At Least The Ryder Cup Task Force Sessions Allowed Phil To Ask Davis About One Nagging Question From 2012...
While we await next Tuesday's Ryder Cup press conference announcement to confirm that we'll have 18 months of hearing about Davis Love redeeming the 2012 Ryder Cup loss at Medinah (oh joy!), Love is already revealing a few things that came up in the vaunted task force meetings.
If nothing else, it seems, Love and Phil Mickelson finally talked about the curious Sunday hole location that at Medinah's 17th that gave the Americans fits.
Adam Schupak writing for Golfweek from Riviera, where Love is en route to a missed while a potential future Ryder Cupper is missing out on a chance to pick up a few points.
Love fell on his sword then and now, but the captain can only take so much blame when his players failed to earn more than 3 ½ points out of 12 during Sunday’s singles competition. When asked his biggest regret from Medinah, Love said, “There’s about 10. I learned a lot. I learned a lot from Darren Clarke the night after Medinah when we sat around and talked. I learned a lot in the process with the task force. Phil (Mickelson) and I hadn’t really talked about Medinah until the task force. What was great about it is we were very open and honest. He said, ‘What was with the pin on 17?’ I said, ‘I know.’ Why was the pin over on there? We needed it in the middle of the green. We can all hit it on the green. We let tradition stick it on the right. I’m not blaming anybody. I’m blaming myself. We won’t make that mistake again.”
Definitely, especially since the matches are at Hazeltine instead of Medinah.
Anyone else think it's odd it took a task force to clear the air on something as basic about this?
We kicked around the 2012 Ryder Cup course setup topic here and the main takeaway was less about that one hole location and instead, the backfiring of course setup as a way to win when it only inspires the visiting team.
In the weeks after the Cup, Alex Miceli revisited some of these matters with then-former captain Love.
“I don't get mad at whoever is writing articles saying we should have done this, should have done that, because as soon as we get done, we all go inside and we talk about the shots that guys hit; can you believe this guy did that and that guy did that,” Love said after a nine-hole practice round for this week's Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals Open, in which he will play his first competitive tournament in more than a month. “What's hard for me is why you would second‑guess the first two days. I can see second‑guessing Sunday, because we got pounded. But we pounded them the first two days.”
Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 11:41 PM
Reader Comments (22)
In the last 10 matches spanning 20 years, the European team has won 8 times. But they've only won 54% of the actual golf matches over that time (152 points, to 128).
I know there is some serious hand wringing over this, and everyone concludes there is some reason, psychological or other, why the US team is losing so consistently.
I am inclined to think it's just a run of bad luck. Winning close to 50% of the points is what we'd expect. The teams are evenly matched. Match play events with 18 hole matches are subject to some aberrant results as a very short run of hot putting or just one or two bad breaks can decide the match. Even if you believe the US has had stronger teams over the last 20 years (more highly ranked players), the match play format decreases that sort of advantage. If the RC were a 72 hole stroke play cumulative event, I don't think the US team would have lost 8 of the last 10.
If you are a top level touring professional, I don't think you need a "captain" for advice on how to play, and you should be so seasoned as a competitor that it really shouldn't matter who you are paired with. That's why they call you a professional.
It seems to me that the job of the captain should be to make it as easy as possible for the players to perform their best. To make sure they have all the things they want or need, and are shielded from as many distractions as possible.
In short, I think we are making more out of this than is really there. For the foreseeable future, the RC matches will be an event in which very evenly matched teams play a format wherein the unexpected isn't so "un."
Leave the guys alone. They are fine.
What is the PGA thinking? Are they thinking? OMG! Stop the insanity. Just because DLIII showed up for that straw grasping, time wasting, wound licking, lame-o task force meeting, he’s in. OY VEY! I am a firm believer in recycling, but this is ridiculous. Maybe they’ll dig up Pat Paulsen and run him for president next year.
This choice definitely wins the Beyond Stupid award for the year. Well guys, it’s obvious the most prudent course of action is to go with a plan that failed before. No doubt about it. The Euros will never see it coming. Never in a million years will they think we’d be that dumb. It’ll throw ‘em for sure. DLIII is our guy. There’s a long par three with water at Hazeltine National Golf Course. Let’s bring Mark Calcavecchia back as a captain’s pick while we’re at it. Maybe he can try to Jesus one across the ripples like he did against Monty at Kiawah.
It has been hilariously entertaining and equally mind-blowingly frustrating observing the PGA and all the talking heads confabbing on what it takes to win the Ryder Cup. We need to do this, or we need to do that. No. We. Don’t. All we need to do is make more putts. When Patriots coach Bill Belichick is not deflating footballs or spying on opposing teams’ practices, or having the snow plow come out so Adam Vinatieri can hit a game winning field goal, he is telling each member of his team to ‘just do your job, do your job and we will win.’ That’s all winning is about. Bill is doing his job, it’s not easy sucking air out of footballs, the players should do theirs. It is a simple formula: Make more putts, hit the shots that need to be hit and winning will take care of itself. It’s not about pods, it’s not about personalities, golf is a cold hearted game where nothing matters but the number in the little box. That’s all. Anyone who would say differently is deluding him or herself. Put up a number and stop looking for excuses. Stop looking for silver bullets and magic pills, they don’t exist.
But that sort of logic doesn’t seem to be showing up on the U.S. Ryder Cup team horizon any time soon. The voice of reason is apparently napping with Marv Levy.
The easiest thing in the world is to throw stones, criticize the system and leave the answers to someone else. This writer realizes that. So here is what we need to do: First, Hazeltine needs to get a restraining order against anyone with the last name Furyk, Stricker, or Mickelson. Has to happen. They might be awesome players, but they have proven themselves complete and utter duds in Ryder Cup Competition. The second thing this writer would do is have as many first time players as possible. It is time for new blood. Unlike the aforementioned Furyk, Sticker and Mickelson, who needed to wear Depends whenever they were in the hunt against Tiger, the kids coming up are fearless little buggers. Let’s give the Horschels, DJ’s, Fowlers, Reeds, Speiths et al their time in the sun. What can they do, lose? At least they would be gaining all kinds of experience for years to come. Need an older guy? How about Jimmy Walker? While we’re at it, let’s have a captain with some relevancy. How about Tiger Woods? It’s time for him to assume this role. It’s logical and it just might work.
And I have to say the Woods suggestion is, to put it politely, ill-advised. Woods has never shown any inkling that he gives a good damn about anyone or anything aside from himself. A good captain, like a good coach, puts the players in the best position to succeed.
I also find it odd that you list other names that should have a restraining order based on their ryder Cup records, but woods is not one of them. His record in the event qualifies him for the same status.
I am surprised that Mickelson is not complaining about the unfair advantage that Ian Poulter had in respect to Saturday's afternoon pin placements. I mean, after all, he made everything down the back nine. Poulter had to have an advantage!
Many forget that Michelson, Furyk, and Stricker, the veterans of the team ALL lost their singles matches on Sunday. And Tiger grabbed a halve....yeah, yeah, yeah, he might have gotten the whole point if the match had mattered - maybe.. But take a deep look at the performance of the three aforementioned veterans. They were simply out played when it really mattered. No excuses, they got beat on Sunday. No captain can help them once the ball goes on the tee.
Depsite PM's sparkling 3-1-0 record for the week, he and Furyk, Stricker, and Woods combined to return a 4-10-1 record for the week. Without PM's winning marks, the other three "must have on the team" stars were 1-9-1! 1-9-1!!! How much time did the Task Force discuss the poor play of these three veterans? I bet not much.
Now let them l analyze those facts. Best they can come up with is the pin placement on Sunday at #17? Rose found it just perfect!.
That being said, Love is not the problem, nor was he the problem in 2012. Look at the players' records. 1-9-1 speaks volumes That is a winning pct. of 13.6%. .
Now he's asking DL about a pin placement? C'mon PM.
I'm a fan but telling you he's part of the problem. His record sucks and so do the other vets. Not expecting them to play well over next 2 yrs so we'll get some new players on the team. Time for PM, Furyk, Zach, Mahan to move on. Reed is going to turn out to be a stud - love or hate him.
Pro, this is when you would have wished for Teddy B to still be around, maybe he would have been the one to ask that question of those guys. Can't you just see the ones who were at the conference table choking on their water or falling off the chairs? Or Phil on Skype suddenly losing his connection? "Phil? Phil? I think we lost Phil guys."
Had Davis Love III been taking his autism medication on Saturday of the tournament he might have ordered Phil and Keegan to play in the fourth round instead of the proven losing team of Tiger and Steve who went on to lose to Garcia and Donald 1 down. Phil and Keegan had earlier beaten Garcia and Donald 4&3 in the first round. With the likely extra point, there would have been no Euro happy dance on the front lawn at Medinah.
On 2.17.2015 you wrote:
"Also Note Mickelson is the one that "sat" he and Bradley in Chicago and then "feuded" with Watson about being "sat" in Gleneagles." -- Pro from Dover.
Well, Pro, you are not making a completely accurate comparison. In 2012 Phil had played 3 sessions in a row before asking to be "benched" once. In 2014, Phil only played 2 sessions in a row before Watson benched him twice. Most inquiring minds would not call the two situations even close to similar." Joe Duffer 2.17.2015
And on 2.18.2015 you wrote: "Pro From Dover, much respect to your comments about golf. The Euros, as far as my recollection serves, sit every player once in a RC match. If Phil Mick played the fourth round in 2012 it would have exceeded almost all RC precedent." Joe Duffer 2.18.2015
NOW you are saying Love should have made him play? The circumstances you say were not similar, were in fact most similar: THE RYDER CUP!!
WTF!
I did write somewhere that "judging the benching of Phil in 4th round of 2012 RC is difficult." So, I believe that in looking at it from a team perspective, he should have played. Looking from the outside at Phil's perspective, in 2012 RC only Justin Rose and Rory played 5 of 5 rounds, and in 2014 RC only Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy played 5 of 5 rounds. Phil is 20 years older and has scoriatic arthritis, and I believe reports say that he was also speaking for Keegan in the 4th round benching discussion.
I believe that in my criticism of your claim that Phil was inconsistent in his aptitudes toward 2012 and 2014 RC is accurate but I will admit that I overstated the magnitude of your inaccuracy. The difference between playing 4 of 5 rounds in one case and 3 of 5 in another is, well only 1, obviously. As I said, the case of Phil wanting to sit one round out of 5 in 2012 is consistent with the above statistics regarding players usually playing 4 of 5 rounds. In 2014 RC, Phil's complaint about getting benched by El Captain Watson in the 3rd round is correct cuz in 1st round he and Keegan defeated Garcia and McIlroy. Further, Phil's request to sit in 2012 was to avoid playing twice in one day, while Watson's BS excuse that fatigue was the reason to sit Phil in 3rd round ignored the fact that Phil would have had overnight rest before the 3rd and would only play once in day two if he correctly sat out 4th round.
Pro From Dover, you are thinking politically and not factually. Regardless, tip o the hat.