1. Foursomes is better than fourballs - there is no place to hide when you have two balls and four players. If you consistently shank the ball anywhere but the fairway, both you and your partner will suffer. The games move on quicker and are the greatest test of teamwork. Europe benefitted from the form of Ross Fisher when Padraig Harrington struggled in the fourballs because the best individual score counts towards the team, whereas the USA suffered whenever Phil Mickelson addressed the ball.
2. Rain can actually be of benefit - the necessary format changes after the deluges on Days 1 and 3 actually made for a compelling weekend. In particular, Day 2 with the completion of the first round of fourballs followed by 6 foursomes, meaning that all 12 from each side had to turn out for three rounds of golf, making captaincy a relative formality and once again, giving nobody a place to hide
3. Ian Poulter might have had a point - "Just me and Tiger" he said. The famous Poulter foot-in-mouth scenario deepened as he and Fisher fell to Woods and Steve Stricker in the opening round, but from then on, Poulter was unstoppable. If he could translate the form he has shown both at Celtic Manor and Valhalla to the PGA Tour, he perhaps could do great things.
4. No item of clothing featuring the Ryder Cup will ever look good. Ever - those jumpers that the USA wore on the first day.... essentially a knitted cardigan with a massive image of the Ryder Cup on it. Wrong. This after those burgundy shirts in 1999 - Google them.
5. Putts win matches - it may sound obvious, but no matter how good your driving and approach to the green is, you still have to sink the ball from whatever distance you set up, particularly in match play scenarios. The Molinaris showed they lack the skill and the bottle to do so this weekend and as such scored just 1 1/2 points between them.
6. Tiger's still got it... just about - 3 points over the weekend is a pretty good return for a wildcard pick. Although the one defeat to Luke Donald and Lee Westwood in the foursomes was a massive one (6&5). Today's singles showed the Tiger of old, with a massive eagle chip-in on the 12th and some classic putts to see off Francesco Molinari and keep the USA in the hunt. However, these flashes of brilliance are all too brief these days and it's clear that some mental fragility remains.
7. Luke Donald is a star - pretty much everything he touched turned to gold over the weekend. He still has never failed to win a Ryder Cup foursomes match and formed a dream team with Westwood to smash Woods and Stricker. The crowd really took to the Englishman (rare that side of the Severn) and there really is nothing in his game needing major work. Another Brit who now needs to push on in stroke play golf.
8. Graeme McDowall has got some balls - Remember 1991 and the War on the Shore at Kiawah Island? McDowall probably did as Hunter Mahan came up short on the 17th, as the Ryder Cup was wrestled back to the fair side of the Atlantic by the narrowest of margins. Knowing that the entire campaign rests upon your shoulders cannot be easy, but McDowall showed the stronger will to reduce the defeated Mahan to tears. Like Donald and Poulter, got better and better as time went on
9. The Ryder Cup is the best golf has to offer - I enjoy the majors and many businessmen enjoy a lazy afternoon playing their own round, but to see 24 of the best battling it out in tense matchplay, showing genuine passion and surrounded by a borderline feverish crowd is just wonderful. It's the team element I think. The Ryder Cup is great and the 2010 edition will go down as one of the best.
10. Wales needs to get over itself - "Bringing the Ryder Cup to Wales" was the message that any Taff would have tried to get across this weekend. I've driven past Celtic Manor. It's a dive. I put my foot down to take it out of my eyeline. This golf course was designed specifically for this weekend - to serve the business interests of one man, not the Welsh nation (cough, principality). Now, enough of your delusions of grandeur!
RM
2. Rain can actually be of benefit - the necessary format changes after the deluges on Days 1 and 3 actually made for a compelling weekend. In particular, Day 2 with the completion of the first round of fourballs followed by 6 foursomes, meaning that all 12 from each side had to turn out for three rounds of golf, making captaincy a relative formality and once again, giving nobody a place to hide
3. Ian Poulter might have had a point - "Just me and Tiger" he said. The famous Poulter foot-in-mouth scenario deepened as he and Fisher fell to Woods and Steve Stricker in the opening round, but from then on, Poulter was unstoppable. If he could translate the form he has shown both at Celtic Manor and Valhalla to the PGA Tour, he perhaps could do great things.
4. No item of clothing featuring the Ryder Cup will ever look good. Ever - those jumpers that the USA wore on the first day.... essentially a knitted cardigan with a massive image of the Ryder Cup on it. Wrong. This after those burgundy shirts in 1999 - Google them.
5. Putts win matches - it may sound obvious, but no matter how good your driving and approach to the green is, you still have to sink the ball from whatever distance you set up, particularly in match play scenarios. The Molinaris showed they lack the skill and the bottle to do so this weekend and as such scored just 1 1/2 points between them.
6. Tiger's still got it... just about - 3 points over the weekend is a pretty good return for a wildcard pick. Although the one defeat to Luke Donald and Lee Westwood in the foursomes was a massive one (6&5). Today's singles showed the Tiger of old, with a massive eagle chip-in on the 12th and some classic putts to see off Francesco Molinari and keep the USA in the hunt. However, these flashes of brilliance are all too brief these days and it's clear that some mental fragility remains.
7. Luke Donald is a star - pretty much everything he touched turned to gold over the weekend. He still has never failed to win a Ryder Cup foursomes match and formed a dream team with Westwood to smash Woods and Stricker. The crowd really took to the Englishman (rare that side of the Severn) and there really is nothing in his game needing major work. Another Brit who now needs to push on in stroke play golf.
8. Graeme McDowall has got some balls - Remember 1991 and the War on the Shore at Kiawah Island? McDowall probably did as Hunter Mahan came up short on the 17th, as the Ryder Cup was wrestled back to the fair side of the Atlantic by the narrowest of margins. Knowing that the entire campaign rests upon your shoulders cannot be easy, but McDowall showed the stronger will to reduce the defeated Mahan to tears. Like Donald and Poulter, got better and better as time went on
9. The Ryder Cup is the best golf has to offer - I enjoy the majors and many businessmen enjoy a lazy afternoon playing their own round, but to see 24 of the best battling it out in tense matchplay, showing genuine passion and surrounded by a borderline feverish crowd is just wonderful. It's the team element I think. The Ryder Cup is great and the 2010 edition will go down as one of the best.
10. Wales needs to get over itself - "Bringing the Ryder Cup to Wales" was the message that any Taff would have tried to get across this weekend. I've driven past Celtic Manor. It's a dive. I put my foot down to take it out of my eyeline. This golf course was designed specifically for this weekend - to serve the business interests of one man, not the Welsh nation (cough, principality). Now, enough of your delusions of grandeur!
RM
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