournaments he is able to mentally wear down his opponents over 4 days. For some reason he seems to be found out during match play which often rewards brief moments of brilliance more so than a long grind.

      Reply
    4. @Gabe With all due respect to Seve … I’ll concede he was a great player etc. … I think you’re wrong on the “most instrumental player of all-time” thing.

      The Ryder Cup became a big deal not because of Seve, but because in 1979, the rules were changed to expand the field to include the Europeans. From that point forward, the event became competitive, and thus, interesting. Since 1979, the record is Europe 8, US 9. Prior to 1979, it was 20-3 US over Great Britain. Uncertainty about the outcome is what makes any sporting event interesting.

      Without this change, Seve wouldn’t even be in the conversation. Prior to 1979, a Spanish player would not be eligible.

      And who initiated the rule change? Jack Nicklaus. So if you want the most influential player in making the cup a big deal, it goes to Nicklaus.

      Seve isn’t even the best European to play the event. That title belongs to Sir Nick Faldo. Seve is in a tie for third, with Colin Montgomerie.

      Reply
    5. Yes, Jack Nicklaus helped ENCOURAGE the PGA of America and the R&A to include continental European players.  But the choice alone was the R&A as to whether to agree to such a proposal.  Ballesteros lobbied the R&A and as soon as he got on the team, he had an influence.

      Seve’s record may not have been the best of all-time, but his team record was Olazabal is.  And you can’t put numbers on his pure emotional inspiration.  He willed teams to victory and also was instrumental in getting the first Ryder Cup to ever be played on Continental European soil. He is the #1 reason this cup is competitive now: he taught Europeans to believe the Americans could be beaten.

      Add to this the fact that the current winning European team mentioned him frequently and these are guys who’ve never even played with the man!  If that doesn’t define instrumental—the ability to inspire generations of golfers after you’ve retired—then I don’t know what does. I respect Nicklaus, but I’m not hearing the Americans revel in his RC greatness and what he meant to previous RC teams.

      So, maybe for the US, you’d pick Jack Nicklaus.  But for Europe, it’s Seve.  Also, Seve has more wins in the RC than Jack did. Just sayin…

      Reply
    6. I was fortunate to be able to attend the event on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

      Europe’s victory wasn’t just a Sunday thing.  They were down 10-4 and won the final two 4 ball matches on Saturday with brilliant play.

      Poulter birdied 14-18 to pull out a 1 up win.  After McElroy birdied 13.  The Americans managed 3 birdies in this stretch, including clutch birdies on 17 and 18.

      Woods had 5 birdies on the back 9 Saturday and almost caught up to Donald and Garcia.

      On Sunday, Poulter again finished birdie birdie to win 2 up. Same for Rose.

      I thought the Americans played quite well during this disaterous 7 match stretch, but were beaten by exceptionally strong play by Europe on the finishing holes.

      The weather was perfect.  And the course was in exceptional condition.  The conditions were better for scoring on Saturday, as the wind helped on the par 5 14th and short par 4 15th. And the 17th seemed to play much harder on Sunday—a combination of pin position and wind.

      There was a lot of brilliant golf played, and all the hand wringing over Captain’s picks, &c. pales compared to seeing the best golfers in the world go at it.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Discover more from GolfBlogger Golf Blog

    Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

    Continue reading