As the 2006 Ryder Cup Turns ***

Should be a jovial team atmosphere in Ireland for the 2006 Ryder Cup! Tiger is now on the record now about Mark O’Meara not getting chosen as Ryder Cup Captain.

"I thought he should have been captain because of the heritage of where he's from," Woods noted redundantly from Japan. "He's Irish so it would have been a perfect fit for him to be Ryder Cup captain."

Mark O’Meara’s about as Irish as Shaquille O’Neal! Come on Tiger.

Meanwhile, Brit and former ASU star Paul Casey blasted Lehman's appointment and said it “could affect the atmosphere of the match. I don't think people on this side of the Atlantic want to see him as captain. We've had a very, very good rivalry since '99 and I think people are afraid that it might bring up a Brookline-type situation at the K Club. Tom's name will always be one of those mentioned when you talk to players who were at Brookline and they all thought the spirit there wasn't right."

Luke Donald defended Casey's remarks and the tension between the two sides: "I think people who are not Americans can get upset with Americans quite easily. They do seem to be very insular. They make rash comments that can really be quite upsetting at times."

Donald offered this rather sound example of just how clueless some American golfers can be these days: "I heard Ryan Palmer, a US amateur champion, say that the Nationwide Tour, the second tour in the US, is the second strongest in the world and that was days after Europe had thrashed the US 18-9 in the Ryder Cup. Those kind of comments force people like Paul to say what he says."

Regarding Casey, Scott Verplank replied: "I didn't know he was a member of our tour but if he's really that uncomfortable or annoyed or anything I don't think anyone would miss him if he went back to England."

These guys are good!

***Update: This story sums up more of Casey's comments in the Sunday Times. It's not pretty!