BRAVO! This is what I was trying to say when Luke was #1 in the world for a clip. Gimme LD's career over Todd Hamiltons or Ian Poulters any day.
Ryder Cup
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BRAVO! This is what I was trying to say when Luke was #1 in the world for a clip. Gimme LD's career over Todd Hamiltons or Ian Poulters any day.
DISLCAIMER: I think Ian Poulter is awesome.
But how IP gets conveniently mentioned with the likes of Donald, Westwood, Monty, and Garcia are beyond me. How bout IP close the deal on 1 frickin Non-Major first on the best tour in the world.
gmbtempe
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No I am saying its a lot lower on his list of priorities on a golf course, and it is historically as well when people look at careers. What was Byron Nelson's play like in the Ryder Cup? What was Billy Casper's? See you could not tell me without looking it up, no one remembers it really, its just something really cool that gets played every two years but in the end its very different than normal historical golf.
I agree your example (Sergio missing a toddler to hand over the Claret Jug to Paddy) had nothing to do with luck, that was nerves. But what about the 276 strokes before that.
Or take Sergio's shot which hit the pin at the 2008 US PGA. That was a brilliant shot which had a very unlucky outcome! That probably cost him the US PGA that year.
It is not the last putt that wins you a competition but the 270 odd strokes before that as well.
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Shot Limit
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Close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades.
birly-shirly
New
Yeah well, who really cares what Byron or Casper did in the Ryder Cup, years before it became a competition? And I'm sure Tiger hates Ryder Cup week.
Would you really be that surprised if I told you that some people think the Ryder Cup is a big deal - but that they couldn't really care less who wins the USPGA? Lots of people on this thread are trying to define what counts as "proper" history or career highlights. Waste of time trying to legislate for that.
faux_maestro
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I almost don't even count what happened before 1979, actually even before 1983.
This from Michael Bamberger:
"When he was in his prime, Tiger Woods sleepwalked through the Ryder Cup because it didn’t fit with his overarching goals. To catch Jack Nicklaus, he knew he needed to be a lone wolf. In 2006, after Tiger won the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston, I asked him about Ryder Cup play and what it meant to him. Woods responded to my question with a question of his own: “What’s Jack’s Ryder Cup record?” I didn’t know. I knew Nicklaus had 18 majors, of course, but I didn’t know his Ryder Cup record. And that was Tiger’s point. The Ryder Cup did not define a career. These days, however, he’s more worried about the person than the career. These days Tiger is looking to make friends. Getting yourself on a roster is an excellent way to make that happen."
"When he was in his prime, Tiger Woods sleepwalked through the Ryder Cup because it didn’t fit with his overarching goals. To catch Jack Nicklaus, he knew he needed to be a lone wolf. In 2006, after Tiger won the Deutsche Bank Championship outside Boston, I asked him about Ryder Cup play and what it meant to him. Woods responded to my question with a question of his own: “What’s Jack’s Ryder Cup record?” I didn’t know. I knew Nicklaus had 18 majors, of course, but I didn’t know his Ryder Cup record. And that was Tiger’s point. The Ryder Cup did not define a career. These days, however, he’s more worried about the person than the career. These days Tiger is looking to make friends. Getting yourself on a roster is an excellent way to make that happen."
gmbtempe
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Thanks....
Its like a really cool event but more or less it defines very little about a player, it may add or detract only a little. I think players want to be a part of it because its probably a lot of fun, cool to be on a team event, but I doubt any of them would trade it for a single PGA win. Now maybe its different for the Euro's but thats my feel of the US players.
magicmarker
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The answer depends on who was asked the question. Tiger said that, meant that, and everyone knows that. I doubt anyone, even Rory, would go on record saying anything that demeaning about the event. Would Bubba Watson have said anything like that when he was more happy that he made the Ryder Cup team than he was disappointed to have not won the PGA. No. His dad was a military man. It is easy to minimize the importance of the event in terms of what will headline the career section of their wikipedia page. That will never take away from how much it does mean to some of the players. Tiger obviously doesn't care because his ambitions are above and beyond what everyone else is playing for, making any non-major event insignificant. Just because it means nothing to Tiger does not indicate that it means nothing to all the players, especially the europeans. Tiger was speaking for himself, not everyone else, and for good reason.
Side note, I think it is funny that people are talking about how if it was a real event they would have practiced for it together. ROFLMAOIPR. It's still golf, in every format you just hit the shot in front of you whether you're playing your ball or your partners. Did you expect them to step out on a completely different golf course, or this one under a different setup, and start running plays or something? I don't get it.
Side note, I think it is funny that people are talking about how if it was a real event they would have practiced for it together. ROFLMAOIPR. It's still golf, in every format you just hit the shot in front of you whether you're playing your ball or your partners. Did you expect them to step out on a completely different golf course, or this one under a different setup, and start running plays or something? I don't get it.
Lindsey Newman
New
I call shenanigans
IT'S NOT ABOUT CAREERS!
IT'S ABOUT THREE DAYS EVERY TWO YEARS!
These guys are grinding their azzes off to win every freak'n point. We are talking about team Euro and team USA. Not about the individual.
No, it's not important on the individual career level, but guys are desperate to make these teams and battle it out. I always watch very minute of Ryder Cups and have for 15 years. It men's a hell f a lot to these guys in the moment even for only 3 days.
IT'S NOT ABOUT CAREERS!
IT'S ABOUT THREE DAYS EVERY TWO YEARS!
These guys are grinding their azzes off to win every freak'n point. We are talking about team Euro and team USA. Not about the individual.
No, it's not important on the individual career level, but guys are desperate to make these teams and battle it out. I always watch very minute of Ryder Cups and have for 15 years. It men's a hell f a lot to these guys in the moment even for only 3 days.
Kevin Shields
Super Moderator
I said that...it's extremely important to make the team and for that one week. After that....on to stroke play again.
Lindsey Newman
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"your gonna have ta repeat that"
Lindsey Newman
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I don't believe in the whole it's for the country thing in reality. I just feel like its my team versus your team. I don't care if it's golf or dodgeball. Competition in team genre has more meaning because others are relying on you. To quote Bull, "you go, we go".
how could it be just for country when it's a country vs several countries? A continent with a variety of homelands and national pride represented? Euro pride is certainly not "national" pride, it's simply beat the Americans at golf pride.And i dont think some of us on this forum are trying to legislate history, we're merely stating what history IS. Who said the Masters is a major? Who says the Players is not a major? History, that abstract community who, over many years, collectively deem what the record book is. And currently, the Ryder Cup has not caught the majors. If you go undefeated in Ryder Cup history and win NO majors, nobody will ever hear of you!
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Lindsey Newman
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DC,
I totally get what you're saying, but you keep emphasizing the singular as in "who's gonna remember you" for the Ryder Cup. It's about the team! That's my point. I remember all of them since I've been watching golf. When I think of Ryder Cups, I always think of THE '99 team or the 2008 team. Team, team, team. See my point, it's not about individuals.
When you play h.s. golf, you play for a team. When you play college golf, you play for a team. I think many golfers who did not play after high school and college remember when they received their TEAM bag. They remember when their TEAM won state or regionals or the conference.
I totally get what you're saying, but you keep emphasizing the singular as in "who's gonna remember you" for the Ryder Cup. It's about the team! That's my point. I remember all of them since I've been watching golf. When I think of Ryder Cups, I always think of THE '99 team or the 2008 team. Team, team, team. See my point, it's not about individuals.
When you play h.s. golf, you play for a team. When you play college golf, you play for a team. I think many golfers who did not play after high school and college remember when they received their TEAM bag. They remember when their TEAM won state or regionals or the conference.
Damon Lucas
Super Moderator
Americans should feel some kind of pride that it means that much to beat them. It suggests that the US is perceived as a strong and very capable country, and it is a source of pride to beat them. It is rare that the US gets to experience international competition where it is a level playing field. That is why that 1980 hockey gold medal means so much. In Australia or New Zealand, pretty much the whole country stops to watch a rugby test. The US is mostly missing out in that respect. Yes, the majors mean more, but the RC brings out the fan who wants to wave the flag in support of their country and that is a great thing.
A reasonable call, DC. We have to remember the well-spring of Ryder Cup fever: 1985, The Belfry, U.K. America loses for the first time in 30-odd years. We on this side of the Atlantic can now show the American lads that we can play a bit as well. No matter that it's a team event, or that foursomes and fourballs make up 16 of the 28 points, it's our only 'in,' so to speak. Now, start inviting us to the bloody majors, and hurry up about it.
From there, the thing became a cash cow for the respective PGA's and here we are, 37 years later with a team event consisting of twenty four millionaires living in Florida, twelve of whom have strange accents, and the other twelve European
, most of whom went to American colleges - it's ironic - and most of whom play on the PGA Tour.The Ryder Cup is great and it can define careers; the majors are great and they WILL define careers.
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Nicklaus, Woods, Jones, Hagen, Hogan, Player, Vardon, Watson, Sarazen, Palmer, Snead, Trevino, Faldo, et al. Greatest players ever? Why? Ryder Cup? Maybe but probably not. I have nothing against the Ryder Cup. It is a fun Biennial Event. This is not a forum for my personal politics, but i would have to say this: from 1927-1979, the RC was not much of a competition. But I personally feel that it was conducted much more in the spirit that Sam Ryder meant it. Those of us in the sporting world should enjoy international events for what they are: "the human drama of athletic competition", nothing less and certainly nothing more.
birly-shirly
New
Wise words. Although I wonder whether we'll ever see Rory's 1 minute warm-up in a regular tour event...
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