Less than a week after the Ryder Cup debacle by the Americans, Tiger Woods has another stroke play event by the throat. This time it’s the WGC American Express Championship, in Chandlers Cross, England. Woods has eagled the 18th hole three consecutive days and has a 6-shot lead heading into the final round.

If there was ever any doubt about whether Woods gets up for stroke play more than team match play, then this should put all that to rest. There’s nothing wrong with Woods being more motivated by individual stroke play events rather than team events. He said from day one when he turned pro that he was driven to win major championships, and he’s done a fantastic job of that.

Did you ever notice that Nicklaus’ Ryder Cup record is never mentioned in the same breath when he’s talked about being the greatest golfer of all time? People don’t really care about the Ryder Cup, except every two years, but they do remember the major championships, and that’s what Tiger Woods is all about.

Phil Mickelson’s camp announced today that lefty has hung up the cleats for the season, and probably not a minute too soon for Phil. That means he won’t play in the PGA Grand Slam in November in Hawaii, which traditionally hosts the 4 major winners for a silly-season event right before Thanksgiving.

What a swing of emotions this year has been for Mickelson. He won the Masters in April and the entire golfing world had him proclaimed as the next Tiger beater. He was, in Sports Illustrated eyes, the Peoples Choice, and the Michelin Man lookalike became everyman’s favorite golfer to root for. He was/is the anti-Tiger in every respect: soft and plumpy instead of chiseled; outgoing instead of introspective; creative instead of calculating; swashbuckling instead of steady.

And then came the 2006 U.S. Open at Medinah. Leading up to the U.S. Open, Tiger hadn’t played any competitive golf for a couple of months because his Father had passed away, so no one expected too much out him. But no one anticipated Tiger missing the cut at a major championship. The shock reverberated around the golfing world, but everyone also understood, given Tiger’s personal grief he was dealing with.

That fortunately, left the door open for Mickelson to grab the second leg of the Grand Slam. And Mickelson went after it with all his might and ability. As it turned out, Mickelson struggled with his driver all day on Sunday of the U.S. Open, but still had a chance to win, and certainly tie for the lead as he reached the 18th tee. In what might go down as the second-most idiotic play in golf, Phil grabbed his driver and wailed with all his might, right into the rough off the left side of the fairway. Now he had a tree (actually multiple trees) between his ball and the green, and the smart play would have been to chip the ball out to the fairway and play for a bogey, at worst.

Sadly, the swashbuckling Phil hit the most idiotic shot in golf history, when he tried to go through and/or around the tree in front of him. The rest is history as Mickelson went on to make double-bogey, missing the playoff and handing the U.S. Open to Geoff Ogilvy. However, I don’t think anyone predicted how long it’s taken Phil to get over his questionable play. As I said here in the Ryder Cup review, Mickelson looked like he was sleepwalking the entire time at the Ryder Cup.

There’s no doubt Mickelson is full of talent, but he’s really got to decide which Phil is going to show up and then accept whatever consequences come with it. Personally, I like swashbuckling Phil, but it’s definitely a double-edged sword.

The Golf Channel’s Big Break VI had its premiere this week and the show has a different twist this time around. There are a total of 19 contestants, 8 women vying for a sponsor’s exemption on the LPGA, and 9 senior players, vying for a sponsor’s exemption on the Champions Tour. This contest is played at Donald Trump’s Trump National Resort, located outside of Los Angeles, and “The Donald” himself is going to add his own twists to the contest as it goes along.

Based on observations from this first episode, it appears the women are more talented than the Seniors, but first looks can be deceiving. The first two contestants were also elminated, and I think the weak link on the women’s team got her eviction notice. Karyn Stordahl-Utecht, a former Miss America contestant, gave it her best shot, but it was obvious that she didn’t appear to have tons of golf talent. Of course, as part of the Golf Channel’s M.O., they’re just as interested in creating people stories as they are showcasing good golf talent, and she fit in the former and not the latter.

It’s hard to say if the Sid Corliss, who got, eliminated really deserved it, because there’s no doubt that you can’t afford any mistakes when it comes to elmination challenges, and he got in trouble early and put himself in a hole. What made this particularly painful is that Corliss didn’t get to particpate in the last challenge because the other two guys stuck their sand shots in 2 shots or less, which elminated him outright based on their total scores.

Though I’m really not crazy about this particular format of including the Senior men, I’ll still watch because I’ll watch pretty much any type of golf on tv. It also appears that there may just be one current Futures Tour player in this group of women, which is surprising, considering that the Big Break V had a handfull from the Futures Tour. Is the Golf Channel exhausting the talent pool of decent golfers? I’d be shocked if that’s the case, but we’ll see what the next installment of the Big Break brings.

Byron Nelson passed away Tuesday at the age of 94, and the world in general will be a mouring a true gentleman, all senses of the word. Nelson was was one of the most respected professional golfers to ever grace the fairways, here and abroad, and he touched everyone he came in contact with.

Nelson had a magical year in 1945 when he won 18 tournaments, including 11 in a row at one point. Chances are slim that the 11-consecutive tournaments will ever be broke, simply because the world golf tours are extremely deep in talent, and some professional golfers don’t even enter 11 consecutive tournaments.

Nelson became known as Lord Byron, the nickname given to him by Atlanta sports journalist O.B. Keeler, and the name aptly fit him. In later years, he became the host of the Byron Nelson Classic, played in Dallas annualy.

Another year of the Golf Channel’s spirited analysis and tournament brodcasts have come and gone, and it’s time to look back at how they’ve performed.

First off, the Sprint Desk lost Kraig Kann, but gained Kelly Tilghman in the process, and it’s been a seamless move as I’m concerned. Both Tilghman and Kann are excellent moderators of the Sprint Desk though Tilghman probably asks the more pointed questions of her co-hosts. In my personal opinion, Tilghman and Kann are the A-Team of the Golf Channel and no matter what role they play, it will have a positive affect.

To me the surprise performance this year is from Frank Nobilo, one of the Sprint Desk’s co-hosts. He’s been frank, honest, and not afraid to share his opinions, even when they differ from the rest of the staff, and that’s refreshing. Brandel Chamblee made some excellent strides this year, though he’s more apt to give the politically correct opinion than not.

The Grey Goose needs someone other than Steve Duemig in that seat. I’d really like to see Bob Valvano replace him, as Valvano is an articulate, and even-keel kind of guy, and he’s also not afraid to share his opinions.

Golf Central is really the daily golf news bit and the hosts/co-hosts really don’t matter all that much, except when Megan West is on. Don’t know what it is about her; she’s perky, bubbly, upbeat and… well that’s about it. She has an on-camera background of some sort so she’s comfortable in front of the lens, but I’m not sure she’s qualified to talk about golf.

I think Jennifer Mills absence has been noticeable as well because she, like Nobilo had a little fire in her and was not afraid to ask the tough question.

Overall, the Golf Channel had an excellent year!

Tiger Woods made some post-match analysis and comments of the Ryder Cup debacle his observations were similar, if not identical, to what most people feel as well. The European Tour actually owns the World Golf rankings now as these numbers indicate:

• There are 10 Europeans in the top 25, and six are under 30 years old.
• There are 8 American in the top 25, and none are under 30 years old.
• The remainder of the top 25 is comprised of Austrailian, New Zealand, and Canadian golfers.

So the statistics bear out that Europe comprises 40% of the top 25. And 25% of the top-25 are European and 30 years old or younger. Those are unbelievable numbers and it’s not surprising at all that they’ve dominated the Ryder Cup. They’re clearly the better team based on world rankings.

The PGA Tour desperately needs some young American talent to rise to the top 25 in the next 5 years if we’re going to have any chance of competing with the Europeans. I’m not sure that the “team bonding” issue is an issue at all at this point. Our guys simply don’t put as much importance on the Ryder Cup as the Europeans do and it shows in spades.

It would be interesting if the PGA Tour required that up and coming players play at least 3 tournaments on the European and/or Asian tours. As much for the experience of gaining knowledge of true links-style golf, as it would be for understanding what drives and motivates the European and Asian tour players. It could argued that the PGA Tour, with all its comforts and available money, actually makes our younger players “soft”.

If you can make three-quarters of a million dollars without breaking a sweat, what’s the motivation to spend hours trying to hone your game even further?

Europe put on their game face today and beat the U.S. team in Sunday singles and in the process retained the Ryde Cup by winning 18.5 – 9.5, and it wasn’t even that close. The Americans needed to basically sweep the singles matches in order to have any chance of winning, but this European team is so strong that the odds were slim and none of that happening.

It’s going to be a field day for writers, analysts, and commentators, as they dissect the second consecutive lopsided loss by the U.S. in the Ryder Cup. However, I don’t think the European Ryder Cup team is getting the full credit they deserve. These guys are clearly much better than their American counterparts, when it comes to team match play. And now, they’ve shown in the last two Ryder Cups that they’re better in Sunday Singles matches as well!

This is starting to be reminiscent of the mid-70s when the upstart NFL AFC teams we’re starting to win Super Bowls convincingly, showing their NFC bretheren no respect whatsoever. And now Europe has been dominating the Ryder Cup matches for a decade, and there’s no real end in sight.

It’s also time to acknowledge the effort the U.S. team gave in these matches. There’s absolutely no doubt they played their hearts out, but they just were the inferior team again. Captain Lehman did everything right in preparing the U.S. team, but he doesn’t hit the shots and once they start playing, it’s out of his hands. I know the PGA doesn’t allow captains to repeat, but I’d sure like to see them give Lehman one more chance at this because he clearly has the passion for leading the team.

In a funny way, watching the matches was more enjoyable for me personally than the 1999 matches simply because of the sportsmanship displayed by the Europeans and also the Irish fans at the K-Club. The fans were extremely respectful of the Americans and showed their respect when the U.S. players hit good shots. And there was no boorish behavior by the fans or the European team after they had clinced the cup. Of course, part of this might come from the fact that I was pulling for Darren Clarke to have a successful Ryder Cup, given all that he’s gone through in the last six weeks. And that he’s Irish. And that they were playing in Ireland. And the emotions came pouring out after he holed out on 16 to win his match. A very emotional moment for sure.

Tiger Woods finally had a decent Ryder Cup and ending up with a winning record for a change, but it wasn’t enough as Phil Mickelson went winless in the three-day event, leaving a huge gap to fill by the other players. Unfortunately, none of them were up to the task. And what’s with DiMarco’s sour-puss attitude? I love the guy’s fire and passion, but give it a rest already and and acknowledge the other team when they’ve outplayed you. During the closing ceremonies, DiMarco was just sitting there stone-faced when the other U.S. teammates were applauding the Europeans win. That’s just poor sportsmanship on DiMarco’s part in my opinion.

And give credit to the American rookies! Zach Johnson, J.J. Henry, and Vaughn Taylor played outstanding all three days and contributed far more than anyone expected. Looking ahead at the 2008 matches, the Americans need to just have fun, throw darts at the flags and enjoy the experience.

Wow. What else can you say at this point? The Americans got their collective clocks cleaned by the Europeans once again, and once again, the Euros are in great shape heading into the Sunday singles matches. The A-Team of Woods-Furyk was the only winning team in the afternoon Foursomes and it’s a good thing they got a point, or it would be all over, save for the crying.

While watching the matches today I was particularly watching the Americans demeanor during the day and even in the morning matches, most of the Americans looked like they’d rather be having a root canal than playing in the Ryder Cup. Granted, it’s easier to have a positive demeanor when your team is winning on a home course, but that doesn’t mean the Americans need to have a “heading-to-the-firing-squad” look about them.

Like Friday’s matches, the Europeans left the door ajar many times for the Americans to take advantage of and rarely did the boys from the U.S. walk through. The Mickelson-Toms team especially looked like they’d rather be at a Republican fundraiser instead of in the middle of Dublin amongst all those Irish-Catholics. Toms had some serious difficulty with the flat stick today and it cost his team at least two and maybe three holes.

And Cink-Johnson got utterly creamed by Garcia-Donald in the afternoon and it wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Ironically, even though Woods-Furyk beat McGinley-Harrington, the boys from Ireland looked like they were truly enjoying the experience. I loved watching McGinely’s huge smile whenever he made a good shot or putt.

And what’s happened to Scott Verplank, one of Lehman’s captain’s picks? He’s only played one match and that was a winning effort by him and Zach Johnson in the morning Four-balls. But he was MIA after that. Was Lehman second-guessing his pick? And where was J.J. Henry in the afternoon matches? He’s played brillantly this weekend and might have made a difference if would have played.

Maybe this team thing just doesn’t work for today’s Americans. Face it, they don’t play well with others (teammates) and the PGA Tour’s equivalent of computer geeks. Just leave them alone to fend for themselves and they’ll be fine. Which is also why the Americans play so well in the Sunday singles matches. There’s no phony team stuff going on.

So what’s on tap for tomorrow’s matches? Look for Lehman to front-load the matches with big guns Woods, Furyk, Mickelson, and DiMarco and hope that by the afternoon matches, there’s still a reason to play.

Well, it shouldn’t be too surprising, but the Americans find themselves in the hole already after day 1 at the Ryder Cup in Ireland. Without trying to sound too critical, the Americans just don’t seem to be themselves when the Ryder Cup matches start every two years. Woods-Furyk won the opening match in the morning, but it was more sleight of hand than it appeared, as Tiger was all over the course in the morning.

Conversely, Sergio Garcia owns the Ryder Cup like no one else ever has. The man just plays phenomenal golf in September, every two years, and quite possibly might go down in history as the best Ryder Cup player to ever play the game. The same can be said of Colin Montgomerie. Monty struggled with the iron shots today, but drained the putts when it mattered most and like Garcia, can be counted on to win or halve the holes when they’re needed most. What is it about these guys??

On the up side, J.J. Henry showed a lot of mettle today and he might be the go-to guy in Saturday’s matches because the Americans are in dire need of someone to take charge. The Mickelson-DiMarco duo didn’t carry their weight either and Phil, like Tiger, sprayed the ball when it mattered and it was just too much for DiMarco to carry him.

The U.S. team needs to win half the matches tomorrow to have any chance on Sunday of taking the Ryder Cup back to the ‘States and that’s a tall order for an American team that is truly struggling. Based on what I saw today, it appears that it’s coming down to putting, or lack thereof, for the Americans. The Euros drain everything when it counts, and the Americans don’t, and if they don’t start putting on Saturday, Sunday might be a boring day.

Johnny Miller, golf analyst for NBC, and former PGA stalwart, has riled someone up again. This time it’s the American Ryder Cup team that’s bore the brunt of his latest comments. Miller was quoted in the Idaho Statesman as saying, “This is probably on paper the worst Ryder Cup team we’ve ever fielded”. Some will take issue with Miller’s comments, but I think he’s saying what a lot of people are thinking, but not saying.

Even though Miller has been reigned in by NBC this year, he’s free to voice his opinion when not wearing a headset, which is refreshing in my opinion. I don’t agree with everything Miller says, but like good analysts/commentators he at least makes you think about the subject at hand. American Chris DiMarco took exception to Miller’s comments and went on to say, “We really don’t need that kind of motivation. It (criticism) is not from the Europeans, it’s from the Americans – unfortunately from Johnny Miller and some of our own sports writers,” he said. I have never agree with anything Johnny writes or says anyway so it really doesn’t matter.”

However, in fairness to Miller, his full quote is this: “This might be their weakest team ever, at least on paper, but they’ve still got enough good players that if they play clutch golf and come together as a team, they can win. And I believe they will.” I don’t think Miller meant for his statements to be used as bulletin-board fodder, but in any case, this might be what the Americans need to out fired up.