Matt Kuchar Wins Ryder Cup (in Ping Pong)

APPARENTLY, MATT KUCHAR, a Ryder Cup rookie on the American side, is the man to beat in Ping Pong. Kuchar whipped everybody on both the U.S. and European teams, according to Melanie Hauser’s Quick 18 column at PGATour.com. Melanie quoted a Golfweek source:

Golfweek reports that the man of the Ryder Cup ping-pong matches was ... drumroll, please ... not one of the usual suspects. Not Tiger Woods. Not Phil Mickelson. It was Matt Kuchar. According to the magazine sources, Kuchar took Peter Hanson—and the team’s deep pockets—in a winner-take-all match. “The Euros had no idea just how great a player Matt Kuchar was,” said Golfweek’s source who was in the team room. “At one point, there were thousands of pounds on the table.”

Kuchar posted a 1-1-2 record in his first Ryder Cup. The Ping Pong victory wasn’t exactly a suitable consolation prize, but at least it sounds like Matt offset some of the week’s expenses.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: Dustin Baxter/Flickr)

Colin Montgomerie’s ‘Blather’

I JUST READ JIM MCCABE’S piece titled, “Monty misses mark on European dominance.”

I don’t think the Golfweek senior writer is a fan of Captain Monty. Far from it. He begins:

At first, it felt like an unusual, late-season hurricane moving up the coast. But, no, the warmth was coming in from Hong Kong, delivered by Colin Montgomerie, a specialist in hot air.

The Monty quote that set McCabe off? This one: “We have always bowed to America’s dominance. But now we don’t just have Lee Westwood but also Martin Kaymer coming up, as well.”

McCabe suggests that Colin should run the dominance statement by Tony Jacklin, Sam Torrance, Mark James, Bernard Gallacher, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal. He wants to remind Monty of 1985, 1987, 1989, 1995 and 1997, a stretch of five Ryder Cup wins for Europe in seven tries.

Lee Westwood ascending to No. 1 in the world ranking is a big deal, especially since he’s dethroning Tiger Woods. But guess what? Four Europeans (the same number as Americans) have held the top spot: Langer, Ballesteros, Woosnam and Faldo.

McCabe, in closing:

What is important is to brush aside Captain Monty’s blather about Europeans always bowing to American dominance and this changing-of-the-guard nonsense. It’s disrespectful to the dynamic Europeans who more than 20 years ago changed the face of world golf and made possible the opportunities and the riches that now flow to their countrymen.

Monty, he’s right. It’s expected that you would be walking on air after winning the Ryder Cup and considering the sensational year European players have had (two majors and a slew of other PGA Tour wins). But can you tone it down a smidge? It’s gotten a little too silly.

On the other hand, you served up a column for McCabe. For that, you are to be commended.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: Monster/Flickr)

Martin Kaymer’s Quiet Golf Takeover

MARTIN KAYMER IS A SOFT-spoken German with the skills and nerve of an international cat burglar. On Sunday, the 25-year-old was spotted slipping away from the Old Course with yet another piece of valuable hardware, his third trophy caper in 56 days. He is the first player since Tiger Woods in 2006 to win three consecutive titles on the European Tour.

While Lee Westwood is poised to take the No. 1 ranking away from Woods, Kaymer is sneaking up on both of them. His victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship moves him to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking behind Woods, Westwood and Phil Mickelson.

At St. Andrews on Sunday in cold and blustery conditions that produced plenty of sock hats and occasional over-sized mittens to warm hands, Kaymer posted a clever 66 that featured a birdie-birdie finish to win by three strokes. On the 17th, the famous Road Hole, he rolled in a lengthy putt from off the back of the green for an improbable birdie three. Then, at 18, Kaymer struck his approach shot from the paved road that crosses the fairway. The ball stopped six feet from the hole and rolled into the cup on the next stroke.

The German golf star flashed a grin like he had just cracked a safe and slipped the diamonds into his satchel, which, in a way, he had. The win was worth €580,046.40 and raises his season money total to €3,134,447. Kaymer now leads Graeme McDowell in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai by a wide margin.

“It was always one of my dreams to win here at St. Andrews,” he said.

Sure, why not? Martin Kaymer is checking a lot of things off his list in recent days. First major. (Check.) First Ryder Cup. (Check.) First win at the Old Course. (Check.)

In addition to winning the PGA Championship in August and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this weekend, Kaymer took the KLM Open in the Netherlands in September. Except for a thrashing in Ryder Cup singles at the hands of Dustin Johnson, it’s been a near-perfect two months for the Dusseldorf native.

At the moment, Kaymer is the world’s hottest player. Perhaps he’s also on his way to being the world’s top-ranked player.

−The Armchair Golfer

Sea Island Mafia Invades McGladrey Classic

THE INAUGURAL MCGLADREY CLASSIC tees off on Thursday at the 7,055-yard par-70 Seaside Course at the Sea Island Resort in Sea Island, Georgia. This coastal golf community is also the known territory of the “Sea Island Mafia,” a a group of golf mobsters who will exert their local influence on the second event in the Fall Series.

They’ve been ID’d as follows: Davis Love III, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Jonathan Byrd and Chris Kirk. They’ve made this pleasant corner of Georgia’s Golden Coast their domain. Several of them are represented by an outfit called Crown Sports Management. Love is considered to be the Godfather. They are armed with clubs and dangerous on the golf course.

(Photo: Sea Island Godfather / Keith Allison, Flickr)

Actually, Love, a longtime Sea Island resident, is the host of this week’s event. (Love and others are known as the Sea Island Mafia. I didn’t make that up.)

“The St. Simons/Sea Island area has been home for Mark and me and our families for a long time, and we’re extremely happy to support the community that means so much to us,” Love said at Golf360.

One by one, several of Love’s peers migrated to Sea Island.

Wrote Stan Awtry at PGATOUR.COM: “...many of the TOUR’s best players make their home, or second home, at Sea Island—partially because it’s a nice place to live and partially because of the unequalled practice facilities at the Sea Island Learning Center.”

Three of them—Love, Johnson and Kuchar—hustled home from the Ryder Cup to participate. One thing’s certain. Sea Island will be a much more friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

−The Armchair Golfer

My Ryder Cup Lament

THE RYDER CUP HAD a thrilling finish. For the first time since 1991 at Kiawah, the Cup was decided by the final singles match. The Americans roared back from a three-point deficit, winning seven of 12 singles matches, but Europe hung on to reclaim golf’s most cherished trophy by a half point. Both teams played with imagination, skill and passion. Congratulations to Europe. Well played, USA. You nearly won with a team that many said had no chance.

(Photo: Blue skies were rare at Celtic Manor / lhourahane, Flickr)

The Ryder Cup is the Super Bowl of golf. Hence, everything is scrutinized and many aspects of the biennial event are ridiculed, which I find tiresome. But in the end, it’s not about the uniforms or the wives and girlfriends or which captain is the best quote or rain gear or what Johnny Miller said about Phil. Those are all just carnival sideshows.

Yesterday it was as clear as that bright blue sky over Celtic Manor what the Ryder Cup is about. It’s about Europe’s 12 best going against America’s 12 best. It’s about playing for country or continent in a team competition that ends in euphoria or tears.

It’s about crushing pressure under which a 21-year-old rookie can birdie four straight holes for a half point, an Irishman can sink the biggest putt of his life in front of adoring fans, and a hero from the 2008 Ryder Cup can stab a chip shot that broke his spirit and rendered him speechless. It’s about the competition, pure and simple. There’s nothing like the Ryder Cup, especially at its best, like yesterday.

But my problem is this: Yesterday was Monday. Yesterday was a work day.

It was the first Monday finish in the 83-year history of the Ryder Cup. More than two inches of rain fell on Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales, from Thursday afternoon to Sunday morning. Play was delayed and the format was changed to get in all the matches. No one can control the weather, but the powers that be do control the schedule.

As we now know, October is not a good month to stage any outdoor event in Wales. (This was the first Ryder Cup contested in October since Royal Birkdale in 1965.) It was a prolonged rain delay waiting to happen.

The BBC’s Iain Carter got to the crux of the problem:

On this side of the pond the European Tour runs the Ryder Cup and the professional schedule. In America it is different. The PGA Tour runs the schedule and a completely separate body, the PGA of America, administers the Ryder Cup.

The match is not the primary concern of the PGA Tour, which has now taken over September with its Fed Ex Cup play-off series. The PGA of America has been forced to let go the traditional weeks where Ryder Cups have been staged.

Hey, powerful golf people: Don’t mess up the Ryder Cup for all of us.

If you want to build goodwill for the game and cater to fans—fans who work on Mondays—preserve the Ryder Cup in as close to its original form as possible. Do everything you can to make sure that it ends on Sunday for the next 83 years. Samuel Ryder would appreciate that. You are using his name, after all, and talking up the wonderful traditions of the game and these matches. That, or find a corporate sponsor and call it the XYZ Cup.

Find a way to play the Ryder Cup in late September and/or where it’s highly unlikely to rain buckets. You’re smart people. You can figure it out and still make millions.

Imagine if many more golf fans—and perhaps a few casual fans who might have tuned in on Sunday—could have seen the greatest Ryder Cup in years.

−The Armchair Golfer

Graeme McDowell Etches Name in Ryder Cup History

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece is excerpted from his blog, Irish Golf Desk. 

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

GRAEME MCDOWELL BECAME THE fifth Irish player to clinch the winning Ryder Cup point for Europe with a sensational 3 and 1 victory over Hunter Mahan in the final singles match.

The Ulsterman provoked a mass invasion of the 17th green he described as “bananas” as the American crumbled under the pressure in the decisive game of a classic Ryder Cup.

(Photo: Captain Montgomerie / Welsh Assembly Government, Flickr)

Two down and needing to win the last two holes to help the USA retain the trophy, the Bridgestone Invitational winner came up 20 yards short of the green with his tee shot, fluffed his chip in front of him and then failed to convert a 30 footer for par after McDowell had putted up to five feet from the fringe right of the green. But like Christy O’Connor Jnr and Philip Walton, he didn’t have to hole out for victory as Mahan conceded defeat.

Despite not being comfortable with his game all week, the 31-year old from Portrush showed just why he is arguably the gutsiest golfer on the planet as he withstood incredible pressure coming down the stretch when it became clear that Europe’s Ryder Cup hopes rested on his shoulders. Three up with seven holes to play, he lost the 12th to a par and the 15th to Mahan’s sole birdie of the day before producing the goods with an incredible birdie from 18 feet at the 16th.

Rickie Fowler birdied the last four holes to come back from three down to halve his match with fellow rookie Edoardo Molinari and force McDowell to win his match to win back the Ryder Cup. And he did it in incredible style with a brilliant six iron to 18 feet at the 16th setting up a birdie that left Mahan needing to win the last two holes to give the USA a 14-14 tie that would have been good enough to see them retain the trophy.

His left to right putt tracked perfectly, falling into the hole on the last roll to crush Mahan’s will.

“That was absolutely amazing. That was bananas,” McDowell said. “The putt on the 16th was stuff I have dreamed about all my life.

“The US Open felt like a back nine with my dad at Royal Portrush compared to this. I was really nervous - there was so much pressure.

“The putt on 16 was massive, and these spectators are massive. I had to get the putt going on 16, and it was the biggest one I have hit in my life.”

Mahan was crushed by the defeat and barely capable of speech at the US team’s media conference.

“I’ve played with Graeme before. I don’t even know what day it was. But he didn’t miss a shot. I think it was alternate shot, and he played he played great today. Didn’t miss a shot. Hit a bunch of key putts, probably the last four or five holes, and you know, he … that birdie on 16, after I got it to one down, was huge. He played …. he just beat me today.”

Padraig Harrington, who lost 3 and 2 to Zach Johnson, could have found himself in McDowell’s position as he played at No 11. But he was delighted to finish on a winning team for the fourth time in six appearances.

“Every Ryder Cup’s the same,” Harrington said. “It’s phenomenal. There’s nothing like it in golf. That’s incredible.”

Montgomerie paid tribute to McDowell, saying: “Graeme McDowell was put there for a very good reason. He’s full of confidence and that showed. That birdie on 16 was quite unbelievable.

“I’m very proud. It’s a very proud moment for us all here in Europe. They all played to a man magnificently, they all gave 110 per cent and that’s all you can ask.”

McDowell added his name to the list of Irish Ryder Cup immortals at Celtic Manor.

1987 Muirfield Village, Ohio - Eamonn Darcy
1989 The Belfry - Christy O’Connor Jnr
1995 Oak Hill, New York - Philip Walton
2002 The Belfry - Paul McGinley
2010 Celtic Manor - Graeme McDowell

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

Celtic thriller as Europe triumph in Ryder Cup classic!

A victory roar from McDowell (left) and Poulter after clinching the Ryder Cup

A stunning days golf at the Celtic Manor in South Wales saw Europe win the closest Ryder Cup contest since Brookline, Massachusetts in 1999.

Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell won the final singles match to help Europe regain the trophy by the smallest possible margin, 14½ points to 13½ points.

Trailing 9-6½ going into the weather delayed finale, the United States fought back superbly to take the match to the wire. Only Europe's Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Miguel Angel Jimenez managed to win their singles matches, whist victories in the singles today by American's Steve Stricker, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson brought the USA level with Europe at 13½ points apiece.

This meant it all went down to the final singles match between McDowell and Californian Hunter Mahan, as Europe went in search of the magical 14½ points needed for outright victory. McDowell, ironically the US Open champion kept his cool and held his nerve as Mahan was forced to concede defeat on the 17th green, sparking wild celebrations among the European team and the majority of the 35,000 fans.

HOW THE FINAL DAY UNFOLDED (BST)

0905: Westwood/Stricker start singles (Europe 9½-6½ USA)
1149: Europe up in 7 matches, USA in 4, one all-square
1247: Stricker beats Westwood 2&1 (9½-7½)
1248: D Johnson beats Kaymer 6&4 (9½-8½)
1302: Poulter beats Kuchar 5&4 (10½-8½)
1320: McIlroy halved with Cink (11-9)
1329: Donald beats Furyk 1up (12-9)
1403: Jimenez beats Watson 4&3 (13-9)
1409: Overton beats Fisher 3&2 (13-10)
1414: Woods beats F Molinari 4&3 (13-11)
1442: Mickelson beats Hanson 4&2 (13-12)
1501: E Molinari halved with Fowler (13½-12½)
1502: Z Johnson beats Harrington 4&3 (13½-13½)
1520: McDowell beats Mahan 3&1 (14½-13½)

"A fantastic result for Europe's golfers, a great advert for the game and a marvellous advert for sport."

Chicago, Illinois is the venue in two years time, when the USA will have the opportunity to regain the coverted trophy on home soil.

The 2010 Ryder Cup in detail: http://www.rydercup.com/2010/

Captain Pavin’s Inspiring Locker Room Speech (Clip)

AFTER A SATURDAY SESSION of foursomes matches that gave the U.S. Ryder Cup team a 6-4 advantage over the European squad, the Americans stumbled badly at the start of Session 3 and were down in all six matches when play was halted due to darkness.

The team needed a serious lift, and Captain Pavin gave it to them, delivering a motivational speech that had them so fired up they were running for the locker-room door.

“There’s a tradition in tournament play,” Pavin began, “to not talk about the next step until you’ve climbed the one in front of you.”

“Forget about the crowds ... their fancy rain suits, and remember what got you here. Focus on the fundamentals that we’ve gone over time and time again.

“And most important, don’t get caught up thinking about winning or losing the Cup. If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don’t care what the scoreboard says at the end of the match. In my book, we’re going to be winners.”

Then Zach started clapping, slowly. Then Stewart. And Bubba and Rickie. And suddenly the whole team and the assistant captains were all clapping, louder and faster.

“Alright,” Pavin shouted. “Let’s go! Let’s go! Let me hear it!”

Goose bumps.

Related:
Captain Pavin Addresses Media and Heckling Chant (Clip)
Captain Pavin’s Picks: ‘My Team Is on the Floor’ (Clip)

−The Armchair Golfer

(This is an ARMCHAIR GOLF spoof.)

Rain 1, Rain Gear 0

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

Lee Elder, Jack Nicklaus and the American Golf Classic

AS THE RAIN FELL this morning at the Ensure Classic at Rock Barn, I talked with 76-year-old Lee Elder, a four-time PGA Tour winner and the first African American to play in the Masters. I told Lee one of my earliest memories of watching golf on television was when he squared off against Jack Nicklaus in a sudden-death playoff at the American Golf Classic.

(If you are of a certain age, you may remember it. It was played at Firestone Country Club, the site of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Before the American Golf Classic, the Firestone event was called the Rubber City Open.)

I was a kid, it was 1968, and we had a portable black-and-white Zenith set with rabbit ears. Today, Lee reminded me about some of the details of that long-ago duel. He said what most people don’t remember was that the playoff included Frank Beard until Lee and Jack birdied 16 and Beard dropped out.

Who is Lee Elder? That’s what I wondered at the time. Everyone knew who Jack was. Jack was the man. It was Lee’s rookie season on the PGA Tour and he didn’t blink during his five-hole showdown with Nicklaus. Jack won. But Lee’s play made enough of an impression on me that I still remember it more than 40 years later.

Elder would wait six more years for his first PGA Tour win, the 1974 Monsanto Open in Pensacola, Florida. It put him into the Masters, finally breaking the color barrier at Augusta National. Lee was also the first black to play in the Ryder Cup when he qualified for the 1979 team.

And Beard, the forgotten man in that 1968 playoff, won the American Golf Classic two years later.

−The Armchair Golfer

The Good People of Conover

SOMETHING MUST BE WRONG. I’m just not into the Ryder Cup. Not yet. I’m sure I will be when it starts on Friday.

One big reason is because I’m in Conover, North Carolina, for the next two days for events related to the Ensure Classic at Rock Barn, this week’s Champions Tour stop. I’ve come here each of the last three years, renewing acquaintances with some old old pros and usually meeting a few more of the younger ones. Many of them are approachable and friendly. Fred Funk and Phil Blackmar come to mind.

And the people here in Conover (and the greater Hickory area)—the volunteers, tour officials and golf club staff—are terrific. There may be a rude person among them, but I have yet to meet him or her. Instead, it’s something like, “Hi, I met you last year. Let me know if there’s anything you need.” That’s nice to hear.

It feels good to this armchair golfer to escape the home office and drive down the mountain into North Carolina where it’s sunny and 10 degrees warmer. The leaves are turning and the muggy days of August are long gone. Friends are preparing for their apple-butter making weekends. Autumn, as you might have guessed, is my favorite season.

Tomorrow will be fun. I’ll catch up with a dozen or so legends. I expect to see Doug Ford and congratulate him on being a World Golf Hall of Fame inductee. The Ryder Cup and Friday seem far away at the moment.

−The Armchair Golfer

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