Sunday
Ryder Cup- Day 3 Preview
Well, those are the pairings for tomorrow. A quick rundown says that Tiger will get his win in what will most likely be a meaningless match and that the Cup will likely be decided by the Furyk match.
In the first match, there is really no way to determine how it will end. If the Bubba that won the Masters shows up tomorrow, or the one that played in Four-Ball matches this week, and the match might be over early. However, Donald is a recent World #1, so count on him to put up a strong match. This match could go either way and depending on how fast one golfer or the other starts off will determine how the momentum goes early in the day.
Europe will need to win 8 points on the day to retain the Cup. Since the current format was adopted in 1981, only 4 times in 15 Ryder Cup matches has a team scored that many points on the final day, two of those by teams trailing going into that final day (1997 and 1999) So obviously history is on the side of the Americans but it would not be unthinkable for the Europeans to score the 8 points needed to retain the Cup. In the event that Tiger Woods is needed for the win, we can know that he's going against the man he defeated in singles competition in 2010 at Celtic Manor. The Americans are certainly hoping the final match of the event is not needed to determine whether or not they win the Cup.
Ryder Cup Day 2- Afternoon Session Results
The afternoon session went fairly well for the Americans. Better than was predicted here, in fact. The Americans came out of Saturday with a 4 point lead in the overall standings, a deficit that has only overcome once, by the United States in 1999. That bodes well for the American team tomorrow.
Matches:
J. Rose & F. Molinari vs. B. Watson & W. Simpson
This match went as expected. The American juggernaut of Simpson and Watson simply would not be denied and beat this team of Euros in much the same way they beat Lawrie and Hanson yesterday. These two Americans obviously play well together in Four-Ball competition.
D. Johnson & M. Kuchar vs. N. Colsaerts & P. Lawrie
This was a back and forth match with the Americans not wrapping up victory until taking a lead on the 17th hole with Dustin Johnson's key birdie and then halving the 18th hole.
T. Woods & S. Stricker vs. S. Garcia & L. Donald
This may be giving the match more credit than it really deserves, but to me, this match was about the face of modern American golf facing off against the modern face of Spanish golf. These two have squared off numerous times over the years in the Ryder Cup with Gracia taking the win all but once. Woods has been the great individual golfer who wins majors and Garcia has been the top notch team golfer. This match seemed to be one for the ages. The US was down 3 after 4 holes and 4 down after 9 before Woods came alive and made 5 birdies in 8 holes on the back nine including a spectacular birdie on the 17th hole. Steve Stricker missed a putt on the final hole that would have given the US a half point in the match; Stricker makes about 6 of 10 putts from between 5 and 10 feet, sadly for him one of the 4 had to come on the 18th hole of the match with 8 or 10 million people watching. But if ever one wants to see quality golf played in team competition, this is the match for it. Two titans of their generation paired with two great workmen gave us one of the finest matches I can remember seeing.
J. Dufner & Z. Johnson vs. R. McIlroy & I. Poulter
The US team got off to a strong start winning the first two holes and seemed to be going strong prior to the 13th hole. From there it was almost as though the European team flipped a switch, Poulter especially. McIlroy birdied the 13th hole to put the Euro's one down in the match and Poulter birdied the final 5 holes in what must be one of the best closing stretches in the history of the Ryder Cup. This one could have easily gone to the American side, but Poulter found the magic when it mattered the most and the Europeans pulled out a victory.
This all leads to a split in the matches in the afternoon. Tiger lost, as was expected, sadly. This leads to what should be a solid day on Sunday.
Matches:
J. Rose & F. Molinari vs. B. Watson & W. Simpson
This match went as expected. The American juggernaut of Simpson and Watson simply would not be denied and beat this team of Euros in much the same way they beat Lawrie and Hanson yesterday. These two Americans obviously play well together in Four-Ball competition.
D. Johnson & M. Kuchar vs. N. Colsaerts & P. Lawrie
This was a back and forth match with the Americans not wrapping up victory until taking a lead on the 17th hole with Dustin Johnson's key birdie and then halving the 18th hole.
T. Woods & S. Stricker vs. S. Garcia & L. Donald
This may be giving the match more credit than it really deserves, but to me, this match was about the face of modern American golf facing off against the modern face of Spanish golf. These two have squared off numerous times over the years in the Ryder Cup with Gracia taking the win all but once. Woods has been the great individual golfer who wins majors and Garcia has been the top notch team golfer. This match seemed to be one for the ages. The US was down 3 after 4 holes and 4 down after 9 before Woods came alive and made 5 birdies in 8 holes on the back nine including a spectacular birdie on the 17th hole. Steve Stricker missed a putt on the final hole that would have given the US a half point in the match; Stricker makes about 6 of 10 putts from between 5 and 10 feet, sadly for him one of the 4 had to come on the 18th hole of the match with 8 or 10 million people watching. But if ever one wants to see quality golf played in team competition, this is the match for it. Two titans of their generation paired with two great workmen gave us one of the finest matches I can remember seeing.
J. Dufner & Z. Johnson vs. R. McIlroy & I. Poulter
The US team got off to a strong start winning the first two holes and seemed to be going strong prior to the 13th hole. From there it was almost as though the European team flipped a switch, Poulter especially. McIlroy birdied the 13th hole to put the Euro's one down in the match and Poulter birdied the final 5 holes in what must be one of the best closing stretches in the history of the Ryder Cup. This one could have easily gone to the American side, but Poulter found the magic when it mattered the most and the Europeans pulled out a victory.
This all leads to a split in the matches in the afternoon. Tiger lost, as was expected, sadly. This leads to what should be a solid day on Sunday.
Saturday
Ryder Cup Day 2- Morning Results and Afternoon Pairings
So a bit late in this given that the afternoon matches have started, but he comes a slight preview nonetheless.
The morning session went better than the American side likely thought it would. Yesterday's stellar team of Webb Simpson & Bubba Watson suffered a down to the wire defeat in the first match of the day; it would appear this team is slightly better suited to play Four-Ball over Foursomes, which was mentioned in the preview here last night. Sometimes Johnny B knows what he's talking about.
The final score of the Mickelson & Bradley vs. Westwood & Donald match says more than a paragraph worth of words: 7 & 6. That's just a beating, no other way to spin it. How this American team has been left out of the Afternoon matches is simply unbelievable.
Jason Dufner & Zach Johnson defeated the Euro buzz saw Nicolas Colsaerts and his partner Sergio Garcia. Same as in the first match of the day, Colsaerts play in Four-Ball yesterday afternoon did not translate over to Foursomes this morning.
In the final match of the morning, Jim Furyk & Brandt Snedeker got revenge over the the Euro team of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. This had to be a victory the US side was not expecting.
So winning the morning session 3-1 and going up 8-4 overall is most certainly as good a result as could have been expected.
For the afternoon:
N. Colsaerts & P. Lawrie vs. D. Johnson & M. Kuchar
This match will likely hinge on how well Colsaerts plays. Another round like Friday afternoon and a blue flag will be on the board, almost certainly. Otherwise, this match is a toss-up with no real way to predict a winner.
J. Rose & F. Molinari vs. B. Watson & W. Simpson
This match should go to the Americans given the play of the American team yesterday. One would expect Rose to put up a solid fight but that young Molinari will be the key to that team. Ring this one up for the Americans.
S. Garcia & L. Donald vs. T. Woods & S. Stricker
Through all their struggles, Woods and Gracia are still, for the most part, the faces of golf in their respective nations. It's been 13 years now since these two squared off at the 1999 PGA Championship on this very golf course. We can only hope for this match to provide the same level of entertainment that their duel provided back then. But, sadly, safe money would be on Woods continuing his typical gruesome play in Ryder Cup team matches. A US loss is likely and a half point should certainly be considered a win here.
R. McIlroy & I. Poulter vs. J. Dufner & Z. Johnson
Hopefully Dufner can continue to channel his inner Curly and play 'dumb' in this match as well. He has performed better than expected thus far in the Ryder Cup. This will be the match that defines Rory's year in this Ryder Cup. He is currently 1-2 in team play. A win here will allow him to take it upon himself to have a winning record in the Cup. Don't forget that McIlroy is the #1 player in the world. Expect him to rise to the occasion here. Euro victory is likely.
Certainly we will all be watching to see how it turns out, but the projection here is for the Euro's to win the afternoon session 2 1/2 to 1 1/2.
Overall projection: 9 1/2 to 6 1/2 USA leading.
The morning session went better than the American side likely thought it would. Yesterday's stellar team of Webb Simpson & Bubba Watson suffered a down to the wire defeat in the first match of the day; it would appear this team is slightly better suited to play Four-Ball over Foursomes, which was mentioned in the preview here last night. Sometimes Johnny B knows what he's talking about.
The final score of the Mickelson & Bradley vs. Westwood & Donald match says more than a paragraph worth of words: 7 & 6. That's just a beating, no other way to spin it. How this American team has been left out of the Afternoon matches is simply unbelievable.
Jason Dufner & Zach Johnson defeated the Euro buzz saw Nicolas Colsaerts and his partner Sergio Garcia. Same as in the first match of the day, Colsaerts play in Four-Ball yesterday afternoon did not translate over to Foursomes this morning.
In the final match of the morning, Jim Furyk & Brandt Snedeker got revenge over the the Euro team of Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. This had to be a victory the US side was not expecting.
So winning the morning session 3-1 and going up 8-4 overall is most certainly as good a result as could have been expected.
For the afternoon:
N. Colsaerts & P. Lawrie vs. D. Johnson & M. Kuchar
This match will likely hinge on how well Colsaerts plays. Another round like Friday afternoon and a blue flag will be on the board, almost certainly. Otherwise, this match is a toss-up with no real way to predict a winner.
J. Rose & F. Molinari vs. B. Watson & W. Simpson
This match should go to the Americans given the play of the American team yesterday. One would expect Rose to put up a solid fight but that young Molinari will be the key to that team. Ring this one up for the Americans.
S. Garcia & L. Donald vs. T. Woods & S. Stricker
Through all their struggles, Woods and Gracia are still, for the most part, the faces of golf in their respective nations. It's been 13 years now since these two squared off at the 1999 PGA Championship on this very golf course. We can only hope for this match to provide the same level of entertainment that their duel provided back then. But, sadly, safe money would be on Woods continuing his typical gruesome play in Ryder Cup team matches. A US loss is likely and a half point should certainly be considered a win here.
R. McIlroy & I. Poulter vs. J. Dufner & Z. Johnson
Hopefully Dufner can continue to channel his inner Curly and play 'dumb' in this match as well. He has performed better than expected thus far in the Ryder Cup. This will be the match that defines Rory's year in this Ryder Cup. He is currently 1-2 in team play. A win here will allow him to take it upon himself to have a winning record in the Cup. Don't forget that McIlroy is the #1 player in the world. Expect him to rise to the occasion here. Euro victory is likely.
Certainly we will all be watching to see how it turns out, but the projection here is for the Euro's to win the afternoon session 2 1/2 to 1 1/2.
Overall projection: 9 1/2 to 6 1/2 USA leading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)