I watched some of the opening ceremonies for the Ryder Cup Matches yesterday. Why does everything like this end up being some kind of spectacle? Instead of simply introducing all the team members and having a bit of congratulatory talk, it became a huge extravaganza which lasted far longer than my patience would tolerate. The end-all was a concert with such “appropriate” songs as Tracks of My Tears. I’m sure that got the two teams pumped up for competition!
As I write, the premier match of the entire competition has begun. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson against Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington. If the matches can offer this much power throughout the weekend, it will be the best Ryder Cup of all time. Montgomerie hasn’t played well of late, but is a tenacious competitor in Ryder Cup play. On the other hand, Tiger has begun to play well, but hasn’t fared well in Cup matches. Both Harrington and Mickelson should stabilize their teams, and I would expect this match to go 18 holes. As I checked the scores just now, they have teed off and all four missed the fairway with their drives.
This morning the teams will play Four-Ball, what most people call better-ball. That is, each player plays his own ball, and the team uses the better score of the two for that hole. It is match play, so scoring is based on which team wins each hole. They play only enough holes to decide a winner. If one team is two holes ahead with only one hole to play, the match is over and the score is recorded as 2 and 1. If one team wins the first ten holes, they win the match 10 and 8, and play ends. If they are tied after seventeen holes, a team winning the eighteenth hole wins the match 1 up. “Dormie” means that in a match, one team need only tie the remaining holes to win the match.
This afternoon, the teams will play Foursome, which is sometimes called alternate shot. Each team plays a single ball and the players take turns hitting. Prior to the match, teams decide which player will tee off on even-numbered holes, and his partner will tee off on the odd-numbered holes. The match is scored the same way.
These formats continue on Saturday, with singles matches to finish the competition on Sunday. Each team has 12 members, and Hal Sutton has said he will play all 12 Americans today. With eight players each session, both captains must make the call on who plays and who sits. On Sunday, all 24 players will be on the course.
It is still exciting to me. I intend to use a lot of internet time today keeping track!
I think I know why the US team did so poorly on Friday: they’re demoralized by their team shirts. They look like a bunch of McDonald’s managers out there.
Goony as they look, I’m pulling for them to get a comeback rolling.
Comment by Bogey — September 18, 2004 @ 2:32 pm
Mickelson looked terrible. Tiger looked ready to kill.
Comment by Bunker — September 18, 2004 @ 3:06 pm