I think the Masters is brilliantly marketed and has bucketloads of prestige (way more than its older cousin the USPGA), but I think the Open Championship, in terms of national pride and hsitorical significance, has to be the "biggest" - at least in my mind. Then again, you weren't talking about my mind, were you? I've noticed a fly in my logic there. In that 8th pint conversation "You only get to win one major - which one would you want to win?" I was always a bit split. The answer has to be the Open, and it has to be followed by the US Open - but there's an undeniable something about the Masters (perhaps the fact that in the UK it heralds the start of the golf season and it's on at night when it's still dark rather than while I'm at work or while I could be out playing (as is the case for the US Open and the PGA)). I don't know - maybe for me, and dare I say, for us on this side of the water, there is something fundamentally Disney about the Masters, whilst there is something fundamentally raw and real about the Open. And it's ours. Like the Ryder Cup. *smirk* Not that I'm gloating - my predictions were that Woosnam might as well be playing for the US and would be hopeless (he wasn't), that Garcia and Olazabal don't get on and wouldn't play well together (they don't, but they put that aside and played brilliantly), and that Clarke and Westwood were bad picks, the former being too fragile emotionally to be able to handle it (more fool me for thinking so) and the latter simply not as good as several other people that might have been selected ahead of him (I suppose you can't prove that either way, but I think Weswood's points tally for the week does enough to hammer the final nail into the coffin of my golf punditry).
The things that were confirmed for me over this past weekend: - It's easier to appear to commentators that you're "having more fun" ... when you're winning - Although I'm tired of this "the Euros have more fun" business ... something is very clearly different within the team environment and I'd like to see someone in the US figure it out - Phil needs still more time to recover from his US Open collapse - Paul Casey can PLAY GOLF (I can't say this was "confirmed" for me - I hadn't previously realized how strong a player he is) - Tiger needs to be told before each match "forget you have a partner - don't talk to him - don't let him give you reads on putts - just act like you are playing by yourself, since that's clearly the only time you're worth anything to this team". - I really like Darren Clarke - before and after his wife's tragedy - Most of the Americans were pretty non-descript. I liked Henry in particular. DiMarco, you need to make more than one putt before pulling out the fist-clenching "that's what I'm talkin' about" attitude - The majority of the rest of the Euros were likable, or at least tolerable - Sergio acts like a 4-year-old when he's winning - but it's charming, so everyone smiles with him. Sergio stills acts like a 4-year-old when he's losing - but this time it's a "you just took one of my toys, things aren't going my way, so now I'm going to scowl at you", and you want to throttle him.
*L* I loved that list and couldn't disagree with a single thing on it. There was someone writing in the Sunday Observer here in the UK this weekend suggested that the Europeans have better team spirit because they mock each other (privately and publically) and generally "take the piss", while the Americans do team building exercises (like singing songs) and try to be supportive of one another. To quote from memory: "The Europeans look like brothers in arms, the Americans look like reluctant brothers in law." I'm being lazy - I'll find the article online. Here it is. LL, you pretty much sum up the rest of that article with you comments about Garcia.
Good article, JJ - thanks. I wonder - because I don't know much about the European Tour ... is it possible that the American players beat up on each other more during tournaments and therefore aren't as leisurely about "coming together" in spirit. I'm not at all saying that the Euro Tour isn't competitive and I personally think my own explanation is hogwash - it still boils down to a fundamental difference in personality/character. But, I'm trying desparately to find an excuse. Two other things that became abundantly clear over this weekend: - the Irish galleries deserve a lot of praise - I didn't catch a whiff of any boos or unpleasantries. They even waited an extraordinary number of several seconds before cheering on their Euro team after the US would miss a key putt. I can only hope that the favor is returned in a couple years. - The US team misses the likes of Payne Stewart dearly (or at least I do)
Congratulations to the European team, and even though we had our asses handed to us again, there were a lot of great things about the event. The Americans clearly are not as versed in the art of four-ball or foursome matches, and they clearly do not have players that step up every time like Montgomerie, Clarke, or Garcia. (What is it about those Spanish pairings?) When Tiger snap hooked his first tee shot, and Clarke striped it 305 down the center, the tone of the match was set for the duration it seemed. I have no reasonable explanation, other than the Europeans were far better. The US team misses the likes of Payne Stewart dearly (or at least I do) Yeah. I think we all do, littleLebowski.
Another article disecting what's wrong with the US team dynamic (this time from an American journalist). I think what's missing is a Payne Stewart, or a Corey Pavin. Chris Dim is trying to be that guy, but the passion needs more talent behind it than I think he has.
We should get that Unicycle Fascist a SpoFi account. He seems nice.
