ALEX, AN ACQUAINTANCE FROM Surrey, England, sent me an email today. “Not much to write about the Ryder Cup today. Why on earth did they think Wales in October was a good idea?”
That was at 6:08 a.m. ET. I was still asleep. But when I got around to checking my email later (and also learned the Ryder Cup had been rain-delayed for several hours), Alex’s message made me wonder about Wales’ relationship with Mother Nature. Turns out from October to January, it’s a stormy one. October is the beginning of the rainiest period of the year.
(Photo: Grounds crew member / McLeod, Flickr)
Well, that’s kind of dumb. But there’s more to the story.
When Wales was awarded the Ryder Cup in 2001, there was no FedEx Cup. The matches were tentatively scheduled for mid September (like all Ryder Cups), but the FedEx Cup, now in its fourth year, moved the date of the Celtic Manor Ryder Cup back a couple of weeks.
Hello rain, goodbye U.S. rain gear.
Maybe a company named Sun Mountain shouldn’t supply rain gear. I know, I know. That was way too easy.
−The Armchair Golfer
Rain 1, Rain Gear 0
Captain Pavin Addresses Media and Heckling Chant (Clip)
THE U.S. RYDER CUP team arrived at the Cardiff Airport in Wales on Monday. Captain Corey Pavin, as seen in the above clip, made some brief comments to a lukewarm crowd that included members of the media.
“The boys and I are getting to know each other,” Pavin said, “see who we are and what we can be. So far I like what I’ve seen.”
The U.S. Ryder Cup captain then presented his squad. A band played in the background.
Soon after things took an uncomfortable turn. An unidentified male voice began to chant “We want Jimmy.” It caught on, spreading throughout the crowd. Jimmy? No one on the American team understood what it meant, unless it was a call for FedEx Cup winner Jim Furyk to step to the microphone.
The fiery Pavin was not pleased. “I would hope you would support who we are, not who we are not. These individuals have made a choice to work, a choice to sacrifice, to put themselves on the line ... that kind of commitment and effort deserves and demands your respect.”
The captain’s stern response was followed by an awkward silence.
It’s uncertain how the episode will affect the team, but some expect Pavin to use it to further motivate his squad, already considered heavy underdogs.
Related:
Captain Pavin’s Picks: ‘My Team Is on the Floor’ (Clip)
−The Armchair Golfer
(This is an ARMCHAIR GOLF spoof.)
It Rains Money in Atlanta for Jim Furyk
2010 Tour Championship Recap
Winner: Jim Furyk
Score: 8 under, 272 (67, 65, 70, 70)
Quote: “It’s my second biggest win.”
Fact: Won $11 million with used $39 putter.
Thought: Winning Ryder Cup would cap off best year of Furyk’s career.
I DON’T TALK TO the TV a lot. Certainly not as much as I used to. And usually not with my family around (not that they care). But I was talking to the TV late this afternoon as I tuned in to the final holes of the Tour Championship. I was talking Jim Furyk through those last few holes because I didn’t want to see him blow the tournament and FedEx Cup.
I don’t understand how the the FedEx Cup points work. I let the talking heads and graphics help me keep score. What I did understand was that if Furyk won the tournament, he’d also win the FedEx Cup (and $10 million). The same was true for Luke Donald and Retief Goosen as they played the closing holes.
I decided Furyk is my guy. Nothing against the others, but I’ve always liked Furyk’s grind-it-out style.
So then he bogeys 16. Me: “Um, Jim. C’mon, buddy.” Good drive at 17 and then a weak approach shot. (I thought he hit his second shot fat long before Johnny Miller asked him what happened in the post-round interview. Was it that hard for the TV guys to see?) Another bogey. Me: “JIM!”
Eighteenth tee, long par 3. It’s raining hard, sure. Tough conditions. I get it, TV guys. (Hey, I’ve played in lots of rain and with soaking wet grips, just not for the Gross Domestic Product of a small nation.) Me: “Just get it on the green, Jimmy. C’mon now.”
Bunker.
Some work to do here. Making it interesting, eh Jim? Nothing to say now. I’m just watching. The ball comes out clean, hops, spins and checks two or so feet from the cup. I could make that one. Well, maybe. At least the soaking rain might hide the soiled spot on my pants.
Jim turns his cap around so the rain won’t drip off the bill and taps it in. He later called the putt dummy proof.
It was a nice ending. The guy who missed The Barclays because of a faulty alarm ends up winning it all. And with that used putter he picked up at Joe & Leigh’s in the Boston area, which sounds something like the House of Putters.
“It was like 65 bucks,” Furyk said, “but they sold it to me for $39, I think. I didn’t ask for that, trust me. I didn’t barter.
“It was a used putter. It’s got a nick on the back flange. It’s got a little ding in the top line. I never loft and lied it which is rare for me because I’ve always got my putters on a loft-lie machine at home, and the way the grip is on it, it might be slightly off center but that’s kind of how I like it anyway.”
Next stop for Jim and his $39 putter is Wales for this week’s Ryder Cup.
So, with three wins and the FedEx Cup, Jim Furyk is player of the year, right? I can’t make a stronger case for anyone else.
−The Armchair Golfer
