The fate of golf would seem to lie in the hands of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and the United States Golf Association. Can we expect that they will protect and reverence the spirit of golf?
MAX BEHR
It was quite the lively Feherty Live with 2016 Ryder Cup Captains Davis Love and Darren Clarke, a contrast to their bone-dry, are-we-really-talking-about-this-a-year-out press conference earlier in the day.
Telling a Miguel Angel-Jimenez story from the 2010 Ryder Cup:
Looking for a little self-flagellation before the holiday fun starts? I give you Monty's Ryder Cup diary, as published by The Telegraph. I made it up to this point:
We were all in the team-room and I was the only one standing. I always stood when I was speaking. There was silence and although I could sense the players wanted to speak, on this occasion it was just me. This meant the world to them. I knew it did. It meant the world to me.
The Ryder Cup Captain explains a key move he made to take Celtic Manor's 5-foot (!?) long beds with 6-footers. Take that, you tall Americans!
'I looked at the rooms and thought they weren't big enough, so we all got connecting rooms. Then on the Saturday morning we got a removal company in and they brought six-foot beds and took the five-foot beds out.
'We were on the ninth floor and the Americans were on the eighth floor, but they didn't know about it.'
Corey Pavin and his side arrived two days later.
'We also had six physio beds put up on that floor and there were tailors up there as well to make sure all the outfits fitted. It was all laid on.
'You have one hit at this and I wanted to get it right.'
James Corrigan reports that Paul Casey has not only never talked to Colin Montgomerie about his Ryder Cup snub--"I think there's a voice mail somewhere"--but that Monty has been avoiding Casey even in his post-Cup glow.
Casey then revealed that he had expected Montgomerie to seek him out at a pro-am dinner in Shanghai four weeks ago, particularly as the Scot had not only informed the press of his intention but also texted Casey that day. "I saw him there, but then he was gone," said Casey. "He knew where to find me."
When asked if it was strange that they had been at the same function and Montgomerie had failed to make contact, Casey replied with more than a hint of bewilderment. "We also have the same manager," he said.
Perhaps Montgomerie's latest snub is just as well, as it is doubtful Casey would have agreed with his explanation for looking to others at Celtic Manor. Montgomerie cited Casey's unsuitability to the foursomes format, saying it would have "limited his role". That viewpoint plainly baffles, if not angers, Casey.
"I've only lost two foursomes and one of those was against Tiger [Woods] and the other time was when I played with Henrik [Stenson] when we just didn't gel," said the three-times Ryder Cup player. "Otherwise my record with David Howell and Luke [Donald] is 100 per cent. When we won the 2004 World Cup in Seville, Luke and I scored better in the foursomes than in the fourballs, shooting 64-64. So me not being very good at foursomes is nonsense."
In Tim Rosaforte's Golf World Monday column, Ryder Cup Captain Corey Pavin reminds us of his epic media savvy by refusing to let the rain gear incident die.
Pavin's digging in on the subject the way he dug in on Jim Gray at the PGA Championship. "I've tried to go the high road," Pavin said. "But Sun Mountain kind of threw us under the bus [in an interview with the Associated Press], and that's what bothers me."
I remember reading the Doug Ferguson story in question and not posting it here because Reimer's comments seemed consistent with his past remarks, which vindicated the Pavin design as the culprit for the jackets failing.
But I suppose it's this last remark that had the Captainess barking in the Captain's ear!
As it has done for nearly 40 years, Reimers said Sun Mountain will try to make improvements. It is in the running to supply the U.S. Presidents Cup team with rain gear, as it did in 2009. He said the PGA Tour already has asked for samples.
Rest assured, they will not look like the ones in Wales. Reimers said Lisa Pavin, the wife of U.S. captain Corey Pavin, wanted a retro look and was responsible for the design. For the Presidents Cup, he is providing a more conservative look with a small amount of color to accent the garment.
"But no names," he said. "And no stripes."
Now, he is not saying the design caused the suit to fail in any way. He is, however, suggesting that the Captainesses aesthetic concept is not in the cards. Not a big deal. Unless you are married to the designer!
I'm a little behind in my reading and just got to Jason Sobel's engaging Q&A with Hunter Mahan about the Ryder Cup and his post-round emotions.
Q: You're not usually a very outwardly emotional guy. How did it feel to display your emotions like that in public?
A: That's what the Ryder Cup does. It brings a lot out of you that you maybe didn't have before. It's either win or lose. You know, there's no in between. There's no, "Oh, I played well and finished fifth." It's just so much more definitive. Everybody feels it -- Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink. The European team, how much emotion they have. It just brings something out of you that you don't even realize. It grabs ahold of you because it's different than any other tournament. You're playing with a team and cheering on other guys that you usually play against. It's a whole different animal, but it's one of the most amazing tournaments there is.
Dermot Gilleece catches up with Paul McGinley, likely 2014 Ryder Cup Captain and 2010 assistant Captain who shares some behind-the-scenes moments from last week's Cup. There's the inevitable stuff that Captain Monty could have been one of Churchill's generals if he'd just been born a few decades earlier.
But this was fun:
"At Wednesday's gala dinner, we were all lined up to meet Prince Charles," said the Dubliner. "Protocol was explained, whereby you didn't address him unless spoken to and if you did respond, you called him 'Sir.' Fine, I thought. No problem.
"I happened to be at the end of the line of vice-captains and when my moment arrived, Colin Montgomerie introduced me as 'my vice-captain, Paul McGinley.' Whereupon I immediately put out my hand and said: 'Howya. I'm Paul.' Next thing I knew, Sergio Garcia beside me was doubled-up with laughter. Then I started laughing. Then Prince Charles started laughing."
From that point onwards, it became the joke of the European team room. On seeing McGinley, players would come up to him and say "Howya", followed by "I'm Lee" or Ross or Ian or whatever.
Lots of intriguing remarks from Darren Clarke following the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor. Two that stood out:
"When the matches were over, I went back into the locker room," reveals Clarke. "It was a strange time for me actually. All of a sudden I felt completely flat because I wasn't playing. All I had been doing was trying to help. So my job was done.
"Anyway, I went to the locker room. None of the players were there of course, only Jose Maria. He was sitting with his head in his hands. I put my arm round him. He was crying because we had won. And that set me off too. That's how much the whole thing means to him. And that's why he should be the next captain."
And this regarding Clarke's interest in a captaincy reminds us that another weak design looms.
"If at some stage in the future I was asked to be captain, then possibly I may be more suited to America," he continues. "My previous comments about Gleneagles wouldn't go down too well if I were to be captain there. I think those would inevitably be dragged back up again.
"I stand by what I said though. I can't believe - and I love Gleneagles, one of the most beautiful places in the world - why they can't find some back tees on the Kings course and play the Ryder Cup there. If you're playing match play, you don't need a course 7,500-yards long. You just don't. Par is only a number on a card and you don't have cards in match play. All you need is a course set up to provide excitement and birdies.
"I'm a huge fan of the Kings and the Queens. And I think Gleneagles as a whole is great. I just don't get the other course."
Peter Kostis is shocked, shocked the UK papers would feast on Captain Pavin's enlisting of Major Dan Rooney to rev up the troops...err...American Ryder Cup team.
The nastiness and tone of some articles that filled the news vacuum really surprised me. For example, a headline in The Guardian read, "Corey Pavin seeking military help turns Ryder Cup into a nonsense." The article was a criticism of Maj. Dan Rooney, an American fighter pilot and PGA professional who founded the Folds of Honor Foundation (a charity that distributes scholarships to the spouses and children of troops injured or killed in the line of duty) giving an inspirational talk to the team. The headline was sensationalistic nd the story was ridiculous, but it was effective in stirring the pot.
Steve Elling gets a statement out of BBC on Bernard Gallacher injecting himself into Jeff Overton's Ryder Cup match, and pretty much picks it apart.
Among other remarks, he called Overton a "typical American" for not knowing the rules, prompting Ron Overton to confront Gallacher as a means of defending his son. The two engaged in a heated debate. Afterward, Gallacher continued to defend his decision to browbeat the American player and refused to apologize.
Said the BBC in a formal statement:
"During a tense conclusion to the Ryder Cup, highly respected former Ryder Cup player and captain Bernard Gallacher, spoke to American player Jeff Overton and his father regarding a referee ruling. The comment was made off air and didn't interfere with play or the referee's ruling, no offense was intended or taken."
E. Michael Johnson with the exclusive interview of Rick Reimers.
GW: So the media-bashing of Lisa Pavin is off-base?
RR: Absolutely. That is a totally misplaced affair. We knew there was going to be a challenge with the large appliqués and embroidery, but we dealt with that appropriately. We wouldn't have let the suits out the door if we didn't feel we did that.
GW: How long ago did work begin on these outfits?
RR: About three months ago. We did about 20 different designs and prototypes that we showed to Lisa Pavin.
GW: Were there any red flags at all in the process?
RR: We thought the design and the amount of embroidery might make the garment a little heavier and stiffer. We weren't originally happy with that element of the design because the suit is a stretch garment and that takes some of that away from it. But there were no concerns about water getting in. I may have underestimated the kind of rain they would get over there, but I've used the garment in heavy rain fishing in a boat for four hours and had no problems.
GW: There was some talk the players were concerned about the suits during the practice rounds.
RR: Not at all. We had Ann Hughes from our company there nonstop, and she was in communication with Lisa Pavin, and we saw players wearing the suits in the rain and did not hear of any problems, which says to me that in normal rainy conditions the garments performed just fine. But the monsoon-like wind with lots of wind Friday was not normal conditions.
Steve Elling fleshes out the Bernard Gallacher-Jeff Overton incident. Gallacher really comes off poorly in this one.
Overton walked back toward his ball as his father, who had been stationed several yards away with a handful of other American fans, observed the broadcaster speaking to his son in demeaning fashion and stepped in to set Gallacher straight.
"Nose to nose," as Ron Overton described it.
If there is a truism in golf, it's that reporters are on the course to observe, not participate. Unless a player initiates a conversation, it's best to keep your trap shut. Gallacher was so far beyond the pale in antagonizing Overton that he ought to be ashamed of himself. Ron Overton didn't know Gallacher's name, much less his pedigree, until afterward. That only made it worse.
"If he's a former Ryder Cup captain, he ought know better, right?" Ron Overton said. "A ruling is between a player, the second player and the judge. Any player has the right to have a ruling explained to him. Nobody else has the right to say anything to either player."
And this was nice to read...
Ron Overton said he first spoke with Gallacher in a level tone that escalated from there. Fans were reportedly shocked by the exchange, and rightly so. Ron said it was the only cross words he had with anyone the entire trip.
"Please make a point of mentioning that I said that [incident] was the only rudeness we experienced from the 100,000 fans we encountered over the four days we were there," Ron Overton said Wednesday after arriving home in the States. "They have the greatest fans in the world. This was the only poor sportsmanship I witnessed the entire time."
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 07:26 PM