Sports Then and Now

Davis Love III will be the U.S. Captain for the 2012 Ryder Cup.

Davis Love III has been named the USA Ryder Cup team captain for the 2012 tournament. This may well be one of the worst kept secrets in sport, but it takes nothing away from the significance of the moment for the man himself, the players and American golf.

The announcement was made the day after Jose Maria Olazabal was named as the leader of the European team.

Much like the Spanish captain of the Europeans, Love is a very experienced man when it comes to the Ryder Cup. He has played in six of the tournaments and was vice-captain to Corey Pavin in last year’s event at Celtic Manor.

It was of course a very proud moment for Love as he faced the media to give his views on one of the most privileged roles in sport. To play in the Ryder Cup is one thing, to lead your fellow countryman in the best golf tournament of all is another – just ask Colin Montgomerie. Read the rest of this entry →

1996 US Masters winner, Nick Faldo, doesn't celebrate, opting to comfort Greg Norman, who threw away a final round lead

He teed off in the final round six shots clear of playing partner and nearest challenger, Nick Faldo, seven shots clear of Phil Mickelson and a country mile clear of the rest of the field. He had played impeccable golf for three rounds and appeared to have seen off the Faldo challenge in the third round by increasing his tournament lead from four shots to six. It was of course the 1996 US Masters and ‘he’ was the ‘Great White Shark’, Greg Norman.

Up until 1996, Norman had long been regarded as the best player in the world, Faldo did assume the number one ranking for a couple of years at the time when he was winning five ‘major’s in the late 80s early 90’s, but overall it was Norman who had the most ability. Indeed until the 1996 Masters he had finished second or tied second in seven ‘Major’s’ and had fifteen other top ten finishes in ‘Major’s’ but amazingly had only managed to win two, which had come in the Open Championship in 1986 and 1993. Surely the 1996 US Masters was to be his third!

Norman’s first tee shot of the day perhaps told the crowd more than it needed to, but he hooked it into the trees and went on to make a bogey. He followed that up with a long putt to save par on the third, but bogeyed the fourth and then hit his third bogey on eight. Faldo meanwhile was going about his business in his usual pragmatic manner, playing each hole on its merits, relying on course management to provide the ‘birdie’ opportunities and they came on the 6th and the 8th with birdies at each. Faldo was all of a sudden in contention and only 3 shots behind and the formidable Augusta 4 hole turn was coming up. Read the rest of this entry →

Lee Westwood is making a charge at the world number one golfer ranking.

If world rankings in sport were decided solely on the basis of personality, there’s little doubt that a few of the current holders of the respective top spots would look slightly different. Perhaps, based on this criteria alone, Lee Westwood, who is currently vying for the number one spot in golf, would find himself unchallenged in his bid to sit at the pinnacle of the rankings.

After all, it’s clear to any golf betting pundits who have watched Westwood compete, let alone met him in person or been around him for any length of time, that this is a sportsman who doesn’t take himself too seriously; he’s always quick to crack a joke and is more often than not one of the most gracious players in defeat that you could hope to observe in this sport.

His technical ability is also worthy of admiration but we need to remember that world rankings shouldn’t be based on personality or how well an individual takes defeat. If Westwood, as could happen soon, does become number one in the world, is it deserved? Read the rest of this entry →

After a disappointing 2010 season, can Padraig Harrington show the fight needed to help Europe win the Ryder Cup?

With the Ryder Cup only two weeks away now, many Ryder Cup Betting pundits, experts and commentators are already suggesting that the European team simply need to turn up in order to win. However, whilst they are certainly a good team, is it just possible that the Europeans are being hyped up too much in their tag as favourites?

Whilst the European team’s players have, on the whole, displayed a fantastic level of form this season, the Ryder Cup is a competition that can overwhelm even the most seasoned of professionals. With high hopes surrounding players such as Martin Kaymer, currently being tipped far and wide in the golfing world for a bright future, it is just possible that the levels of expectation will become too great, leaving Kaymer and other debutants looking and feeling like rabbits stuck in the headlights. Read the rest of this entry →

Martin Kaymer has proven that you can win a major cahmpionship while playing primarily on the European Tour.

Whilst some golfing fans would have loved nothing more than to have seen the likes of Justin Rose and Paul Casey fighting it out against their PGA Tour rivals, the very fact that these individuals missed out on a place in the European Ryder Cup team is testament to the fact that the European Tour is benefiting greatly from the additional level of competition that the qualification process for the Cup generates.

Although some people who bet on Ryder Cup events will no doubt argue that the decision to continue to award points only to those competing on a tour that has traditionally been considered weaker than the US PGA is a mistake which could cost the European team the chance to win back the Ryder Cup, the majority of golf pundits have suggested that the mythical lure of the competition keeps players competing on the lower profile tour.

With players such as Martin Kaymer showing Ryder Cup betting pundits that they are capable of winning majors despite not playing week in, week out with golfers such as Phil Mickelson, and with the European team still earning itself the status of overwhelming favourites ahead of the Ryder Cup, there seems almost to be a case for only players taking part on the European Tour deserving a place on the team, with that rule even applying to wildcard picks.

Should this come into force, players such as Kaymer would find themselves in a situation in which they are unable to use the European tour solely as a launching pad from which to further their quest to compete in the more lucrative US Tour. Read the rest of this entry →

Colin Montgomerie has put his reputation on the line with his Ryder Cup decisions.

On October 3rd Colin Montgomerie will either be sitting down to toast his European team’s victory, or he will be spending the evening, and perhaps the months and years to come, attempting to figure out how he failed to mastermind a victory that had for a long period of time seemed almost inevitable.

Should it be the latter, many fans will be looking at his decision to choose Padraig Harrington as part of his European team as one of the key moments that helped to shape the cup. The Ryder Cup betting makes the home side firm favourites, but some fear they could find themselves carrying some deadweight.

With no major victories since 2008, the choice of Padraig Harrington has failed to inspire anyone, with Ian Woosnam the latest high-profile name to suggest either Justin Rose or Paul Casey should have got the nod ahead of the Irish man. Read the rest of this entry →