Golf Update: Ryder Cup 2010- Who tackles whom
Captain of the Ryder Cup team that hails from United States made a fluke in the introductory speech on Thursday. He missed the name of one of his wild card picks while disclosing the pairings.
Corey Pavin was nervous and he should be, after all, it was his first time as a captain. He started fine but his voice was unsteady during the entire session. The striker introduced 11 of his players and missed the name of US Open champion, Stewart Cink.
Later he proceeded with the pairings and was about to sit down when he realized that he had missed a very important name. Just then, he added a line, “We are 1 up”.
Pavin got seated and Colin Montgomerie took his turn. After the session, Monty congratulated Pavin for a superb speech.
As promised, the American team striker took his counterpart with a surprise when disclosing the names. Tiger got paired up with Stricker in the third slot giving an impression that the team was trying to hide him. This is the very first time after 1999,
when Tiger Woods won’t play in the first match. In his place will be Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, two players known as big hitters.
On the other side, the Europeans will be led by Lee Westwood and PGA champion Martin Kaymer. The American duo is in a habit of playing tournaments with big purse every week whereas the opening group of Europe is made up of recent champions, Ross Fisher and
Ian Poulter.
According to Monty, initially he was thinking of sending, U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy in the lead but then he thought Lee Westwood deserved this respect. As quoted by the captain, "It was just seen that Lee should hit the first
shot...I think it's a real honor to do that, and I've had that honor twice. And it's only right that Lee Westwood at this time should have that."
This will be Westy’s first competition in six weeks, while he recovered from a calf injury. As this is his seventh Ryder Cup, he went to Montgomerie personally and asked to be in the lead.
Westwood and Poulter will be followed by Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy to face Georgia Tech alums Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar. This will surely strip the fans from the excitement that would have hailed from McIlroy-Woods battle. Earlier, Rory McIlroy
was found giving harsh remarks about the world number one and claimed that he will take him down if he is given a chance. Tiger did not backlash at him but answered with a polite tone, "Me, too.” This stirred sensation in the Ryder Cup saga but it would have
been possible if Monty wouldn’t be in a hurry to send his strongest players in the lead.
Tiger and Stricker will be facing Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher in the third match. Sticker is the 12th partner for Woods in Ryder Cup and their duo was much comprehended They went 4-0 at the Presidents Cup last year which is a record in the 30- year history
of the tournament. According to Stricker, he was confident over Corey’s decision as he shared a good chemistry with his partner.
The last duo to take the charge in the first day of the Ryder Cup will be rookies Bubba Watson and Jeff Overton against Europe’s Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald. Once again, Pavin came up with surprise as he sent two rookies in the last match and kept
Jim Furyk and Hunter Mahan out. Explaining this matter to the press, Corey said jokingly that his player with three victories and $11.35 million bonus was busy counting his money. Therefore, he was given some rest. As for Mahan, he held five consecutive victories
in all matches at Valhalla so he will be sent at some other time.
This was the surprise which Corey Pavin was planning to break on Thursday. Whether it is good or bad, only the results of the matches will decide it.
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