The World Cup that fails to inspire

Its a shame the Golf World Cup doesnt create more interest amongst the actual players because it should be a really good event. What about a rule that the top 2 ranked players in any country 'have' to play. Then we would see Luke and Westy playing in this sort of thing

Iain what is this blog actually about?

Great Blog,

Very true points about greed of the individual tours making it impossible to have a well run, truly global game.

As a tennis fan though, I can say that having one body overseeing everything is not necessarily a recipe for success! Once again, it is the greed of each tournament organiser - none of which want to give an inch - making it difficult to have a well thought out and scheduled year.

As far as golf goes, I am very pro European and would have liked to have said that we can be leaders in this drive to open up the schedules etc etc, but any organisation that claims itself to be "European", and then goes ahead and renames its tour "the race to DUBAI", deserves absolutely no respect in my opinion, shamelessly chasing oil money.

mickey - the golf world cup and the reasons why a potentially exciting and top level tournament, fails to hit the heights.

You aren't very bright are you? It was pretty easy to work that one out. Maybe a few less "smart" comments from your end mate.

@3 Tenipurist

Not only is the European Tour the "Race to Dubai" but the tournament itself is styled as the "Dubai World Championship" how can it be a World Championship when it is limited to the top 60 on the European Tour?

The point I would also make is that the European Tour is no longer a European Tour but as close to a world tour as we are going to get. The USGA and USPGA need to wake up from their self-centered slumber and combine to make golf the truly global game that it is trying to proclaim itself as.

How many of the worlds top 50 played ? And has Tigers slide gone so far hes not even in the top 16 Yanks. I always thought it an honour to play for your county never mind country. Are the modern golfers getting more like our "hero footballers" with no pride or passion and just worried about money and publicity make it an amateur event then see who comes out on top.

Isn't this exactly why Golf should never be at the Olympics? For World Cup 2011 read Olympics 2012. In a professional sport where majors mean more than medals and don't contribute ranking points who is going to want to play? In Brazil for example?

Look at Tennis. Do we remember that Tim Henman won Olympic Silver or that he never got to the final of Wimbledon? I rest my case.

Please, please, IOC, look at this non-event, realise where Golf interest lies, and let in a sport like squash (and I'm sure there are many others) where Olympic Gold would be the pinnacle of acheivement in the sport, rather than an having a very public repeat of the non-event that is World Cup Golf that underminses the whole ethos of the Olympic dream.

TeniPurist maybe you should stick to tennis and the trials and tribulations of another top British Bottler that is Andy Murray. This blog as no relevence whatsoever, i aint interested who sponsors a golf tournament, you might be but i aint, all i am interested in is golf, were is Iains actuall mention of what happened in the World cup tournament??? Were is any mention of the South Africa open, these blogs are getting to boring, come on Iain dont get dragged in by the tennis loving TeniPurist and lets have a propper golf blog!! TeniPurist what school did you go to? I bet mine was better than yours!

I watched the Golf World Cup and it was terrible. You could tell the players didnt really care about it. The Golf Majors are what its all about at the end of the day and thats what the players really want to play in and win.

Ultimately, golf at the highest level is an individual game. Having a world cup which doesn't feature any singles play is a mistake. I would agree with Iain that turning it into a 72-hole strokeplay event is also a mistake, but a balance between fourball / foursomes and individual matchplay ought to be struck.

One way for the tournament to gain prestige would be for Asia to host it and provide a shedload of money, which is the way that Shanghai managed to attract so many of the top players without requiring ranking points as an incentive. That said, ranking points should be given, and distributed equally between pairings. I also think that it wouldn't hurt for countries to be able to field multiple teams, as in athletics and gymnastics team events.

Alternatively, make the event an end-of-season invitational where the top two ranked players from each nation are invited, purpose-build a seriously tough course in Asia, and have a lot of prize money on offer. If you build it they will come...

It is perfectly correct that professional golf is a mockery of a sport that is completely run for the benefit of the player's bank balance. Why else do we have the Majors, which should represent the cream of the top players, having invites to low ranked players to satisfy TV channels and why can't they be spread around the globe to make it a true world sport - MONEY as the Americans spend more money on equipment. In virtually all other sports the chance to represent your country is seen as an honour but in golf it doesn't pay enough so it gets shunned.

Hi Iain

Interesting blog, but the problem with this tournament is that whilst called the world cup, but you don't have to qualify to be there.
look at the FIFA world cup (for example), the top teams from each continent have to qualify to be there, adding to the interest beforehand and the prestige of qualifying.
If you made pairings qualify over a season (don't know how this would be done, maybe make top two mandatory) this may help.
I agree that it needs to be given ranking points status and to be held in a week when no ranking points golf is played, this would encourage participation.

as an alternative, both (US & europe) tours have their own final (tour championship, RTD), why not allow the highest placed of them to come together for a season ending strokeplay World cup ?

Ninj, while I agree with almost all of your post the Ryder Cup does pose an interesting counter-example to the idea that players only care about money rather than representing their country / region.

The problem is in part the yearly schedule - imagine if football had a two week break between domestic seasons, how few players would turn up to an international world cup scheduled during that break. But for me, the primary problem is history and prestige. The Ryder Cup isn't about money, but you never get players turning down the chance to play. The question is how to build that prestige from scratch...

I have to jump in here,

Mickey - read the blog title !! You might get a clue that it's not intended to be about the other golf tournaments you mention etc and getting into a "he said she said" argument or a "mine's bigger than yours" discussion, jeez grow up!!
#7 - totally agree - I love golf but couldn't believe when squash was passed over, especially with the rubbish arguments about promoting the game etc - anyone who's been to any of the "new" golf countries will know the prices are for the Elite Few only, whereas squash only needs an air conditioned room (and not even that when I remember back to Thailand in the '80s) to flourish anywhere.

#11 - I like the invitational idea, but I would give ranking points but prize money donated to charity/junior golf development or whatever - top pros earn enough as it is. Also name and shame - show the Invite list and then who actually turns up

I agree with most of the posts here. The golfers dont care about the world cup and neither will they care about the Olympic games. For the reason that golf is all about history and what past great legends of the game did and where they did it.

The fact that the likes Jack, Nick Faldo, Seve, Langer, Woosnam, Palmer, Player etc never had the chance to play in the Olympics really means that golfers wont respect the Olympics like they do the British Open or US Masters. They naturally want to achieve what their heros achieved during their careers.

I think golf in the olympics should be confined to amateurs.

Golf's world cup is the Ryder Cup! So maybe a name change to the Ryder "World Cup" of Golf.

And bring mor continents into the above..........

@ kgoeseast, why dont you jump off your high horse! If you read my entry propper you will see that i clearly, yes CLEARLY! or do you want me to get you some spectacles? That why does Iain keep doing blogs about meaningless subjects instead of talking about tournaments that have been palyed and what as happened in them? He seems to steer away, like he failed to mention the The Presidents cup to blog instead about David Duval! We want golf discussion, this blog and what its about will be dead after about 40 comments (1 of them coming from you who never appears to blog but thinks he is the worlds bet blogger), we need something we can debate about, not coswollop like this!

mickysausage, why destroy the history of the Ryder Cup?

The World Cup just doesn't matter to anyone. Changing the date wouldn't make any difference to that. Part of the problem is that it's closed to the vast majority of pros, so why would they support it? I'd scrap the tournament, it wont be missed.

I think we should ignore mickysausage - clearly trolling.

Anyway - I agree with Iain that a single, unified World Golf Tour (with the existing regional tours - PGA, European, Asian acting as second-tier, feeder tours for those just outside the World elite) would be ideal - but self interest will prevent it from ever happening.

This is a real shame as golf is one of the truly global sports, with players and fans from every continent. But currently it is just too US-centric (for commercial reasons, obviously).

A question - does the Presidents Cup (between US and Rest of World) have the prestige and status of the Ryder Cup? If so, is it perhaps time to merge the competitions - USA v Europe v Rest of World?

#19 mickysausage

Thats the worst piece of english writing I have ever read on a blog and Ive read childrens blogs. The grammer is atrocious and your spelling is abysmal.
Im not even sure what your trying to say?
"my entry propper" ?
"being palyed" ?
"worlds bet blogger" ?

I think you should put that can of redbull down and think before you blab!

#21 LawBestCharlton

"If so, is it perhaps time to merge the competitions - USA v Europe v Rest of World?"

Ya know I would hate to even touch the ryder cup because its so exciting and the best sporting event in the world in my books....but how good would it be to see the 3 teams you named above competing in a separate competition. Thats an event I would certainly pay to see.

#19 Yes, you are right I rarely comment on blogs but do read them and find some of the tripe posted by the regulars like yourself quite self serving and hardly good debates of golfing issues. I wouldn't presume to be any sort of "world's best blogger" that you mention, quite presumptuous of you from one critical comment.
I also don't see why 40 comments on a blog should be deemed bad, there's plenty of stuff out there and many of us have enough other things going on that reading 200+ inane comments is too time consuming anyway.

@LawBestCharlton "Clearly Trolling"?? Were have you been for the last 10 blogs?? If you read back you will see, that i must be the world's busiest troller, if i can find time to talk about golf and trolling all at the same time. Jamesmatthew i didnt know spelling ment that much to you, i will make sure in all future posts that i spell check before posting, just so you dont have to do it for me. I wouldnt want to upset you and your customers now would i??

LawBestCharlton,

You're correct that the Tours merging is a non-starter. I personally think there's room in golf for more than one tour anyway. Someone mentioned that a unified body doesn't solve the problems in tennis, and that's true, but tennis has other issues with their tour (partly stemming from the Australian Open being in January) and keeping all the sponsors happy.

Regarding the Presidents Cup (there was a blog a couple of weeks back where this was discussed) it doesn't have the prestige and status of the RC yet, but it will soon I think. But again, it's good to have them both rather than merge them and destroy their individual history.

#15: I'm not keen on the idea of invitational events that carry ranking points - I think it's unfair to choose people based on their ranking and then give them more points that aren't available to those who are excluded. I'm aware such events exist already, but I see no reason to add to an existing problem. I'd rather have an invitational based on ranking points but only providing prize money, or an event that carries ranking points where multiple teams can enter.

One thing I'd like to see is someone in Asia purpose-build a truly unique, super-difficult course to play the event on. For example - Asia has a massive surfeit of water right now (see: Bangkok). How cool would it be to see the pros playing a course like the one in the (Arizona?) desert, but with grass islands in a massive lake rather than sand?

@kgoeseast how dare you slate me and my fellow blogging friends like BiloMct, Sumo82, Jeffkenna, Don247, powerhitter, jamesmatthew, Golfnut99, Chummbawummba, Mattefc, TheSorcerer, Kwiksandgolfer like that, we always talk about good genuine golf topics! You should be ashamed of yourself!

Edit to #27: I mean SE Asia of course - clearly there are parts of Asia where water is at more of a premium...

Golf is an individual sport and (aside from the Ryder Cup which carries such historical weight) players measure their careers by success in the individual arena, particularly the established major championships. The reason things like the World Cup do not work is that the golfing season (given the global nature and level of travel required) is now becoming too long with too many events, it has reached saturation point.
The Olympics will not work as it will not attract the top players. The Olympics work for sports where the event is the pinnacle of that particular sport. For golf this is not/ will never be the case as the pinnacle is the 4 majors.

To those people who say that the majors should be spread out more worldwide – perhaps you are right in an ideal world they would be. However the four major championships are so highly established in golf as exactly those majors that it would be a completely redundant exercise to go changing that. Major championships are so engrossed in history and prestige, which is what makes them special and why the players want to win. The history and development of the game over the last 100 years have dictated that these are golf’s 4 majors ..............................cont.....................

.................................cont................................. You cannot just create that and all of a sudden start a tournament in Asia, call it the Asian Open/Masters/PGA and all of a sudden say “oh by the way this is now considered a major championship”. It just wouldn’t be the same. The current 4 big tournaments (aside from the Ryder Cup) are the only large tournaments that exist free from sponsorship in the title name. They retain the prestige that no other tournaments can offer. If there were no prize money on offer the top players would still play as their success in Majors is how they stack up against champions of the past. The same cannot be said of any “Race to Dubai” “HSBC World Championship” “Accenture World Whatever”.

I think the Idea of a world tour replacing the current Oligopolies is a great idea. The dominance of the US is far too great at the moment considering that the game is global.

I dont mind that 3 of the 4 majors are hosted in America, golf is a game of history and prestige. You cant create this artificially so therefore the 4 majors are as their name suggests always going to be the Major events in the golfing calendar. Besides that it'd be good to spread it out.

The South African open for example should be a big event considering the Golfing heritage of that particular nation (More post war majors than any other country with the exception of the United States) and yet the field was distinctly second rate. Equally you have to wonder how strong the field in the Australian open would have been the US hadnt been playing the Presidents cup in America the following week.

No coverage on Free to Air, even truly inspiring sport eg Englands last Ashes win (compare that to the 2005 version that was FTA!) struggles. Also this is about money, maybe not exclussivley but mostly, as all invatationals are.

Cont....

I do however feel that the discussion is also a non starter, there is no chance anything is going to change. The USGA/USPGA are not going to relinquish any of their hold over the modern game, why should they? Neither are the European tour going to be happy to budge from their position its current strength in terms of rankings/major winners.

Essentially the format in world golf could be improved but only with a redical overhaul that is never going to happen, currently the game isnt in crisis, the product is generally percieved to be a good one and whilst that remains the case very little will change.

I know he has done it himself (many times) but just had to sign in to confirm what a frustrating figure mickeysausage is. He does not seem to be able to do the following;

1. Have a debate rather than an argument.
2. Move away from posts, stories, reports he is not interested in.
3. Cut the shape of a grown up person.

If anyone wants a laugh, scroll up and read his posts. Dont include him in any replies, that would make him feel important and justify his inane ramblings. Just have a quiet laugh at his expense and thank your lucky stars you are not living at his level. It must be more frustrating than having to continually read his drivel.

Davidthedaggg - that's a good point and is something the Americans realised decades ago. Hence in the US, the NFL, NBA, MLB etc are all on free to air TV. They understand that getting the product to the biggest audience ultimately generates more than selling it off to the highest bidding cable station.....

Jimmy, the SA open and the Australian open should, in theory, be much bigger events, but unfortunately they suffer from being held at the time of year when the top Pros are either thinking of their winter break or chasing much bigger money round Asia.

jeffkenna, I agree with what you say but I don't actually want to. So, for argument's sake - while I think it is correct to state that there is no point in trying to create a major championship in places where golf is established, isn't there the possibility to create one in Asia? The fanbase is crying out for one, and players must recognise the potential for marketing in the East. All the original major championships had to start somewhere, and they did so by being played on the hardest / best courses and attracting the top players. To my mind therefore, if somewhere in Asia set out to make the most difficult course in the world, paid the most money, and attracted the top players, the history would write itself eventually.

I'd also tend to dispute the idea that the majors are the place where current champions can measure themselves against former champions. Maybe in numbers, but not in actions. Golf is not the same game as when woods were woods and balls were filled with elastic bands.

Stephen_P.

Sorry, golf is exactly the same game as it always has been in my humble opinion. Its the best golfers in the world using the best technology available to them trying to get the ball into the hole 72 times in the lowest number of shots. Just as it has always been. Being able to spank the ball 50 yards further doesnt matter because so can everyone else.

You could create a major event in Asia, easily, there are many fine courses, throw loads of money at it, get the worlds best players and it would be a major golf event. However it wouldnt be a Major (With a capital M) if that makes sense.

Power Hitter - Premier League football isnt free to air but its still the most popular spectator sport in the UK. Putting sports on free to air may help to grow or maintain the appeal of a sport or event but isnt the be all and end all. Or perhaps its just that different marketing tactics work in different markets.

@ hixyboyblue great comment, i couldnt agree more myself, why dont you post more often?

stephen_p- if they suddenly decide to create a new major championship in Asia I am sorry but for me I would not recognise it as a major championship in the same light as the Open, US Open, Masters and USPGA. In my lifetime a victory in such would not carry anywhere near the same weight as an Open for example. As someone who respects the tradition of the game I would balk at your suggestion to create theis Asian major around a gimmicky golf course which constitues a series of island fairways and greens in a lake. While such may create a wow factor and entertainment for an exhibition it is not really befitting with major championship golf.

I must apologise to my fellow BBC bloggers. I've been devoting so much time to "Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 3" (... pursuing a Russian terrorist called Vladimir Makarov, who I've now unashamedly renamed 'James Mathew') that I completely missed out on the David Duval blog.

(However - as mickysausage suggested on that blog and here again, there were far more interesting things to discuss than DD going back to Q-school just after the Presidents Cup had finished. Plus Iain Carter seemed to be unaware that there are other former major winners who are struggling to retain their PGA tour cards/playing rights.

Quote from pgatour.com: "Major winners David Duval, Rich Beem, Lee Janzen and Shaun Micheel all made it through to next week's finals as did Jason Gore, Tommy Armour III, Boo Weekley and Jeff Maggert. But so many more didn't."

Now they all face another 6 rounds of golf before regaining/retaining their cards for the tour. Unaccountably, no mention was made of them in the last blog.)

In this current blog, Iain Carter is so wide of the mark on many of the things he says, e.g. Luke Donald playing for England! (What? After the sudden death of his father, then the birth of his second daughter on 11.11.11 ... Iain, come on .. I ask you!!??)

In fact, I'm now struggling to stay with Iain Carter's blog. As mickysausage suggests, it's all so politically correct, written in language designed to offend no-one, always talking around the issues and never about the issues - so much so, that it usually ends up just being a bland space filler.

Mind you, (... referring back to Golf's World Cup and Call of Duty), G-Mac and Wee-Mac have obviously provided me with an almost unlimited supply of heavy-calibre ammunition to fire in their direction. A quick look through my press cuttings just reinforces what I've been saying about the former and reigning US Open champions all along. Are these two - despite already having each won a major - really the "real deal".... who will (automatically) go on to win multiple majors?

Despite being the highest ranked team, the "Emerald green" hot favourites, holding a two-shot lead overnight and playing in the final grouping with Germany (including a certain in-form Martin Kaymer and playing partner Alex Cejka), the half-British/half-Irish G-Mac in "discoordination" with the half-Danish/half-British/half-Irish "at least I'm not English" Wee-Mac failed quite abysmally to get the job done. They totally blew it and they knew it!!

(The "scar tissue" is building up, I'm afraid .... tournament by tournament! Melting down, losing out when leading or missing such a golden opportunity are all confidence sappers!!)

I have been totally vindicated ... thank you G-Mac, thank you Rors!!

(Martin Kaymer would call that "Schadenfreude"! Ask our "self-confessed German" BiloMcT for a quick translation!!)


Jimmy:

Nothing like "shoehorning" in some acerbic comments about the "Wonder Boy" eh!

James Mathew:

Are you accepting "my handshake" or not?

Like my good buddy Jeffkenna said earlier, Golf is too much of an established sport and as been for many of years, we habe 4 majors that are well and truly established and one ryder cup every two years. These are the most established events on the golfing calender followed probably by the players championship, the fed-ex trophy and the presidents cup. You will not attract all the top players to over events like the Seve Trophy and the world cup of golf because they havent been classed and established as major events, and the golfing calender is that intense these days top golfers would rather have a break. Do you think if the english football league brought a new optional entry trophy out do you think all the big clubs who compete in Europe would enter? Probably not because there are better trophies up for grabs.

Thanks DON247 its good to see that you agree with me and dont think i'm trolling like some people who have miraculosly appeared on here today, its sure good knowing that am experienced and well drilled blogger like yourself backs my opinions of these blogs recently!

Good to have you back Don361.

Even I missed your extra long posts where you get in as much Rory bashing as I do Luke bashing (well I dont ever bash Luke he is my fav golfer I just think he lacks what it takes to be a major winner...anyways thats a past post)

As for your "handshake"...I dont remember seeing one?

#28: mickysausage: !!!!

Iain,
Seems you are resigned to the World Cup remaining as it will be in 2013. Great sympathies with Omega but it is a fact of life that sponsors can only expect to gain full worldwide participation in their events by offering mega-prizefunds, FedEx, Dubai and the WGC sponsors (excluding HSBC of course) being the only ones to successfully step up to the mark so far. In addition, support from the PGA Tour is lukewarm at best, and anyone not recognising the impact that has is kidding themselves.
HSBC's initiatives have proved that "Asia" cannot expect to attract all the top PGA Tour members (unless they double their purse?), and sponsors would be far better off supporting local markets instead of going global.
The World Cup (from its Canada Cup roots) has a great heritage but is destined to remain the highly paid silly season exhibition the Tours have allowed it to become.

I think the topic itself was an interesting enough one - but Iain's should have condensed this rather rambling blog into a couple of paragraph's and then concentrated on actual golfing matters, such as:
- Rory and G-Mac capitulating again
- the fact that Ian Poulter only seems to shine in team and matchplay tournaments these days
- lack of any challenge from the Asian contingent on their own continent
- the possible return to form of Martin Kaymer

Iain,

Interesting blog.

I believe the major (pun intended) problem is that there is NO single governing body to declare which competitions and/or championships will carry the most weight. Couple this with an already jam-packed schedule (that only the really rich and capable can afford to pick and choose to meet the respective Tour requirements) and it isn't really any wonder that the relatively recent World Cup is not rated particularly highly by most golfers.

Personally, I would like to see differing formats of the game have bigger exposure as organised tournaments, rather than novelty charity days that seem to be the go for things like Skins, PowerPlay et al.

As matches like the Ryder Cup demostrate, there exists a real difference in strategy and tactics in playing 72 holes (if you're good enough) for yourself and playing a straight 18 hole foursomes, be it match or strokeplay. How about an officially sanctioned Bogey tournament?

I think the World Cup is a good idea but poorly handled.

Quite how anybody gets the USGA and the R&A to sort themsleves into a single body and tell the Augusta National to toe the line, I have no suggestions, sadly.

As for a Major elsewhere in the world, I think that the problem is history. The reason that the current 4 (modern professionalism now rendering the respective Amateur titles defunct from the Major category) enjoy their status is that they have been around for so long and (a little bit chicken and egg) attract the world top players. For Asia or anywhere else to generate this pull, they would need time to create a tournament at a venue (or series of venues) that gather complete interest and respect from the World's elite. That can only take time.

Plus, who shall argue for more than 4 majors? If only 4, which one should go and how would you persuade the organisers to drop off the prestigious list?

There will only ever be 4 Majors (with a capital M), but there is the possibility of other tournaments such as the Players (another American tournament) being regarded by the players as almost as good.

My only issue with this is that the 4 Majors are what they are because of their prestige and history - but for a new tournament to get near that in the short term can only be achieved by getting the best players there - and the only incentive would be MONEY. The latest tournament won by rory had such a great field for that time of year because........shed loads of proze money

The world cup is not as high in people's regards because, as jeffkenna has mentioned earlier, the season is becoming too long with too many events. The top golfers will pick and choose the events generally down to the purse or the prestige (the four majors). What we or the sponsors don't factor in is the travel and time spent away from home, and it doesn't matter how much money your earning, you'll still miss your home/family. So the golfers are probably looking at events they could possibly 'give a miss' and i think the world cup probably falls into that category.

Don247 is back!!!! i have missed you Don247. Have you missed me? I have some bad news for you mate, you have been replaced as head blogger by Golfnut99.
Golfnut99, time for you to perform, i see you have only posted one weak comment at the start. Lets show the promise you said you could show! Dont be a Donald or a Westwood and bottle the chance!

Why did most of us not care?

1) An uninspiring format. Strokeplay??? Team event??? The format would be far more exciting if it was matchplay knockout. I've played in the oldest amateur team trophy in the world (or so I was told...) and that is straight knockout, foursomes, four players per team. Two matches played out to the 18th. The two scores added up to get the winner. Watching the pros play matchplay against eachother would make it more exciting for them and us. A great watchable team competition has to involve matchplay, with two teams playing against eachother. Anyone disagree?

2) The pinnacle of amateur golf is to get picked and play for your country. The pinnacle of pro golf is to win a major, not play for your country. Golf is an individual sport, not played as a team like football. Most of these guys have already played for their country as amateurs. That could be why the best players often choose not to play. Most of them have have already done it and are taking a well earned rest after working hard trying to win majors.

So I say that without a change in format it just won't excite people or players. But don't expect the highest ranked pros to just drop everything to play for their country and criticise those who don't play, as most of them have already done it as amateurs. They deserve some time off at home with family and friends.

James Mathew:

Remember my "Rory bashing" is all cleverly designed to get Wee-Mac (who now appears to be taller than G-Mac.... maybe because he's wearing the built-up FJs I suggested he adopt to achieve "vertical parity" with Sweet C!!) to knuckle down and do some real practice before he tackles the US tour in earnest ... especially his short game which, when compared with "your" Luke's - who incidentally is #1 in several categories ( ... I think you should take a close look at Luke's statistics for the year on the PGA Tour.... they're very very impressive!), is almost woeful for a new world's #2.

Rory's putting in the final round was absolutely dreadful ... missing at least two two-footers ... one at the first for a bogey to set the tone for the whole day, and one at the last hole so that the "Irish bromance" even missed out on second place.

According to reports he also "fluffed a series of shots" ... pressure induced, I ask myself??!! (Reason according to Rors: He couldn't find his rhythm when playing this alternate-shot format!!)

Additional comments:

We've got to say "well done" to Ian ("I'm a business brand") Poulter and Justin Rose for their tremendous 63 ... this "Florida combo" augers well for the Ryder Cup if they can both qualify, that is!

Martin Laird and Stephen Gallacher of Scotland also did well, tying for third place. Martin is seriously trying to qualify for the Ryder Cup this time around... and with his length off the tee, good putting (albeit with a long putter) and his experience of already winning on the PGA Tour, he could be a valuable asset to the team.

Martin Kaymer was also in good form (after the good "slagging off" I gave him earlier this year) ... he is obviously gearing himself up/saving his best till last to record another spectacular win in Dubai (... to the great pleasure of mickysausage and BiloMcT no doubt!)

I can't agree with all those who said that the teams taking part weren't motivated. When you listen to Matt (allegedly the world's #1 lawyer on the golf course) Kuchar and Gary Woodland, they were extremely happy to win it for Team USA and get their names on the trophy like Tiger Woods and David Duval, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer etc. before them. They thought it was a real achievement after an 11-year drought and the press in America were also ecstatic about their win!

Key question: Will Gary Woodland (... who according to Kuchar played the best golf of anyone all week) now go on to higher things. i.e. challenge for and win a major? He has a tremendous swing/game, he looks the part and boy can he "put it out there"!

Finally, it has to be said that G-Mac and Wee-Mac lamented - at length - about the difficulty of foursomes and the lack of practice they've had in playing as a team ... yet these same two "losers" refused to turn up at the Seve Trophy in Paris giving rather spurious reasons for their absence!

(Sorry bhoys, we BBC Bloggers don't forget these things as conveniently as you - our sporting heroes - seem to do! There should, at least, be some consistency in your narrative!!)

Speaking about consistency (or lack of it!): Lee Westwood is now returning to the PGA Tour (.... not missing his holidays with the wife and kids then in sunny Worksop/Barbados??) which should, however, prove to be a good thing for next year's Ryder Cup!!

@36 hixyboyblue...leave mickysausage alone.

Lets change the format of World Cup of golf. Four man teams playing four rounds of Texas Scramble. Mouth watering stuff!!!

Another long winded, rambling, slightly pointless blog. Golf is a very individual sport (Ryder Cup circus aside) played my individuals driven by ranking points and money. The more points and money a tournament offers, the better quality of players it gets, and the higher viewing figures it'll receive. Simples. Questions over location or format are totally irrelevant with regard to this issue.

However, the nonsense spouted by sponsors' CEOs, and Iain Carter it seems, about the flaws of the golf calendar is as erroneous as it is predictable. Tournaments are played when and where they are because it is the best time and place for the majority of players and fans. That means when the weather is half decent and in a time zone that suits the majority of viewers and players. In other words that suits Europeans and North Americans. A handful of Koreans moving up the rankings or Michael Campbell snatching a major is not sufficient cause to begin spreading tournaments all over the world and all through the year as you'll lose a large chunk of the European / American audience who are not fanatical enough to begin watching a golf tournament at midnight when they have work the next day.

The day golf starts taking advice from multinational companies on where and when to play is the day it morphs fully into formula 1. ie: a business first and sport second. Sadly that day is probably pretty close and with Omega throwing Carter a few quid to argue their case it is probably getting even closer.

Don247. 2 Questions?

What is the qualification system for next years European Ryder cup team (I ask you because you're encyclopaedic on all things) I know that in the past and presumably this time as well it has been a combination of World Rankings, Euro tour points and Captains Picks.

If this remains the case then surely therefore its surely not a good thing to have Westwood moving to play more on the PGA tour and being more likely to have to rely on his ranking to qualify, It also drastically reduces Lairds chances of Qualifying, despite the fact that i think he is one of Europes 12 best players.

Secondly if the Macs aren't "The real deal who will automatically go on to win multiple majors" then who is? I know nothing is automatic but i'd have thought that along with Kaymer, Rory is the obvious pick to be the next multiple Major winner.

Who else thinks Iain Carter is taking bungs to talk about irrelivant subjects to shoehorn in his dodgy dealings and skirt the real issues?

cont....

Good comments about Woodland, if you look through previous comments on another blog (Dont bother, just take my word for it) You'll see i picked him out as a good outside bet for next year, particularly the masters where his length gives him a good advantage on a course where taking advantage of the par 5's is crucial. I'll have an each way pop on his for sure.

Jimmy, remember Zach Johnston won the Master a few years back and never went for any par 5 in 2. You do need to take advantage of the par 5s, but having a great wedge game could be the way to do it.

I reckon Luke Donald might just do it and shut a few people up on this board.

BiloMcT @51:

Thanks mate for the kind welcome back!

Honestly, I don't mind who is "Head Blogger" as long as he doesn't allow the blog to descend into a personal slanging match (... as it has done in the past unfortunately.)

Anyway, remember there's no brand Don247, no cult Don247, no sect Don247, no idolatry Don247, no Don247 way or the highway .... as you know, I just like a good fair airing of the facts ... so good luck to Golfnut99!!

It's good to see all the "usual suspects" on the blog today and a whole lot of new posters adding to the discussion. Long may it continue!!

The reason why Donald did not play is that he is still off after his wife gave birth.

However, tv did not even advertise the Wrold Cup properly just treating it like another compeition why not get more advertising? Why is there more pride in playing for Europe or an International team than your country.

Powerhitter, There is indeed more than one way to skin a cat. Johnson isnt the only guy who you wouldnt say is a big hitter to claim the Green Jacket since i 1st wantched the masters (1994)

But in Modern times Woods & Mickleson are you would say are consistenrly the best round Augusta and historically its Nicklaus. All 3 are big hitters who could take advantage of the par 5's. Or you could just argue that they won more because they were the best players of their time. Argue it how you like

Hmmm,do I smell some sour grapes here Ian?

I'm sure if England or Ireland or even a European team had of won this it would be a very different story. BBC sport bagged the Presidents cup because they were not represented. Talk about a bunch of whingers you all are.

By the way the Presidents cup was awesome and so was the world cup. Ian and a lot of whingers on these blogs could do with some vitamin B in their daily diets.

Jimmy:

Good question regarding Ryder Cup qualification ... it's posted on the European Tour website as follows:

"Qualification Criteria for The 2012 European Ryder Cup Team

Qualification for The 2012 European Ryder Cup Team will be selected employing the following criteria:-

(a) The leading five players on The Ryder Cup European Points List (1) at the conclusion of the 2012 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. In the event of a tie (equal number of points accumulated), placings will be decided by the player with the higher ranking on The 2012 Race to Dubai at the conclusion of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

(b) The leading five players, not otherwise qualified (having selected the five players from The Ryder Cup European Points List) from The Ryder Cup World Points List (2) at the conclusion of the 2012 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. In the event of a tie (equal number of points accumulated), placings will be decided by the player with the higher ranking on the Official World Golf Ranking.

(c) The Captain, José Maria Olazábal, will choose the remaining two players following the conclusion of the 2012 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

(1) The Ryder Cup European Points List will comprise points (1 point = 1 Euro) earned by a European Tour Member from all officially sanctioned European Tour tournaments on The European Tour Race to Dubai from September 1, 2011 until the conclusion of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in 2012.

(2) The Ryder Cup World Points List will comprise World Ranking Points won by a European Tour Member from each tournament in which he participates from September 1, 2011 until the conclusion of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in 2012. World Ranking Points are allocated to all officially sanctioned tournaments (on any Federated Tour) by the Official World Golf Ranking and are allocated according to the Event Rating of the tournament."

The currect leader on the European Points List (1) is Martin Kaymer while the World Points List (2) is headed by Luuuke Donald ... as of 29th November 2011.

Regarding Rory, he's now the red hot favourite in every tournament he plays in and has actually won very few despite challenging in many ... and that's my point, you don't just turn up and expect to win. David Duval was all-dominant for a short period of time ...but won only one major! Rory is certainly there or thereabouts but he has trouble getting over the finishing line (as we've just seen again in China even with G-Mac acting as his big brother and ersatz caddie!!) Rors has simply got to work on his game and "attitude"!

Regarding Westwood, it's purely money driven .... he said he watched the "5th Major" on television while on holiday and "just wanted to be there"; he also saw how the FedExCup has grown to become such a great success and "just wanted to be there". Cue: Abba - "Money, Money, Money!"

As Tonto allegedly said to the Lone Ranger "all golfers talk with forked tongue these days!" Only Ian Poulter is honest enough to say he's expanding his "business brand" into Asia/Far East by accepting all the invitations going (... thereby increasing his off-course earnings to the max!) Asia has the money alright but it doesn't have the knowledgeable crowds (they even annoyed Poulter with their picture taking!) or the excitement ... and that's why these last few tournaments appear to be "rather flat/dead and lacking in atmosphere!"

Some good posts on here today, glad people see my point of view on Iain Carter seemingly avoiding talking about golf tournaments!

Don247 do you think that Iain as purposley not mentioned the World Cup in depth as this may infruriate his good friends Rory and G mac, why as he not mentioned there apparent melt down under pressure?

Whay are peoples thoughts on this weeks up and coming penultimate tournament, the Hong Kong Open, are we going to see any shock winners?

@you cant be serious, are you Iain Carter??

@CJT1982
It can be styled as the world championship because any golf player in the world has the opportunity to play in it. By your reckoning it shouldn't be called the football world cup because not every team in the world plays in it.

mickysasuage, Iain Carter's blogs are generally irrelevant anyway, they just give all of us a forum to discuss anything that's happening in the golfing world.

Good question Jimmy...who will be the main men in the majors next year?

I think we can safely rule out Luke Donald and Lee Westwood as we have discussed before they dont have what it takes to win a major event.

So then Rory and Martin K will surely pick a major between them. Maybe Sergio will finally get his hands on that first major.

In my opinion...Rory, Martin K, Sergio, Kuchar to win all 4 majors....and in that order!
Actually I might pop a lil bet on now.

There you have it then Don.

With Rory, Westwood & Donald all very likely to earn enough ranking points to qualify and committed to playing the US tour next year will they bother to try and qualify via the euro tour points method?? As you say its Money Money Money. I'm going to stick my neck out and say that Laird will find it very difficult to qualify for the team playing virtually all his golf in America. Last Ryder cup some fairly big names missed out or had to scrape in via wild cards, the same will happen again this time no doubt.

Rather diplomatic politicians answer to my 2nd question. How about putting you're head on the block and giving us a name

I agree with mickeysausage about the blandness of the original blog. No mention of either the Irish meltdown or Poulter and Rose's stunning foursomes 63 (albeit with the pressure off) seems a tad bizarre.

I'm not sure the World Cup has ever been that popular - In the early days it was tediously one-sided, usually won by the USA. Then from 1985, it was competing with the Dunhill Cup (which generally tended to have a better field and had the attraction of being played at St Andrews). I don't think the bizarre format helps either - I can't think of another professional tournament that's used strokeplay fourballs and foursomes. I wouldn't be sorry if the tournament was left to die. I'm more optimistic about the Olympics, but I'll leave that for another time.

Whilst I'm here, can I just apologise to anyone I may have offended in the "Duval goes back to school" blog last week - Especially mickysausage and BiloMcT. I've re-read my posts and even I think I came across as a bit of a prat, bursting in to the blog with a complete lack of etiquette. Can I use the excuse that I was just "having a bad day"?

I will endeavour to redeem myself in future in order to lose my nomination of "worst blogger we have seen" :-)

Jimmy/Don

The problem is that the qualification process fails to address the fact that more and more top Europeans spend their time on the PGA tour. There should be a greater emphasis on the World Rankings/Points list. That was what led to the crazy situation last time round where a player (Casey) in the top 10 in the world didn't qualify. The selection system doesn't need drastic surgery, just a couple of tweaks.

james mathew, it comes as no surprise you've ruled out Donald and Westwood! I would love to see Sergio win one, but I'm not sure his putting would hold up under real pressure. I think next year we might continue to see some more first-time winners, and I think Tiger will be back challenging in at least one or two.

scrap what i said about Golfnut99...clearly cant step up to the plate. Don247 is still head blogger. King Don247...keep up the good work.
Now for some humour i heard on the grapevine....A certain Pro has got himself in a bit of bother accidently kissing what he thought was a woman at the weekend in Manchester! Tabloids have hold of it apparantly!

PG:

It is already totally "money driven", I'm afraid ... just look at "The European Tour Race to Dubai" .. it says all it right there in the title.

Then think about the recent "non-sanctioned event" in Shanghai won by Rory McIlroy. The golfers were all there for the "petrol money" as well as the big prizes.... but remember, after all, these guys are only doing their job as professional golfers, i.e. trying to win/earn as much money as they can.

It is a big money business which more and more chases the big sponsorship deals ... hence the dominance of the PGA Tour and, increasingly, China and the Far East. And, as the European economy declines, the number of sponsors and tournaments in Europe will likely decrease (Barclays have already withdrawn their sponsorship from the Scottish Open with no replacement found so far in the present economic climate .... so no Big Phil in Inverness next year, I suppose!)

Jimmy and powerhitter:

To win the Masters, you also have to putt well. All winners have sunk their share of "long 'uns" and "little testers" on Augusta's slick and undulating greens ... even Jack Nicklaus, when he went on that famous last charge of his at the age of 46 in 1986!!

Powerhitter - Agreed, it was a shame that Casey didnt qualify but rules are rules. They have already been changed to the current system to accomodate the fact that players now play all over the world but as its the European tour that sets the qualification system they arent going to give their own players the mandate to go chasing the big bucks in America.

Yes Don you do have to putt well to win at Augusta, but you have to putt well to win anywhere unless your long game is fabulous. Augusta is pretty much unique in Majors in having 4 reachable par 5's. I maintain that they go a long way to deciding the champion, far more so than at the increasingly prevalent par 70 courses that host the other majors.

Bilo, what were you saying about 'Never Watch your Mother Eating a Banana' ?

Golf World Cup is a terrible event, nobody cares about it. Its just a chance to watch some random golf while there is nothing else on.

As for Majors next year its Tiger for 2 of them i think and mickysausages mate Padraig Harrington to win the Masters. mickysausage i am convinced i know who you are!

Jimmy:

Regarding your second question, you've answered it yourself ... there are no "automatic" winners/choices (except Jack or Tiger perhaps in their respective heydays) Did you or anyone tip Charl Schwarztel, "Our" Darren, Rory (Cue: Run, Run, Run, Runaway) McIlroy - especially after his Masters' meltdown - or Keegan Bradley to win the Majors this year!

Just look at the case of "Jason Day Disease": I order an inspection of his lower appendages after his apparent stumble at the FedExCup ( ... remember he had come in second in the Masters and the US Open) to see if he was the "real deal", but, after his "debacle" - 44 for his front nine against Hunter Mahan in the singles - plus a couple of poor finishes with "Badds" in the fourballs at the Presidents Cup, the evidence is there (for me at least to see) that Jason Day has a "getting-it-done-when-the-chips-are-down-and-the-real-questions-are-being-asked-on-the-back-nine problem"!

All I can and will say is that Gary Woodland will have gained confidence from his first Team USA event/win; Luuuke will have gained confidence from his "getting-the-business-done-at-Disneyland performance".... but to say that even Martin Kaymer, with his newly developed controlled draw and recent sparkling form, will feature at the Masters in 2012 is a bridge too far! (If MK qualifies for the final 36 holes, it'll be a first for him!!)

Cue: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers/Johnny Cash ...hopefully now all singing from the same song sheet!!

OK ... a name to look out for next year, Kyle Stanley!!!

@ 77 - Tiger for 2 events? Interesting. Question to all - Is Tiger coming back or is he finished?

Tiger definitely isn't finished!! How much he'll go on to win, I'm not sure, as he's struggled to put 4 rounds together. If I were to take a guess, I'd say he'll win a couple of tournaments next year, but not a major.

"Kyle Stanley (born 2 April 1991 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), is a Samoan-Australian Rugby League player for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League."

He'll never win a thing.

Other than that i cant really disagree with you too much sadly

mickysausage @66:

I also get the impression that Iain Carter wants to remain on the best possible terms with everyone in the whole golfing universe .... very much in keeping with the currently valid BBC guidelines, I suppose. Say absolutely nothing which could possibly cause offence to anyone .. no matter which colour, creed or religion. Political correctness at its very PC best.

Perhaps this blog should carry a "junk food warning" ... completely lacking in any nutritive value/substance ... devour as much of it as you like but your appetite will never satisfied.

From time to time, I may criticise the golf corrspondents in Britain's daily newspapers, e.g. Oliver B in the DT and Lawrence D in the G, but at least they mention "wheelbarrows", "petrol money" and take the golfers to task for the apparent lack of consistency in what they say and they do.

Three weeks ago, Rory was "disappointed" about not winning enough tournaments but, last week at the pre-tournament conference in China, he was suddenly "happy" with what he had achieved this season especially winning his first major.

Iain Carter would never highlight or comment on such alleged discrepancies ....

Jimmy:

You've looked up the wrong source of information me thinks .....

Kyle Stanley - 55th in the PGA money list for 2011 with earnings of USD 1,523,657 (after graduating from the Nationwide Tour) and just behind a certain Sergio Garcia who finished 54th on the list.

Check out the full list on pgatour.com

The main reason, i believe why the golf world cup is nothing compared to the football or rugby - is that for many of the golfers it's just another tournament - when you look at football, how many time do England play as a nation? not a lot! the football world cup provides something much different than an average saturday premier league game - you will play teams you may have never played, and watch teams that you will only see play together in a blue moon IT'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT. a Golf world cup doesn't provide a lot of difference between an average tournament - you could be partnered with friends, and theres just not that rivalry between nations (i believe, but correct me if i'm wrong) many of the golfers from around the world are friends with each other!

Why would you want to create a World Cup as the preeminent competition in Golf? The multiple governing organisations in golf are the legacy of the game's historical and cultural roots, and those historical and cultural roots are golf. This is why, no matter how much money is put on offer at the Players or in Dubai, the four majors - even though they are strangely concentrated in the U.S - will always hold the greatest prestige.

"Are the modern golfers getting more like our "hero footballers" with no pride or passion and just worried about money and publicity"

------------------------

What are you on about pal? Golfers never put the hours in as youngsters to "play for their country"....they did it cos they dreamed of winning the Open, the Ryder cup, the Masters. You're projecting the traditions of other mainstream team sports onto golf - an individual sport that doesn't have these traditions and doesn't need them, because in the major championships, the ryder cup and many other events it has rich traditions of it's own. Great sport is about history - that's why, to borrow from my own sport, no matter how many global superstars feature in 10 try running rugby fests in the Super 15, it still won't be as good as Leicester grinding out a one-point victory over Northampton on a freezing February afernoon.

PeterTheHoss....apparantly Greg Norman said " Never Watch your Mother Eating a Banana " at the Presidents Cup.

Anyone else think Sumo82 has turned into a terrible Troll?

So much covered above it's hard to know where to begin. A couple of thoughts though - firstly it's terrible that golf no longer has a credible team event for nations. I like the format of (this) World Cup, and I also used to like the old Dunhill Nations Cup. I think a lot of fans get bored of the almost constant diet of 72-hole strokeplay. It's not that long ago that matchplay, medal matchplay and foursomes events were part of the main tours on both sides of the Atlantic, and indeed in Britain were among the most popular tournaments. .

Secondly, as for 'major' championships, the USPGA was never considered a 'major' by anyone until the early 1970s, when people (especially IMG, who all but owned all the main stars in both sports) began to look for a means for a golfer to win a "Grand Slam" (as Rod Laver had just done in tennis). In the 1950s the PGA was played in direct conflict with the Open Championship, and as recently as 1971 was shunted around in the tour schedules to be played in February. It was certainly not viewed as being any more prestigious than, say, the Western Open or the Canadian Open until then. So alongside the Open Championships of the R&A and the USGA, and the Masters which pretty much everyone has regarded as a major since its inception, the USPGA is a pretty poor relation and always has been, even though nowadays it boasts admittedly the strongest field. If the people who allowed the USPGA to be annointed as golf's 4th major in 1970s had 'chosen' the Australian Open instead, that would have been a much better decision for the global game and would have made more sense from a historical perspective too.

Mickey Sausage sorry mate but that surname suits you allot lol, sorry but if you not interested just don't read it pal

Poorly thought out arguments Iain, I was becoming a fan.

For those who said that the players were not trying in the World Cup, you are wrong, McIlroy and McDowell were bitterly disappointed with their even par final round just as Poulter and Rose were elated with their 63 grabbing second place.

This tournament does have a place in the calendar in its current format, strokeplay will only water it down in my opinion.

I would be in favour of a Ryder-Presidents Cup, the Presidents Cup is getting very popular worldwide and it would be a great spectacle, perhaps fulfilling the need for a golf "World Cup"......which isn't really needed. The majors are the most important tournaments in golf closely followed by the Ryder Cup. Golf is essentially an individual sport. The Davis cup in tennis is not a "huge" tournament but it is still relevant.

I would argue that the world cup of football is in decline, the level of football is not as good as club football except for Spain who basically are Barcelona with a few add-ons.

Shame they are going to change the format, still a relevant tournament though.

The golf world cup is a bit like football in the Olympics or the world cycling champs,they dont matter as much as the world cup in footie or the tour de France.
But more than that they dont even have the top performers so its never gonna get my juices flowing.
I also have a suspision that most top level golfers really arent team players,and maybe you have to be a bit like that to succeed....Faldo,Woods,Hogan etc etc...not really team men and thats why they are/were so successful.

Awful Blog this one.

mickey saus dude, whats appnin, i agree , some bad blogs lately, world cup golf, its like, who wants to play (bit of a get together)...looking forward to chevron this week ,mr woods looked awesome in oz, just right for my chill time as well, 8 till 11, take it easy dude

Lots of issues and comments. My thoughts:

1. world cup was boring. strokeplay in a team, where's the tension? matchplay is where its at, obvious from ryder cup, walker cup etc.
2. there is no prestige unless the best players are playing against each other. either schedule it when it is in the best players' interest to play or it will always be second rate.
3. anone who thinks mcilroy is not the real deal is either blind or stupid or jealous or all three. he has the most incredible swing and ball striking ability and has already convincingly won one major and come close in others in a very short career. so his short game is not as good as many others. well firstly no one is perfect, and secondly he is still very young and can work on that. he is already no2 in the world. if you don't like what he says that is one thing, but dont confuse your feelings about him personally with an opinion of how good he is. who else at his age gas achieved what he has? I will be interested to hear your answers to that one.
4. kaymer is a superb player who will get back to the top soon, once he recovers from the shock of winning a major and all the attention he got
5. Luke Donald is the most successful golfer this year, and anyone who thinks he doesn't have it in him to win a major is a bit short sighted. look what he did in the last tournament in America on the back 9 on sunday - 6 birdies was it to win the money list? i know most of us think the money list is naff, and that the majors is all there is, but it meant a lot to Luke as he wanted to go down in history as the first man to win the most on both US and European tours, so this was pressure for him.
6. The fed ex cup is as about as boring as it gets - like a condensed version of the US Tour - only about money and on boring courses. if the prize money wasn't 10million, who would care?
7. Belly putters should be banned, as should caddies lining up players before they putt or hit shots. if players can't use a normal putter they shouldn't play, they have had enough years to practise how easy do they want things? caddies, galleries to flatten rough and keep the ball in play, practice rounds, next they will be wanting mulligans! if they cant line up their own putts, again they should not play

who agrees/disagrees?

You are right about the diffferent tours wanting to make money for themselves. 25 years ago there was the same problem when the europeans didn't travel to america very much and vice versa. The idea of world tour is good but the chances of it being run by 1 governing body a very slim to none as none of these bodies will give up the power they have especially the R&A and the USGA.

lovegolf0712,

I agree with u about mcilroy and Kaymer. However Luke Donald and others for example WEstwood, the longer they go on without winning majors the less likely it is going to happen. I think Westwood is done on winning majors, the chances hes had, if he was going to win one he would have done it by now and Donald has barely put himself in the positions to win a major. The older player who has the best chance of winning a major is Garcia, hes getting back to his best and his putting has improved immensly.

Not the most convincing of articles i'm afraid. I don't see how you can dismiss the credibility of the USA's team when they won the competition. And to say England should have had 2 diferent players there is ludicrous too, given Luke Donald has lost his father and his wife has given birth during the past fortnight. Oh and by the way, England were good enoughh to finish 2nd, past the two Americans who you clearly don't rate.

ff

Would Stricker and Dustin Johnson, the two top ranked US golfers at the time, have done better than Kuchar and Woodland anyway? I don't think so. Kuchar is a man that you would want in a team event, very consistent and Woodland is a player on the up.

I enjoyed watching the World Cup actually, nice format and interesting to watch the foursomes. I just wished that it meant more to the overall scheme of things in a golfing year.

@ 93 lovegolf0712....your a Legend mate. Well Said.

BiloMcT, mickysausage et al:

It's time to name names, i.e. put your money where your mouth is (... if you haven't already "officially" written your tips down in black 'n' white, that is!)

We have three tournaments to test our (alleged) "skill and expertise" as "tipsters":

1) The Hong Kong Open

2) The Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City (with a field consisting of 12 of the world's top golfers, namely, Donald, Karlsson, Westwood, Dyson, Kaymer, F. Molinari, Schwarztel, A. Hansen, McDowell, Dufner, Kim Kyung-Tae and - last but not least - "our" Darren.)

3) The Chevron World Challenge

Gentlemen, start your engines ...

P.S. - I see "The Wild Thing" is playing with "my" Ross Fisher in Hong Kong .... Will JD - literally - last the course this time or will he blow a gasket ... as is fast becoming his norm??)

lovegolf0712:

Good to see another "Bubba long" poster on here.

I have "lots of issues and comments" about your "lots of issues and comments" (i.e. your post is like waving a "red rag to a bull-headed Don247").... I'll tackle them one by one as the day goes on. Let battle commence .... in true "Call of Duty" style!

P.P.S. - Although we've all been slagging off Iain Carter (... me in particular), his blog has (some would say "inadvertently") stirred up a lot of interest and generated a whole stream of healthy criticism/comments!!

davyg18:

Remember Steve Stricker still has "neck issues" and almost didn't make to the Presidents Cup in Melbourne ... so he went back home immediately afterwards to rest up and recuperate for the new season.

Dustin (allegedly "not the brightest light on the Christmas tree!") Johnson has had a problem with his right knee for a while and has just undergone a cartilage operation; he'll be out of action until perhaps the middle of January ....so Kuuuch and Gary Woodland were the "men to see the job through!"