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Thread: British Open

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Norfolk, VA

    British Open

    It's Friday night and I'm watching the second round of the British Open and wondering if Sergio Garcia can hold his lead. He isn't playing good but he isn't playing bad and still has the lead. Of course, the Tiger is lurking. The announcers are commenting that Garcia isn't aggressive enough with the putter. I really enjoy watching golf and I especially enjoy the major championships.

    Bob Green
    Yokosuka, Japan

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Fairfax County, Virginia
    Enjoying it myself and really looking forward to this weekend's finale. Will Tiger charge to victory?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Los Angeles

    Question Go Tiger, Go Sergio

    I'm a huge Tiger fan. Have been since he was a jr. golfer and then at Stanford. So obviously I'm hoping he makes a charge on Sat. BUT, I also think Sergio is charismatic and good for the game. Has he solved his putting problem?? We'll see.

    So I guess I'm rooting for Sergio to hold on and keep it together, unless Tiger surges on the week-end.

    I find it confusing that there are SO MANY GREAT youngsters coming on the scene, but not too many Americans. Any thoughts?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Los Angeles

    Angry benchwarmer

    I'm just f--king tired of being a damn BENCHWARMER, so I'm just posting again -- trying to get into the rotation. Ugh.

  5. #5
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    Feb 2007
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    Norfolk, VA

    Now you are Shav

    dukemomLA,

    Congratulations!!! You are now Shav Randolph. I use to post useless drivel in an unsuccessful effort to keep up with JasonEvans, now I just post useless drivel for the hell of it!

    As far as the British Open goes, I'm pulling for any and all Americans. It is bad enough the Europeans keep beating us in the Ryder Cup but it would be over the top to let one of them win their tournament.

    Bob Green
    Yokosuka, Japan

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by dukemomLA View Post
    I'm a huge Tiger fan. Have been since he was a jr. golfer and then at Stanford. So obviously I'm hoping he makes a charge on Sat. BUT, I also think Sergio is charismatic and good for the game. Has he solved his putting problem?? We'll see.

    So I guess I'm rooting for Sergio to hold on and keep it together, unless Tiger surges on the week-end.

    I find it confusing that there are SO MANY GREAT youngsters coming on the scene, but not too many Americans. Any thoughts?
    My dad (insane golfer) has a theory that the death of the caddy profession in America is keeping aspiring teens from developing valuable course experience. He predicts dark Ryder Cup days ahead.

  7. #7
    is the caddy profession still alive and well in Europe. I know it is at the Scottish courses (without a caddy you wouldnt know where the heck to hit the next shot) but when I played in France and Spain there were no caddies to be seen.

    I hope your father is wron about the ryder cup - i always get frustrated when we lose that. When Leonard made that put a few years ago I was cheering and screaming at my TV.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by steven52682 View Post
    is the caddy profession still alive and well in Europe. I know it is at the Scottish courses (without a caddy you wouldnt know where the heck to hit the next shot) but when I played in France and Spain there were no caddies to be seen.

    I hope your father is wron about the ryder cup - i always get frustrated when we lose that. When Leonard made that put a few years ago I was cheering and screaming at my TV.
    Yeah, I hope so too. My dad could certainly be wrong, but he plays a ton of golf in Europe and so I assume his theory was based on some experience.

    There's no denying that the crop of rising American talent is thin compared to the rest of the world.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    New Orleans
    There may be something to the caddy theory. In any event, the Europeans have clearly become, as Tom Boswell wrote several years ago when the Ryder Cup was first becoming competitive after decades of American domination, a "heartier breed" now than we are.

    The obvious difference is that the Europens have the sort of personalities that can bond into a team, drinking, roistering and enjoying each other's company all during the Cup, whereas the Americans are aloof, solipsistic and hang strictly with their entourages. Capt. Tom Lehman tried to do "team-building" exercises last year, but the enforced sociability just didn't take.

    I read a very interesting piece at the time of the Cup last year. Apparently, the Europeans strongly dislike the Americans, and take enormous pleasure in beating them. The reason: Over 90 percent of the American touring pros are Bush Republicans, and a substantial number of them are unusually showy and sanctimonious evangelical Christians. The Europeans just don't get either point of view.

    Apparently, the worst of the breed -- sanctimonious in the extreme with his religion and bellicose in presenting his political views -- is Lehman, the guy who led the charge across Olazabal's line in '99 after Leonard's putt, making us seem like classless boors. The Europeans haven't forgotten that either.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by dkbaseball View Post

    I read a very interesting piece at the time of the Cup last year. Apparently, the Europeans strongly dislike the Americans, and take enormous pleasure in beating them. The reason: Over 90 percent of the American touring pros are Bush Republicans, and a substantial number of them are unusually showy and sanctimonious evangelical Christians. The Europeans just don't get either point of view.
    Well I'm use to the PPB posters blaming every negative event on Republicans, but it seems a bit over the top to blame our Ryder Cup woes on the political views of our golfers. I mean the players do go out on the course and strike the ball. I recommend we strike the ball a few less times next Ryder Cup.

    Bob Green
    Yokosuka, Japan

  11. #11
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    New Orleans
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Green View Post
    Well I'm use to the PPB posters blaming every negative event on Republicans, but it seems a bit over the top to blame our Ryder Cup woes on the political views of our golfers. Bob Green
    Yokosuka, Japan
    Well, I'm simply passing along what this writer said about the Europeans' motivation after interviewing them.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by dkbaseball View Post
    Well, I'm simply passing along what this writer said about the Europeans' motivation after interviewing them.
    Well, from my perspective, you and "this writer" need to reevaluate your position. Golf is golf and politics is politics. But equating Ryder Cup victories to a desire to refute Bush politics is laughable.

    Bob Green
    Yokosuka, Japan

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Green View Post
    Well, from my perspective, you and "this writer" need to reevaluate your position. Golf is golf and politics is politics. But equating Ryder Cup victories to a desire to refute Bush politics is laughable.

    Bob Green
    Yokosuka, Japan
    It would seem from your perspective that the European players need to reevaluate their position. Politics are viewed a little differently over there -- as something to be discussed and taken seriously, rather than cynically dismissed as the exclusive domain of kleptocrats. Here's the link to the article, since you seem skeptical of its existence. http://www.madison.com/archives/read...0610160616.php Quite an interesting read IMO.

    Jim3K gave me a tutorial recently on linking, and this is my first stab at it. If it doesn't work, the writer's name is Bruce Selcraig, and the article can be found by punching ryder cup republican and evangelical into yahoo.

  14. #14
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    Ashburn, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by dkbaseball View Post
    It would seem from your perspective that the European players need to reevaluate their position. Politics are viewed a little differently over there -- as something to be discussed and taken seriously, rather than cynically dismissed as the exclusive domain of kleptocrats. Here's the link to the article, since you seem skeptical of its existence. http://www.madison.com/archives/read...0610160616.php Quite an interesting read IMO.

    Jim3K gave me a tutorial recently on linking, and this is my first stab at it. If it doesn't work, the writer's name is Bruce Selcraig, and the article can be found by punching ryder cup republican and evangelical into yahoo.
    Oh yay, another article that reinforces 3 of my pet peeves.

    1. Evangelical = fundamentalist Christian
    2. Evangelical = "tax cuts for the rich, corporate welfare, pro death penalty, anti-gay marriage, anti-labor unions "
    3. You should keep your religion to yourself.

    While there is unfortunately some truth to #2 in today's world, I still find all three, for the record, to be false.

    But I digress, this is off-topic board, yes?
    Last edited by snowdenscold; 07-22-2007 at 03:33 PM.

  15. #15

    On a less contentious note

    Hard to imagine how Sergio could bounce back from this latest setback. He must be crushed.

  16. #16

    Sergio

    Man I actually feel pretty badly for Sergio. Still, I think Phil had some similarly difficult setbacks and he finally came through so you can't rule out Sergio coming through eventually.

    By the way, I wonder if Dean Smith's winning record against K can be explained by Dean Smith really wanting to beat Duke since he is liberal and Coach K is conservative. Something tells me there are other factors however.

  17. #17
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    Feb 2007
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    Lompoc, West Carolina

    Flight of the ball

    republicans slice - democrats hook

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by dkbaseball View Post
    It would seem from your perspective that the European players need to reevaluate their position. Politics are viewed a little differently over there -- as something to be discussed and taken seriously, rather than cynically dismissed as the exclusive domain of kleptocrats. Here's the link to the article, since you seem skeptical of its existence. http://www.madison.com/archives/read...0610160616.php Quite an interesting read IMO.

    Jim3K gave me a tutorial recently on linking, and this is my first stab at it. If it doesn't work, the writer's name is Bruce Selcraig, and the article can be found by punching ryder cup republican and evangelical into yahoo.
    Ok, I read the article but I'm not impressed. Conservatism is much more than the Christian right. My political views are right of center, but I have little to nothing in common with the far right Christians.

    Bob Green
    Yokosuka, Japan

  19. #19
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    Mar 2007
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    New Orleans
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Green View Post
    Ok, I read the article but I'm not impressed. Conservatism is much more than the Christian right. My political views are right of center, but I have little to nothing in common with the far right Christians.

    Bob Green
    Yokosuka, Japan
    I'm not sure what it is you think I am arguing. I simply made the point that the Europeans are highly motivated to beat the Americans because, by and large, they don't like them. This article presents one of the reasons that might be the case.

    I would make the further point, taking the discussion out of religious and political terms so as to avoid confusion: A lot of the Americans seem to be narcissistic jerks. They apparently don't have the psychological stuff of teammates, and they regularly underperform in team competitions, dramatically so in the last two Ryder Cups. I feel confident in saying none of those generalizations could have been made about American golfers in years gone by, and it's worth asking why. Is there something in the backgrounds of today's players -- the gated communities, the country club upbringing, the sucking at the corporate teat, the c_cksure religious beliefs, the "I've got mine, now you get lost" political viewpoint -- that makes them different?

    It all may be as simple as you say -- some days the ball rolls into the cup for you and some days it doesn't -- but any number of observers have commented on how different the two "teams" are. One is a team, the other isn't, and that might just have something to do with the outcome of team golf.

    One final point: Leonard should have conceded Olazabal's putt in '99, and the Americans should have settled for a tie. Golf, more than any other sport, prioritizes sportsmanship over the outcomes of competition.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by captmojo View Post
    republicans slice - democrats hook
    phil mickelson and mike weir disagree

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