17 Comments

1. 

   chris franklin

   Sep 18, 2015 at 3:55 pm

   Re; Walker Cup,it was an entertaining and enjoyable series of matches for the quality of golf played and the brilliant sportsmanship and courtesy shown by both sides,particularly impressive was Bryson DeBeauchamp who reminded me a little of a young Frank Stranahan,he played extremely well and showed an old-fashioned grace and style that is missing in the professional game.
   The reasons for the one-sided result can be put down to home advantage,a large factor as one of the top amateur competitions is played at Lytham and errors in captaincy,the US team were under the cosh from the outset of the singles matches so why ‘Spider’ put his best player out last is a mystery,GB&I only need to halve the matches to win so an aggressive start from the US was imperative and sadly not realised.

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2. 

   Eric

   Sep 15, 2015 at 11:47 am

   What do you attribute to the U.S. getting shellacked in the Walker Cup? The American college golf system is supposed to be stronger than ever. These college kids go out and play in tour events and do well, how come they cant close the deal when it comes to match play? I’ve said for years U.S. golf at the amateur and junior level has had a problem of not playing enough match play, particularly foursomes. This in turn translates into the team events at the larger level (Walker Cup, Ryder Cup). How do we get our younger kids coming up to play more match play?

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   • 

     Ronald Montesano

     Sep 15, 2015 at 8:12 pm

     It really has nothing to do with match play. Some guys (Rodgers, Spieth, Schniederjans) turned pro early, while others didn’t develop. McCoy shouldn’t have been on the team and guys like McCarthy and McCoy underperformed. Niebrugge had one good tournament this year and it happened to be the British Open. This was an unfortunate USA side. If you had put the 2013 squad in at Lytham, they would have won by four points.

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     • 

       Eric

       Sep 16, 2015 at 1:28 pm

       Completely agree that Niebrugge had no business being there and that the older McCoy shouldn’t have been there either. I my opinion the other mid-am who should have been chosen was Todd Mitchell, Scott Harvey’s fourball partner, or even Nathan Smith.

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   • 

     Eoj

     Sep 16, 2015 at 2:40 am

     There’s also a lot of foreigners in the US colleges now, too, taking up the space that other American kids would have been able to take back in the day

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3. 

   Ronald Montesano

   Sep 14, 2015 at 1:34 pm

   Thanks for the input, fellows. Can you elaborate on your thoughts?

   RM

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4. 

   gvogel

   Sep 14, 2015 at 12:57 pm

   Just because Mike Whan says that the Evian is a major, that does not make it a major. The court of public opinion will decide if the Evian is a major.

   I cast my vote for no. The golf course is shorter than average length for a major. The conditioning was less than major status. And what’s up with 5 majors, anyway.

   In my mind, Lydia is still looking for major number 1.

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   • 

     Lydia is #1

     Sep 14, 2015 at 1:21 pm

     Of course you think that, because you’re an eejit

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     • 

       gvogel

       Sep 14, 2015 at 8:49 pm

       Call me a moron. Fine.

       Karen Stupples said on TV that the course was too short for a major. She has played on the LPGA Tour, so that gives some vindication to my judgement about the course.

       The LPGA has 4 bona fide majors: the Kraft Nabisco, the US Open, the British Open, and the LPGA Championship. Why declare another tournament as a major? To keep a sponsor on the European continent. Well, if they want to declare that the Kraft Nabisco is now no longer a major, and make the course tougher over at Evian Les Bains, maybe they can make the case. But declaring that they have a fifth major is like declaring that the Players is a major. Public opinion has pretty much decided that the Players is not a major.

       Further. A major rotates around a few really great golf courses – like the US Open or British Open. Or, it just so happens to be on a truly great course like ANGC – and everyone is ready for a major in April just as the golf season starts. I don’t see Evian les Bains as a great golf course in the same category as Augusta National. Of course, the place they play the Kraft nabisco is also not a great golf course. But, pick one or the other. Five majors is just pandering to sponsors.

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       • 

         Nomnom

         Sep 15, 2015 at 3:10 am

         Kraft Nabisco is no longer a sponsor! It’s called the ANA Inspiration. Get it right. You’re embarrassing.
         So what if there are 5 ladies majors? The LPGA is trying to do its own thing, trying to make it more exciting and more accessible to ladies around the globe. Heck, its Tour already plays all over the world, not just in North America like the PGA Tour (why is Canada always a part of the US in sports leagues, anyways?). In fact, it’s cool that there’s a major in the UK, France, and the USA.
         And so what if the Evian course is short-ish? Obviously it was tight enough that the long hitters were neutralized. That’s a well-designed set up, to do that to the long hitters; making accuracy, positioning, and putting a premium. Lydia showed how it’s supposed to be done.
         Pandering to sponsors? In the modern game of any sport anywhere, without sponsors there won’t be any competitive sport. Have you looked at the advertising at an NBA game, for example? You know nothing, so be quiet.

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         • 

           Greg V

           Sep 15, 2015 at 10:01 am

           Embarrassing? Hey, I follow ladies golf much more closely than the average male golfer. I enjoy watching ladies golf. I have been a fan of Lydia Ko’s golf swing for quite a few years – but I must say that I enjoyed it more before she started practicing Leadbetter’s A Swing (which, by the way, I bought the book). But Lydia has fantastic rhythm and very good hand-eye coordination, and she could make a number of different swings work. I prefer to see an accomplished player stay with their own unique swing – the one that she brought onto the world stage when she won her first Canadian Open.

           My point is that fans should have input on what are majors, and what are not majors. Some have advocated that the Players should be a men’s major, as it has arguably the strongest field of the year. But most fans are not ready to concede that the Players be a major.

           When it comes to the Evian, I think that it is important to have a public debate over what is a ladies major, and what is not. And I enjoy putting my $.02 into the discussion on the negative side. When Inbee Park won the Ladies Open championship, many were willing to concede that she had won the grand slam; well, if so, she won the grand slam without winning the Evian. I don’t see how you can have it both ways.

           My vote is that Lydia has not yet won a major; the Evian is not a major.

           By the way, neutralizing long hitters by putting them on a short tight course does not a major make. Long, straight tee shots have always been one of the important components for the best players in the game, from Bobby Jones to Mickey Wright to Annika Sorenstam.

           Embarrassing? Know nothing? I think that you are out of order.

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           • 

             ETW

             Sep 15, 2015 at 1:18 pm

             You are so completely lost, aren’t you, Greg V? It’s OK to admit you’re wrong and completely clueless

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             • 

               Ronald Montesano

               Sep 15, 2015 at 8:14 pm

               How about we keep it civil, man of three initials?

               RM

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               • 

                 Eoj

                 Sep 16, 2015 at 2:43 am

                 Ron, Greg clearly knows nothing about how money works.
                 Tell him what would happen if there were no sponsors: No tournament golf! Where does he think the now astronomical prize moneys come from – just the players’ buying into tournaments? Even 200 years ago sponsors put up money to run tournaments.
             • 

               Greg V

               Sep 17, 2015 at 12:52 pm

               So, apparently what you are saying is that with enough money, a sponsor can buy a major.

               Let’s put that to vote to the general readership.

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       • 

         Joe

         Sep 15, 2015 at 2:29 pm

         It is a Major because the LPGA needs the tournament to survive. They had to expand to European and Asian tournament sponsors to keep going. With additional income comes the requirement to pay the piper.

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5. 

   Dubya

   Sep 14, 2015 at 11:50 am

   God’s in his heaven and all’s right with the world

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