The Most Exciting Ryder Cup Monday in History- Ryder Cup Day 4

Congratulations to the European squad (Final Score- Europeans- 14 1/2 points, Americans- 13 1/2 points).

Today was easily, undoubtedly, the most exciting Ryder Cup Monday in history. That, my friends, is irrefutable (it actually is- first Monday ever, and I’ve now coined the phrase first).

Right from the get-go, the singles matches had a bit of everything. And what made it most exciting is that, save for a few matches, no one really ran away with it. Neither the Europeans nor the Americans dominated throughout, and the final outcome was up in the air until the final pairing. And how about Rickie Fowler ladies and gentleman. That’s my homeboy Rickie!

I think most of us pulling for the Americans were cautious in our enthusiasm. We all knew that it would be an uphill battle to finish, so it was great to see them make it interesting.

The Europeans, as I’ve said throughout the weekend, had played the most consistent golf of the two teams and deserved to win the Ryder Cup. It was a bit of a surprise to not see them run away with it right away (especially after their starts on Saturday and Sunday), but it was more reflective of the fight left in the American squad than any failure on behalf of the Euros.

There were, of course, a few surprises. However, none of those surprises were huge. As I said, that was incredible all the way up until the end, and I’m glad I got up at 4 every morning just to watch.

Take the jump to read more of my thoughts.

Ryder Cup Singles Match Predictions

I’m basically re-publishing what I wrote yesterday, just to make it easier for everyone to find.

• Steve Stricker v Lee Westwood- Westwood for sure. Maybe a half-point for the U.S., but in all likelihood, it’s a European point.

• Stewart Cink v Rory McIlroy- Going to go with Cink the way he’s been putting.

• Jim Furyk v Luke Donald- Here’s hoping Furyk isn’t too tired, but I say an all-square. Half point.

• Dustin Johnson v Martin Kaymer- Haha. I love it. Can Dustin avenge his PGA Championship loss? Nope. 1-point for the Europeans.

• Matt Kuchar v Ian Poulter- Half-point.

• Jeff Overton v Ross Fisher- Overton, just because I think he likes the big stage.

• Bubba Watson v Miguel Jimenez- Bubba. See above.

• Tiger Woods v Francesco Molinari- Tiger. I have to believe that Tiger can win this.

• Rickie Fowler v Eduardo Molinari- Going with Rickie here. He’s my homeboy after all, and his Walker Cup experience should help.

• Phil Mickelson v Peter Hanson- Phil’s lucky he drew Peter Hanson, so he might pull it out. 1-point U.S.

• Zach Johnson v Padraig Harrington- Padraig’s got something to prove. Euros.

• Hunter Mahan v Graeme McDowell- All square. I will be interested to see what McDowell can do without McIlroy.

Like I said yesterday, optimistically speaking, the Americans can pull this off given the outcomes listed above. I’m awake watching. Why aren’t you?

European Dominance Part Deux- Ryder Cup Day 3; Day 4 Predictions

Well that was fun wasn’t it? Maybe if you were European.

Not a huge surprise today. As I pointed out yesterday, the American lead after Day One of the Ryder Cup didn’t really tell the whole story. The European squad has played more consistent golf, and save for a few bright spots (Cink’s putting & Overton/Watson), the American squad was lucky they were even in the mix, let alone the lead.

All of this is to say that Day 3 of the Ryder Cup was no different than Day 2. A few bright spots (Mickelson sank some putts?!?!?!?! And has Jeff Overton ever embraced the Ryder Cup atmosphere), but again the European squad took sizable leads, and finished them off with 5.5 out of 6 possible points. Even the undefeated duo (these guys were bound to lose the way they’ve been playing) of Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker wasn’t enough to quell the European charge.

Basically, this is what the American Revolution could have looked like if Colin Montgomerie was at the helm.

Take the jump for a few of my other thoughts!

Well that was a Stodgy Affair…I Mean Soggy Affair- Ryder Cup Day One

Alright, who else woke up at 3:00 a.m. EST to watch golf, only to find yourself at 4:45 with a half-finished pot of coffee and nothing else to do until work? Hands up. Anybody?

Needless to say, the overseas version of the Ryder Cup does not lend itself well to a productive Friday at work.

With that said, and essentially an unfinished Day 1 of the Ryder Cup, let’s make the jump, and discuss a few thoughts from Day 1 of the 2010 Ryder Cup in Wales.

Is Parity Good for the PGA?

There is a great line in the Kevin Costner movie “Tin Cup,” when the behind the scenes producer complains about Rory MacAvoy. He says something along the lines of “We don’t need another driving range pro. We need heroes.”

The truth behind that statement has never been more apparent than this year.

Save for a few stories given to us from golf reporters, there have been no heroes in the game of golf. Well, not true. Just a different hero every week. The result has been a year of suffering for the PGA. From a sponsorship and television rating perspective, 2010 has been a very weak year for the Tour. The fact of the matter is that the PGA does not need parity; and certainly not parity to this extreme.

Laryngitis Outbreak & the Meteoric Rise of Matt Kuchar

Anybody remember Matt Kuchar as an amateur?

(cricket noises)

There are lots of golf pundits standing up today, who say they do. Thanks to Google Images, they can even find pictures of the guy from 1997 and talk about his winning the U.S. amateur at Cog Hill that very same year. Hell, that’s what I just did.

The glory of the Internet has made it entirely possible for us to relive those moments like they were yesterday. Some of us even pretend that we were there. But Matt Kuchar’s rise over the past month is a bit of a surprise to me, especially since he hadn’t won a tournament until the FedEx Cup Playoffs started.