Tag Archives: Ryder Cup

Is Clarke The Right Man To Captain Europe?

Well as you all know by now Darren Clarke has been appointed European Ryder Cup Captain for 2016 which seems to be a popular choice among fans and player alike, and no doubt his current sponsors will be very happy with the publicity.

Clarke has won the Ryder Cup 4 times as a player which will stand him good stead as he prepares for seemingly one of the biggest weeks of his life next year in America. He has been victorious under the captaincy of Seve, Sam Torrance, Bernhard Langer and lastly Ian Woosnam in which Darren Clarke bravely lead Europe to victory in Ireland after the death of his wife a week earlier.

Next September the event will be held at Hazeltine National Golf Course in Minnesota, and Clarke will be up against good friend and opponent Davis Love III who will be trying to heal the wounded tiger that is the US team, after many years of domination by Europe.

The last time Europe were defeated in America was under the captaincy of Nick Faldo who didn’t conduct himself amazingly well in Valhalla in 2008. I really we hope we see a professional approach from Clarke as he is known as a bit of a ‘boy’ on the tour and does like to party, but I guess we will only find this out as time goes on…

I’m sure it will definitely be as fiercely contested as ever and will be another great spectacle for this game we all love. It’s a long time to wait, but I remember thinking that when I was waiting for the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, and look where that time as gone!

Is 2014 going to be Sergio Garcia’s Year?

Well it’s fair to say that Sergio Garcia has had an up and down career, and especially over the past 5 years has been the hardest of all for him.

He has gone from being one of the best players in the game to totally falling out of love with the game, but it looks like he’s right back to his best and seems to be enjoying life on and on the golf course more than ever.

Since finding love, Garcia seems to in a much better place and is much more comfortable with himself and with his golf as his recent performances would indicate .

Since bursting onto the scene when he was just 19 years old when he finished second to Tiger Woods in the PGA Championship at Medinah in 1999 after an enthralling contest, and if you remember he hit a remarkable shot from behind tree to get himself and the crowed really pumped up.

Take a look at the shot here:

He has also always been a prominent force in the Ryder Cup matches, even when his form had deserted him he managed to find a way to get the job done under the upmost pressure to help guide Europe to victory on many occasion.

Last season he looked to recapture some of the form that we had previously witnessed from the young spaniard and had a steady finish to the 2013 PGA Tour season with three top 20 finishes including a tie for ninth place in the Tour Championship.  He also ended last season with a win on an Asian Tour event.

This season also started well with a win in the Qatar Masters and a handful of top 25 finishes.

Garcia has always performed pretty well in the majors throughout his career, and let’s hope that one of the three left in this season will belong to a player that undoubtedly deserves one.

Remembering Seve Ballesteros Three Years On…

Today three years ago we mourned the passing of one of the greatest golfers to ever play the great game we call golf.

It only seems like yesterday we heard the sad news that Seve’s condition has worsened and that he had then died at the age of 54 of two  two malignant brain tumours. Seve was diagnosed with the tumours back in 2008 and underwent several operations, but sadly never fully recovered.

Seve will be remembered for many great things. He won 5 major championships including The Open and The Masters. He won 6 European Tour order of merits with an incredible 50 wins on the European Tour and 96 in total world wide.

His Ryder Cup record was pretty good too with a total of 22½ points in 37 matches played, and of course, how can we forget when he captained Europe to victory in the 1997 Ryder Cup at Valderrama when Colin Montgomerie saw off Scott Hoch at the last hole in virtually pitch darkness.

We called talk about him forever with so many different stories, but the one moment that will stick in my head was the celebration when he won The Open in 1984. Catch the memories below….

He was always be known for his incredible shot making, putting and wayward driving, and will always be talked about in the history of the game. I’m just glad that I grew up when I did, so I was at least able to see some of the genius at work, even if it was for only a handful of years….

Ryder Cup Wild Cards To Be Announced A Day Later Than Scheduled

The wild card picks for next years Ryder Cup will be announced a day later than scheduled Paul McGinley has decided.

The European captain was due to announce his selections on 2nd September after the Italian Open which is the final qualifying event had finished, but the Irishman has put this back 24hrs to avoid clashing with the Deutsche Bank Championship which will finish on the Monday.

The thought of doing this is to avoid what happened in 2010 when Paul Casey and Justin Rose were playing in Boston only to find out when they finished that they had been overlooked by Monty for Celtic Manor.

It’s unlikely to make any difference to the selection but is just a matter of respect for the players involved.

Europe End 13 Year Wait As They Beat GB&I In France

Europe regained the Seve Trophy for the first time since 2000 as the singles went down to the final match in France.

The side captained by José María Olazábal’s side have lost the last six contests to Great Britain & Ireland, and after leading for the first two days found themselves tied going into the final days singles after Sam Torrance’s team made a great fightback in the foursomes.

It was all very reminiscent of the Ryder Cup in Medinah last year as Francesco Molinari played the anchor role and took victory by beating Chris Wood 3&2.

This event has started to gain some momentum now in the last few years, it would do so even faster if the top players would stop being so precious about their schedules, maybe they will see sense next year.

Monty Shoots 69 In First Champions Tour Event

Colin Montgomerie entered new territory this week when he played in his first Champions Tour event in Pittsburgh.

After turning 50 last week Monty played alongside good friend Bernhard Langer and made a solid start with an opening round of 69 which is one over par for the tournament, but finds himself four shots behind leader John Houston who opened up with a 65.

It was a day dominated by Americans who fill the 10 top spots but i’m sure the Europeans will fight back in great Ryder Cup fashion!

The Irish Open is taking nice shape where another Ryder Cup legend Jose Maria Olazabal is near the top of the leaderboard, one shot behind Robert Rock and Peter Uihlein.

Rory McIlroy will be hoping for a better day after his opening round of 74 yesterday, he finds himself eleven shots off the lead as it stands and is in danger of missing yet another cut this year.

Another great weekend of golf coming up. Enjoy!

Ryder Cup Duo Fight It Out At The Top

Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer, who were team-mates at the miracle comeback in Medinah, are tied at the top of the leaderboard in the Qatar Masters. There are four players sharing the lead in Doha after two rounds, the other players are Marcus Fraser and Ricardo Santos. 

Garcia played a near perfect round of golf shooting a 66 on a calm day in the desert, whilst Kaymer shot a bogey-free 67. Garcia had plenty of chances to make more birdies but the putter deserted him on these occasions.

There are many players within striking distance though, with the leaderboard looking quite bunched at the moment.

At the other end of the leaderboard, Ernie Els was struggling with the putter and struggling to make the cut going into the 16th at one over par, but a birdie and two pars was enough see him through to the weekend.

It’s all set up for a great couple of days of golf, make sure you tune in to watch!

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Montgomerie Backs New European Ryder Cup Captain McGinley

Colin Montgomerie has told Paul McGinley that he has his backing and will support him  in every way he can after the Dubliner was appointed Ryder Cup captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. 

The European Tour committee  confirmed McGinley as captain yesterday evening in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship which starts tomorrow. McGinley had to fight off a few strong contenders to get the position including  Scotland’s Sandy Lyle and Spains Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Montgomerie who has a fantastic record in the Ryder Cup matches and won as captain in 2010 was a late contender for the job after it was announced the Tom Watson would be leading the US team out to battle. But is was McGinley who was successful.

Montgomerie said he is confident that McGinley has the experience after two Ryder Cups as vice-captain.

 

Monty In Late Running To Get Ryder Cup Job Again

World number one Rory McIlroy is giving his full support to Paul McGinley on getting the job as 2014 Ryder Cup captain despite reports claiming Colin Montgomerie will be given the task to lead Europe once again.

The European Tour is set to announce the decision on Tuesday. Whoever gets the nod will be up against a very strong captain in Tom Watson and a very strong American team no doubt. There wasn’t any mention of Monty being involved until recent weeks but he is now favourite to take charge at Gleneagles.

Paul McGinley is Motgomerie’s only real contender now Darren Clarke is out of the running, and if Monty is chosen he will have the chance to win back-to-back Ryder Cups which was last achieved by Tony Jacklin when he won in 1985 & 1987.

Without doubt Paul McGinley would make a great captain and has done a great job as vice captain in recent years but I think Monty will get the job after such a spirited comeback last year and of course his tremendous record as a Ryder Cup player to boot.

 

A Great Year Of Golf

Well it’s been a gripping season and we’ve seen some amazing moments. The majors have been fantastic, at The Masters we saw Bubba Watson play a miraculous shot from the trees in a play-off against Louis Oosthuizen to win his first major title. Webb Simpson held off Graeme McDowell to win the US Open. The Big Easy clinched victory at Royal Lytham after Adam Scott crumbled under pressure and of course the young unstoppable Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy won the The US PGA by an amazing eight shots!

The Ryder Cup was the highlight of the year for me, it was just an incredible performance in hostile conditions in Chicago. The team all pulled together and produced the greatest comeback in sporting history after an amazing performance from Ian Poulter in the fourballs on the Saturday evening.

Also we’ve had the whole debacle over the long putter which looks like it is going to be outlawed in 2016 and is going to change the game massively in my opinion seeing that a lot of top players in the world use them. Will they carry on using it up until 2016? Or will they try and make the change early to prepare for the change? I’m sure it will all become clear next year!