Ryder Cup Blues

Most of us watched at least some of the Ryder Cup matches. If you didn't get caught up in the hype or nationalism you saw some pretty good golf along the way. There were lots of chip-ins, tough shots made under intense pressure and even two holes-in-one. Despite all that, the Ryder Cup is on the verge of becoming Ho-Hum. The outcome has become as predictable as sunrise. If history teaches us something, viewer interest will begin to wane big time once we realize we know who's always going to win.

Don't let the media pundits scam you. Forget all the hoopla about the US needing better - read tougher - captains. These are the best players in the world. Having some hard ass yell in the faces of multi-millionaire golfing studs is not going to get them to play better. Telling the likes of Tiger Woods, Chris DiMarco and Jim Furyk to start yukking it while they play isn't going to work either.

More than half the strength of Tiger's game is his psyche. When he gets that 'look' no one is going to beat him straight up. We've all seen him when he gets in 'the zone'. Something only he seems able to maintain for 18 holes. Stevie could drop 12 clubs in the drink and he could still win when he has that look in his eye. But behind every strength is a weakness. Ask Tiger to play with someone else, engage with them in banter and read each other's putts and you have a prescription for failure. Tiger is Tiger because of the 'zone'. When he's taken out of it, he's just another good pro golfer.

On the other hand, look at Sergio. He's never lived up to his potential in regular tournament play. Five years ago who wouldn't have predicted he'd have multiple majors by now. Turns out his volatile persona works against him on Sunday. He can't find and stay in the zone. But put him in team play and he's proving to be the best 'team' golfer in the world. It plays to his emotional volatility. He feeds off it.

Americans should forget about focusing on the team captain. The best a Ryder Cup captain can do is to manage the peripheral items like travel, accommodations, press relations, and making sure that players that despise each other don't have to play together. If you want to be controversial, then bench Tiger for the foursomes. It's not his game.

Tomorrow I'll tell the powers at be how to save the Ryder Cup.