Posts tagged Ryder
Ryder Cup golf’s ‘£82.4m boost to economy of Wales’
Mar 23rd
23 March 2011 Last updated at 15:18 GMT Ryder Cup golf’s ‘£82.4m boost to economy of Wales’ 
Celtic Manor owner Sir Terry Matthews was a prime mover in bringing the Ryder Cup to Wales
The 2010 Ryder Cup in Newport boosted the Welsh economy by £82.4m, according to an economic impact study.
It took into account money spent on and off site, local travel, and any extended stays by visitors.
European Ryder Cup director Richard Hills said such events “deliver considerable direct and indirect benefits to the host nation and venue.”
The survey was jointly funded by the major partners who staged golf’s biggest tournament.
Thousands of visitors helped focus the sporting spotlight on Wales, with the total attendance for the week of the match being 244,000.
The total spend, including multipliers, was £82.4m spent across Wales during the week of the event and this included south east Wales drawing an impact of £74.6m and Newport £28.3m.
The estimate excludes extra spending by visitors associated with the unexpected additional day’s play of the rain-affected tournament.
The study, conducted by IFM Sports Marketing Surveys, involved more than 1,250 face-to-face interviews with spectators during the event, followed by nearly 3,000 online.
This was supported by interviews with 254 volunteers, 400 local Welsh businesses, 50 Welsh golf clubs and 472 local residents.
Of the spectators interviewed, 69% had come from outside Wales, including 7% from the USA and Canada.
The majority of respondents from outside Wales confirmed that they were either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the welcome they received (84%) and said their experience made it more likely they would visit Wales to play golf (61%).
‘Enormous investment’
The findings follow an earlier study which suggested a 21% boost to proceeds from golf tourism in Wales in 2010 to nearly £42m.
Russell Phillips, vice president of facilities and development at the Celtic Manor in Newport, said the returns vindicated the “enormous investment” the venue made in attracting and hosting the Ryder Cup.
“Here at Celtic Manor, we experienced substantial increases in golf and leisure revenues in 2009 and 2010, and we’ve seen a further rise in bookings for 2011,” he said.
“As a nation, Wales has undoubtedly gained huge benefits not only through the direct revenue injected into the economy but also in terms of recognition of the Wales brand globally.”
Newport council leader Matthew Evans welcomed the higher profile the event had given the host city.
“Newport has clearly benefited quite considerably from hosting The 2010 Ryder Cup – not only during the week of the event, as this study shows, but in the run-up and in the longer term.
“Many local businesses gained directly as a result of the event although we always recognised it was not going to bring financial rewards for everyone, especially in view of the economic climate.
“However, the 2010 Ryder Cup has left a number of legacies which will last long into the future including environmental and infrastructure enhancements, new opportunities for our children and worldwide recognition for the city as well as the continuation of the highly successful Newport Festival in 2011.”
From www.bbc.co.uk
Pavin puts Ryder Cup behind him
Feb 17th
Pavin puts Ryder Cup behind him
The redness in Corey Pavin’s left eye was so evident that when a reporter asked him what happened, Pavin playfully covered it with his hand and replied, “What do you mean?”
It was just a case of pink eye, although Pavin would have reason to shed tears this week.
The former US Open champion and Ryder Cup captain played his first PGA Tour event at Riviera in 1980, when he was a 19-year-old at UCLA. Pavin opened with an even-par 71 that day, although he wound up missing the cut.
He played as a rookie in 1984 and has missed only once at Riviera since then – 1993, when his son was born.
Pavin will tee it up at the Northern Trust Open on Thursday for the 29th time, and he understands this could be his last time. He was exempt this year because even though he turned 50 and spent most of 2010 with his Ryder Cup captain duties, he still managed to keep his card by finishing in the top 125 on the money list.
“I don’t know if this will be my last Northern Trust Open. It could be,” Pavin said on Wednesday. “But it’s nice to be back here again.”
In an era where the premium wasn’t always on power, when a track like Riviera demanded players to maneuver shots, Pavin thrived. He won the tournament in 1994 and 1995, becoming the first player since Ben Hogan to win at Riviera in consecutive years.
The good memories far outweigh the bad, although Pavin tries to forget the latter.
The single greatest shot he has hit at the Riv? He had to think for a few minutes before coming up with a shot that meant something to Pavin because of the situation.
It was in 1994, his second shot in the par-4 18th, although he can’t recall whether it was a 2-iron or a 3-iron.
“I knew I needed to hit a good shot to cinch the tournament, and I hit a really good, long iron in the back right corner of the green,” he said. “I knew if I hit a poor shot there, that would have opened the door for Freddie (Couples) to have a chance. So that was probably the best clutch shot I hit here.”
The chances this year? Probably not very good.
Pavin hasn’t made the cut the last three times he has played in the Northern Trust Open. The course has gotten too long, and rain that has made the course soft in recent years hasn’t helped.
Besides, he is ready to move on to compete against guys his own age.
Pavin said Riviera is among only four PGA Tour events he will play this year. The others are The Players Championship, Colonial and the Travelers Championship in Hartford, Connecticut., where a year ago he lost in a playoff.
There’s no point in looking back on memories of Riviera, or anything else, the Ryder Cup included. One reporter had not seen Pavin since he left for Wales and asked his thoughts on the week and what happened.
“We finished second at the Ryder Cup,” Pavin said, showing his dry humor that was never fully appreciated during his captaincy.
He didn’t do much the rest of the year, and is ready to get back to golf on the Champions Tour, where he had two close calls in his rookie season before losing to Couples, and old nemesis, and to Bernhard Langer in the US Senior Open.
A few Ryder Cup memories abound.
Eleven players from his American team are at Riviera this week, the lone exception Tiger Woods. That includes Steve Stricker, the defending champion who eased his way to a two-shot victory last year.
The line-up is shaping up as the strongest field so far this year. Even without the top three in the world ranking – Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Woods – the field boasts five of the top 10 in the world and 16 of the top 30.
From last year’s money list, only three of the top 20 are missing – Ernie Els, Tim Clark and Camilo Villegas, all of whom planned to be at the Northern Trust Open except for nagging injuries.
British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen makes his debut as a PGA Tour member, as does another “rookie” – 41-year-old Robert Karlsson of Sweden, who showed how serious he was about his US membership by moving from Monaco to Charlotte, N.C.
Ryo Ishikawa, the 19-year-old sensation from Japan, also is in the field.
And then there’s Phil Mickelson, who feels he is close to getting his game on track and will try to win at Riviera for the third time.
“I’ve been playing well,” he said. “I’ve got just a slight hurdle to get over where I’ve got to get the scores down to how I feel I’m playing. Some of that will be course management, some of that will just be getting a couple putts to drop, but I feel like I’m right on the cusp of playing some really good golf.”
For Mickelson, the biggest concern is getting to the course.
As usual, he is staying home in San Diego this week and commuting by jet. A few years ago, he crowed when he walked into the door of his house and called his caddie, who was still stuck in traffic on his way to a local hotel.
Mickelson had a slightly tougher time Wednesday, with such low cloud cover that he was forced to land in Van Nuys, adding a half-hour to his flight. He’s not losing any sleep over that one.
“I’m a little concerned the next day or two getting in with some of the low minimums of the clouds,” Mickelson said. “It looks like it’s going to be OK.”
As for his game? Mickelson isn’t worried about that, either.
From supersport.com
Ryder Cup behind him, Pavin back to golf
Feb 17th
LOS ANGELES (AP)
The redness in Corey Pavin’s left eye was so evident that when a reporter asked him what happened, Pavin playfully covered it with his hand and replied, ”What do you mean?”
It was just a case of pink eye, although Pavin would have reason to shed tears this week.
The former U.S. Open champion and Ryder Cup captain played his first PGA Tour event at Riviera in 1980, when he was a 19-year-old at UCLA. Pavin opened with an even-par 71 that day, although he wound up missing the cut.
He played as a rookie in 1984 and has missed only once at Riviera since then – 1993, when his son was born.
Pavin will tee it up at the Northern Trust Open on Thursday for the 29th time, and he understands this could be his last time. He was exempt this year because even though he turned 50 and spent most of 2010 with his Ryder Cup captain duties, he still managed to keep his card by finishing in the top 125 on the money list.
”I don’t know if this will be my last Northern Trust Open. It could be,” Pavin said Wednesday. ”But it’s nice to be back here again.”
In an era where the premium wasn’t always on power, when a track like Riviera demanded players to maneuver shots, Pavin thrived. He won the tournament in 1994 and 1995, becoming the first player since Ben Hogan to win at Riviera in consecutive years.
The good memories far outweigh the bad, although Pavin tries to forget the latter.
The single greatest shot he has hit at the Riv? He had to think for a few minutes before coming up with a shot that meant something to Pavin because of the situation.
It was in 1994, his second shot in the par-4 18th, although he can’t recall whether it was a 2-iron or a 3-iron.
”I knew I needed to hit a good shot to cinch the tournament, and I hit a really good, long iron in the back right corner of the green,” he said. ”I knew if I hit a poor shot there, that would have opened the door for Freddie (Couples) to have a chance. So that was probably the best clutch shot I hit here.”
The chances this year? Probably not very good.
Pavin hasn’t made the cut the last three times he has played in the Northern Trust Open. The course has gotten too long, and rain that has made the course soft in recent years hasn’t helped.
Besides, he is ready to move on to compete against guys his own age.
Pavin said Riviera is among only four PGA Tour events he will play this year. The others are The Players Championship, Colonial and the Travelers Championship in Hartford, Conn., where a year ago he lost in a playoff.
There’s no point in looking back on memories of Riviera, or anything else, the Ryder Cup included. One reporter had not seen Pavin since he left for Wales and asked his thoughts on the week and what happened.
”We finished second at the Ryder Cup,” Pavin said, showing his dry humor that was never fully appreciated during his captaincy.
He didn’t do much the rest of the year, and is ready to get back to golf on the Champions Tour, where he had two close calls in his rookie season before losing to Couples, and old nemesis, and to Bernhard Langer in the U.S. Senior Open.
A few Ryder Cup memories abound.
Eleven players from his American team are at Riviera this week, the lone exception Tiger Woods. That includes Steve Stricker, the defending champion who eased his way to a two-shot victory last year.
The lineup is shaping up as the strongest field so far this year. Even without the top three in the world ranking – Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Woods – the field boasts five of the top 10 in the world and 16 of the top 30.
From last year’s money list, only three of the top 20 are missing – Ernie Els, Tim Clark and Camilo Villegas, all of whom planned to be at the Northern Trust Open except for nagging injuries.
British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen makes his debut as a PGA Tour member, as does another ”rookie” – 41-year-old Robert Karlsson of Sweden, who showed how serious he was about his U.S. membership by moving from Monaco to Charlotte, N.C.
Ryo Ishikawa, the 19-year-old sensation from Japan, also is in the field.
And then there’s Phil Mickelson, who feels he is close to getting his game on track and will try to win at Riviera for the third time.
”I’ve been playing well,” he said. ”I’ve got just a slight hurdle to get over where I’ve got to get the scores down to how I feel I’m playing. Some of that will be course management, some of that will just be getting a couple putts to drop, but I feel like I’m right on the cusp of playing some really good golf.”
For Mickelson, the biggest concern is getting to the course.
As usual, he is staying home in San Diego this week and commuting by jet. A few years ago, he crowed when he walked into the door of his house and called his caddie, who was still stuck in traffic on his way to a local hotel.
Mickelson had a slightly tougher time Wednesday, with such low cloud cover that he was forced to land in Van Nuys, adding a half-hour to his flight. He’s not losing any sleep over that one.
”I’m a little concerned the next day or two getting in with some of the low minimums of the clouds,” Mickelson said. ”It looks like it’s going to be OK.”
As for his game? Mickelson isn’t worried about that, either.
From msn.foxsports.com
Chicago has a new team to root for: The 2012 US Ryder Cup team
Jan 22nd
Ted Bishop is the vice president of the PGA of America and the director of golf at the Legends Golf Club in Franklin, Ind.
On Thursday, the Medinah Country Club was covered by several inches of snow and the temperature was in the single digits, but thanks to the towering trees that line the Medinah landscape, even the untrained eye could manage to see where the fairways stake their claim. The greens were visible only because of orange snow fences that guarded their boundaries. The great club, site of so many of major championships, appeared to be hibernating.
But looks can be deceiving. Inside the spacious clubhouse, Davis Love III was being introduced by the PGA of America as the next captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, to be played in 2012 at Medinah on the outskirts of Chicago.
Chicago already has the Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks, White Sox and Cubs, but now there’s a new team in town with a dignified leader at its helm.
On Thursday, Chicago adopted Davis Love. The new Ryder Cup captain was honored late Thursday afternoon at a Michigan Avenue reception that featured Ernie Banks, Mr. Cub and a Hall of Famer famous for his phrase, “Let’s play two!” Or was it 36? Banks was joined by Paul Konerko, who led the White Sox to a World Series title in 2005.
Also on hand were Dan Hampton, defensive end with the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears; Denis Savard, hockey great and coach of the 2010 Stanley Cup-winning Blackhawks; and Scottie Pippen, who was Jordan’s sidekick on those great Bulls teams. Each of these five Chicago greats presented Love with a No. 12 jersey from their respective teams. In addition, each offered some advice on how to win a championship and capture the hearts of Chicago fans.
Banks told Love, “Have fun. Stop and smell the roses. Don’t take it too seriously.”
Konerko said, “Keep your team out of downtown Chicago, and get the Europeans to enjoy the downtown!”
Savard said, “Coach your young players differently than your older stars.”
Pippen said, “I can’t forgive you for giving Michael his first set of clubs when you were both at the University of North Carolina. I will never catch up to him in golf.”
And Hampton said, “Chicago fans will support you, no matter what. But they will like you better if you win.”
The day got started when Don Larson, Medinah’s chairman of the Ryder Cup, proudly presented Davis and his wife, Robin, with an honorary membership to the storied country club. All day, Love showed why he was the easy choice for the PGA of America. He was articulate, warm, embracing and appreciative of what it means to assume this task. The son of a former PGA member, Love got emotional as he talked about his dad’s influence on his career and what it would have meant for Davis Love Jr. to see his son in this role. (The elder Love, a renowned instructor, was killed in a 1988 plane crash.)
Love spoke passionately about his relationship with Jose Maria Olazabal, who was announced as Europe’s captain earlier in the week. “Over the next couple of years it will be me against Jose in the media. Once our teams are picked, it will be about them. Jose Maria and I will be competitors on the eve of the Ryder Cup, and we will be friends on Sunday night when it is over.”
Chicago, which has a long and storied golf history that includes regular Tour stops as well as major championships, would be a great place to celebrate a Ryder Cup win.
From www.golf.com
Davis Love III’s Ryder Cup plan for US is simple one
Jan 21st
Davis Love III’s plan for winning the Ryder Cup back is simple: Do the work, then get out of the way.
An emotional and enthusiastic Love was introduced Thursday at Medinah, Ill., as the next captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, an honor he said he has been thinking about for years. The 2012 matches are some 18 months away, but Love has already started thinking about the little details that could reverse the Americans’ recent Ryder Cup woes. Europe has won six of the last eight matchups, including a victory in October in Wales.
“I’m a players’ captain,” he said at Medinah Country Club, where the 2012 matches will be held. “I’ll try to get them what they need to be successful. I’m not going to tell the best players in the world how to play golf. I’m not going to read their putts. I’m going to stay out of their way and let them show their talents.”
Love’s appointment was hardly a secret, and he joked that the first thing he wanted to do was post the official news on Twitter. But he is serious about his passion for the new job. He already has talked with PGA and Medinah officials about course setup. He has thought about the qualities he wants in his vice captains and who might be suited for those jobs. At dinner Wednesday night, he and wife Robin spent part of the time looking at the ballrooms and imagining how they could be configured for team meeting rooms.
“My main mission is to get my players prepared to play on Friday morning like they do every other week during the year,” Love said. “If there’s any problem the American team has ever had in the seven Ryder Cups I’ve been involved in, it is that we just try too hard.”
Agassi headed to Hall of Fame
Andre Agassi announced that he will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, telling hundreds of students at a prep school he runs in Las Vegas that tennis has given him much more than eight major titles.
“Tennis has given me everything in my life,” he said. “It’s given me my wife — it’s given me my life’s work by allowing me the resources to build this school for you.” Agassi, 40, is married to Steffi Graf, who entered the Newport, R.I., hall in 2004. He will be inducted July 9.
Goran Ivanisevic
Andruw Jones agreed to a $2-million, one-year contract with the New York Yankees, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press. … Left-handed reliever Javier Lopez and San Francisco agreed to terms on a one-year contract for $2.375 million. … The New York Mets signed outfielder Scott Hairston and finalized a one-year deal with right-hander Chris Young.
Charl Schwartzel took a one-stroke lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship with an eight-under-par 64 in the first round at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The South African had nine birdies — eight in the first 12 holes — and led Padraig Harrington by one shot.
Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s uncle and trainer took a plea deal to avoid trial and jail time in a Las Vegas domestic battery case. Roger Mayweather pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor battery charges. Clark County District Court Judge Valerie Adair sentenced Mayweather to a year of probation, 24 weeks of domestic violence counseling, community service and a $1,000 fine.
A former University of Toledo football player pleaded guilty to a gambling charge as part of a point-shaving scheme at the Ohio school. Adam Cuomo said he regularly spoke to a Detroit-area gambler and discussed whether the Rockets would beat the point spread.
The Colorado Avalanche will be without left wing Tomas Fleischmann for the rest of the season after one blood clot was found in each of his lungs.
Austrian skier Hans Grugger had surgery for a brain injury after crashing during a training run for Saturday’s men’s World Cup downhill on the demanding Streif course at Kitzbuehel, Austria. The Austrian ski federation said Grugger had neurosurgery and his response over the next 24 hours would indicate how critical his condition was.
Arcadia senior Ammar Moussa was named the Gatorade cross-country runner of the year in California. Moussa won the individual Division I state championship for the second consecutive year. He also placed fourth in the 5K race at the Nike Cross Nationals, helping Arcadia become the first California team to win a national cross-country title.
The L.A. Lights Rhythmic Gymnastics Invitational, one of the largest rhythmic gymnastics meets in the nation, will be held Saturday and Sunday at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Culver City.
From www.latimes.com
Golf Capsules: Davis Love III picked as US Ryder Cup captain
Jan 20th
MEDINAH, Ill. (AP) — Davis Love III’s plan for winning the Ryder Cup back is simple: Do the work, and then get out of the way.
An emotional and enthusiastic Love was introduced Thursday as the next American captain of the Ryder Cup, an honor he said he’s been thinking about for years. The 2012 matches are still some 18 months away, but Love has already started thinking about the little details that could reverse the Americans’ recent Ryder Cup woes. Europe has won six of the last eight matchups, including last October in Wales.
“I’m a players’ captain,” he said at Medinah Country Club, where the 2012 matches will be held. “I’ll try to get them what they need to be successful. I’m not going to tell the best players in the world how to play golf. I’m not going to read their putts. I’m going to stay out of their way and let them show their talents. I think a good leader knows he’s got a great team and just gets them prepared and let’s them go play.”
The announcement wraps up a week that put the Ryder Cup in the news just as golf’s new season is getting underway. Europe appointed two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal as the captain Tuesday.
Love’s appointment was hardly a secret, and he joked that the first thing he wanted to do was Tweet the official news.
But he is quite serious about his passion for the new job. He’s already been talking with PGA and Medinah officials about course setup. He’s thought about the qualities he wants in his vice captains and who might be suited for those jobs. At dinner Wednesday night, he and wife Robin spent part of the time looking at the ballrooms and imagining how they could be configured for team meeting rooms.
As for those disastrous rainsuits that leaked, causing a distraction before the Americans even teed off, Love pledged that a big part of his job will be making sure his players feel as comfortable and prepared as they do at major championships.
“My main mission is to get my players prepared to play on Friday morning like they do every other week during the year,” Love said. “If there’s any problem the American team has ever had in the seven Ryder Cups I’ve been involved in, is that we just try too hard. I know that’s an over simplification, but you put together a game plan and you go try to execute it, that’s what we are going to try to do.
“I’m going to put the best players in the world with the best equipment I can get, and give them the best chance they can to win,” he added. “Whoever we need out here, trainers, great golf bags, whatever, we are going to have everything we can to give this team the confidence that they have when they go to the PGA Championship a month before. I want them to … (be) comfortable, they look good and they are happy and ready to play.”
Love, a 20-time winner on the PGA Tour, played on six Ryder Cup teams. His first three matches, with Tom Kite as his partner, were against Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros, the “Spanish Armada” that formed one of the most daunting teams in Ryder Cup history. Love won that first match, but never beat Olazabal again. They never played each other in singles.
Olazabal won his second green jacket in 1999, and while his duel that day was with Greg Norman, the Spaniard held off a late charge by Love, who was the runner-up.
Love recalled that Olazabal brought a special Spanish wine to serve at the Masters’ Champions Dinner that next year, and he gave Love the leftover bottles.
“I’ll always remember his generosity,” said Love, who said he has not spoken to Olazabal this week. “He’s always been a good friend. It’ll be a tough competition. On Thursday we’ll be friends, and Sunday night we’ll still be friends.”
Love said he would consider playing if he earned his way on the team, although a U.S. captain has never qualified for the team in recent decades. Love last qualified for the team in 2004, when Europe routed the Americans at Oakland Hills.
“We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it,” love said. “If we had good assistants and I’m playing great, that would be a great story for our team and for golf — as long as I get three or four points out of the deal.”
This was the second time Love has been showcased by the PGA of America, and both times he fought tears. The other occasion was in 1997 at Winged Foot, when he won the PGA Championship and broke down thinking about his father, Davis Love Jr., a longtime PGA professional who died in a plane crash early in Love’s career.
“Now to be named Ryder Cup captain is a thrill I never thought I would have,” said Love, his voice choking and eyes filling with tears. “I’d love to share that with my father. I know somehow I am. … There’s not a tour player out there that plays one tour event or six Ryder Cups that doesn’t have a PGA professional that led them to that position.”
PGA European
Schwartzel’s 64 leads by 1 in Abu Dhabi
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Charl Schwartzel took a one-stroke lead Thursday at the Abu Dhabi Championship with an 8-under 64 in the first round.
The South Africa had nine birdies — eight in the first 12 holes — to lead Padraig Harrington by one shot.
U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell shot 66 and finished with five straight birdies. He’s tied with Swedish pair Alexander Noren and Niclas Fasth.
Defending champion Martin Kaymer had a 67 and Lee Westwood finished with a 69. Masters champion Phil Mickelson was seven shots behind the leader.
“I hit the ball very well and kept the ball in play off the tee and hit a lot of good iron shots,” Mickelson said. “I didn’t make very many putts. I’ve been able to work here with Butch Harmon and this is a good foundation week. We have put in some good work and my golf game feels much sharper than the score indicated.”
The 26-year-old Schwartzel bogeyed the par-4 17th but birdied the 18th. Despite winning the Joburg Open last week, he said he’s struggling with his swing.
“I have been hooking the ball. In my entire career, I’ve never hooked the ball,” Schwartzel said. “Playing some of the courses in South Africa, if you miss the fairway, there’s no rough.
“Last week was a golf course that I played lots of golf on and felt comfortable with it. I played well for the first 63 holes. The last nine holes were a real struggle.”
Elsewhere
Trio clinch British Open qualification
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Floris de Vries, Martin Maritz and Neil Schietekat will make their British Open debuts after finishing in the top three at the final international qualifying tournament in South Africa.
De Vries shot 3-under 68 on Thursday to finish 10-under for the 36-hole event at the par-71 east course at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club.
The 21-year-old Dutchman was four shots ahead of the South African duo of Maritz and Schietekat.
This year’s British Open will be held at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich from July 14-17.
From www.brownsvilleherald.com
Golf-Westwood salutes Ryder Cup captain-elect Olazabal
Jan 17th
World number one Lee Westwood hailed ‘Captain Fantastic’ Jose Maria Olazabal on the eve of the Spaniard’s expected appointment as Europe’s 2012 Ryder Cup skipper.
In recent years the new captain for the biennial team event has been voted on at a formal 15-man Tournament Players Committee meeting.
That has not been necessary this time with chairman Thomas Bjorn conducting a phone poll over the Christmas period and the popular Olazabal becoming a unanimous choice to succeed Colin Montgomerie after last year’s win over United States in Wales.
“Jose Maria has been a great Ryder Cup player and when he was involved with the vice-captaincy at Valhalla (in 2008) and at Celtic Manor (in 2010) he’s been superb,” Westwood told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
“When Jose Maria conducts a team talk or motivational talk everyone listens. He will bring leadership, experience and passion and is going to be fantastic when he leads the team at Medinah (near Chicago).”
The 44-year-old Olazabal’s appointment is set to be confirmed in a European Tour news conference at 1330 local time (0930 GMT) on Tuesday at the venue for this week’s Abu Dhabi Championship.
The 1994 and 1999 U.S. Masters winner is also making his debut at the Abu Dhabi Championship, the first event of the European Tour’s four-week Desert Swing that also ventures into Bahrain, Qatar and finally Dubai.
ARTHRITIS PROBLEMS
Olazabal has been dogged by injuries and ill-health, including losing two years to rheumatoid arthritis in his feet in the mid-1990s.
He has suffered with rheumatic pain in his back and shoulders for the past two years.
Olazabal’s manager Sergio Gomez told Reuters last month the Spaniard was still in some discomfort but that his fitness had improved and he planned to play all four tournaments in the Desert Swing.
He featured in only three competitive European Tour events in 2010 but Westwood said it would not matter how much the captain-elect played on the circuit in the build-up to Medinah.
“Everyone knows Ollie and no, I don’t see it as a problem if he is not around and playing that much,” said the Briton.
“He should play enough events that will keep him abreast of what the likely team members are doing so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Olazabal has played in seven Ryder Cups and combined with his good friend Seve Ballesteros to form the most successful partnership in the team event, winning 11, halving two and losing two of their 15 matches together.
From uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
Rickie Fowler earns his Masters; Euro Ryder Cup team, Monty win BBC honors
Dec 20th
December 20 — Rickie Fowler was among 13 players who can thank the season-ending world golf rankings for invitations to next year’s Masters tournament.
The final 2010 rankings include the names of the top 50 golfers who get their tickets punched for Augusta in April. The list includes Fowler, who closed out his first full year on tour at No. 28
Golfers in the top 50 at the end of the year qualify for A Tradition Unlike Any Other. The rankings criteria largely affect global golfers who don’t play on the PGA Tour and have fewer ways to qualify for berths at Augusta and other events.
Organizers limit the field to about 100 players. Even with 92 now qualified, others can still play their way in by winning tour events that include FedEx Cup points and by making it into the top 50 a week prior to kickoff. The Molinari Bros. (Francesco and Edoardo), Robert Karlsson, Charl Schwartzel, and Ryo Ishikawa also know where they’ll be between April 7-April 10, 2011.
Across the pond, European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie picked up the BBC Sports Personality Coach of the Year honors. In addition to winning the coaching award for leading his charges to a 14.5-13.5 victory over the U.S. in October, Monty collected the trophy for team of the year.
“It’s an honor to…receive this award on behalf of 12 fantastic players and coaches,” Montgomerie said after collecting his goodies, according to the BBC. “It was a fantastic year for European golf…I’m privileged to be here to receive this on behalf of the European Tour.”
Also on the off-season award circuit, Graeme McDowell added the AIB Irish Golf Writers’ Professional of the Year trophy to his collection. With a myriad of wins worldwide, including the U.S. Open, McDowell was the group’s unanimous choice.
McDowell, who lost the BBC award for Sports Personality of the Year to a jockey, noted, as Monty did at his awards ceremony, that his award cemented Europe’s current domination of the golf world. “European golf is riding the crest of a wave at the moment with Lee Westwood’s move to number one in the world rankings and Martin Kaymer’s win at the US PGA Championship,” McDowell said, according to the Irish Golf Desk.
World of Golf: Ryder Cup heroes earned their wealth the hard way
Dec 14th
Shame on the BBC… Ryder Cup heroes earned their wealth the hard way
By Derek Lawrenson
Last updated at 12:05 AM on 14th December 2010
Receiving an award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year bash on Sunday will be a man whose parents took out four jobs between them to give him his chance.
There will be another whose father also doubled up in the employment stakes and a third from a modest background given a helping hand through a scholarship.
A fourth worked down the market flogging clothes on a Saturday to earn some extra money while a fifth was the son of a maths teacher.
So when the audience rise to acclaim the team of the year on Sunday, they will be saluting not just a side who did their job brilliantly at the Ryder Cup but a collection of British players from the sort of backgrounds where wealth has been earned the hard way.
Fought his way: Lee Westwood completed an incredible rise in the rankings this year to replace Tiger Woods as world No 1
And here’s my point. Golf will have a larger presence than ever at this showpiece occasion on Sunday at a time when the BBC have never shown less of the game. And the suspected reason why they are showing less is that the top brass perceive it as an elite sport, and it doesn’t do for our national corporation to be showing a game that appeals to a narrow band of society.
Let Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team, therefore, stand as a shining example of how wrong they are.
Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood, Ross Fisher and Ian Poulter should have the BBC’s director of sport Barbara Slater shifting uncomfortably in her seat.
No silver spoons were born in the mouths of these five, Barbara, nor the vast majority of the British professionals currently plying their trade so successfully on the European Tour. They are perfect role models, not men of privilege.
On Sunday, we can rely on the BBC to capture perfectly why the British game is presently at an all-time high. Then, next year, they will reach an all-time low in terms of coverage with the loss of the first two days of the Masters, and just 10 days of live play from the men’s game in all.
Shameful, isn’t it?
Ian Poulter (right) finished his season in style on Sunday, teaming up with American Dustin Johnson to beat the Northern Irish pairing of Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke in the Shark Shootout in Florida, a fun event featuring 12 two-man teams and hosted by Greg Norman.
Naturally, it was Poulter who played the key shots down the stretch, befitting a man whose short game now ranks alongside the best.
Indeed, in Johnson with his trademark howitzers off the tee and Poulter with his chipping and putting, we might well have just witnessed the perfect golfer.
In the end, we had to go for G-Mac
The Golf Writers’ Trophy is awarded each year to the person or persons who make the most outstanding contribution, and this year we had the devil of a task choosing between the wonderful feats of Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Europe’s Ryder Cup team.
I think my colleagues got it just about right on Monday giving it to G-Mac (right), the first Northern Irishman to win the trophy in its 60-year history. Why? Granted, you’d feel special standing in the shoes of any of the leading candidates. But, winning the US Open, reeling in Tiger in his own tournament and sinking the winning Ryder Cup putt? Those are the shoes I’d most like to stand in.
PS: Good to see the American weekly magazine Golf World bang on the money with its latest issue. Entitled Newsmakers of 2010, the cover featured five people who made headlines this year. Not one was G-Mac.
Quote of the week:
‘When I was named Ryder Cup captain I was 47th in the world. When I gave it up I was 408th. I can only hope the two things are related.’
Colin Montgomerie, in whimsical mood as he seeks to rebuild his game at the age of 47. Next year he’s set himself a target of the top 100, and the top 50 the year after. Clearly, there are a few targets and tantrums left in the old dog yet.
The European Tour has a tradition of bestowing honorary memberships on those of its own who win majors, and this year there was a nice ceremony at the final event in Dubai to recognise the trophies won this year by Louis Oosthuizen, Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell. But it does raise a question.
How can it be right that migrant players like Trevor Immelman and Angel Cabrera are honorary members and not world No 1 Lee Westwood, who has stayed loyal to Europe throughout his career?
Thankfully, it is an anomaly that doesn’t sit easily with the tour’s hierarchy.
Look for Westwood’s immense contribution to be recognised in Abu Dhabi in January.
It seems I jumped the gun last week by writing that Tiger Woods was expected to play in the Qatar Masters next February.
Apparently the expectation lay only with me and my usually impeccable source. Apologies.
VIDEO: Ian Poulter eats cereal from Ryder Cup, offends many, many golf fans
Oct 25th
Golfer Ian Poulter knows breakfast is the most important meal of the day — and now he also knows it’s more fun if eaten out of the Ryder Cup. Wait, what?
In a move which is sure to anger golf traditionalists around the world — particularly Ryder Cup losers from the USA — Poulter has turned the Ryder Cup into the world’s most extravagant cereal bowl.
What’s more, the European Ryder Cup hero even took a video of himself and his children eating their breakfast (Honey Nut Cheerios, if you must know) from the trophy and uploaded it to Twitter via TwitVid.
In the 1 minute 16 second clip called ‘Breakfast with the Ryder Cup’ Poults can be seen taking the lid off the prestigious trophy in his kitchen, before filling it with Cheerios.
Then, as his children laugh, he tops it up with milk and the family each grab a spoon before tucking into what has to be the most controversial breakfast in golfing history (not that we can think of too much competition for that title).
Unsurprisingly the video quickly attracted comments ranging from those saying the stunt was funny, to those who claim it was disrespectful and that Poults will go to ‘golf hell’ for his actions.
Gary Silcock, the Director of Golf at The Belfry, told the Telegraph: “In some ways it appears disrespectful. I think taking a drink from it is one thing, but to eat cereal with your children is another.”
What do you think, is this a disgraceful and disrespectful treatment of one of the world’s most respected sporting contests, or a good way of livening up an otherwise boring meal?
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