PHNO-SP: TIGER TAKES THE BLAME FOR RYDER CUP LOSS: I HAVE FAILED A RYDER CUP

TIGER TAKES THE BLAME FOR RYDER CUP LOSS: I HAVE FAILED A
RYDER CUP

WATCH VIDEO COURTESY OF GOLFCHANNEL.COM
http://www.golfchannel.com/media/live-from-2012-thursday-feature-1/?cid=taboola

OCTOBER 1, 2012 (UK
TELEGRAPH)
By Telegraph Sport 4:58PM BST 25 Sep 2012


[PHOTO -Up for the cup: Tiger Woods addresses the media in the
countdown to the Ryder Cup at Medinah Country Club Photo: GETTY IMAGES]
MEDINAH COUNTRY CLUB, ILLINOIS- Ryder Cup 2012: Tiger Woods hoping to improve
on past performances as USA look to wrest trophy from Europe Tiger Woods has
admitted he has been below par in his previous outings for the USA at the Ryder
Cup and that he hopes to change that at this week's contest at Medinah Country
Club.]
Europe have won four of the last five biennial contests, with Woods absent
through injury from the home side's sole victory in that sequence at Valhalla in
2008.
The former world No 1's only win in six appearances came in the controversial
Brookline series in 1999, while he has a losing overall record of played 29, won
13, lost 14 and halved two.
Asked if he was responsible for Europe's success in a time when he personally
dominated the individual game, Woods said: "Well, certainly I am responsible for
that, because I didn't earn the points that I was put out there for.
"I believe I was out there in five sessions each time and I didn't go 5-0 on
our side. So I certainly am a part of that and that's part of being a team. I
needed to go get my points for my team, and I didn't do that. Hopefully I can do
that this week and hopefully the other guys can do the same and we can get this
thing rolling."
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Woods is not alone in possessing a losing record however, with the
experienced pair of Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk also struggling to translate
individual success into team triumphs.
Mickelson, who is appearing in a US-record ninth Ryder Cup at Medinah, has
won 14 points from 34 matches overall and amazingly just two wins from his last
14 fourball or foursome matches.
Furyk is making his eighth appearance this week but has won just 10 points of
a possible 27 overall and four from his last 18 fourball or foursome clashes.

"In order to win Cups, you have to earn points and we certainly have not
earned points," Woods added. "And on top of that, I think that Phil, Jim and
myself have been put out there a lot during those years. So if we are not
earning points, it's hard to win Ryder Cups that way."
Graeme McDowell, who secured the winning point at Celtic Manor two years ago,
believes Woods is often the victim of "lesser" players raising their game and
playing without pressure.
"I liken it to playing Premiership football," McDowell added. "Any lesser
team that comes to play these guys, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool,
Arsenal... they have a tendency to raise their game, because it's a huge game
for an underdog to play a Tiger Woods.
"And they get up for it. They are not expected to win. When expectation
levels drop, game tends to improve. A guy who plays Tiger Woods, or a player of
that calibre, doesn't expect to win so he lets it all go and he plays out of his
skin and gets the upset."
McDowell's team-mate and likely playing partner Rory McIlroy is of course now
the world number one, a fact which makes him a "target" this week according to
Furyk and the winning captain at Valhalla, Paul Azinger.
"It's part of being consistent," Woods added. "It's part of being ranked
number one, it's part of winning major championships. You're always going to
want to try and take out their best player, and that's just part of the deal.
That's a fun challenge.
"I certainly have relished it over the years and I'm sure he's going to
relish it this week."
Another aspect of this week that Woods seemingly relishes is having former
basketball legend Michael Jordan around the US team, as the former Chicago Bulls
star has done in several previous Ryder Cups.
But US captain Davis Love will not be encouraging a repeat of the time the
duo first met.
Woods explained: "The first time I had ever been around him, he had fed me
some beverages and the next day was a little bit more difficult than I would
like it to be.
"But for him to want to be part of this is special for us. I guess for me,
because I consider him like my big brother, gotten to know him so well over the
years, I may take that for granted. But some of the other guys who don't really
know Michael, I think it's a real treat for them."

[PHOTO- Ryder Cup 2012: 19th hole: the imposing brick
facade of the Medinah Country Club Picture: GETTY
IMAGES]

[PHOTO -Numbers game: Europe are the the defending
champions. With a total of 28 points available, 14½ points are required to win
the Cup... Picture: GETTY IMAGES]

[PHOTO -The future's orange: the European team poses for an
official photograph during the second preview day of The Picture: GETTY IMAGES]


[PHOTO -13 shades of
grey: the US team strikes a pose Picture: ACTION IMAGES]

[PHOTO -Maybe this year: USA captain Davis Love III and
Tiger Woods examine the Ryder Cup trophy Picture: EPA]

James Lawton: Tiger
Woods' fall appears to have made him a team player at Ryder Cup
Wednesday, 26 September 2012

[PHOTO -TIGER BECOMES A TEAM PLAYER 2012 Getty Images]
It really did sound like the first day of the rest of the Tiger's Ryder Cup
life yesterday. The man who once said that he had a million reasons – all of
them bearing the official stamp of the United States treasury – to prefer the
hand-to-hand conflict of the tournament golf he had come to dominate so
profoundly to the camaraderie of team sport, sounded rather more like the most
earnest of cheerleaders.
Maybe it is because somewhere on the road from the 2002 contest at the Belfry
to this week's collision at Medinah, Chicago, Tiger Woods has had a glimpse of a
burning bush. Or perhaps it is more a vivid sense that his old days of
immortality, the belief he was indeed the greatest golfer of all time, may have
already gone up in smoke.
Certainly now that his extraordinary ascendency appears to be the new
property of Rory McIlroy, the Tiger's appreciation of the challenge, and the
rewards, of the Ryder Cup appears to have deepened quite dramatically.
Back at the Belfry, the Tiger was candid enough in the wake of the FedEx
bonanza triumph he never seemed likely to reproduce last weekend. Yes, he
sighed, it was true he had certain difficulties with the concept of a team
sport. As a precocious young contender in southern California, and a college boy
star at the prestigious Stanford University, the idea of team sport always left
him not so much cold as puzzled.
Yesterday in Chicago, he made it sound like one of his fondest memories, a
matter of varsity pride that might have come off the faded pages of a Scott
Fitzgerald short story. At the Belfry, he likened it to the futility of canoe
racing.
"I've found it difficult to understand how you can commit yourself to
something you cannot dictate with your ability. How ever hard you paddle, it
doesn't matter either way if there are stronger rowers in the other canoe. Of
course I want to do the best I can in the Ryder Cup but it isn't the most
comfortable format for me. I like to be in control of my own fate."
Maybe like many superior golfers before him, the warmth of a locker room, the
comfort of an arm around your shoulder in a common cause, has developed a new
level of appeal.
It is no doubt true that Colin Montgomerie's despairing pursuit of a major
title – a new experience for the Tiger after stockpiling 14 – was regularly
buttressed by superb Ryder Cup performances, a record that was crowned two years
ago in Wales when he captained Europe to victory.
TELEGRAPH VIDEO: TIGER WATCH
http://tinyurl.com/8px5are
Montgomerie is one of 24 players who stand above Woods in the all-time list
of point-gatherers. At 25, one behind another Briton, Tony Jacklin, Woods can
point only to a losing record of 13 wins, 14 losses and two halves. A winning
percentage of .483 was inevitably raised again when he faced the world
yesterday.
It came with a hard question about whether he – and fellow veterans Phil
Mickelson and Jim Furyk – accepted responsibility for Europe's growing edge in
the contest. "Yes, I do take responsibility," he said. "I didn't get the points
I was put out there for. I played five games but I didn't go 5 and 0."
However, he insists that old disconnection with the meaning of the Ryder Cup
is a matter of history and certainly he can draw a graph of improved
performance. In his last two Ryder Cups, he collected six of an available nine
points and when he was ruled out of the American triumph at Valhalla in 2006, he
did muster the passion to send captain Paul Azinger a message of quite blunt
encouragement. "Kick their f****** asses," he texted.
Two years ago, there was a strong sense that Woods saw the Ryder Cup action
as an important part of his rehabilitation after the year of deep-running
scandal and a growing feeling that he may have separated himself permanently
from the years of glory – and a relentless pursuit of Jack Nicklaus's record
major title mark of 18 victories.
When the Welsh fans cheered his name, his demeanour warmed noticeably. It was
as though he had been reminded of his status in another life.
Yesterday, he could hardly have been more enthusiastic about the challenges
and the rewards of playing alongside his countrymen.
"It was fun to get together with the team last night," he said. "We [Woods,
Mickelson and Furyk] can help out the guys who have not been here before. We
have been put out a lot in the Ryder Cup and it's a great experience, so much of
it is about what we did in college, and for us to represent the United States of
America is something else. And then when players gather, say on Friday night, to
see a late match and you're involved, well, you feel the heat. We're playing for
our country, our team, and we have been to all those practice sessions to put
things right. It is something that in our sport we don't normally experience."

American captain Davis Love III is emphatic that Woods has grown into a
pivotal presence. When they joined together in Ryder Cup action – in 2002 – it
might just have been the point where the Tiger found an impressive stride. They
won back-to-back matches after Woods had been pointless in his first two games
but that chemistry disappeared – along with 12 partners – before he benefited
from the support of Steve Stricker two years ago.
The American captain says, "I think he realises he was trying too hard when
he first came into the team. He couldn't do it all by himself, he had to be part
of the team and win points with his partners, become part of the team rather
than the team.
"Tiger and I do things differently but we are both passionate about winning
and he's going to be a big part of it. Believe me, he cares. He will be one of
our leaders."
One thing at least is true. He seems so much less inclined to throw away his
paddle.
Tiger feat: Woods' Ryder roster
Ryder Cup appearances Six
Debut 1997, Valderrama, Spain [Europe won 14½ - 13½]
Matches played 29 [Won 13, Lost 14, Halved 2]
Points won 14 [4½ in singles, 4½ in foursomes and five in fourballs)
* Woods' struggles to take his individual talent into the tournament were
evident from his first appearance, at Valderrama in 1997, where he lost three of
his five matches. His worst Cup performance came at Oakland Hills in 2004, where
he lost four of his five matches – two each with Phil Mickelson and Davis Love
lll, as Europe comfortably retained their title.
Rough for GOLF NO. 1 Rory McIroy at Ryder Cup without
girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki By Laura Butler Thursday, 27 September
2012
[PHOTO- Rory McIlroy of Europe poses for a portrait at the
Ryder Cup host hotel prior to the start of the 39th Ryder Cup Gala on September
26, 2012 in Lombard, Illinois. (Photo by Ross
Kinnaird)]

Golf's world number one Rory McIlroy will compete in the 39th Ryder Cup
without the support of girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki (photo at right, below).

As the WAGs of the golfing world come out to cheer on their men in the famous
sporting event in Chicago over the coming days, 23-year-old McIlroy will take to
the course without his Danish partner watching on.
Tennis player Wozniacki is playing the Toray Pan Pacific Open tournament in
Tokyo this weekend and will be a notable absentee as the high profile contest
unfolds.
Meanwhile, fellow Northern Ireland player Graeme McDowell -- and vice
captains Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley -- have been joined by their partners:
US interior designer Kristin Stape, newlywed Alison Clarke and Allison McGinley.

Other partners including Diane Donald, Kate Rose, Laurae Westwood, Pernilla
Bjorn, Katie Poulter and Sanna Hanson will wear the European colours for the
weekend.
Spain's Sergio Garcia will compete at the three-day event unaccompanied as
will European captain and bachelor Jose Maria Olazabal.
The women of both the US and European teams relaxed at their hotel while the
players enjoyed a practice round yesterday, ahead of this afternoon's
competition opener.
A number of Hollywood celebrities have also been showing off their skills on
the greens of the Medinah Country Golf Club this week.
Olympian Michael Phelps, singer Justin Timberlake and 'Lost in Translation'
actor Bill Murray took part in the 2012 Ryder Cup Captains and Celebrity
Scramble.
Although she did not play, Timberlake's fiance, 'Total Recall' actress
Jessica Biel, watched on from the crowd.
SEPTEMBER 30, SUNDAY 6 PM TORONTO TIME
Ryder Cup 2012: live scoreboard
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/rydercup/9573244/Ryder-Cup-2012-live-scoreboard.html

Ryder Cup 2012 Get all the latest news from the Ryder Cup
2012 between Europe, led by José María Olazábal, and the United States,
captained by Davis Love III, at Medinah Country Club, Sept 28-30, 2012.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/rydercup/


Ryder Cup 2012: Singles sees Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods kept apart as
Europe attempt Chicago comeback Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods will not face each
other for the second Ryder Cup in a row as Europe - 10-6 down overnight -
attempt to claw their way back on the final day of singles in Chicago.
READ HERE : Ryder
Cup 2012: final day live




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Jose Vanzi

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