Point-Counterpoint with Ron Sirak

I see the box – but no picture

if that article were a shooting target, you would smile and ask for extra ammo because there is no way you could miss. you’re exactly right on these cliche’s.

four of them can’t be quantified, and I have no idea where he got his evidence for the Euro team playing more “team” golf. their top players only play Ryder Cup every other year, where our top players play team golf every year. Pros just don’t do it anymore. Europeans probably play more match play, but not professionally much more than anybody else. The two best match play tournament players over the last 12 years have been Tiger Woods and Ernie Els at the WGC match play and Els at the World Match Play. Tiger has a losing record in team matches and a 3-1-1 record in singles.

I think he was talking about “attitude” on an individual level – how they go about their business in a match play situtaion – as well as they handle the team component. I also think that the worst thing Americans (not necessarily all the players) take into a Ryder Cup tie or discussion is this attitude of “entitlement” – we’re just SUPPOSED to win because we wear stars and stripes. The Euros are just SUPPOSED to roll over and play dead. That’s just asking for trouble. Let’s hope they are leaving that at home this year.

talent ??? Give me a break – until this year, it was the American squad that was overflowing with talent from top to bottom and the Euros were the team nobody had heard of. This American team has plenty of talent to win the Cup back – they just have to play better than they have the last 20 years. The Euros have players with better records and more experience. If recent history is any kind of teacher – that isn’t necessarily an advantage.

desire – who knows ? Some say the Euros take all the pressure off themselves by having such a laid back attitude. their “desire” is more for a good time, unlike the Americans who go in with the “if we don’t win, we’re nothing” pressure. This “wants it more” thing is definitely a media cliche. Just because you lose doesn’t mean you want something less – and just because you win doesn’t mean you want something more.

chemistry speaks for itself – those guys get along better 52 weeks out of the year, and they are willing to work together. The US team is (usually) lead by 2 guys who lock themselves away when they aren’t “at the office”. This year it’s just one – but he’s crazy. :-)

The US has had the greatest active major winner on their team since ‘97, and he hasn’t been able to get a team over the top, and Nick Faldo was on some losing teams when he was the best player on the planet.

I think what most people miss, and the media ignore or miss, when they look at the history of the Ryder Cup is the team composition change that happened in 1979. Before then, it was the great big US vs the tiny GB&I team. It was pretty easy to dominate when the GB&I had such a small pool of talent to pull from. In 1979, however, the Ryder Cup was expaned to allow players from ALL of Europe, making the talent a lot more comparable. Since 1979, the US is 6-7-1, with the Euro team on their recent streak.

BUT – sports are cyclical – and streaks don’t last forever. You just never know when things could turn around.

lol – the picture finally came up – good choice ! that was back when SNL was funny.