Cigar/Wine/Spirit Reviews
European Ryder Cup: Week of 7.24 PDF Print E-mail

 Written By: Dove Jones

EUROPEAN RYDER CUP TEAM OUTLOOK WEEK OF JULY 24

This week was as much about the winners, and losers, with their play in The Open as it was about Captain Monty's Vice Captain picks.  If he picks his three wild cards with the same eye towards strategy and regaining the Cup, then the US will be even more underdogs than they currently are. There will be no sentimental favorites; he is going for a win - a big win.

And what picks they were - Thomas Bjorn and Paul McGinley were rumored for a while, but the picking of Darren Clarke was both brilliant and unexpected. Clarke who played inspired golf at the Scottish Open to fall just short of that title but claim entry into The Open Championship as a consolation prize, impressed Captain Monty who decided that bringing Darren along to the party one way or the other was the right thing to do.  Make no mistake, Clarke and Montgomerie are not the best of friends, by a wide margin, their relationship was especially strained after Monty's alleged “cheating” incident in Indonesia. However, that is what the Euros are so good at, putting aside petty personal differences and playing inspired team golf.

That why, too, I believe that Faldo would have probably benefited by bringing Montgomerie and Clarke along last time out - even as Vice Captains, if not playing picks.

McGinley, while never really achieving the success he probably deserved on the regular European Tour, was undoubtedly a Ryder Cup hero on more than one occasion. Originally picked as a Vice Captain for Faldo, he resigned that post and not just to try and play his way on, this time he is excited about going into battle with Monty, who values his opinions and outlook.

Bjorn is enjoying a rebirth on the regular tour with great play so far this season so is also still out there with the relating to the players.  I saw Bjorn at a Callaway outing Monday night at the Open and his report with the players is amazing including one Graeme McDowell who looks to figure prominently this time round.  I also saw Bjorn, relaxing Sunday night with a pint in front of Dunvegan's, St Andrews famous pub, almost incognito with beard stubble and hat - he knows how to relax and enjoy the moment, another thing the Euros excel at.

While Tom Watson for some unknown reason went off last week before the Senior British Open at Carnoustie about how Vice Captains don't do anything and are basically useless, I think Captain Monty has a different viewpoint and plans to very wisely use his Vice Captains in key decisions going down the stretch.  While it seemed like yesterday when Watson was leading the charge down the final holes at last year's Open at Turnberry, the golf world has moved on since 1993 when Watson was captain and only brought along his pro, Stan Thirsk, from the Kansas City Country Club to assist.  It was the last U.S victory before the Euros went on a winning tear the past two decades. The Ryder Cup today is a far bigger event with more riding on the outcome, and the Americans were still dominating the world rankings back in 1993. And who can forget Watson was so fun loving that he would not allow his players to even sign the opposing team programs the night of the gala banquet.

Whether or not Captain Corey Pavin's four Vice Captains Tom Lehman, Davis Love III, Jeff Sluman and Paul Goydos actually play a part is unknown, but you can be sure that Captain Monty's picks will be doing more than window dressing the few months.

UPDATED EUROPEAN TOP 9 LIST 7/24/10

Again, the players in the Top 9 remain the same, but their positions keep shifting. Luke Donald made the biggest leap from precarious 9th to a solid 4th bumping Poulter, who is playing out of sorts of late, into 5th position. Ross McGowan, sits like Humpty Dumpty on the wall about to sadly fall from the Top 9 with another missed cut at The Open.  Jimenez dropped to 8th and needs some magic coming home to stay in the Top 9. With a missed cut Francesco Molinari dropped from 5th to 7th, but with his brother and him on such good form I'm still looking forward to an Italian duo come October.

Here's what Monty was thinking prior to the final round  of The Open -

"I would like as many of my so-called big hitters in there so I don't have to 'waste' picks on those particular stars and I can use my picks as I would like them,” he explained. "Casey and Martin Kaymer can seal their spots today and Henrik can make a big leap forward. Sergio Garcia has shown a bit of form now and if he can post something low and prove to me and his peers that he is still there to enable himself to get picked, then great."_


1.     Westwood - I told you to beware of the injured golfer - the elusive major remains just outside his grasp - just. Another stellar performance in a major, unfortunately another stellar “bridesmaid” performance as well.  Next up the PGA and hopefully his calf will be 100% and Whistling Straits should suit his game. He played The Open with patience and outlasted many of his closest competitors.
2.Rory McElroy - A brilliant start to lead and then some still youthful missteps to fall away.  But McElroy has the makings of a true champion as he battled back to a T-3.
3. Graeme McDowell - GMac finished, for him, a disappointing T23, but loved the elements and wondered what all the fuss was when they suspended play.  If the weather is nasty come fall in Wales look for GMac to lead the charge out of the mists that roll through the Usk Valley.
4. Luke Donald - His T 11 vaulted him above Poulter in the Top 9.  His decision to play some events on the European Tour was clearly the correct one.
5.Ian Poulter - I really thought Poulter was poised to return refreshed and in form.  The weather wasn't bright and neither was his play making the cut but finishing a very disappointing T60. 
6. Martin Kaymer - Many of the pundits were betting on Kaymer to lead the charge against Oosthuizen come Sunday. A cold putter and a few errant shots and Kaymer fell to a T7 finish.
7. Francesco Molinari - A missed cut after his fine play last week in Loch Lomond.
8. Miguel Angel Jimenez - Finished a respectable T27, but The Mechanic needs a few Top 10s coming home, especially with some sleeping bears like Stenson and Casey seeming to wake up as the decision day nears.
9. Ross McGowan - Plagued by a wrist injury, McGowan is having trouble finding his early season form and missed another cut.

Others to Watch:

10. Justin Rose - A missed cut at The Open he so brilliantly qualified for was a bit of a wasted week with valuable points available.
11. Alvaro Quiros - Had a solid T11 performance to keep him on Captain Monty's short list.
12.Padraig Harrington - A missed cut in an event he has twice won could have big consequences in a very tight Ryder Cup race for the final three spots.
13.Rhys Davies - He missed the cut at The Open, but he remains ahead of the hardest working man in golf right now Bradley Dredge as a Welch pick, but with so many players coming into form he may get left off the short list, even with his home advantage.
14.Eduardo Molinari - A T27 in tough conditions didn't hurt his world ranking or his chances as a 2010 Ryder Cup member.
15.Robert Karlsson - His T14 showed more of his potential brilliant form, but not enough to be a pick.
16.Henrik Stenson - After a languid season so far, Stenson found some form and was in hot contention for the Number 2 spot at The Open as Oosthuizen was lapping the field.  A very solid T3 put Stenson back on Monty's short list.
17. Ross Fisher - His T37 keeps him on life support for the time being.
19. Paul Casey - What a time to return to form, his T3 and brilliant play definitely has Captain Monty's attention, but it will take more than a one-hit-wonder this summer to make the team.  Especially as his last time as a Captain's pick was a disaster.


Dark Horses


2o. Bradley Dredge - Dredge continues to be the heartbreak Kid - off to another strong start at The Open he faded to T27.
22. Sergio Garcia- I wouldn't call it a return to form but Garcia's T14 was the best performance of late and he is till in Monty's mind.
23. A sentimental favorite, especially after almost claiming the Scottish Open. Clarke used his exemption to only earn a T44 in The Open.

Others-

18. Stephen Gallacher - retains his position as Top Scot with another solid T23 performance in The Open.  Whether he makes the team or not Uncle Bernard is very proud of his nephew.
17 Chris Wood - A missed cut at The Open drops Wood, once looking like a contender to the list of dark horses.
20. Gregory Havret - Missing the cut at The Open and Havret has slipped from even the Dark Horse list.

In the battle of the Captains- Monty finishing a disappointing T68 but again edged Sir Nick by at least making the cut, which Sir Nick missed.
 
Dove's Travel: The Castle Course PDF Print E-mail

Written By: Dove Jones

Although I realize I'm in the minority among some golf friends of mine, I will say that I unabashedly LOVE The Castle Course.   Many will call it blasphemy but given the choice of playing either The Old Course or The Castle Course for the rest of my years, I'd choose The Castle.  The views are spectacular from every hole across St Andrews Bay or down to the 'old gray toon' of St Andrews, the course conditions can change throughout the round as the wind shifts, and the green complexes will challenge even the truest of putters.

David McLay Kidd didn't design the course to be vanilla- most love it or hate it.   When it first opened, there was much criticism (whining) about the greens; most saying all they were missing was the windmill and clown's mouth. To be fair there were a couple of greens that needed some modification and that process happened over the first winter.  Like Kingsbarns, The Castle closes for the winter to rest the course and to allow tweaks.

Personally I like the big, bold greens. I'd rather have the challenge of negotiating a long and winding putt on greens stimped to 8 to accommodate the undulations, than a deadly Bent grass green stimped to 14 any day.  Last summer I was playing in a match called The Writer Cup, an annual Ryder Cup-style match of US versus UK golf writers before The Open. I had played well throughout the week and my reward was playing against their best player on The Castle course in the final singles match.  The only putt I missed all day was a 4-footer to close out the match - my miss gave us a half, which probably did me more personal good in future trips than a win as sadly, the US was far behind in total points anyway.   But their player a much younger, taller, stronger male who could reach every par 5 in two, which he did easily.  The difference was he three putted every green and I two-putted. For whatever reason - I love those greens, they are fun, they don't look like everything else, and they purposely weren't designed to. 

David McLay Kidd the architect of record and his on-site project architect, Paul Kimber (now out on his own as a designer) like to say when you play The Castle, “Bring your imagination and check your ego.”

On your first attempt you may not set a personal scoring best, but if you trust the lines the stokesaver or your caddie gives you, you'll find that the fairways are more generous than they appear and the greens aren't as difficult as they seem and you may not only achieve a great score, but have a golf experience of a lifetime.

Like Kingsbarns before it, the course was built to look as if it had been there for centuries. It had a few more challenges in the routing and design than its famous neighbor up the coast - they needed to hide a water treatment plant (on property), a neighboring caravan (trailer) park and the neighboring Fairmont, St Andrews Resort.

Kidd and Kimber did this with the help of several expert shapers and created huge mounds planted with fescue to appear as if they were millennium old sand dunes, atop the cliff.  Trying to also create a very different look from Kingsbarns, Kidd inserted little knobs and hillocks throughout some of the fairways, as would have been on a course in the 1800s, but they proved so unpopular with many patrons they were removed or reduced over the first winter.

Every hole of the Castle is unique and could be a signature hole- from the downhill 9th that shares a green in front of the circular clubhouse with the challenging closing 18th, to the round-busting 12th with its green perched high on a hill.  But the stunner has to be the 17th, a rival to the 7th at Pebble Beach for visual perfection in a short hole.  The 17th at The Castle has a green that sits across an intimidating chasm.  The trick on this hole is not to go at the green or the pin no matter what the wind.  Play the shot to the far left of the green short of the bunker and your ball will funnel onto the green every time.

After your round, savor the experience with a pint and an excellent lunch while enjoying the most stunning views along the coast.

To book your day on The Castle course please visit www.standrews.org.uk
 


 

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