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[kwinigolfer]

First topic message reminder :

There . . . .

[navyblueshorts]

I still am pretty unsure who the candidates for Captain would be? Westwood? Poulter, MAJ? Bjorn? Too early for Westwood and Poulter probably.

I'd imagine Bjorn has to be a front runner, but I have no clue how he gets on with his peers.
Would think MAJ would be pretty good; at least he'd have everyone relaxed and chugging Rioja...

Has Olazabal ever shown an interest? Too removed now?

Olazabal was Captain at Medinah or did you forget?

Well duh! Obviously I forgot.

[navyblueshorts]

Justin Rose with a moan about the easy course set up. However, it comes across as sour grapes. Basically, what he's saying is that his putting isn't very good so easy pin positions cancels out his superior ball striking.

The course is the same for both teams, nothing wrong with the US setting up the course to their advantage.

His putting was utter pants actually and to cap it all, he left his must make putt on 18 from ~15(?) foot short! Not great.

[navyblueshorts]

...Europe's team lacked depth...

Really? Not sure I agree. One or two of the players didn't meet their own high standards and America simply played a bit better. The only one I thought looked out of his depth (and that's probably just my perception from the TV), was Fitzpatrick. He's clearly an excellent player though and he'll have learnt a lot I would guess.

[raycastleunited]

Really Navy? I thought the US strength in depth was decisive. If the competition was 8v8 Europe might have threatened.

[TRUSSMAN66]

To be honest the USA had a better team.......All credit to the Europeans they tend to punch above their weight.......and the USA below theirs

But it can't keep happening...............Wood and Bello should have played saturday pm...

Thought the singles line up was a little top heavy for the blue team.......You can't expect four rookies at the back end to pull you through.....They'd hardly played..

Wood played well Saturday am and played well against Dustin..........He should have been top 6 and maybe Rose who wasn't firing moved down to add weight at the back end.....

Easy to play monday morning quarterback though...

Clarke certainly lacked the engaging and bubbly persona of Mcginley who I imagine was great to play for..

[kwinigolfer]

Well played TRUSS, See you again in two years! Hope the US Team's French is bon.

[TRUSSMAN66]

Well played TRUSS, See you again in two years! Hope the US Team's French is bon.

Might do the Solheim......

Take care buddy.,.

[navyblueshorts]

Really Navy? I thought the US strength in depth was decisive. If the competition was 8v8 Europe might have threatened.

You're probably right I guess. Simple numbers i.e. average OWGR position etc.

[McLaren]

Europe only lacked depth due to poor form during the week. If everyone had played to near their best only Sulli and Wood would have been lacking the quality of the other players in the event.


Super

Lawrie should get the captaincy for Paris.

[GPB]

Lawrie should get the captaincy for Paris.  

Keeping it in the GBI Good Ole Boy family.

[super_realist]

Why should Lawrie get the Captaincy Mac? Don't just make a statement and then not express why. You might as well say Jean Van De Velde should get the captaincy. He's a European after all.

What qualities do you think Lawrie has that make him good for the position? I've heard he's not that popular on tour.

[kwinigolfer]

Bjorn for me. Too early for Furyk? Or will they twist his arm??

Mac keeps rabbitting on about Wood's alleged poor quality but he won his match w/Rose and took DJ all the way on a day when Dustin must have holed more feet in putts than anyone else on the course.
Thought Woody came out of the week with reputation enhanced.

[GPB]

I made this point earlier but I didn't see any feedback.

Most of you think Clarke made the right the choice when he picked Westwood, with the fact there were 5 rookies that made the team on merit.

Does anyone actually think that Clarke would not have picked Westwood if Poulter, GMAC, Casey, and Donald had made the team instead of Sully, Fitz, RCB and Wood.

Given that Westwood was 12th & 15th in the standings, IMO there was no way Clarke was going to leave Westy off the team.

[navyblueshorts]

I made this point earlier but I didn't see any feedback.

Most of you think Clarke made the right the choice when he picked Westwood, with the fact there were 5 rookies that made the team on merit.

Does anyone actually think that Clarke would not have picked Westwood if Poulter, GMAC, Casey, and Donald had made the team instead of Sully, Fitz, RCB and Wood.

Given that Westwood was 12th & 15th in the standings, IMO there was no way Clarke was going to leave Westy off the team.

I'd tend to think that's a good assessment.

[super_realist]

Westwood has now played in 10, so that sort of experience could have been seen as invaluable due to the 6 debutants present.
Clarke would have looked very clever had Westwood played well, unfortunately it didn't turn out that way. I still think it was important, but had GFat, Poulter or Donald been in there instead of one of the rookies, I would have been tempted to take a punt on Kjeldsen.

[kwinigolfer]

Don't think there was any way he'd leave Westwood behind after his T2 at Augusta, plus his excellent showing for three rounds at Oakmont. His short putting was always going to be an issue, but his partners didn't play well either, though Pieters showed the spark that Rory ignited.
And his singles loss was to an eagle, birdie, par finish when his play was decent.
Regardless, it didn't work out, c'est la vie, but it will be very difficult for anyone else to "pick" him, so presumably his great RC career is over.

[Faldono1fan]

Kwini - Agree completely with your comment on Woody. Left out completely on the 1st day.Accepted it. Was introduced in foursomes and played great with Rose. Left out in the afternoon where I think DC lost us a chance to win and the 4 birdies in the first 5 holes against DJ who holed a mile of putts, but still took him down 18. Not sure what "quality" he is lacking apart from in Mac's very small brain.

[kwinigolfer]

Hi Nick,
Most important thing now is how the English debutants learn from their experience and kick on.

Message to Woody: Keep healthy!

[Faldono1fan]

Pedro - How the hell was Wood the weakest link? He played twice and won a point and at least fought for the other. Hr never got a chance in the easier fourball format like others did.Agree that RCB played well (To my surprise) , but some bloody stupid comments being made on here. No wonder I don't bother much with this forum.

[Faldono1fan]

Agreed Kwini. One thing is for sure. They will not face a more hostile environment.

[Davie]

Without the benefit of hindsight, Westwood was a good pick. However he won't get another. I suspect we've seen the last of Westwood, Donald, Gmac, Poulter, Kaymer etc unless they can play themselves into automatic qualifying. Rose, Sergio and Stenson could still get a captain's pick if they didn't make it automatically (McIlroy too should the unthinkable happen). Pieters, RCB, Sully, Fitz, Woody, Willett not yet ready to be even considered as a pick if they don't qualify automatically.

[McLaren]

Faldo

I just meant to say that Wood and Sulli playing at their best wouldn't guarantee a point.

[Guest]

I'd fully expect to see McIIroy, Stenson, Rose, Pieters, Garcia, RCB & Kaymer making 2018. Some people writing some off already, like their OAP's. Be amazed if a motivated Dubuisson doesn't turn his game around for a home Ryder Cup appearance. Thorbjorn Olsen, Fitzpatrick & Jon Rahm should develop over the next two years & could make the team too. Someone like Bernd Wiesberger could be an interesting name to add to the mix, seeing as he's won the Open de France at the Le Golf National course, so has previous. Expect Poulter to be hanging around like a bad smell for a spot too, don't really see him getting an automatic slot.

[pedro]

Pedro - How the hell was Wood the weakest link? He played twice and won a point and at least fought for the other. Hr never got a chance in the easier fourball format like others did.Agree that RCB played well (To my surprise) , but some bloody stupid comments being made on here. No wonder I don't bother much with this forum.

Chill down nick. It was in response to the statement that all/most English players performed badly. My point was just that it wasn't a surprise.

PS. I doubt you find a better forum than this...

[pedro]

Bjorn must be a lock for the 2018 gig.

[GPB]

Does Jon Rahm have any interest in joining the Euro Tour?

Does the EuroTour have any interest in Jon Rahm?

IMO, legitimate questions because he hasn't played in any of the Euro Events during the FEX Playoffs (and WTF) Tournaments. He was not eligible to play either the FEX or the WTF so it would have made a lot of sense for the EuroTour during the last 5 weeks. And he is not in the field for this week's Dunhill Links or next week's British Masters.

[I'm never wrong]

Does the EuroTour have any interest in Jon Rahm?

I agree it is a legitimate question GPB. I would hope that there is a person (or better still a team) that "looks after" new and prospective members at ET HQ. I know players will have agents etc, but it would be a nice touch if the ET just contacted rookie players and prospective players like Rahm to see if they were OK with their schedules, or anything else. If not the ET itself, how about a rep from the players committee?

Wishful thinking?

[super_realist]

Does Jon Rahm have any interest in joining the Euro Tour?

Does the EuroTour have any interest in Jon Rahm?

IMO, legitimate questions because he hasn't played in any of the Euro Events during the FEX Playoffs (and WTF) Tournaments.  He was not eligible to play either the FEX or the WTF so it would have made a lot of sense for the EuroTour during the last 5 weeks.  And he is not in the field for this week's Dunhill Links or next week's British Masters.

To be fair, Rahm only turned professional this year, it's a little too early for him to be trying to dictate his schedule and deciding how many events he wants to play and where,  more likely he's looking at consolidating his position to make sure he can play a full schedule next year and maximise the major appearances he can, and after that, who knows.

He doesn't have to even think about RC until September 2017.

[Faldono1fan]

Pedro - I expected them to do well, but agree with you to an extent. Westwood and Willett performed poorly. Beyond that Sullivan had to sit out 3 matches after playing the first one, Fitz and Wood had to sit out the first day and Rose putted poorly. Three of them were not given a vast amount of opportunity. My point about Wood is still valid. He was not a weak link. Willett and Westwood were.

Beg to differ on the forum front. I have made life long friends from another forum. The characters on here just seem to talk rubbish 99% of the time.

[navyblueshorts]

Pedro - I expected them to do well, but agree with you to an extent. Westwood and Willett performed poorly. Beyond that Sullivan had to sit out 3 matches after playing the first one, Fitz and Wood had to sit out the first day and Rose putted poorly. Three of them were not given a vast amount of opportunity. My point about Wood is still valid. He was not a weak link. Willett and Westwood were.

Beg to differ on the forum front. I have made life long friends from another forum. The characters on here just seem to talk rubbish 99% of the time.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out...

[MontysMerkin]

Pedro - I expected them to do well, but agree with you to an extent. Westwood and Willett performed poorly. Beyond that Sullivan had to sit out 3 matches after playing the first one, Fitz and Wood had to sit out the first day and Rose putted poorly. Three of them were not given a vast amount of opportunity. My point about Wood is still valid. He was not a weak link. Willett and Westwood were.

Beg to differ on the forum front. I have made life long friends from another forum. The characters on here just seem to talk rubbish 99% of the time.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out...

Nice one navy, pretty much confirms what he thinks, are you about 12 or something?

[navyblueshorts]

Pedro - I expected them to do well, but agree with you to an extent. Westwood and Willett performed poorly. Beyond that Sullivan had to sit out 3 matches after playing the first one, Fitz and Wood had to sit out the first day and Rose putted poorly. Three of them were not given a vast amount of opportunity. My point about Wood is still valid. He was not a weak link. Willett and Westwood were.

Beg to differ on the forum front. I have made life long friends from another forum. The characters on here just seem to talk rubbish 99% of the time.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out...

Nice one navy, pretty much confirms what he thinks, are you about 12 or something?

Yeah right.

Let me see - he suggests 99% of everything here is "rubbish" (clearly nonsense but, obviously, he knows better as he's Butch Harmon, Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin all rolled into one) and I would guess the forum where he's made "life long friends" is simply somewhere that people agree with him. If someone doesn't like having another person disagree with them on a web forum, I suggest they're a little too sensitive to be anywhere near them in the first place.

I actually agree with his earlier comments re. Wood etc in the recent RC, but he's clearly a little sensitive. Ah well...

[MontysMerkin]

Well that should encourage him back then.

[Faldono1fan]

Not really sensitive TBH. Just frustrated that people were saying even before the event that having 6 rookies would be an issue. Now automatically it's "I told you so". Maybe it was part of the problem, but by no means all of it. I actually agreed with the picks, but Kaymer (apart from the last day) and Westwood didn't perform and even Rose and Stenson were not up to their usual quality. Actually Pieters and RCB (2 rookies) were the best players. Part of this is because they were given a chance. Pieters played all 5 and RCB 3.

The guys on the other forum constantly disagree with me especially about Sir Nick, but the banter is different to here.

Maybe I was harsh when I said 99%.More like 98%

[LadyPutt]

I think 99% is a bit of an exaggeration but I do agree with him to an extent. Many of the posters on here are sensible and enjoy a good debate when Mac and S-R get going it does tend to turn some of us off reading for a while and I for one don't bother joining in the discussion because of the tone tends to it take.

[kwinigolfer]

Nick,
We'll be striving to bring that down to 97%, hope you stick around.

[raycastleunited]

Kwini I think we need to be ambitious and set a stretch target of 95%.

[raycastleunited]

And his [Westwood's] singles loss was to an eagle, birdie, par finish when his play was decent.

Not sure I agree with this...

16. Yes you are probably going to lose the hole if your opponent rolls one in for eagle (unless you are Reed or McIlroy).
17. Lee missed the green with his tee shot. A hole described by Rose as an easy 9 iron to an easy pin in the middle of the green.
18. Lee drove it into a bunker, then missed the green with a wedge into another bunker, then hit a clumsy bunker shot no where near the hole.

You can hardly describe his play as decent. I've been a fan of Lee for many years, but he was woeful all weekend: SKY website rates his performance as 1/10.

[kwinigolfer]

Ah, We didn't see Westwood's shot into #17, were just told his par had been conceded (whether that's accurate or not). And agree he butchered 18.
Just felt that losing to -3 over the last 3 holes wasn't cataclysmically bad, and that others on both sides had done a lot worse.
golfchannel.com gave Westwood an F, about the same as SKY then, and doubt he'd disagree.

[GPB]

To be fair, Rahm only turned professional this year, it's a little too early for him to be trying to dictate his schedule and deciding how many events he wants to play and where,  more likely he's looking at consolidating his position to make sure he can play a full schedule next year and maximise the major appearances he can, and after that, who knows.

He doesn't have to even think about RC until September 2017.

Huh? Look what happened Russell Knox. A big fat snub from the 2016 Euro RC Team. Its obvious that he was never seriously considered as a Captain's pick.

Jon Rahm needs to start kissing some serious arse if he wants to be part of the Euro RC family. He has to show that he is committed to the EuroTour. He needs to start forging relationships with the Good Ole Boy Euro Ryder Cup committee.

[kwinigolfer]

And how many RC's has "the Good Ole Boy RC committee" won in the last 20+ years?

Two-way street GPB, There needs to be much stronger communication from both sides as the ET strives for its own identity - and both sides should start NOW!

[GPB]

Kwini: Strawman argument. I am just saying that the Good Ole RC Boys seldom venture out of the Pipeline and Players have to find a seam to crash it. If Jon Rahm wants to be considered for a Captains pick for the 2018 team, he needs to start laying the foundation right away.

========================

Comparing Scorecards for Match Play is not always the wisest thing as players are playing their opponent and not the golf course, but here is how each of the 24 players stood against par on Sunday

Zach -3
Kuch -3
Brooks -6
DJ -5
Sneds -5
Moore -2
Phil -9
Walker -3
Rickie -2
Holmes -2
Jordan -3
Reed -5

Fitz +2
Martin -4
Willett E
Wood -4
Sully -1
Westy -2
Sergio -9
RCB -5
Rose -1
Pieters -4
Stenson -7
Rory -4

[super_realist]

Kwini:  Strawman argument.  I am just saying that the Good Ole RC Boys seldom venture out of the Pipeline and Players have to find a seam to crash it.  If Jon Rahm wants to be considered for a Captains pick for the 2018 team, he needs to start laying the foundation right away.  

I'm not sure I get this GPB, he can't start collecting points until September 2017 and the Captain also won't be named until around that time, so what is the point in Rahm making European appearances now? It counts for nothing and there is no one there to notice.

Give the guy a break, he just turned pro THIS YEAR, he has priorities in maintaining status and getting entry for Majors before worrying about an event which is two year off and for which the accumulation of points has not yet started.

[wiretapper]

Hey guys, how are you all?

I decided to stay away from all social media / forums etc for the weekend so I could concentrate on the golf on show and although as a European it was a tough watch some of the golf on display especially from the USA was fantastic.

On a whole the USA played exceptionally well and fully deserved their victory so well done and a massive congrats from me

Just on a couple of the other points currently being discussed; I am a big fan of Lee Westwood. I wanted him to be a Captain's pick and I still think with the number of rookies in the team plus his record he was a correct one. However even I cannot defend his play over the weekend, he was woeful. Is this the end of his Ryder Cup career? Well unless he experiences a Hale Irwin type Indian summer then yes at least as a player. I fully expect him to be a Captain in the near future though.

As for Jon Rahm I recall an interview with one of the skycart folks after one of his good showings in the summer and he was adament that he wanted to represent Europe in the RC in the future. He stated that he would have to work out a schedule that suited but he was well aware what had to be done and that he definitely wanted to play as soon as it was possible.

Finally a quick word on the site. I am new here joining in the summer and the reason I did is because although the other forum I am on is very much football centric and although it does have a golf section it was very quite. The Open thread for example ended with 16 posts more than half of which were mine.

So remembering some of the folks on here from the old beeb days I joined this and on a whole it is very good. I am not a prolific poster but I do come on most days and read what is being said and I pick up a lot from what is happening in the world of golf.

However sometimes it does drop to playground level with insults and accusations being traded between some posters which is very off putting. There is nothing wrong with not agreeing with someone and debating it's just that the manner which it is done on here occasionally reminds more on the foorball fans on my other forum.

[GPB]

I'm not sure I get this GPB, he can't start collecting points until September 2017 and the Captain also won't be named until around that time, so what is the point in Rahm making European appearances now? It counts for nothing and there is no one there to notice.

Give the guy a break, he just turned pro THIS YEAR, he has priorities in maintaining status and getting entry for Majors before worrying about an event which is two year off and for which the accumulation of points has not yet started.

Rahm won't be accumulating ANY POINTS unless he is a member of the Euro Tour.  Knox didn't start accumulating RC points until after he won the HSBC tournament and joined the EuroTour.

And just how is going to become a EuroTour member if he doesn't start playing the EuroTour.  Is Pelley going to give him a honorary membership?

[super_realist]

I'm not sure I get this GPB, he can't start collecting points until September 2017 and the Captain also won't be named until around that time, so what is the point in Rahm making European appearances now? It counts for nothing and there is no one there to notice.

Give the guy a break, he just turned pro THIS YEAR, he has priorities in maintaining status and getting entry for Majors before worrying about an event which is two year off and for which the accumulation of points has not yet started.


Rahm won't be accumulating ANY POINTS unless he is a member of the Euro Tour.  Knox didn't start accumulating RC points until after he won the HSBC tournament and joined the EuroTour.

And just how is going to become a EuroTour member if he doesn't start playing the EuroTour.  Is Pelley going to give him a honorary membership?

Yes, but what's the point in joining the ET if he CAN'T accumulate points YET? Points don't start being counted until then, so why does he need to bother NOW?

You also seem to be ignoring he turned pro about 5 minutes ago. Give the guy a minute to get his bearings before he starts juggling tours for a way off tournament.

[GPB]

Super:

Just how do you think Rahm is going to get EuroT membership in September 2017 without playing any events?

He is 21 years old and he has not played a tournament in 7 weeks. He is playing next week in Napa and then presumably will be off for 2 more weeks as I don't think he is qualified for HSBC and CIMB on the PGATour.

IMO, he should have played at least twice on the Euro Tour in this hiatus.

Do you think some Leprechaun is magically bestow membership upon Jon Rahm in September 2017?

[super_realist]

No I don't, but he doesn't need to be playing any ET tour events RIGHT NOW as you seem to be asserting he does.  He can join for the 2017 season, but in terms of RC points, nothing before September 2017 counts for points anyway.

There's no rush for Rahm.

[GPB]

He can join for the 2017 season,

How?

[kwinigolfer]

GPB,
The only thing I would say is that perhaps Rahm needed a breather following the College season and then the whirlwind effort to secure his Tour card.
If I were him I'd get myself in as secure a position as possible over the next six weeks on the PGA Tour - if he felt he needed to be as fresh as possible to be at his best for the Safeway, fair enough.

Nice piece on Seamus Power from the web.com PGA Tour webpages:

http://www.pgatour.com/webcom/news/2016/10/04/seamus-power-path-to-pga-tour.html

That'll be two Irish accountants on the PGA Tour then, and no I'm not referring to Shane.

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