Big defeat for Woods, Euros surge to Ryder lead [9 1/2 to 6 1/2]

AP ^ | October 3, 2010 | AP

[ejdrapes]

Big defeat for Woods, Euros surge to Ryder lead

By PAUL NEWBERRY (AP) – 35 minutes ago

NEWPORT, Wales — What a day for Europe! The home team nearly pulled off a clean sweep Sunday, taking a huge step toward reclaiming the Ryder Cup with a performance that wiped out Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and the rest of America's stars.

The Ryder Cup will be finishing on a Monday for the first time, and it has all the makings of a huge European celebration at soggy Celtic Manor.

Captain Colin Montgomerie's squad kept the scoreboard bathed in blue all day. When it was over, Woods had the worst loss of his Cup career, Mickelson was the losingest U.S. player ever and the defending champs faced a daunting 9 1/2-6 1/2 deficit heading into singles play.

[ejdrapes]

But he controls the scheduling and it's because of the FedEx Cup that Ryder Cup is scheduled so late in the season. When this venue in Wales was originally picked the FedEx Cup didn't exist. No one in their right mindn would have picked Wales knowing the dates were first week in October.

[Frantzie]

He did have control over the Fed Ex cup which forced the Ryder Cup to be played two weeks later. Supposedly in Wales it is a big difference in the weather. Two weeks ago it was sunny and gorgeous now it is a cold damp bog.

Finchem also appears to be “selective” is his drug screening.

[Frantzie]

The cold damp bog conditions in Wales cannot be helping Mickelson's arthritis. Just miserable conditions.

[Oldpuppymax]

Tiger needs to find an event that gives prizes for nailing white tramps.

[deport]

Not that it matters a lot but the PGA Tour did impact the schedule date of the Ryder Cup.

From the following:
http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/rydercup10/columns/story?columnist=harig_bob&id=5632167

Nick Faldo, the best British golfer in history, was universally panned two years ago in the aftermath of his losing European captaincy when in his closing remarks at Valhalla he joked about the 2010 Ryder Cup coming here.

“Bring your waterproofs!”

Turns out, the six-time major champion was spot on. It has rained most of the week, and locals feared this could be the case. Apparently it rains a lot in Wales in October — a timeframe for which the matches were not originally scheduled.

Blame it on the FedEx Cup!

When Wales was awarded the Ryder Cup in 2001, the tournament was tentatively given traditional mid-September dates. But that changed when the PGA Tour’s playoff series was instituted several years ago, and here we have the fallout.

end snip

[Verginius Rufus]

Tiger Woods is American? I thought he was Thai.

[poobear]

They played like crap today and yesterday. Must be their Tele Tubbie uniforms. Seriously, yesterday’s lavender vests? Com’ on man!

[Lou L]

Not sure why Dustin Johnson is 4th out when he's done squat so far. Strange.

You don't want Dustin starting off immediately, because you want a quick win; you don't want him starting too late, in case the US needs a final match or two to win it...you don't want that much pressure on a player.

I think Dustin Johnson could do better in singles. Team play has worked against him, in that his pace of play is much faster. He shouldn't be studying putts so much; he should just take a quick pre-shot routine and putt.

[rintense]

Woods should have never been picked.

[mowowie]

wasn’t it announced a few days ago that a Cheetah sex tape was just sold to a porn disributer and will go on sale next month?

I wonder how this great news affected woods game.

[al baby]

I can disgrace myself with a better looking bunch of red light ladies than that

[Know et al]

They look like pizza delivery drivers. LOL

[chimera]

For some reason, those big-name players seem to be busts in the Cup competition. The no-name team in 2008 did a lot better. Time to go with the no-names and let the marquee players have a couple of weeks off. Bye-bye, Cup...:-(