|
 |
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
History not repeating Leonard, Olazabal unlikely to qualify for Ryder Cup
NEW YORK (AP) -- Six weeks after the infamous putt led to the infamous celebration in the 1999 Ryder Cup, Justin Leonard and Jose Maria Olazabal unwittingly wound up in the same pairing during the final round of the World Golf Championship in Spain. Not surprisingly, fireworks followed. Leonard's bunker shot on the par-3 sixth hole at Valderrama came up short of a ridge and trickled down the hill. The wild cheers from the Spanish gallery camped behind the green only grew louder when Leonard glared in their direction. Ever the gentleman, Olazabal stepped in and lectured the fans for such churlish behavior. Leonard answered by holing the putt -- a 45-footer, the same distance as his Cup-clinching birdie putt at Brookline. History has a funny way of repeating itself. Just don't look for it next month at The Belfry. Leonard and Olazabal appear likely to sit this one out. It seems odd that the two central characters from one of the greatest Ryder Cup controversies would not even be around for the sequel. While the Great American Comeback was marred by a foul-mouthed Boston crowd, allegations of slow play and two captains who decided to capitalize on their roles by writing books, the most memorable scene was played out on the 17th green at The Country Club. On the verge of getting closed out, Leonard rallied to catch Olazabal in the second-to-last match on the course, in much the same way the Americans put together a stunning revival to erase a four-point deficit. Next came the shot heard 'round the world. Leonard's putt rammed into the back of the cup and dropped, setting off a celebration so great that even Tiger Woods was pictured doing something close to a 40-inch vertical leap. Some Europeans still claim American players, caddies -- and worst of all, wives -- were in such a rush to swarm Leonard that they stampeded across the line of Olazabal's 25-foot birdie putt that would have halved the hole. Replays don't bear that out, although it's irrelevant. Olazabal missed the putt. U.S. captain Ben Crenshaw kissed the green. Bitter feelings followed the Europeans home across the Atlantic. "Leading into the Ryder Cup, a lot of people will be talking about Brookline," Jeff Maggert said. "But once the matches get started over there, I think they'll forget about what happened in '99." Perhaps it will be easier to forget with Leonard and Olazabal nowhere to be found. Barring another great comeback, that's likely to be the case. Olazabal is 18th in the Ryder Cup standings, and his chances of making his seventh team are running out. His best hope is to finish in the top five at the PGA Championship (unlikely given the premium on driving accuracy at Atlanta Athletic Club), or to win the Scottish PGA or BMW International in Germany the following two weeks. A more likely scenario is for Sergio Garcia to move from 19th to 10th in the standings and free up a captain's pick. Otherwise, Sam Torrance probably will spend his two captain's picks on Garcia and Jesper Parnevik, a formidable duo at Brookline. Olazabal split time between the PGA Tour and the European tour, and had moderate success on both sides of the pond, winning only the French Open. He remained in America last week for the International, while Colin Montgomerie sealed his spot on the team by winning the Scandinavian Masters in Sweden. Leonard, meanwhile, decided earlier this year to revamp his swing and has rarely been in contention. Just when it appeared his game was coming around for a Ryder Cup run, he missed the cut in the U.S. Open and the British Open. "He's playing better, but when you go through swing changes, you get worse before you get better, and that's what happened to him," U.S. captain Curtis Strange said in what could hardly be described as encouraging words. Leonard is 23rd in the Ryder Cup standings, and needs something just short of a miracle the next two weeks to make his third straight team. Strange does not seem inclined to make him a wild-card selection, not even for sentimental reasons. Not lost on the U.S. captain is that Leonard has never won a Ryder Cup match. Despite that unforgettable image of Leonard thrusting both arms in the air when his 45-foot birdie putt fell, he wound up halving his match with Olazabal. His record in two Ryder Cups is 0-3-5. His record in two President Cups is 1-6-1. "The world thinks that Justin is automatically on the next team, which obviously is not the case," Strange said. "You have to make this team every time. You've got to get the 12 best players for 2001, and right now, Justin is not one of those 12 players." All he is now is a memory.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
