Europe held off a hard charging U.S. squad to win the Ryder Cup today 14.5 to 13.5. The Americans needed just 14 points to retain the cup, but came up a little short. Phil Mickelson finally came to life, and Tiger Woods played well, but the effort was not matched by the rest of the squad, except for Steve Stricker.
One other bright light was the late charge by Rickie Fowler to get a half point in his match against one of the Molinari brothers. Fowler won 4 of the last 6 holes, including the last three with birdies, to get the half point.
Unfortunately, Hunter Mahan was not up to the task today, as he made only one birdie. Still, he was just 1 down with three to play, but Graeme McDowell closed him out with consecutive birdies on 16 and 17.
Overall, the U.S. performed a bit above expectations and gave the favored European squad all they could handle. Pavin's decision to bury Woods and Mickelson into the depths of the singles lineup may come into question, as they U.S. needed early momentum. Stricker provided some with his victory of Lee Westwood in a match of top 5 players. Unfortunately, it was not enough to get the ball rolling for the U.S.
Scott Cole
www.onlinegolfswingcoach.com
www.powergolftraining.net
Showing posts with label Ryder Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ryder Cup. Show all posts
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Ryder Cup - Session III
Wow, Europe has asserted its will in Session III of the Ryder Cup, winning 5 1/2 points out of 6. Lee Westwood and Luke Donaled trounced Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in the opening match, 6 and 5, and it was all downhill from there. The U.S. should be happy they even picked up a 1/2 point as they were down in all six matches for much of the day.
Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson continue to be the weak links of the squad, as both have lost all of their matches, two while playing together. I have not seen much of the matches, but from what I have seen, Tiger Woods has not helped Steve Stricker much. In the one four ball match, I noted that Tiger's score counted five times and Stricker's score counted 12 times. That does not mean much, but it does say that Tiger was not making many birdies. One shot Tiger hit sticks in my head. He hit a wedge or short iron about 30 yards too long on one shot. That is a fault he had in the two years he spent between working with instructors Butch Harmon and Hank Haney. Looks like distance control is back to being an issue.
Overall, the other players on the U.S. squad have played fairly average. The Europeans seem to have more energy and determination. This is a reflection of the two captains. Pavin has been stoic, Monty has been expressive.
Tomorrow, the U.S. squad will need to pull off their second biggest comeback in history if they want to retain the cup. They need 7.5 points out of 12 to reach 14 points. It is doable, but with Mickelson and Woods not on their game, not likely.
Scott Cole
www.scottcolegolf.com
www.onlinegolfswingcoach.com
Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson continue to be the weak links of the squad, as both have lost all of their matches, two while playing together. I have not seen much of the matches, but from what I have seen, Tiger Woods has not helped Steve Stricker much. In the one four ball match, I noted that Tiger's score counted five times and Stricker's score counted 12 times. That does not mean much, but it does say that Tiger was not making many birdies. One shot Tiger hit sticks in my head. He hit a wedge or short iron about 30 yards too long on one shot. That is a fault he had in the two years he spent between working with instructors Butch Harmon and Hank Haney. Looks like distance control is back to being an issue.
Overall, the other players on the U.S. squad have played fairly average. The Europeans seem to have more energy and determination. This is a reflection of the two captains. Pavin has been stoic, Monty has been expressive.
Tomorrow, the U.S. squad will need to pull off their second biggest comeback in history if they want to retain the cup. They need 7.5 points out of 12 to reach 14 points. It is doable, but with Mickelson and Woods not on their game, not likely.
Scott Cole
www.scottcolegolf.com
www.onlinegolfswingcoach.com
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup matches between the U.S. and Europe begin Friday with the Europeans a heavy favorite to win back the cup. I have to agree with the consensus in that regard. One of the big wild cards of course is whether Tiger has found his game over the last two weeks while continuing his work with Sean Foley. He spoke positively at his news conference today.
The European side looks loaded, but with the glaring exception of Phil Mickelson, the American side is entering the event in pretty good form. Home field advantage to the Europeans though.
On another note, in recent weeks I have been trying to simplify my own golf swing a little bit by simply focusing on what my body is doing during the swing, and forgetting about takeaway positions and the position of my hands at the top. I am trying to swing the arms more behind my body, and then I am trying to be more aggressive with my lower body in the down swing by turning the hips a little more aggressively. The end result has been that I am striking the ball better than I ever have, EVER!
One key test of this swing will come tomorrow. I have not touched a club in a week due to a little time off. I am back at Olney Golf Park tomorrow to practice and give instruction. Normally, I would expect to be a bit off with my ball striking after a little lay off, just due to timing. But, I think I grooved this swing pretty well this time, so we'll see.
Scott Cole
www.onlinegolfswingcoach.com
www.scottcolegolf.com
www.powergolftraining.net
The European side looks loaded, but with the glaring exception of Phil Mickelson, the American side is entering the event in pretty good form. Home field advantage to the Europeans though.
On another note, in recent weeks I have been trying to simplify my own golf swing a little bit by simply focusing on what my body is doing during the swing, and forgetting about takeaway positions and the position of my hands at the top. I am trying to swing the arms more behind my body, and then I am trying to be more aggressive with my lower body in the down swing by turning the hips a little more aggressively. The end result has been that I am striking the ball better than I ever have, EVER!
One key test of this swing will come tomorrow. I have not touched a club in a week due to a little time off. I am back at Olney Golf Park tomorrow to practice and give instruction. Normally, I would expect to be a bit off with my ball striking after a little lay off, just due to timing. But, I think I grooved this swing pretty well this time, so we'll see.
Scott Cole
www.onlinegolfswingcoach.com
www.scottcolegolf.com
www.powergolftraining.net
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