Tiger Woods searches for answers to Ryder Cup slump
Tiger Woods identified three ways to improve the Ryder Cup team: (1) get younger players on the team who can play, (2) start making some putts, and (3) pick US sites to host the Ryder Cup that are played regularly by the PGA.
"They have a younger crop of players that are playing well. When our youngest player is 30 years old, that's not a positive thing. They have Luke (Donald) and Sergio (Garcia), Paul Casey, all in their 20s. We don't have anybody in their 20s on the team. And all three guys I just mentioned have won numerous tournaments around the world; most of our guys in our 20s haven't won tournaments yet," Tiger said.
My take: I can't argue too much with (2) or (3). The site of the next Ryder Cup is Valhalla, which will not have been played on the PGA tour for 8 years. As Tiger said, there's no home field advantage there. The PGA should have picked Firestone C.C. in Akron, where Tiger Woods basically owns the course.
I don't think the age of the players this year really mattered. Sean O'Hair, Lucas Glover, and J.B. Holmes are all in their twenties and have won on the PGA tour. Tom Lehman had a chance to pick any of these players, particularly Lucas Glover, but didn't. The team already had 4 rookies, so it's understandable for Lehman to go with experience. What Tiger is missing is that for every player you add onto the team, you have to remove one of the other "older" players. My guess is that at least Lucas Glover and Sean O'Hair will make the next squad, and they will still be in their twenties. So which "older" player would you like to see replaced? Phil Mickelson?
And, Tiger, man, the reason these kids have not won more on the PGA tour is that you keep on winning all the tournaments. Maybe they should start playing on the European tour?
5 Comments:
The last sentence of your post sounds very dismissive of the European Tour notwithstanding the result of the Ryder Cup!
The reason Casey, Howell, Donald and Garcia have won around the world is because they are very talented golfers. And don't forget each has either won on the PGA tour (Garcia, Donald) or won a tournament in which Woods was a competitor (Casey, Howell)...
I can not really argue any point you made, but I could enlighten Tiger on the state of the PGA Tour. As of the Masters this year, there was only one American with more than one victory. Guess who that is? It is not someone even considered for the Ryder Cup.
As of the end of the majors, we didn't have squat for 20-somethings in the top 50 in World Rankings, and as for americans in their 20s who have won "multiple tournaments" as Tiger mentioned, they can be counted on one hand...and I could still hold my cup of java.
So again, I reiterate your points. Putting is crucial. Having a site in the U.S. that is familiar to PGA players is crucial. Woosy took a lot of flack from Bjorn, but his leadership of his team was anything but porr, as Bjorn stated. He took every opportunity and advantage available, and used it to the benefit of his team. I'd say that was a good captain, but having a player ranked almost worst in putting, and having him win more matches in the first two days than the entire American team helps...just a little.
To give Lehman credit, his captain's choices did well...a whole lot better than Phil, or Dimarco, or Toms...etc., etc. i think I'd only amend Tiger's first by saying that to improve the team, we just need to get any American players who can play, young or old. They are getting surpassed by Aussies, and many of the players who are as American as those of birth (Luke Donald, for example) play for the other team.
No disrespect to the European tour. It was only meant as a compliment to Tiger. Wherever Tiger doesn't play, the players have a better shot at winning, at least on the margins.
What the U.S. team needs to get a handle on is Best
Ball and Better Ball foursome matches. I would be willing to bet the Euros play a lot of those matches prior to tournaments across the water. It's also a good bet that the reason for the group closeness is the relative lack of families traveling with the golfers. The husband/wife relationship is still pretty traditional in Europe with wives staying home while husbands go off to work. AND if we do adopt this kind of approach it wouldn't hurt for our guys to get together for match play formats a lot more often...AND when we know the venue to be played get in ten or twenty rounds there so we really do KNOW the course and greens like the Euros. The nature of money, sposorships and paid appearances does much to eat up the time of players on this side of the water. If we REALLY want to come out a winner, or even become ceompetitive, we will have to be willing to make some individual sacrifices before the Cup Matches begin.
every year the top 125 players on the pga tour includes more international members and fewer americans. americans need to get a passport and go out and learn about international competition firsthand instead of sitting in the comfort of the 48 states where most spend their time. then they would not be so surprised and bitter when the world comes to plunder the riches of their tour prize money. exploration, which some call sacrifice, can make better citizens and improve the caliber of the player or business person whether it be golf,tennis or auto sales
Post a Comment
<< Home