Ryder Cup: it's not as bad as it looks for US team
The U.S. team has lost 3 Ryder Cups in a row. So what? Sure, they got drubbed 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 in the last two Cups. Sure, the U.S. team got outplayed again. But I don't think it's as bad for the U.S. as people are making it out to be.
You have to remember that the scoring system for the Ryder Cup means that changing any win to a loss is effectively a "2 point" swing. For example, if Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco -- who had gone 3-0-1 at the 2005 President's Cup as a team -- would have swept their 4 team matches, the score would have been: 14 1/2 Europe and 13 1/2 U.S. And, if Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk (2-1-1 in the President's Cup) had also gone 3-1 in team play this year, the score would have been 14 1/2 U.S. and 13 1/2 Europe, and the U.S. would have won.
The numbers basically mean that if Phil Mickelson/Chris DiMarco and Tiger Woods/Jim Furyk had played better (and the rest of the U.S. team had played the same as they did), the U.S. would have won. But unfortunately, Mickelson and DiMarco did not get anything going, while Woods and Furyk could only manage a 2-2 split. That ain't going to cut it against the Euros.
16 Comments:
That argument might be valid for the "team" matches of the first 2 days. Most of the matches were fairly close in the morning/afternoon formats each day. I can maybe buy that, to a certain extent.
But the singles matches were an absolute beat-down by the Euros. They weren't even close. The US team simply got smoked on Sunday and no amount of sugar coating can conceal that. Mickelson was simply horrible, so was DiMarco except for the final few holes against Westwood. Furyk didn't have a great Ryder Cup either.
Overall, I thought that Tom Lehman did a pretty decent job with the team that he was handed. His captain's picks played fairly well, although he will be second-guessed by not playing Verplank more than he did. But come on, how many people even though Verplank was a good pick to begin with? Maybe having Davis Love would have helped with the course playing so long, but it wouldn't have changed the outcome. We got stomped on and there's no way around it.
Personally, I thought the score was closer than the matches actually were.
blaming the points system is a pathetic excuse, the usa team was outplayed all the time,no one on the usa team played as well as garcia and clarke all weekend.
I'm not sure I'd agree that "it's not as bad as it looks for the US team"...To lose 18 1/2 - 9 1/2 twice in a row is bad whatever way you approach it.
I would, however, agree that the results on Sunday were in large part shaped by the score on Saturday evening. That is, if Europe had only (or at least no better than) 9-7 ahead, we might have seen tighter matches on Sunday, with nevers entering some of the less experienced European players.
As it is, the European team won the crunch points on both Friday and Saturday afternoon. And whilst this often happened in the 1980s and 1990s, this time the US just couldn't rely on making up the difference in the singles.
The points are the same for everyone. If they scored it differently, it would all be relative. The U.S. golfers didn't come through, and I don't think any amount of team jocularity would have helped. On the other hand, Furyk and Woods looked like angry zombies, didn't they? Lehman, too, acted like the Godfather. Please.
In 2008, know who should be captain? Richard Simmons.
I think some people are misunderstanding me. I don't want to change the scoring system. The current one works well.
My only point is that the huge 9 point margin of victory is deceptive. Basically, the US team only needed to win 5 more matches. That's it. If Mickelson + DiMarco worked the same magic they did at the President's Cup, the overall scores would have been much closer.
Talk about scoring?
In the singles matches, only 6 USA players posted a sub-par score while 11 Euro players posted sub-par scores. And one of the 6 was given a long putt on 18 to make his score 1-under, JJ Henry, who 3-putted 18 on Sat.
Even the Euro who posted over par won his match (Paul McGinley).
They got there butts kicked. Simple as that.
If if's and and's were pots and pans you'd be a kitchen. You might as well say that if Harrington had turned his 4 losses into wins Europe could have won 22 1/2-5 1/2. This was a drubbing by any measure - it probably would have been 19-9 had McGinley not conceded Henry's lengthy putt on the 18th.
I can't really blame Lehman too much - he did a pretty good job with the players he had but unfortunately you can't manufacture team spirit. Any team with Jim 'Miseryguts' Furyk and Tiger 'Stoneface' Woods on it is going to struggle with bonding.
Richard
"Basically the US team only needed to win 5 more matches". So, on the basis that the US actually won 6 matches you are saying that they needed to almost double their output. Not sure I would put "only" in your sentence. That was a massacre, simple as that. And for those who think we are dominant in singles, over the last 6 cups the singles scores are 38.5 - 32.5 in favour of the Euros and that includes Brookline. BTW, yesterday's 8.5 - 3.5 was better than our numbers at Brookline by half a point. For the last 3 cups we haven't gained more than 4.5 points on the Sunday matches. Doesn't bode well seeing as we don't do the team thing especially well either.
But, McGinley would not have conceded a 22 foot put in gracious pity for the yanks, and Europe would have won, anyway.
Nice try!
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These last comments are hilarious. And seem to be coming from Europe!
I'm not mininimizing how few points the US team scored.
But I think it would not have been preposterous to think Mickelson/DiMarco could run the table at the Ryder Cup just as they did at the President's Cup. They didn't, but had they, the U.S. could have won with just 1 more victory.
one thing that is forgotten is that the US actually has more experience in this format than the euros.
they play this format every year - in the president's cup and in the ryder cup in alternating years. the euros only play in the ryder cup.
it is bullshit to say that the euros have more experience in this format - they are just more committed to the event and embrace it.
they also understand that the match is likely to come down to the 18th hole and they are ready for this moment. they know how to "peak" the match for the 18th hole, just as our (i am a USA fan) guys know how to peak their games for the majors. if any of you guys who play for the US are reading this read my next comment very, very carefully:
as johnny miller pointed out (and even though he pisses you all off, listen to him - he is the voice of reason in all of golfdom) -- 23 matches in the last 2 ryder cup events came down to the last hole of play - the US teams only won 1 of the 23 holes!!!! how much more do you need to know --- peak for the last hole, expect to have to play your best at the last hole --- and don't act like you know this, you don't and you are not prepared to win when the match is on the line. get prepared for the final hole the way you get prepared for a major. this is a mental exercise, go meet with your overpaid sports shrinks and be prepared to win at the conclusion of each match.
also support your matchmates the way Scott Verplank supported ZJ - SV gets it - maybe he should be captain next time!!!!!!!!!!
your logic is seriously flawed. You make hypothetical suppositions as potential fact. Sure, lots of things could have happened like the US team won every single point available, or lost every single point. It could happen - highly unlikely, but with anything there is always a chance. You can't make reference to previous competitions which were played a year previously and when players were in a different vein of form, never mind that the opposition was different as well. I agree, that the pairings at the President's Cup worked well, however I do not believe, as you do, that because of that, these pairings should have remained in stone. It was obvious that lefty was not playing well, however Lehman kept with him because hey, you don't drop the number 2 player in the world. He also used your logic that it worked well in the Prez Cup, so they'll come good eventually because if he had changed it and nothing happened, he would have been destroyed in the press for changing a winning formula. The problem is, Lefty is not playing like the number 2 golfer in the world right now, and sometimes the captain needs to get some big brass ones and do the unthinkable, sit those players who aren't playing well, regardless of who they are. Play the guys who are hot, not who you hope will get hot. And by the way, as Sergio said, with all due respect the President's Cup is not the Ryder Cup, so let's not keep making references between the two.
fuck the ryder cup, bunch of losers getting all worked up about some stupid competition which has 1 nation vs many........i mean who cares? golf is an individual sport and you cant turn it into a team sport no matter what.....you cant help another player swing a club.....you cant do shit.....youre in control of your ball and thats it.....thats why 99.99% of all golf competitions have only one winner......not a group of nations.... why would anyone care about such an individual sport that has failed miserably in your attempts at turning it into a team sport.......FAGGOTS
The Yanks lose on the world stage in tennis, basketball and now (again) golf. Most of the greats in major league baseball are not natives of the U.S. Quoits anyone?
to the person who wrote the "faggots" message, you obviously care enough to take the time out to put your vulgar opinion down on the blog, so in answer to your question, you for one seem to care. Dickhead.
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