2010 Ryder Cup Preview

So much for playing more golf.  After a three week hiatus from blogging, a numerical procession of scores (83-83-81-80-88-84-85) has only raised my USGA handicap index.  Alas, you can never beat this game, you can only play it.

The freewheeling futility of regular practice rounds, rather than stoking the fire for me to rejoin my competitive golf league, only made me retreat to the computer again to write away and purge the self-limiting thoughts I encountered on this sacred journey of self-actualization.  At this rate, I may not play another tournament until Spring. Here's a quick review:

FedExhausted

My take is simple. If you are going to have "playoffs" in golf, use Gary Van Sickle 's cumulative par system.  It's easier to follow for everyone involved, fans and players alike, and it is much less contrived than the current system. Listening to Dan Hicks try to squeeze drama from what should be a meaningless bogey putt by Bo Van Pelt on the 18th green, because it might affect Matt Kuchar's chances for a solo 25th place finish does not compelling television make.

Money putter

Best back story of the playoffs:  Jim Furyk's $39 dollar putter.  I had a small rant about the deleterious effect of money upon the game here, but that was really meant to cast aspersions on real estate developers who are ignorant about the game of golf. As a representative of Srixon Golf, Furyk's win was a particularly satisfying "poke in the eye" of other golf manufacturers whose relentless assurances dig deep into the wallets of hapless weekenders who believe in "buying" a cure for their lack of skills. That putter is in play this week. Here's the rest of the story.

Euro K, But We're Better

I'm barely a coin flip above my NFL Picks as we enter Week 4, so why not another bold prognostication?  Consensus is as useless for sports betting as it is for political leadership, but the bottom line is we have a better team of guys who can putt.

What makes this Ryder Cup interesting this year, and perhaps what makes this biennial competition/exhibition more compelling lies in what we know about the character of the team captains.  Corey Pavin has essentially built his career on "grittiness," not only by the way he won the U.S. Open at Shinnecock in 1995, but in the way he competed in numerous Ryder Cups during the 90's.  Monty, well, he's Monty.  Petulant, gruff, immensely skilled, and a Ryder Cup assassin, his view of golf is very Euro-centric, as signaled by his glaring omission of the 7th-ranked player in the world, an "Americanized" Paul Casey, from the team, and the selection of Padraig Harrington, who has been in poor form.

On the American side, fans will be watching closely as Captain Corey makes the key critical decisions regarding pairings.  Who indeed will Tiger team with?

Still,  since my "old" NFL team, the Chargers, have been so disappointing, and my "new" team, the Panthers, are destined for the division cellar, I'll be taking heart in the healthy jingoism and subtle rejection of Euro-bama-socialism by predicting that the USA will retain the cup. Enjoy your weekend!

© 2010 Roy Barin Santonil