Saturday, September 18, 2004
Monty magic
My pick of first round comments
From The Scotsman
WHEN Hal Sutton walked onto the first tee yesterday morning, the American captain was sporting a Stetson hat which made him look like Deputy Dawg. If this was meant to be a statement of gung-ho intent, it backfired on the home side as the cowboys suffered the indignity of watching the Indians take a record number of scalps.
And this one, again from The Scotsman
Montgomerie’s breathtaking chip from the fringe of the eighth green deliberately aimed at an angle into the rough to kill the speed of the ball was arguably the shot of the day.
And to quote Hal on this fabulous chip
Q. You were on a team in '87 at Muirfield that was down by four on the first day. Can you compare and contrast what you went through as a player on that opening day and what you saw in your team today?
HAL SUTTON: I've been seeing this for a long time what's going on. I've preached it all week long. You've got to try to make something happen rather than not make something -- rather than to try to keep something from happening.
A perfect example was Colin Montgomerie's chip on the eighth hole today when he's playing Davis Love and Fred Funk. They are over the green, he's got an impossible shot. He chips it into the fringe on the right-hand side and almost makes it. And I'm standing beside Chris Riley and I said, "Chris, do you think he was concerned with the putt that he was fixing to leave, or the chip for that matter that he was fixing to leave Padraig Harrington with?" He was doing one thing, trying to get that chip close, with no concern of what was fixing to happen the next shot, the next play. And I saw more of the Americans trying to make sure they didn't leave anything of any distance, you know. It's hard to make -- you don't dive these putts in the hole on this golf course, they are breaking too much. I saw so many of our putts die just on the topside of the hole or just on the underside of the hole. At some point we have to get mad and say, "I don't give a damn if we have to make a 6- or 8-footer coming back."
And oh to be a fly on the wall listening in to the American team meeting tonight
Q. Will your approach tonight be one of anger, of cajoling, sympathy, how do you it tonight at this team meeting?
HAL SUTTON: I'm not sure, I don't know. I don't think they want to be consoled. I've felt every one of these emotions in my life. When I get really mad at myself, I don't want somebody patting me on the back and loving on me. I can assure you I'm not going to be loving on them. (Laughter.)
You may recall that at the team meeting on the evening before that final fateful day at Brookline, Ben Crenshaw called upon George W to give a speech and his theme was the "No Surrender" letter by William Barret Travis the commander at the Alamo.
One wonders what Hal has in mind for a theme.- Hopefully not another war time metaphor
As for the Europeans who've already been advised by Sergio about complacency, I'd be very, very afraid of a wounded Tiger
From The Scotsman
WHEN Hal Sutton walked onto the first tee yesterday morning, the American captain was sporting a Stetson hat which made him look like Deputy Dawg. If this was meant to be a statement of gung-ho intent, it backfired on the home side as the cowboys suffered the indignity of watching the Indians take a record number of scalps.
And this one, again from The Scotsman
Montgomerie’s breathtaking chip from the fringe of the eighth green deliberately aimed at an angle into the rough to kill the speed of the ball was arguably the shot of the day.
And to quote Hal on this fabulous chip
Q. You were on a team in '87 at Muirfield that was down by four on the first day. Can you compare and contrast what you went through as a player on that opening day and what you saw in your team today?
HAL SUTTON: I've been seeing this for a long time what's going on. I've preached it all week long. You've got to try to make something happen rather than not make something -- rather than to try to keep something from happening.
A perfect example was Colin Montgomerie's chip on the eighth hole today when he's playing Davis Love and Fred Funk. They are over the green, he's got an impossible shot. He chips it into the fringe on the right-hand side and almost makes it. And I'm standing beside Chris Riley and I said, "Chris, do you think he was concerned with the putt that he was fixing to leave, or the chip for that matter that he was fixing to leave Padraig Harrington with?" He was doing one thing, trying to get that chip close, with no concern of what was fixing to happen the next shot, the next play. And I saw more of the Americans trying to make sure they didn't leave anything of any distance, you know. It's hard to make -- you don't dive these putts in the hole on this golf course, they are breaking too much. I saw so many of our putts die just on the topside of the hole or just on the underside of the hole. At some point we have to get mad and say, "I don't give a damn if we have to make a 6- or 8-footer coming back."
And oh to be a fly on the wall listening in to the American team meeting tonight
Q. Will your approach tonight be one of anger, of cajoling, sympathy, how do you it tonight at this team meeting?
HAL SUTTON: I'm not sure, I don't know. I don't think they want to be consoled. I've felt every one of these emotions in my life. When I get really mad at myself, I don't want somebody patting me on the back and loving on me. I can assure you I'm not going to be loving on them. (Laughter.)
You may recall that at the team meeting on the evening before that final fateful day at Brookline, Ben Crenshaw called upon George W to give a speech and his theme was the "No Surrender" letter by William Barret Travis the commander at the Alamo.
One wonders what Hal has in mind for a theme.- Hopefully not another war time metaphor
As for the Europeans who've already been advised by Sergio about complacency, I'd be very, very afraid of a wounded Tiger
