Ryder Cup anchors Woods, Stricker, Furyk sink ship for Team USA

Team USA fell to pieces on Ryder Cup Sunday as its three anchors, Jim Furyk, Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker, lost their putting skills on the final two holes at Medinah, handing over the cup to a jubilant Team Europe.

 

 

Jim Furyk, devastated by his loss to Sergio Garcia was in obvious denial commenting, “I’m pretty sure Sergio would tell you that I outplayed him today”.  

 

My thoughts?  Jim Furyk, although a great golfer, probably should never have been chosen by Captain Davis Love III in the first place, with Furyk known this season by the way he fizzles down the stretch in the finale.

 

Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods were placed in the clean-up position by Love, in spite of the fact that they lost every team match. Captain Love made mention that he wanted experienced talent just in case it was needed to win the cup but did Love take into consideration both Woods’ and Stricker’s season strokes gained putting average before making his final decision?Did Love forget the beating Stricker and Woods took by Adam Scott and KJ Choi at the Presidents Cup?

 

Poor putting under pressure ultimately lost the Ryder Cup for Team USA.

 

With all of the pressure falling squarely on Stricker, who is 65^th in strokes gained putting average on the PGA Tour this season,  the eighteenth hole was hardly the time for a “mis-read”.  And, Tiger Woods should never have missed a 3 1/2 foot putt…never.

 

To further show that Tiger has lost pride in his performance, here is Woods quote after his Ryder Cup tie with Molinari, “You come here as a team and you win or lose as a team, and it's pointless to even finish. So 18 was just, hey, get this over with."  Pointless? Tiger Woods, for certain, has gone soft.

 

I think Tiger should have sat out on Sunday and contemplated Furyk’s Ryder Cup statement, “It’s the lowest point of my year.”

 

Congratulations to Team Europe. They deserve the accolades!

 

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Posted via email from stacysolomon's posterous

#Golf on Twitter Reveals #FedExCup Speculations about Tiger Woods win

When @NikeGolf asked Tiger Woods about his approach to the #FedExCup final he said: "Same as always. I feel prepared to win.”  Woods' opinion, coupled with @PGATour's acknowledgment of Tiger's "pole position" start  in Round One of the Tour Championship, bring a heavy-hitting start to the final leg of a race for trophy created by Tiffany and Co. and a $10 million dollar reward.

 

Tiger Woods-2009 FedEx Cup

 

 

Not only are Nike and the PGA Tour gearing up for a possible Tiger Woods end of season victory; stories on Twitter reveal cautiously optimistic viewpoints about Woods while interjecting the legitimate and very real Rory McIlroy threat into the equation as did @washingtonpost, "Tiger Woods tops "The Intimidator" - Rory McIlroy - for one day http://wapo.st/Q1CDlU"

 

Is Woods somewhat intimidated by McIlroy as Greg Norman recently conjectured and, if so, could this slight anxiety cause a blip in Tiger's game?

 

The bottom line is that McIlroy is a strong possibility to win the FedEx Cup in spite of the fact that Woods is considered a bettors favorite but, no matter who wins the Tour Championship or the trophy this weekend, the fans want to see mutual respect between the players and a solid four rounds of golf.

 

That being said, below are listed a few of the more interesting tweets on Twitter adding fuel for thought about the FedEx Cup and Tour Championship finales. Enjoy!

 

@SkySports Tiger Woods admits he has really enjoyed the opportunity to play alongside Rory McIlroy on a regular basis http://bit.ly/Sbckdt

 

@GolfChannel @DamonHackGC: Tiger Woods shows he’s not intimidated by Rory McIlroy in Round 1 of TOUR Championship: http://bit.ly/TaxHyd

 

@GolfDigestMag Familiarity breeds mutual respect for Tiger and Rory. | http://golfdig.st/Ul6gkL

 

@SportsCenter Tiger Woods holds a share of lead for 27th time at the TOUR Championship. He's gone on to win 50% of the time. >> http://es.pn/QoRIhd

 

And, for a non-biased approach... @Golf4Beginners Tour Championship remains wide open: http://feedzil.la/UlisC3   

 

Let the fans remember that the field is wide open with many variables remaining during the next few days of golf which can affect the outcome (go Mickelson!) so let the games begin!

 

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Posted via email from stacysolomon's posterous