| |
All about Ryder
Posted: Friday September 10, 1999 07:20 PM
Click here to send a golf question to Alan Shipnuck. Thank God for this previously scheduled Ryder Cup column, or else I would have to wade through all the drivel that poured in after Mike Weir's victory up north. I'll check in from Beantown prior to the Cup, so consider this an appetizer sampler of sorts, not the main entrée. I recently won a Ryder Cup golf bag in a drawing at a pro-am I played. It has "United States," the Ryder Cup logo and "The Country Club" on it. It's not something I would use to play golf with, just for show in my den. I'd love to have the players (at least some of them) sign it. What do you think my chances are and how would you suggest I go about it? I live only 30 miles from the course. P.S. I'd even consider giving it to charity if I could get it
signed.
Jim, your chances of getting any autographs the week of the Ryder Cup are somewhat less than the chances of Marge Schott becoming the next Spice Girl. Virtually every minute of the players' week is prescheduled, and due to the stress of the event (and this year, no doubt, the bad press that has preceded it) the golfers are even less accommodating than usual. Since they are already, ahem, donating their time, your charity bag is going to get very little consideration (not that any of us believed your little P.S. anyway). Your best bet for autographs is to go to another PGA Tour event and approach the players there. In general the best time to nabs John Hancocks is during the Tuesday or Wednesday practice rounds. Those are far more mellow. Good luck in your noble quest, and if you don't have any luck, send the bag to New York and I'll get some CNNSI.com staffers to sign it for you. I will be attending the Ryder Cup and would like your advice on the
following: 1) best method for viewing the event, i.e., picking one hole,
moving
around or a hybrid; 2) your overall prediction for the match, as well as your
predictions for some of the individual players; and 3) the best places in the
Boston area for extracurricular activities. Maybe I will run into you at The
Country Club or out on the town. And let me know if you need a fourth for the
round I am sure you will be playing following the
event.
1) The Ryder Cup is in no way like a full-field Tour event, where sometimes the most fun is hanging out at an interesting hole and watch all the golfers roll through. The only way to appreciate the matches at a Ryder Cup is to strap on your running shoes and follow them to their completion. Pick the most compelling matchup from each session and watch every shot. Watching a match is like a novel; you have to let the character and the plot unfold gradually, and hope it builds to a satisfying end (stroke-play events are like TV; if you don't like what's on just skip around). If a match is really one-sided you can always jump ahead or behind one hole to catch another, but I would resist the urge, because as soon as you abandon a match that is when it will turn transcendent. 2) I'm going to defer this til the end of the 'Bag, to create some overwhelming suspense. 3) The best place in the Boston area for extracurricular activities will be the downtown Sheraton, a.k.a. media headquarters. Rumor has it each room will be equipped with its own keg. As for being my fourth, Joseph, let's just say you shouldn't hold your breath. Three quickie Ryder Cup questions for you: 1) When do players start
accumulating points for the next Ryder Cup in 2001? 2) Your quick analysis of
Ben Crenshaw's and Mark James' captain picks? (I'm surprised Bernhard
Langer was
left off.) 3) I like Sergio Garcia, but do you think he has enough "hot
dog" in him to piss off the American team (especially Tiger Woods) just a
tad?
1) Mercedes Championships, 2000. The rest of this season is a dead zone. This can have unfortunate consequences. When David Duval won three straight tournaments in the fall of 1997, all after the Ryder Cup, he didn't earn one point. 2) I love Crenshaw's choices. Steve Pate and Tom Lehman are perfect -- old-school grinders, shotmakers well suited to TCC, and fiery competitors who won't hesitate to get in the grill of some of the U.S.'s whiny young kids. The only other possibility was Fred Couples, but didn't he retire two years ago? As for James, Jesper Parnevik was a no-brainer. He made a mile of clutch putts at Valderrama, has been in top form for much of the year, and is wildly popular with the other players. Andrew Coltart, however, could be James' albatross. On a personal level I really like Andy -- last May, while doing a feature on him and his brother-in-law, Lee Westwood, we hung out quite a bit in England and he is a solid dude. But as a player he has some serious holes in his résumé. For a guy who garners so many top-10's on the Euro tour, Coltart almost never wins, which to me is a major red flag. Likewise, he came unglued down the stretch of the qualifying, slipping from eighth to 12th over the final month. Coltart does everything pretty well but nothing great. He's like an NBA post player without a go-to move move. I could see his game breaking down under the pressure. I, too, would have taken Langer, who has a terrific record in the Ryder Cup and has been solid throughout the year, despite not winning. 3) Sergio's cool. He has an effect on other players like Shigeki Maruyama, who's ebullience at the Presidents Cup actually charmed the Americans, even as they were getting smoked. He is too Old World to do anything truly obnoxious, so I don't think it'll be a problem. O.K., no more three-pronged questions. If I want threesomes I'll watch Spectravision. Given the results of the inaugural Ganter Cup, what do you think
about taking
the top 12 players from the Nike Tour and sending them to Boston to represent
the USA? I believe they would do no worse than the big boys. In fact, I think
they'd do better than the boys on the PGA Tour.
Comments?
Lawrence, I want you to know that they have special programs for people like you. Just because you have obviously sustained massive head injuries doesn't mean you can't live a healthy, fulfilling life. Now, we're going to count this letter as a the first step in you recovery, and therefore I shall refrain from any derogatory comments. O.K., the moment of truth -- the clairvoyant pick as to who is going to prevail at the 33rd Ryder Cup. You know me, I don't like to brag, but it must be said that two years ago I wrote a column in the magazine dissecting the individual records of the vastly favored Americans and came to the conclusion that not only was the team hugely overrated, but that it was likely to be upset at Valderrama. I have rarely written anything so snide, and I later heard that the players were passing the column around on the Concorde. (This begs the question: Don't they have more important things to focus on?) Once again the U.S is a prohibitive fave, but look closely. Of the 12 players on the team only three have won PGA Tour events this year -- Woods, Duval and Payne Stewart. Some players are having downright terrible years -- Mark O'Meara and Davis Love III spring to mind immediately. The bottom line is that a lot of these guys, despite crowding the World Rankings top 20, are all hat and no cattle. I still think -- drumroll, please -- the U.S is going to win, mainly because the Europeans are so ludicrously inexperienced and because The Country Club has been rigged so the U.S. big-hitters can swing away with their drivers. In the long-ball dept. the Americans are clearly superior. The match, however, will be much tighter than people expect, and it is entirely plausible the Euros will steal a victory. Among their lesser-known players, three are very explosive -- Jarmo Sandelin, Paul Lawrie and Darren Clarke. If these guys get off to good starts they could go large (of course, if they struggle early they could also disappear with shocking speed). Also, Colin Montgomerie and Westwood have been playing the best golf in the world this summer save some kid named Woods, and both were stars at Valderrama. They could be emerging as serious go-to guys, especially because of the purity of their ball-striking. The Country Club's greens are smallish and flat and actually rather easy to putt. Everyone is going to be holing putts; the key is going to be getting the ball on the greens and getting it close. And even though José María Olazábal has struggled all summer, he is not a man to be underestimated at the Ryder Cup. Of the 24 men in Beantown he has had not only the most experience but also the most success, and if he inspires the second coming of the Spanish Armada along with Sergio, look out. Despite all the rookies, I like this European team. If they don't win this time around, they should in 2001.
Send your golf questions to Alan
Shipnuck.
| |||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||
